Thursday, June 16, 2016

West Seattle Hillside Garden

We weren't sure what we would find when our GPS landed us on a hillside with an NPA sign but no way to tell what house went with the property. The beginning of the garden looked inauspicious, but we were to find out later that it was a newly planted section and we were actually at the back of the property. We were to work our way down the through the double lots, across terraces and down steps, as the garden became more mature.


 We did notice the view from up at the top of the garden - looking down at the West Seattle golf course - 

 before we became caught up in the exuberant abundance of Laurel Harrington's garden. 






 We soon realized that we were witnessing carefully crafted, colorful chaos!  



 Clematis wove in and through and on roses and shrubs adding complementary and contrasting color. 
 A place to land, and enjoy a wonderful chocolate chip cookie. 










 The back deck of the house was serenely calm in contrast to the riot of color in the rest of the garden. 

 Laurel has spent 16 years terracing and leveling and planting her way up the hillside. 

 Here is the view from the street below the house, the actual entrance to the property. 
 And how it looks from the street view.
 As we left, going back up the hill, we thanked Laurel for the adventure that is her garden. 

12 comments:

  1. wow talk about blossoms and colors! I have one day lily blooming in my yard...lol!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'd love to cut a daily bouquet of flowers from that garden!

    ReplyDelete
  3. A lovely garden but one I have problems with since I can only stand so much chaos. I would need a little bit more control, perhaps not so overgrown looking. It probably takes more effort to design chaos but I prefer a little more order. Would feel like this garden was out to strangle me. Nevertheless it is lovely, but not as lovely as yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish I could be more "disorderly", but it is against my nature too. A great garden to visit but not one I want to live in. Thanks, BTW.

      Delete
  4. Wowza! There is one lady who isn't afraid to put some hours in her garden, wearing out the knees on her pants, getting her t-shirts all sweaty, and her hands all dirty... broken fingernails, even through her gloves. Lovely... just a wee bit too overgrown for me, but I do like the tumble of lilies and delphiniums tangled together with daisies and ferns. I don't mind reaching through columbine to get to the double plantings of clematis weaving through a trellis.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wowza! There is one lady who isn't afraid to put some hours in her garden, wearing out the knees on her pants, getting her t-shirts all sweaty, and her hands all dirty... broken fingernails, even through her gloves. Lovely... just a wee bit too overgrown for me, but I do like the tumble of lilies and delphiniums tangled together with daisies and ferns. I don't mind reaching through columbine to get to the double plantings of clematis weaving through a trellis.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely mishmash in that garden. I like your description.... carefully crafted colorful chaos! I've read that people tend to have the same "style" in their houses as well as their gardens but I like an orderly house but like my disorderly garden. Years ago my daughter gave me a book called The Chaotic Garden. Very appropriate.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Colored chaos yes, but they also used slopes very nicely. I like your comments along with the photos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's an enormous garden. I think of all the work she has done to create it and am really impressed. Thanks for sharing it with me. :-0

    ReplyDelete
  9. Laurel has put together some great color contrasts! The chaos of this garden speaks to me and the serene green parts are just as thrilling to my eye. I didn't get to the Seattle open gardens so am delighted to see them through your lens!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow! That is such a riot of colors and shapes and beauty. Thank you for bringing it for us to see.

    ReplyDelete

I would love to read your comments. Since I link most posts to Facebook, you may comment there if you do not have an account. I have eliminated Anonymous comments due to spammers.