theodore payne garden tour

last weekend was the theodore payne foundation garden tour here in so cal. the theodore payne foundation is a garden and nursery that has a very special mission statement. "to promote and restore california landscapes, and habitats / propagate and make available California native plants and wildflowers / to educate and acquire knowledge about California flora and natural history". in short i love this place. when i plant natives it goes beyond just being a pleasurable gardening experience, i feel like a garden activist in my very own backyard. and seeing all the wildlife that comes with the flora is even better!

unfortunately i wasn't able to go to this year garden tour, so i decided to post my photos from last years tour as its one of my all time favorite events! you get to explore the outdoor spaces of peoples homes who's landscapes all use the same flora in different situations and they turn their gardens into such amazing environments. southern california is mostly made up of a chaparral landscape, which lends it self nicely to meadowy designs - my personal favorite! i love when gardens look lush and wild, with surprising moments under a tree - like a sweet groupoing of coral bells (huechera) or bright purple irises (my all time favorite flowers - i always imagined if i got married that i would hold a bunch of native california irises picked from my garden in a casual bouquet). a lot of the gardens also use boulders and rocks in clusters, adding contrast and perfect homes for dudleyas (native succulents). and the sheds, collections of things and sculptures at these spaces is equally cool to see.

alright, now get ready for a CRAZY amount of photos that i took. i have a problem with editing. and i didn't just document the plants. pets watching the passing groups of viewers were too cute not to capture.

garden stalking

sometimes you can't help but snap snap snap that camera away when you see something lovely. the rain can't even stop me! i just love me some gorgeous garden sightings! the tour guiding has ended but on our various adventures and in between (thank you mother who loves to cruise hollywood just to stare at plants!) i did get a chance to grab some sweet garden shots. the succulents are in full force this year with all that delicious rain we've had. and their is one super sexy drive way shot below - loaded up with bunched grass - yes please! more garden stalking images to come. these are mostly just some hollywood garden peeks. venice beach next!

the hollyhock house

sorry for lagging on posts. erick's family is in town from chicago and we have been tour guides. to begin our tour of currently very rainy LA, we cruised the east side of town and visited one of my very favorite spots in all of los angeles... barndall art park and the hollyhock house designed by frank lloyd wright. i grew up visiting this lovely hilly park admiring the views, the architecture and took many an art class at the studios on location too. many dear friends and myself included have shown at the municipal art gallery and adjoining theater. and now visiting as a self proclaimed plant hoe, the landscape is looking even better. i was so excited when i encountered my first sighting of a native california ceanothus! there was quite a of bit native flora and some sweet surprises in the mix too, like a giant plumeria tree (i own two that i brought back from hawaii and they are still just one branch up).
luckily the sun came out so that we could see la in all her glory! the sky was so loud and blue with giant voluptuous bright clouds. mother nature never fails to blow me away. if you haven't been to this spot yet, i highly recommend that you do. bring a picnic, a lover, or a good friend or family, your dog, a book, a camera and take it ALL in.

(more garden photos to come. i just took some shots of amazing gardens in the hollywood hills).