A Hot and Inspiring Summer Evening in the Garden
We were recently fortunate to get an exclusive tour of some remarkable gardens and hear from the gardeners at our in-person event: A Summer Evening in Three Seattle Gardens.
There is really nothing better than entertaining in the garden in the summertime. Granted, this was in the middle of a heatwave in Seattle, but as one of our guests mentioned, “I didn’t realize how hot it actually was until our time in the gardens was up! They offered not only great inspiration and eye candy, but shady retreats and light breezes. Such a lovely evening!” It truly was a lovely evening.
We visited the gardens of Gillian Mathews, former owner of Ravenna Gardens, Lisa Bauer of Chartreuse Landscape Design, and Sue Tong. Along for the tour, 25 women from our RevelEleven community, who had the opportunity to stroll through these three unique landscapes to garner ideas for their own home gardens.
There were so many takeaways – but one that stuck out for me was to get the hardscape in first. What is the design of the garden? How does it flow? In Gillian’s small urban garden, her landscaper - Richard Hartladge – used angles to make the garden appear larger. They included layers and “rooms” to create different feelings at every turn. It is amazing what can be done in a small space.
On to the home of Lisa Bauer. The front was a mix of an English style with a PNW flair and some unexpected elements. We entered the backyard by walking along a path to the gate. A view into the home’s window wells showed hands coming up from the basement. The hand sculptures were created by Lisa’s mom. Surprising to say the least! And while the front garden was uniform and tailored, the backyard was a tropical garden with palms, banana trees, lilies, and a fishpond. Lisa has mounted five fun and creative birdhouses high upon the fence – giving birds a beautiful place to call home.
The final stop of the evening, Sue Tong’s Mediterranean garden in the city. Sue’s beautiful oasis doesn’t use as much water as typical Seattle plantings. A trip to Italy inspired her design, and Sue used perennials mainly from that area – roses, lavender and grasses, as well as a water feature that nourishes the body, mind and soul. She calls it her healing garden.
Despite the heat, it was a delightful and inspiring evening. We can’t thank Gilian, Lisa and Sue enough for allowing us to wander through their gardens, taking in the beauty, and giving us endless ideas for our own home gardens.
We plan to do this again! Would you be interested? Take a look at the photos for some of your own inspiration. And, we encourage you to visit your local gardens stores and support your local businesses!