I just want to start off by thanking our blogger hostess for the last two days,
Lorene Edwards Forkner, as well as her two cohorts,
Debra Prinzing and
Marty Wingate. They are the local bloggers who have set up this entire four-day extravaganza, ferreting out the private gardens, setting up docent-led tours to botanical and display gardens, and harassing corporate sponsors to fund our bused outings.
Please click on their names above to reach each of their blogs.
The tour they have put together is a tour-de-force (defined on dictionary.com as
a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity).
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| Lorene and a friend |
Thank you Lorene, Debra and Marty!
Onward to the first of today's garden visits:
The first garden we toured this morning is the handiwork of Michelle and Christopher Epping. The absolutely amazing garden is built into a hillside, with huge stone steps leading up and down to various layered terraces, full of wonderful plant specimens and garden art.
Their two adorable dogs greeted us as we disembarked from our buses.
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| Can you believe these staircases? |
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| One of my favorite native trees - Garrya elliptica/Silk Tassel tree |
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| This cool stone wall had hens and chicks and other succulents tucked into niches. |
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| This Hellebore was growing out of the wall. |
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| Bird perched on a birdbath |
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| Mermaid statue |
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| Dwarf Hydrangea and matching glass baubles |
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| Driftwood and glass globe (possibly from an old lighting fixture?) |
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| These glass baubles were hanging from an arbor. |
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| And their colors matched the flowers rising up to the sky above. |
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| Rhodochiton hanging in a pot by the patio |
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| The intriguing shape of its unopened flowers gave rise to the Naughty Girls' Club. |
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| Flowering Hens and Chicks |
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| Artichokes? No, succulents in a container on the patio table |
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| Dreadlocked pillar |
Well, that's more than enough for one post. More tomorrow.
