I took my Mother on another garden tour this morning. This is the annual Water Wise Garden Tour sponsored by the water utilities company. Gardeners apply to have their gardens rated as drought tolerant as well as have a way to retain rain water. This is always my favorite garden tour. The tour has many gardens on it, but the temperature is getting high up in the 90's now, so I decided Mother and I would only go to 4 houses. This is the first one..not far from Mother's house. If you like cactus-this was the place to be!
The agave were unbelie-vable! We were so impressed with the front. But the back was even better!
This is the first thing I saw when I walked in the backyard. It is a bog full of lotus. If you know anything about ponding, you know lotus are not easy to grow. And these gardeners have a water garden FULL of them! Wow!
They had a very nice sitting area in the middle of the yard. Behind it was a vegetable garden and 2 bee hives. Loved this yard!
Up close to the house was another water feature. Really cute isn't it? And, in that ground cover are box turtle. They were shy, so I couldn't get a picture.
There were succulents in all kinds of containers. This one is on the back porch. This was a fantastic garden!
The next house was one we visit every year. They are past winners of the Water Wise Award. Their garden changes some every year. They replaced their lawn several years ago with buffalo grass. They have lots of salvias, lavender, black-foot daisies..oh I could go on and on.
But what was so beautiful today was all the blooms on their cactus.
The next house was the garden of the sweet little lady that gave me my ground ivy. She acted so happy to see us, and we talked as we walked through her pretty little shady garden..and I forgot to take any pictures except for this one. Her little lady scare crow still stands tall against the massive trees in her yard.
This last house was really something. It is in an old neighbor-hood, but the home
owners completely remodeled it. The lady is a Master Gardener and just finished the gardens. She uses so many rustic touches in this garden..which is exactly what I love.
They were so many nooks and crannies in this yard, and the homeowners used every opportunity to create a sitting area.
Their bottle tree was really cool..
..as was their patio.
This is a rudbeckia that I am seeing in so many gardens. I love the colors, but one gardener told me he could not get this one to survive in his yard. I bought something similar to this at Home Depot a few weeks ago. I will be anxious to see if it can survive our Texas heat.
They had a great collection of bird houses. I love whimsical touches like this in a garden!
This was the garden shed (I am soooo jealous!)
There were plants in ALL kinds of containers!
This was the last garden we went to, and I really would like to have sat a while and enjoyed the porch!It is so much fun to go on these garden tours. You get so many ideas and it's great to see what other gardeners enjoy in their yard. But it is hot, so this gardener is going inside to drink her lemonade today!
13 comments:
So glad you shared!! I enjoyed going on the tour with y'all *grin*
A lot of great ideas. And it must take a lot of (personal) energy to do this but I am sure there is a lot of satisfaction in a job well done!!!
That was an interesting tour! My my! So many lotuses! That's a real treat!!!!
I love the fountain and the floater plants! Ah! I still love those lotuses! Whoa!
That was a wonderful tour. I really enjoyed going along with you.
I enjoyed your virtual tour. Those gardens are full of great ideas, but I like the first one best too. What a great back yard!
JJ--glad to take you along! I love going on this tour. Most of the gardens are not formal and elaborate. They are something I can relate to.
MR--There were alot of ideas, and I agree...takes quite a bit of energy to create something like this. Ahhh..to be young again! :)
Chandramouli--I know!! The lotus were something!! I could not get over them either. I wish you could have seen them..oh my..simply gorgeous!!!
Lola--this is my favorite garden tour. I love all the gardens. I could have toured all day, but it was just too hot to keep my Mother out. Glad you enjoyed it!
Linda I loved the tour! Thanks for taking us along. You girls must of had a great time going thru these gardens.
I agree Pam! That was such a good backyard. I liked the last house too. The gardens were so rustic, and it looked like the inside would be too.
Susie, Mother does enjoy these tours, but the heat really gets to her, so I try not to keep her out too long. It is really hot!!
The good thing about blogging is we can enjoy tours without getting too hot. I agree those lotus are simply awesome. I've often wished I could grow them for the seedpods. They are way cool!
Tina, the lady of that house does weddings and uses the seed pods for her arrangements. That is the main reason there are so many lotus. I noticed more in water garden containers in other parts of the yard too. I bet her weddings are really pretty!
What a cool idea for a garden tour! In your area and mine-water wise is almost a necessity. I love all the clever uses of containers and that Buffalo grass. :)
I wish I lived closer. I would love to see these gardens. For several years I've been trying to switch my plants over to xeric. Thanks for posting the gardens, lots of cute ideas.
Marnie
Racquel, yes-Dallas is big on water wise gardening. I try and plant drought tolerant plants, but the sun gets so hot, it doesn't matter how wet the plants are--the heat kills them. So frustrating!
Marnie--the Dallas area does a good job on garden tours. Some are rather elaborate, but others-like this one--are wonderful! You can get so many ideas, and I love visiting with other gardeners.
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