A couple of weeks ago, after attending the Northwest Perennial Alliance class at the Bellevue Botanical Garden with my friend Annette and her former neighbor Pam, I was invited to visit Pam's garden, on the following Thursday. Pam lives in a nearby town called Auburn, in a housing development called Lakeland. When Nigel and I first moved here to Washington, we briefly considered Lakeland, but although the houses are very nice, the lots seemed too small for the garden I was envisioning. I was very curious to see what Pam had done with hers.
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| This lovely pot sits by the garage door. Pam is an aficionado of cram-scaping. In fact, a little secret -- she often doesn't even take the plants out of their nursery pots. |
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| Heuchera 'Sweet Tart' |
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| A very welcoming entry awaits visitors |
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| This colorful pot of succulents fills an empty spot in one of the front beds |
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| Another stunning cobalt blue pot crammed with plants |
I was curious about the variegated trailing plant with succulent-like leaves on the left side of the container, and Pam looked it up for me in her meticulous records (no plethora of forgotten tags sitting in many piles like in my garden).
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| Dorotheanthus bellidiformis 'Mezoo Trailing Red' |
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| The garden beds still have some lovely foliage combos too. |
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| The purple center veins on this Heliotrope's leaves are a perfect match to my favorite hardy Geranium 'Samobor.' |
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| Astilbe, ferns, a variegated Hosta, and the still pristine leaves of a Rodgersia (mine burned to a crisp long ago) |
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| More fabulous foliage -- Hakone grass, a frilly variegated Pelargonium, variegated Hosta and painted fern |
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| This cutie-pie frog sits in the midst of a miniature Saxifrage. |
Pam's garden has several stunning Hydrangeas with both new flowers and others that are aging beautifully as well.
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| Pelargonium 'Candy Flower Violet' |
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| Another intriguing pot, with a sweet Fuchsia 'Dying Embers' behind |
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| A closer look at 'Dying Embers' |
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| Bench and Aster 'Hella Lacey' perfectly matched. This is Pam's view through her large kitchen window. |
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| Behind this fence section was the most neatly organized pot ghetto ever. |
I've often heard the term "jewel box" used to describe a small but exquisite garden. It may be a cliche, but it's not one I use often, and it was the very first description that came to mind after my visit.
Thank you, Pam, for showing me your garden!
