Wednesday, September 23, 2015

An Author's Garden

This morning Tom and I participated in a very special garden tour offered by the Northwest Perennial Alliance.  Only twenty of us were guided by landscape designer Alan Burke through the garden he created for Seattle author J.A.Jance. 

We met up in a park and ride lot and car pooled to the garden location. We followed the path past the caretaker's house and through a green wall. 

There we were met by the designer who explained a bit about the garden and answered questions.  This garden was completely redone for Judy Jance and her husband Bill Schilb beginning in 2010. Some parts were revised just last spring. 





We follower the driveway around the side of the house and through the gate.







And into the back garden. 


Steps rise to the pool and the house. 
And descend to the lawn and the pond with waterfalls. 
Jance and her husband both lost their former spouses to death, and in therapy for their grief, they found each other.  They selected a piece of literature, DC Lewis's poem Baucis and Philemon to be the theme of their garden.  Words from the poem appear in several locations in the garden. 
















Repeated plantings are used throughout the garden.







The outdoor kitchen must be a great place for summer entertaining. 

There are seating areas tucked here, there, and everywhere. 
Grandchildren have left their mark. 






I had time to sit in the garden and read the poem about an elderly couple who receive their wish not to be parted in death.  It was very poignant.





And when it was time to go, we disappeared through the hole in the wall. 

15 comments:

  1. Incredible! What an amazing garden. By the way, we returned home yesterday from your neck of the woods. Saw many lovely gardens including the Butchart Gardens, which we always enjoy so much.

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  2. Wow! I can't imagine living like that, what a beautiful place! All those beautiful plantings...right up your alley!

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  3. What a gorgeous spot. I wouldn't mind a garden like that...if I had a full time gardening crew in my employ. That excursion was definitely what we call a busman's holiday for you two.

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  4. What a beautiful place! Those blue spikes coming out of two puts remind me of Chihuly glass. The entire place is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing it. :-)

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  5. It would be a treat to go through this garden. I notice that the house has been carefully designed by architects. I hope they have a few gardeners to look after this garden.

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  6. What a beautiful garden. Something very dream-like about it. A very unique house, thank you for sharing your pictures.

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  7. Thanks for sharing your photos! I saw this on the NPA schedule and was tempted, but had other plans and couldn't fit it in. What a lovely garden! I've read a couple of her books.

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  8. What a delightful day you got to enjoy. Such a lovely garden with so many different styles. I was fascinated by those blue spikes also.
    Nice that it was a fairly limited group. That gave you time to linger.

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  9. Thank you for your thoughts and for visiting with me at the garden. It was wonderful to see you all. I would like to invite all your friends to see more pictures of this garden on our Classic Nursery Facebook 'project photos two' album and consider 'liking' our page...

    Best wishes to you and all the NPA members,

    Alan Burke
    Landscape architect
    classicnursery.com

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  10. Thank you for your thoughts and for visiting with me at the garden. It was wonderful to see you all. I would like to invite all your friends to see more pictures of this garden on our Classic Nursery Facebook 'project photos two' album and consider 'liking' our page...

    Best wishes to you and all the NPA members,

    Alan Burke
    Landscape architect
    classicnursery.com

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  11. What a wonderful garden. I can't imagine the upkeep and maintenance, though. Can you see yourself living there?

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  12. What an incredible space! Everything is immaculate but not sterile. There's a sense of tranquility, play and plant love here. The home and garden blend perfectly together like, one imagines, the couple who call this home. What a bittersweet story of how they found each other. How special that the twenty of you got to experience this beautiful place. Thank you for sharing it with us!

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  13. I agree with DJan. I was thinking Chihuly too. That is such an incredible garden and home. I can just imagine what it takes to upkeep it.

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  14. Stunning. I wanted to go back and read about this garden after you told us about it. I was touched to hear of the story about the author and how she met her husband. I also was touched by the way they incorporated literature into the garden. I can't imagine how much money must have gone into this garden, or what it must cost to maintain it, but I am happy this couple has this place of beauty and that they share it.

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