Over the next few days, I will be posting photos from the 2011 Garden Conservancy's Open Days, Dallas Tour that happened this past Saturday, May the 21st. I was lucky enough to be able to view all five of the spectacular gardens. They ranged from elegant to funky. This first one definitely falls under the 'elegant' category. Here is how the Open Days brochure described this breath taking garden:
Carved into the north-facing incline in the historic Kessler Park area of Dallas, this 1920s terraced garden was clearly the original vision of a family who loved gardens and outdoor entertaining. In that spirit, it has been an eleven-year restorative, work-in-progress, hands-on, learn-as-you-go process for the current owners. The owners have worked to faithfully add elements such as walls, ponds and fountains that might have been evident eighty-five years earlier, and worked hard to restore stone terraces, staircases, and pathways that lead visitors to room after room of outdoor living. The plant palette is focused on materials that contribute to the design aesthetic, but is sensitive to the sometimes brutal summers of the north Texas locale. A literal mile of clipped hedges of Texas-tough dwarf yaupon provide the structure expected within a garden of this vernacular, and the plants within are allowed to “do their own thing.” Numerous variety of salvia, Texas Earth Kind® roses, cold-tolerant olives, and palms live in concert with the one non-Texas weather-friendly feature—the hydrangea. A small collection gathered from numerous trips to places where they thrive, the owners have tucked them into areas where the micro-climate helps them survive and planted them en masse. The early spring show can stop traffic and often does.
My WONDERFUL friends Casey and Trevor who took the tour with me.
Tomorrow I'll be posting photos from a small but wonderful garden owned by a horticulturist and garden contractor. Stay Tuned!
