Marin County Open Garden Stinson Beach

 I was happy to see Marin County Open Days venture out to the coast; I have had bad luck with the weather in past years (hot! ) even though Marin is typically moderated by San Francisco Bay. Three gardens were on the roster and I planned my route to take advantage of light Saturday morning traffic and avoidance of more congestion in the afternoon. My first stop was garden perched on the hillside overlooking Bolinas Bay and adjacent to Mt Tamalpias State Park.

 The garden is mature, having been created 20 years ago from undeveloped land reportedly choked with poison oak and other undesirables  surrounding an imposing rock outcropping .Elevation changes were numerous, but the gardener built a network of paths that allowed for relatively easy navigation of the property.

It was hard to resist multiple photos of this stand of Poppies near the entry. 

 Beyond the poppies and through the main entry gate into  the garden, this view reveals itself. It was clear at this point that this garden was not going to be a dud.

Down to the bottom step--I was getting that 'wow' feeling.  I love layered textural gardens . Here both the exotic and mundane were combined for a beautiful effect.

Turning  to the left..the wow meter went off again.

Compelled by this scene , I moved to the left and started up the path that took the visitor up into  the rock cliffs.

 The  view was dynamic, changing as you moved from one landing pad to another, and benches were placed frequently in strategic locations to take advantage of the seaview or just to be at rest within the garden.

Pulling in a bit closer on this scene.

As you move up the paths you see the plants viewed from below , along with the smaller plants that were not as visible, hugging the path. The entire hillside is densely planted and thriving in this frost free maritime location.

 Once you get higher up Bolinas Bay comes into view.

Back down the hillside, the plant diversity continues

 Our host spoke to us of his creation of the garden- I only heard part of his talk I was so intent on exploring the garden and taking photos it was hard to stop and focus on anything else. I did hear that he purchased many of his exotics at the venerable  Western Hills Nursery.

Coming off the hill, a path leads to the vegetable garden and beyond that a gate takes you outside the deer fence.

More Poppies among the veggies framed by kale and a fabulous Restio. Elegia capensis perhaps ? I was quite taken by this outside the box combination.

 Your view as you toil in the vegetable garden.

The gate beyond leads the way to the Koi pond. Our host explained that he had taken down the network of sea-bird excluding wires that cover the pond for the tour day.

The pond was a generous size (this photo only shows a portion) and the koi were numerous and quite happy to see the visitors.

Returning to the main garden .

This area is across the path from one of the homes' decks, all of which had splendid views, either out to the ocean or over the the garden.

Philadephus 'Belle Etoile' in full bloom

 I stayed in this garden a very long time indeed, but there were two more gardens to visit , so reluctantly I headed back to my car and north to Bolinas. These were final shots on the way out.