Froggsong Gardens: Too much to see, too little time

I'm going to jump around a bit and cover the third stop on our Puget Sound Fling garden tour next, with promises that I'll loop back later.  Froggsong Gardens, a five-acre estate garden situated within a seventeen-acre property on Vashon Island, was our lunch stop before taking a ferry back to the mainland on Day One.  Both Fling buses, carrying a total of one hundred hungry participants, arrived at the same time, which made it a very busy place.

I took a few quick shots before locating my box lunch and settling down with everyone else to eat.

I'm assuming that the plant front and center with huge leaves facing the driveway is Gunnera, which isn't something you see in my part of the country.  Even the leaves of the Hosta next to it were huge by comparison to the punier specimens occasionally found in garden centers near me.

The Hydrangeas in the driveway were huge too

There was a large lawn area adjacent to the pavilion that held tables for the lunch crowd

A set of arched shrubs were designed as a passageway for a wedding party with plenty of space to conduct the ceremony just ahead

After a brief welcome by the garden's owner and inhaling my lunch, I headed off to the garden area adjacent to the house.

Deep borders encircled the house

Flowers in bright colors were literally everywhere

Flower fanatic that I am, I was hooked by all the color the area offered.

A compelling color mix

Closeups of Hydrangeas and a particularly vivid red-leaved shrub that my phone's app identified as either Disanthus cercidifolius or Cercis canadensis 'Rising Sun'

More deep borders edged the lawn area

A rill framed in concrete spilled water into a small bubbling pond

A larger pond filled with water plants was surrounded by a walkway not too far away

What I'm assuming is one of the famous wedding cake trees, Cornus controversa 'Variegata', dominated this section of the garden.  It's certainly perfect for a wedding venue.

Another border closer to the house

The pamphlet we'd received describing each of the gardens had specifically mentioned a Hydrangea Walk at Froggsong so I made an effort to locate it.  I can't be certain the area shown below is the official "Walk"  as I didn't have time to explore the entire five acres but I'm guessing this stretch deserved the title.

Closeups of selected Hydrangea shrubs

The Hydrangeas were impressive and, as many tour participants have commented, these shrubs quickly became the unofficial floral stars of the Fling.  However, the floral displays at Froggsong Gardens also underscored the prominence of lilies in summer's Puget Sound gardens.  As I've had somewhat more success growing lilies than I've had growing hydrangeas, I was perhaps even more entranced by the lilies.

Lily caught mingling with 'Limelight' Hydrangea

More tree-sized lilies

Just a few lily closeups

Of course, there were many more flowers mixed in with complementary foliage plants throughout the garden borders.  I didn't even try to capture all of them in photos; however, I did collect a handful of photos of flowers I've seldom seen in Southern California even though they're technically well-suited to my climate.

Tigridia pavonia, also known as Mexican shell flowers and tiger flowers, grow from bulbs.  The flowers last only one day but the bloom period reportedly lasts several weeks if the plants are well-watered during their growth and bloom periods.

Once again, I ran out of time to walk other parts of these gardens before it was time to climb back onto our buses.  There's never enough time to cover everything but I do regret my failure to take at least a few wider shots that might have provided a better overview of this charming garden.  Pam Penick offers a more extensive overview of Froggsong than I managed, which can be found on her blog, Digging, here.   

I noticed a display of nursery plants on my way out

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