C'mon Lets Go Over to Pams' !! Garden Bloggers Fling 2018-Austin
There are a handful of private gardens that I visited often through the internet; gardens that seemed almost as familiar as my own. The opportunity to see some of these places 'in person' have been some of my favorite horticultural travel experiences, and Pam Pennicks' Austin Texas garden is among this select group. Pams' blog 'Digging' is one of the first I read regularly before I took the dive into garden blogging myself, and her admirably detailed posts invited us virtually into her property to hang out with her as she developed her Austin-style garden.
As with all the gardens on my internet orbit , the approach as the bus arrived was "oh yeah, this is Pams' house" and the move from virtual to live was pretty damn exciting. Pams' garden was our 1st stop on day 2 of Fling. The morning sun was expressive, filtering through the oaks creating pleasant shadows. It was easy to see how compelling this garden would be in the oppressive heat of a Texas summer. And we got breakfast Tacos. Who lives better than us ?
I wonder how many photos I've seen of this area of Pams garden. I had some fun looking through the archives on Digging to see if I could find a post about the development of this area. No luck so far but I have had fun looking through the archives-much more meaningful now that I have been to Pams garden and experienced Austin.
I loved the restrained but artful container groupings around the garden. My own garden tends to be somewhat hectic and here you can see all the benefits of simplicity.
This low ring around Agave ovatifolia frames it up beautifully.
Morning gardens are a wondrous thing.
Along the driveway , a Texas style border.
A front garden path embedded with the lone star . Yeee-hah ! Don't mess with Texas !
The garden art is placed with discernment; it compliments the surroundings without distracting from the design of the garden.
The back garden was smaller that I had perceived it through photos, though it is still a large garden by my standards. It has all the elements of a great space for entertaining-multiple seating groupings throughout, shade, attractive vignettes and a pool.
The current iteration of Pams bottle tree.
The lavish use of cobalt blue knits the elements of the garden together. And the decidedly awful summer climate cries out for some cool blues for a little psychological jolt of chill.
I did find a post concerning the building of this garden shed-it houses the pool pump equipment which had previously been only moderately camouflaged , and said camo was not in any way attractive. This stylish design is a focal point now instead of an eyesore.
I peered at the screech owl box , but I imagine the onslaught of bloggers prompted owls and owlets to maintain a low profile.
The yellow Hesperaloes were personal torture throughout my trip. I had been seeking one for at least a couple of years. I am glad to report that we Flingers were the happy recipients of a gift certificate from Fling sponsor the excellent High Country Gardens and I now own one .
Check it out. Pam has her own personal Tillandsia collection, Tillandsia usneoides. Aren't they cute? I picked one up from the ground at Zilker Park , brought it home in my suitcase and put it through a rigorous rinsing. It now lives happily on my kitchen windowsill .
Which brings me to one of my most surprising observations. Pams' was not the only neighborhood we visited where the native oaks were carefully preserved by the builders.My pre-conceived notions of Texas did not lead me to expect the sensitivity to the environment of the region. But what I saw over and over again was a respect for sense of place in a state that is proud of it's identity . I hope Pam will chime in on the comments to give us the variety of these beautiful oak trees.
Lets end with a few more images from around the garden.
One of the great benefits of being a part of the blogging community is the generosity of fellow bloggers who invite us to join them in their own gardens . Thanks again to Pam for her southern hospitality !
As with all the gardens on my internet orbit , the approach as the bus arrived was "oh yeah, this is Pams' house" and the move from virtual to live was pretty damn exciting. Pams' garden was our 1st stop on day 2 of Fling. The morning sun was expressive, filtering through the oaks creating pleasant shadows. It was easy to see how compelling this garden would be in the oppressive heat of a Texas summer. And we got breakfast Tacos. Who lives better than us ?
I wonder how many photos I've seen of this area of Pams garden. I had some fun looking through the archives on Digging to see if I could find a post about the development of this area. No luck so far but I have had fun looking through the archives-much more meaningful now that I have been to Pams garden and experienced Austin.
I loved the restrained but artful container groupings around the garden. My own garden tends to be somewhat hectic and here you can see all the benefits of simplicity.
This low ring around Agave ovatifolia frames it up beautifully.
Along the driveway , a Texas style border.
A front garden path embedded with the lone star . Yeee-hah ! Don't mess with Texas !
The garden art is placed with discernment; it compliments the surroundings without distracting from the design of the garden.
The back garden was smaller that I had perceived it through photos, though it is still a large garden by my standards. It has all the elements of a great space for entertaining-multiple seating groupings throughout, shade, attractive vignettes and a pool.
The current iteration of Pams bottle tree.
The lavish use of cobalt blue knits the elements of the garden together. And the decidedly awful summer climate cries out for some cool blues for a little psychological jolt of chill.
I did find a post concerning the building of this garden shed-it houses the pool pump equipment which had previously been only moderately camouflaged , and said camo was not in any way attractive. This stylish design is a focal point now instead of an eyesore.
I peered at the screech owl box , but I imagine the onslaught of bloggers prompted owls and owlets to maintain a low profile.
The yellow Hesperaloes were personal torture throughout my trip. I had been seeking one for at least a couple of years. I am glad to report that we Flingers were the happy recipients of a gift certificate from Fling sponsor the excellent High Country Gardens and I now own one .
Check it out. Pam has her own personal Tillandsia collection, Tillandsia usneoides. Aren't they cute? I picked one up from the ground at Zilker Park , brought it home in my suitcase and put it through a rigorous rinsing. It now lives happily on my kitchen windowsill .
Which brings me to one of my most surprising observations. Pams' was not the only neighborhood we visited where the native oaks were carefully preserved by the builders.My pre-conceived notions of Texas did not lead me to expect the sensitivity to the environment of the region. But what I saw over and over again was a respect for sense of place in a state that is proud of it's identity . I hope Pam will chime in on the comments to give us the variety of these beautiful oak trees.
Lets end with a few more images from around the garden.
One of the great benefits of being a part of the blogging community is the generosity of fellow bloggers who invite us to join them in their own gardens . Thanks again to Pam for her southern hospitality !
Your post brings back many fond memories. You captured the little details so well!
ReplyDeleteBTW, the ball moss we saw everywere in Austin is Tillandsia recurvata.
Ha ! I stole the Tillandsia ID from you, but I didn't read your post well enough to notice the distinction between the two. Maybe I had too much wine.
DeleteExcellent photos, Kathy! I think they're the best I've seen of Pam's garden. You selected angles that showed everything at its best. Whereas I fought the light and shadows, you used them to best advantage. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteI have to say the light that morning was fantastic for being there, but challenging for photos. I was glad I had some decent photos !
DeleteI loved so many plants here, the skullcap and that poliomintha in your last two photos. I wonder if those oaks are Q. fusiformis, the Texas Live Oak -- lot of oak species in TX! I asked Pam about the blue tripod and she gave me the builder's name, which I forgot. If Pam visits this post, please repeat the name...
ReplyDeleteLooks like you guessed right Denise-I came up with that on too when I googled Texas native oaks.
DeleteLike you, I virtually visit Pam's garden on a regular basis. What a treat for you to see it in person and a delight for us to see the garden through your lens.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a pleasant environment Peter , and so fun to be 'live' after all these years of photos !
DeleteA wonderful recap of Pam's garden...dreamy photos. I had to laugh at "And we got breakfast Tacos. Who lives better than us?"...Flinging is the life!
ReplyDeleteHope they're getting proper edibles lined up for Denver !
DeleteKathy, thank you for writing such a lovely post about my garden! And I am so glad to know I helped inspire you in any way to start your own blog. It was wonderful to have you and the other bloggers here in my garden. The native live oaks in my garden and throughout Austin are escarpment live oaks, Quercus fusiformis. And the post you were looking for about the development of that retaining wall along the driveway is here: https://www.penick.net/digging/?p=19629.
ReplyDeleteHappy to share the experience Pam ! Thank you for verifying the ID on the Oaks-it was so great to see the efforts to build around them. And thanks for the link; I went down plenty of rabbit holes when I was looking for that info-it was fun to go back in time.
DeleteReally beautiful photos. You caught details I missed. I thought the light was very good--especially after Downpour Friday!
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I'm so sorry about missing this year's fling was that I didn't get to see Pam's garden. Thanks for sharing your excellent photos!
ReplyDelete