June 27, 2008

Terrace Garden - Beautiful Garden on the Slope in June


Today I invite you for a long pottering around my friend's garden. We have already visited that garden on the slope in the winter, just looking at the pictures from the past. You may view them here. This is the best example how difficult garden on the slope can be a blessing. Why? It makes smashing effects, that are difficult to achieve on the flat ground in the garden.
Let's go... This is really interesting, that just 30 meters after you enter the front gate you see steps down taking you to the house. On the left we see something new: newly constructed winter garden. I can't imagine how beautiful it will be after finishing and ready to use. Knowing talents of Krystyna, if will be something very special.... By now, let me take your hand... and let's go to see that piece of heaven....

... slowly going the stairs down.... on the right you see how tall is the bank. There is mainly evergreens planted mixed with some perenials like hostas. It was not easy to encourage plants to grow there, cos every rain was trying to flush everything down..... Krystyna's patience made it repairing, planting back, talking to them and this is how it looks today.

... after going down the stairs and turning back, you see the bank in full charm.... have a closer look at the plant the right: this are 2 willows inoculated on one body. One is creeping and second is Hakuro nishiki - looks very interesting, right?
... here Juniperus of different species rulez! ....

... you see the willow-doubledecker :) and also on the top right corner the bluest of the bluest Picea (pungens 'Hoopsi')
... this is how the stairs look or rather how they are hiding in the green, when you look from further perspective. I am thinking how many years it took to get this effect? 7-8 as I remember.


... let me introduce you to one of the inhabitants of rather indoor space: this is 'Zielony' (means 'Green') Iguana iguana - as you can see fully enchanted by Krystyna. She spent a lot of time to tame that wild animal and she made it. You can touch it without being eaten alive!
... but 'Zielony' feels most comfortable with her - see how he keeps looking at me and controls what I am doing with that weird shining metal thing in my hands?




... we had of course, a great dinner together.
.... on the porch there is many, many charming pots... I will not show all of them, because then we would have no time to see the rest of the garden....

... so we start to see the second level of the garden from the porch... pond... next levels down and almost not visible lake in the background...
... left side of the pond is a good place for seasonal planting...

... pond is almost filled with plants, so it doesn't need additional filtering... plants do their job....
.... stairs is something you can't miss in this garden, cos they are everywhere.... light green color of the fern and orange blooming azalea look very cheering up together...
.... same stairs far view from longer distance... and we are already on the third level...
Rumex sanguineus var. sanguineus - very interesting perenial.

From the second level we see the stairs to the third level....

... wooden bench with Taxus baccata 'Repandens' on the right and Anemone hupehensis in the back - it will look even better when it starts to bloom in July ...


.... stairs to the fourth level - view from up....

... and view from down ....


.... and this time no stairs, just a path to the fifth level guarded by two willows Hakuro nishiki ...



... when you look back this is how fourth level looks like....


... fourth level - oh my! how she can walk up and down while gardening with all the tools... what if you forget something? I often do. Do you?
Yes... fourth level has one more bank down.... and there is currently built stone stairs...
... Stairs by Krystyna's husband Krzysztof - big bravissimo for YOU Krzysztof :)
... then if you want and still feel not too tired, we may go for a walk at the lake ...

... after that long walk, I guess we are all tired, but happy. To induce it even more, let's have some chocolate and get even more happy from that huge dose of magnesium... on the picture you see a chocolate fountain - if you want to spoil you guests, that's the fancy device, that makes everyone happy. You plug it, place chocolate in, warm it up.... and that's it. There is a lot of cheering up around, cos it is not easy to eat... so have fun!
Thank you for that long excursion....
Cheers,
Ewa

26 comments:

Frances, said...

Hi Ewa, I am trying to catch up and was so glad to see your friend's lovely garden, but first must say her pet made me YIP out loud! So huge! The evergreens are magnificent, so well placed and well grown as well. And four levels, is a lot, we only have three and I feel like a mountain goat, or make that a hill billy. ;-> The chocolate fountain looked yummy, I know you had a delicious meal and a zen like walk to the water. Perfection.

Frances at Faire Garden

Viooltje said...

Well, thank you for taking us along. I remember that garden from before, and even then it caught my eye (I loved the edge of her pond). Your friend must be one intriguing lady. And boy, do I love all those evergreens. She certainly has an XL-sized green thumb and a very good eye for all those charming details. You must have enjoyed your time there, who wouldn't, it's a proper gardening masterpiece on the slopes, overlooking the lake. Priceless!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Ewa your friend's garden is magical. All the layers of evergreens makes you feel like you are in a sky, with clouds that are green. Just wonderful. No wonder she is so thin. Working in this many tiered garden would keep you in good shape. I think my memory would improve if I worked this garden. I wouldn't want to foget my tools on a different level than I would be working. Ha..
That iguana is huge. I wonder if she puts him on a leash and takes him outside. I bet he would love to be on one of those big limbs basking in the sun.
Such a beautiful garden thanks for taking us along with you.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That's amazing. . . . I particularly liked the evergreen slopes. How beautiful. Ah - but the lake! Ach! gorgeous. You'd stay in good shape going up and down those stairs, no?

Anonymous said...

STUPENDOUS! Thank you, Ewa, for taking us on that fantastic journey--one I'm sure to take again and share with friends! I wonder how many years it took to put that all together? Kathryn xox

Kylee Baumle said...

Ewa, oh my goodness gracious! I can't even imagine living with all that beauty surrounding me! I'd be in it ALL the time! Everything is so gorgeous! And to think that it's a private garden. Please let Krystyna know that I love her garden and am totally blown away by its beauty. Thank you for taking us on this tour of it!

Minerva said...

Oh, yes, I love sloping gardens. I had one, once, at my vacation house in Sweden. The house was on top and the lot mostly a gentle slope to the south. Since it was a vacation home, on the lake, in the tho forest, I did not want to change it's wild character, did not want to change it to a villa-type garden, but I helped nature along planting some native species in chosen places, unobtrusively cementing a bottom of huge boulder in which a small birch was trying to grow, to help it along... and planting some wild strawberries, who took off like wildfire making it my "smultronstaelle" ( a place where wild strawberries /fres de bois, poziomki/ grow... or Swedish name for a tranquil, natural paradise.

Aiyana said...

What a gorgeous garden. That garden could be near Lake Washington in Seattle, Washington. The same cloudy day, lake, plants, landscaping--just like my friend's garden in Seattle. Your friend's garden appears larger, though, but the resemblance is startling.
Aiyana

Anonymous said...

How wonderful. The garden. The iguanna. Everything!

Garden Wise Guy said...

Delightful tour! I'm getting to see another part of the world, and doing it a little expense and without leaving a big carbon footprint.

Although I'm certain that actually walking through the spaces is a far more rewarding experience.

Thanks, Ewa, from your rock and roll landscape architect friend in Santa Barbara.

Ewa said...

Frances,
welcome back - how was your vacation?
My friend's garden - really long distances to walk :)

Violet,
XL-sized green thumb - LOL. Certainly she has :) Can you imagine she used to be once a fancy girl with no interest in gardening?

Lisa,
Yes, layers of green make really amazing effect - that first bank looks like green sky :)
Iguana sometimes is too scared to walk around while there is many people around.

Queenie,
and you easily get lost there, even if somebody from the porch would like to supervise everything :)

Kathryn,
Krystyna transformed from fancy girl to green thumb girl 10 years ago. Even that creeping willow at the pond was planted at that time as smal stick plant :) Hardscaping was also done 10 years ago.
I am lucky to watch this garden developing since then :)

Kylee,
Krystyna will be very happy to read your congratulations and all wonderful comments she got. :)

Minerva,
Sloping garden is really exciting. whenever I get back from Krystyna, I feel how boring my flat garden is....

Aiyana,
I am really really curious how your friend's garden loks like :)
This is so interesting...

Pam,
yes... yes... yes....

Billy,
You are so right about carbon footprint...
Garden blogging is amazing - gives us chance to be invited for tours in private garden, we otherwise would never see :)

THANK YOU ALL FOR TAKING YOUR TIME, COMING HERE, READING AND LEAVING A COMMENT. PLEASE COME AGAIN SOON :)

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

So green, lush and beautiful Eva

Piondröm said...

Hi Ewa!
Your friend have a wonderful garden, I am prefering your Aslan instead of your frends pet.
But we al have different taste.
Regards Ken

Claude said...

What a beautiful garden, and so much lush growth... There's almost no way I could achieve anything like that here in Texas, but, of course, it would be impossible for your friend to grow the cactus and succulents that we have here... everyplace has it's own beauty, doesn't it...

It sounds like you had a wonderful day, and it was very kind of you to share it with the bloggers. Thank you...

CIELO said...

Isn't that a lovely garden! Another Paradise.... It's such a coincidence that I'm featuring someones' else paradise... come see!

Have a great weekend!

Cielo

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Phew I'm very tired from walking up and down all those stairs. Please switch on the chocolate fountain for some chocolate fun for me too. ;-)

What a lovely garden Ewa, your friend Krystyna is a very talented gardener and a talented tamer of wild beasties too.

BTW my first real post on Scotland is up and yes, I'll let you know beforehand next time I go on a garden trip so that you can come too. :-D

Anonymous said...

Your friend has a magnificent garden! You took really nice pictures too. This was a really nice post.

The strawberry seeds are free! If you need more for any reason, don't hesitate to ask.

If you ever see anything else on my blog that you would like seeds for, please let me know and I'll send seeds for these too if I can. I don't always have extra seeds for everything, but it can't hurt to ask. I always think it's nicer to save and trade seeds than buy them from a store, and I don't mind paying for a few postage stamps for this.

Perhaps someday I'll see something in your garden that looks interesting too and ask you if you have a few extra seeds...

Good luck with the strawberries. I'm really enjoying the ones I have growing. If you grow them and like them, it's easy to save seeds and share them with others too.

Anonymous said...

Some great photos of a fascinating garden

stadtgarten said...

Hi Ewa, your friend has a lovely garden! Thanks for touring us around.

A garden on different levels is very interesting, but also very hard work for the gardener!

Have a nice week, Monika

garden girl said...

Ewa, what a breathtaking, inspiring garden! Thank you for the tour. Zielony is quite a handsome fellow!

Carol Soules said...

What a fabulous tour of your friend's garden! Amazing and very inspirational.
Carol
terranovadesign.blogspot.com

Gail said...

Ewa, this is a wonderfully beautiful garden...the greens are lush and the plantings are colorful! Thank you for the tour.

Wow to the iguana, too.

Gail
clay and limestone

Sunita Mohan said...

Ewa, what a beautiful garden and what a lovely blog!
When will I ever be able to tell my plants to sit! and stay! like your friend seems to be able to?
I'm afraid, in India where I'm from, plants, especially weeds, grow in leaps and giant bounds. So the lovely neat garden I visualise in my mind, soon takes on psychedelic qualities like something out of a nightmare. Everything grows only where it was not supposed to.
Do you have an obedience school that I can send my gardens to?

Diary From Africa said...

Ewa, thanks so much for the lovely tour of this magnificent garden, & for sharing the photo's with us ! (Sorry if this is repeated but somehow I think I lost my first comment !)

S Golis said...

Such a lovely garden. I thoroughly enjoyed the parade of pictures. I feel so relaxed from viewing the garden.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Having a garden like this would be a dream...
Did you design and plant it yourself or did you hire a landscaper? I'd love to hire someone to landscape my property, but I live on a few acres (which are very badly sloped), and I'm afraid I'd never be able to afford it :(

KEEP READING - MORE GREAT STUFF IN OLDER POSTS