Shall we..?
I'm realizing I feel more open to the formal garden now than I did two years ago. I'm trying to add some formal elements to my garden...more on that later. Here's an odd interruption of the formal structure... A fern invading the boxwood.
Shade gardens are generally amenable to the informal approach.
All of Filoli's gardens have strong transitions which I appreciate.
Loved the knot garden, but there's nowhere to get a good overview of it. Loved the idea of the box topiaries, but if they can't be perfectly erect, I kinda think they shouldn't be there at all, right?
What I really, really loved today (and I didn't get a good picture of it) was the Copper Beech hedge (Fagus sylvatica 'Atropurpurea') that you see coming in from the left along the top in this picture:
A cutting garden lies beyond the knot garden.
Clarkia amoena.
Moluccella laevis.
Everything in the cutting garden seemed to be growing up through a string grid designed to keep the flower stems erect. I'm not sure why some plants were grown under bird netting, like the larkspur and delphiniums.
The flowers from the cutting garden are used throughout the house in big, beautiful arrangements.
A quick whip around the mansion...
And then it's time to go.
5 comments:
Oh baby!
I've never seen Filoli in summer! Just bulb time and spring rose time (it's about 20 minutes north of me.) No excuse any more! That knot garden alone would be a pilgrimage. And LOL about the topiary fail! Such an odd note in a perfectly crafted garden. Better go soon...
I think I like the knot garden shots the best. It reminds me of colorful clouds.
I don't mind the slightly askew topiary in the knot garden. It adds a kind of jaunty note.
They let you take pictures inside the house? That is a criminal offense at the Biltmore.
Hi Chuck, oh thank you for returning to Filoli. Your last visit was a post I returned to again and again. This one will see the same. Be still my beating heart....
Frances
I haven't been back to Filoli since my internship there ended. That was in 1986-7.
uhhhg. guess I need to go visit it again.
I especially liked the photo of the weeping leptospermum trees.
They hold a significant meaning for me.
I was asked to sculpt them as an intern to give them a definite formalized shape.
After I accomplished this I was told that if I wanted a full time job at the estate that there would be no problem.
In regards to the knot garden, it has a controversial past. I was told the local blue haired old socialite ladies wanted a knot garden even though the experienced horticulturists said it was an unsound idea due to the lack of a viewing platform.
The blue hairs won out.
If you want a good view of the knot garden you have to stand on a bench.
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