Bird's-eye view
Looking down at the garden from the upstairs windows this morning, it occurred to me that photos from that angle might prove useful for planning. Hmmm. Why didn’t I think of this before?
A little history first.
I put in the hardscaping for the garden right after we moved into this house: the limestone walk and “courtyard,” and the wood-and-wire fence. At that time, only a straggly St. Augustine lawn and a sapling red oak grew; I took those out in preparation for my garden. Austin loves its trees—green shade is valued in a hot climate—which makes it psychologically hard to remove a tree, even a little one. But my yard is very small, I wanted some sun-loving plants, and I knew that little red oak would one day shade out the whole garden. Of course, it would also have shaded my house from the western sun, but it’s a sacrifice I haven’t regretted yet.
In the photo above, you see the courtyard, centered by a glazed pot currently planted with a Nolina texana and underplanted with new chrysanthemums. Salvia greggii are blooming at each side of the front walk. The symmetry along the fence continues with a large, pink-blooming bush (roses on the left, pavonia on the right), then artemesia.
It took me a couple of years to realize that symmetrical design would enhance the streetside entrance to the garden. When I first planted, I worried that symmetry would make the garden look formal, and I thought I didn’t like formal design. But my appreciation for the conventions of formal gardens has grown. When you use a lot of native plants, as I do, the garden can develop a jungly look without strong structure and symmetry. You want visitors to realize it’s a garden, right? Not a wild meadow. (Unless you want a meadow, of course. I loved the look of M.’s early meadow at Zanthan.)
Looking to the left, from upstairs, you see a casual path through that side of the garden as well as the effect of the drought on my fence-covering coral honeysuckle. A tough plant, but this was a tough summer, and it must have been just out of reach of my sprinkler. My agave bed is in the middle, mulched with decomposed granite, planted with other heat lovers: bulbine, Mexican oregano, narrowleaf zinnia, rock penstemon, skullcap.
From the birdbath toward the birdhouse, there’s a small kidneywood tree, irises, flameleaf acanthus, artemesia, two antique roses, society garlic, salvia, and hymenoxys.
Looking to the right side of the garden, you see the vitex tree first. It’s underplanted with M.’s oxblood lilies, now-dormant purple coneflowers, chile pequin, Gulf muhly grass (another casualty of the drought, perhaps), gaura, columbine, black-eyed Susans, pavonia, and white shrubby boneset. You can also see the stone edging for a mulched path that leads visitors—or the tired gardener—to a cedar bench (not visible here).
Back on ground level, here is the view from the front door, looking toward the street. I’ve enjoyed having this little courtyard more than most other features of my garden. Never underestimate the power of an open, paved area in the garden. I remember when I marked the dimensions of the stone circle, back when the yard was open lawn and dirt. It looked huge! Each side of the circular path is 4′ wide, with another 2′ in the middle for the glazed pot. I worried it would dominate the garden, but I’m happy to say it’s just right. When the kids were little, this was a perfect trike-riding spot—around and around the pot, and then out the fence gate to the front sidewalk, down the driveway, back up the sidewalk to the front porch, then back around the pot again. Now it’s a roomy and welcoming walk to the front door amid perennials, grasses, and agaves.
Oxblood lilies are a’blooming in the front garden . . .
. . . and the back. I do love red.
I love the stone courtyard, and that pot in the center is just perfect: a little formal, but the choice of plants makes all the difference. You’re so right about the formal design giving a backbone to casual plantings. From above, you almost want to see that salvia follow the curve of the courtyard for a bit longer, but that might be me channeling Piet Oudolf. Also, I love Salvia greggii.
I’ve also been using upstairs windows, and climbing out on the roof, too, to look at my garden as I develop it (we had a lot of construction last year so I’m starting from scratch). The view from above really does help with the structure.
Yes, I could see the salvia curving around a bit more too, but, you know, that would leave less room for other plants. Plant-a-holic speaking! —Pam
I wish I had the discipline to come up with a plan and actually stick to it. You’re right about the need for a more symetrical planting when using natives- I hadn’t really thought about it before. I’m still trying to figure out a way to arrange my garden so that it looks orderly, but I can have everything I want in it. Your front garden looks great.
I’ve still got the Oxblood Lily envy. My neighbor has some growing right on the other side of the fence. They taunt me. Oh, well.
I find plans very useful as a starting place. But after I get the basic form in, I want to wing it. Right now I’m revising half of my back yard, so I worked up another plan, but it’s just a guideline. Plants show you what they want, light conditions change, the gardener makes mistakes . . . so it’s good to be flexible. —Pam
I love the Bird’s eye view of the garden. It really lets you get a feel for how it all works. What is more impressive is the closeup “courtyard” shot that has the neighbors yards in the background. What a difference!
It seems Austin is having an Oxblood Lily festival. I see those and wonder how did three generations of avid North Florida gardeners miss out on this jewel of a southern bulb? I have no doubt that it would do just fine in Hawaii like all my Zephyr Lilies, Amaryllis and Crinums. Last thing I need right now is another plant though.
I thought too that the Oxblood Lilies have decided to bloom this past week in tribute to the passing of an incredible and inspiring women from Texas, Ann Richards. What a woman! She will be missed by many.
Thanks, Christopher. Yes, it does seem like oxblood lilies are occupying us Austin gardeners—thanks to M. at Zanthan. She’s been generously sharing her bulbs.
And yes, I too am feeling the loss of Ann Richards. What a great Texan! She will be missed. —Pam
When you took the photo through the screen, it makes the image appear to be on canvas – almost like a painting of your garden, Pam! The design does look more formal from that height, maybe because the shape of the courtyard is more evident? Or perhaps because when one is actually in that courtyard, the plant-lover overpowers the design-appreciator, and flitting from plant to plant is irresistable.
I know this bird’s eye look could be a valuable tool for me, too, but there is no upstairs to this house. I’ll bet I could talk my husband into climbing up on the roof to take some pictures, because he climbs like a mountain goat.
The Divas of the Dirt were talking about Ann Richards yesterday, relating their close encounters with her. Red oxblood lilies blooming for her, hmmm. It sounds so poetic, Christopher, but in my mind for some reason I always see Ann Richards in deep blue.
Annie
Glad to see the oxblood lilies up. We finally got some rain in south Austin last night (yay!) so I expect to see a bunch more up this week. As I mentioned to Annie, elsewhere, I’m thinking of making it my mission to reintroduce oxblood lilies to Austin. They’re all over our old neighborhoods but there’s a lot more Austin than there used to be.
As for Bill’s meme–I still can’t subscribe to your blog via Bloglines so I always read the actual page (I do anyway on my other rss feeds). However, since I can’t see when it’s been updated I don’t always remember to look. That’s why I’m always the last person to comment.
The one thing I find odd about the layout is how the photos load. They load last but the text keeps moving around as the photos pop up making it difficult to read until after the whole page is loaded. I don’t know if that’s because of the size of the photos or what. I don’t know if anyone else experiences it or if it’s just me. I do have a high-speed connection so I wouldn’t think that’s the problem. Once everything’s loaded it’s always a pleasure to read and feast my eyes on your great garden.
How big is your front garden?
A spider lily is coming up now too, thanks to the rains. We received about an inch early Monday morning. Yippee! I like your oxblood lily mission. I’ll help as mine get established and need dividing.
I didn’t know that my photos load so slowly. No one else has mentioned it. Anyone else having the same issue?
My front garden is 43′ long x 25′ deep. It’s small, but the good thing is that it’s hard to get over my head—there just isn’t enough room to plant more than I can take of. —Pam