Another garden tour two-fer (Puget Sound Fling)

After visiting the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and the adjacent Pacific Bonsai Museum, the Flingers landed in Milton, Washington to tour two private gardens, also adjacent.  The first was the Andersen Garden, inspired by the time the owner spent working and traveling in Italy.  Many of her garden's most prominent features brought back memories of my own, all-too-short, visit to Italy almost three decades ago.

I loved this long colonnade topped off with Wisteria on one side of the house

This pathway along another side of the house was also framed by a colonnade of sorts

Classic Roman and Greek imagery was conjured using statuary.

While I can't claim this is my style, it definitely underscored the Italian theme

Some segments of the garden reflected more personal themes.

This Remembrance Garden was developed by the owner in honor of her mother.  I understand that the plants were selected based on their names, variety and color.

The owner also dedicated a section of the garden to pets loved and lost, which brought tears to my eyes.  I have the ashes of 4 cats I need to do something with.

Ample trees provided comfortable shade.

This patio had a bench that offered a place to sit and enjoy the garden

Water features added peaceful notes.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a pond with a birdbath/fountain in the middle but I liked it!

There was a stream too.  Every time I see water features like these I wonder about incursions on the part of raccoons but perhaps those critters are more courteous in the Pacific Northwest - or the owners have dogs to keep them at bay.

There were plenty of spots to sit and relax.

I can imagine plunking down to read here, something I rarely do in my own garden.  It was kind of the owner to offer bottled water to her visitors too.

I didn't ask if this was a fire pit or a spot to toast marshmallows or something else but it looked nice

There was a very large sports court/event space at this end of the garden

Although I'd have been seriously tempted to replace the sport court with plants, there were plenty of nice ones to admire.

Top row: vibrant Crocosmia, dark-leafed Hydrangea, and a Hydrangea grown as a standard Middle: gorgeous lime-leafed Cotinus (maybe 'Golden Spirit'?) with flower closeup Bottom: Potted Osteospermum, Pericallis, Fuchsia, Begonia and Calibrachoa

The front of the garden along the street side had a giant hedge of what I believe is Magnolia grandiflora

The next garden was just steps away.  The boundaries between these gardens were fuzzy in a few cases so it's entirely possible that photos from one garden slipped into my summary of the other but I hope I sorted most of these out.  The guide we received described the Risdahl-Pittman Garden as an "eclectic plant playground" and I loved it for just that quality; however, I was chagrined to find how few photos I collected during this visit.  I can only blame low blood sugar as our lunch stop was pending.

Like the Andersen Garden, the Risdahl-Pittman featured a good deal of lush lawn and shade provided by trees.

Mixed border containing what I think was Ceanothus and Hydrangea among other plants

More large Hydrangeas

Narrow paved pathways under the trees

And a lovely pond

There were art pieces here and there but they were more subtle and abstract than those in the prior garden.

The Seattle-Tacoma area is Chihuly country so decorative glass art was relatively common in the gardens we toured

As I indicated, plants were my central focus.

Getting an early start, Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone) looks beautiful in the shade.  The last of the plants I inherited with my garden is scorched almost beyond recognition.

This is the lily I went gaga over during this Fling (shown in the first photo with Persicaria 'Painter's Palette').  An Instagram commentator identified the lily as Lilium 'Zeba'.  I've already pre-ordered the bulbs, intended for delivery next February as I recall.

Clockwise from the upper left, my best guesses: climbing Hydrangea, Hypericum perfortum seedpods (aka St. John's wort), Astilbe with other flowers, cool moss on a rock (that'd never happen here), Inula magnifica or Telekia speciosa (none of the ID apps agree), and a groundcover Persicaria

Lunch at VanLierop Garden Market was next up.  That was the only lunch I ate rather than inhaled.  The food was great, as was the company, and I think I simply needed a break.  Unfortunately, that meant that I never took the opportunity to meander through the market area and I failed to take any photos.  To make up for my omission, you can find good coverage of the market from Pam at Digging and Loree at danger garden here and here.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party