Almost two weeks ago I participated in a tour that included 4
private gardens in Newport Beach. Three of these were very small. Their size reminded me of my former garden in another beach city but they were otherwise very unlike that space. I gave up that garden more than 7 years ago when we moved into our current home and I haven't looked back since but this tour had me drawing comparisons to my memories of that first garden, which subsequently had me pulling up old photos. Sadly, there are less than 100 of those even though I gardened there for nearly 20 years and, of those, most were of poor quality; however, they made it clear that my recollections were accurate: the space was all about plants and I filled nearly every inch available to me. Taking you down memory lane with me, I'm sharing a scattering of the best of that paltry collection of photos with you.
As background, our former home was a 2-story townhouse on a split lot. The area was (and still is) crammed with similar townhomes and condominiums. Because of building density my garden was shaded by houses on all sides. And it was tiny. I'd estimate that my total garden space, including a narrow strip that ran along the driveway, totaled about 700 square feet.
Some of my photos were taken in the spring of 2002 and some in the spring of 2010 so they don't all flow neatly one from another. For unknown reasons, other than that I was a complete workaholic and not much of a photographer, there were almost no photos between those two years.
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| After my husband pulled out the Bougainvillea that originally lined the narrow border along the driveway (because it scratched the old RX7 he'd painstakingly transformed from gas to electric power), I planted roses, bulbs, vines and shrubs there (2002 photo) |
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| The driveway border was all of one foot wide (2002 photo) |
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| The gate at the end of the driveway led into the east end of my garden (2002 photo) |
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| This 2010 photo shows the same area but, in the 6-year interim between the 2 photos, I'd changed out many of the plants and my husband had built me a new fence that allowed in more sun |
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| Closer view of the area immediately inside the gate (2010 photo) |
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| 2010 photo showing the very small concrete patio slab off the house and the area on the east side of the garden beyond |
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| I couldn't resist including this 2002 photo of a vignette on the northeast garden wall showing a tree peony bloom. As I recall, the plant produced 2 or 3 blooms during the 4+ years I had it. It was gone well before 2010. |
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| This was the view from the back door. The bench was the only seating my garden offered, other than 2 chairs given over to my cats on the west side of the house. The cat shown here was not mine, although she may have thought otherwise as she had free run of my garden. (2010 photo) |
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| This 2002 photo shows the west end of my alley-like garden. Most of the plants I used, which included Camellias, Fuchsias, Plectranthus and Pericallis (cineraria), preferred shade. |
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| Regrettably, most of my 2010 photos of that same area, like this one, were taken in glaring sunlight. But look how bountiful my Fuchsias were! |
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| The narrow west side strip of outdoor space along the house was occupied in part by what would now be called a "catio" (enclosed patio for cats), which contained 2 chairs for my boys, Max and Ming, and their litter box (2002 photo) |
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| Even the "catio" had plants. As I recall, the plant barely visible on the right was an espaliered Camellia. There's a dwarf Japanese maple and a Hydrangea in a raised planter on the other (discolored) wall. |
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| On the other side of the enclosure there was a potting bench and more plants (2002 photo) |
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| The same area as shown above but looking in the other direction (2002 photo) |
I crammed a lot of garden into some very small spaces! I couldn't have held a dinner party in that garden if I'd tried but at least the space had soul and it gave me joy every day of every year I lived there. I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy your own garden this weekend.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
