From the street, you don't get much of a sense of what's in the back. The front was planted very traditionally, with a nice lawn and beautiful plantings. She used evergreens in the back, and perennials in the front.
I wanted you to see this path between the boxwoods and the front plantings. It was used as walkway from the driveway to the front door, and also for easy maintenance. Smart idea!
Using string lighting to train creeping fig (ficus pumila) near the front door was an idea I would love to use in my own garden.
This side yard was a jewel box. A small area, she had added some climbing vines to increase her gardening space. I loved her use of glass as a mulch. And the round glass ball gave us a hint of what was to come.
This bottle tree was the focal point of the back yard. (Do you see the rooster, too?)
The traditional blue bottles were used, yes, but in addition, she had different shapes, sizes, and colors of glass. I liked that. It was much more interesting to me than most bottle trees I've seen with bottles all the same size and color. I even saw a little green heart shaped bottle on one branch. I don't have a bottle tree, but if I ever decided to put one in my garden, I would use this idea of different sizes and colors of glass bottles.
She even used bottles on this old bakers rack used as a plant stand. I loved her use of sedums in the pots, and the sedum wreath.
She had also included glass to accessorize this wall art.
Bottles even hung from the trees. I liked these creative ways of using bottles.
I'm not sure what these flowers are made of, but the centers are mesh sponges! Very creative.
There was something in every nook and cranny, all meant to bring a smile to your face. See why I say this garden was filled with fun?
I hope you enjoyed a look at this Artistically Amusing garden. The other gardens I've shown from the Home Garden Tour given by the Smith County Master Gardeners are: Woodland Wonderland, Lakeside Living, and Vision of Versailles.
On our final garden of the tour, we'll see garden that's a Grassless Grandeur!
Holley, that is indeed a very interesting garden with great ideas to get inspired by. I loved the front yard planting which looks very elegant to me. Using string lights to train a climbing plant is such a smart idea and I think the effect at night when they are lit is very lovely. The backyard seems to be quite the opposite in terms of the design than the front yard and I can imagine that it was a lot of fun to discover all the (glassy) details. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteChristina
I did love the glass mulch, and the string light idea I'm definitely using!
DeleteWhat a difference in the front and back. The front is more formal but very pretty. I love the whimsy and the colorful glass all through the back garden. I just added some green glass bottles to my bouquet of cobalt bottle blooms and will be adding more. Want to make another bouquet too so need to get out the other 3' piece of terra cotta for the next vase.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for sharing more of this garden tour.
FlowerLady
I'm glad you're adding some green ones to your blue. I thought the different colored glass made it so much more interesting. I bet your bouquets are beautiful.
DeleteHolley, it's really very creative garden, because every thing has its second life!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love how you put that about everything having a second life! What a great way to think!
Deletelove the light/ivy idea. That bottle tree is quirky and cute..my hubs would never let me have one
ReplyDeleteI would be worried about a bottle tree out here - the wind blows so hard I'm afraid I would just have chards left!
DeleteI love design that makes me smile. All right, so I don't see the point in bottle trees - I prefer real trees - but that does not in any way diminish my pleasure in smiling at these photos.
ReplyDelete(And that path between the perennials and the evergreens? Perfection! Form and function united and made pretty. Firmitas, utilitas, venustas, as my old friend Vitruvius would have said! I wish I had seen that idea before establishing my Ambitious Border; I would have had a narrow path run down the back of it along the hedge!)
I did love that pathway. So many times we forget that we can make something useful more beautiful!
DeleteI like fun gardens and this one is pretty and fun; love the blue bottles.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing fun gardens, too. Especially when you come across something that's a complete surprise.
DeleteHi Holley, Your description of that house is correct: FUN.... That's not my style at all --and I find some of that creative stuff quite gaudy... BUT--I know that I'm just one person --and I also know that many people like bottle trees, etc... I just love beautiful flowers.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing... Sounds like a great tour.
Hugs,
Betsy
I like these garden tours because they showcase such different styles of gardens - some are what you love, some not so much.
DeleteThanks for the great tour! I love the X-mas-lights trellis! I've been thinking about how to include humor in a garden, and humorous art is certainly one way, but I keep wondering if I can use plants to do it. Are there funny plants? Maybe gigantic alliums (to me, they look like Dr. Seuss invented them).
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of humorous plants is a fabulous one! And yes, I think there are a lot of plants that bring a smile to our faces. And the way you plant them can be fun, too. Maybe look at some of the plantings at Diseneyworld for inspiration? I've been growing sunflowers - 20 ft tall ones - and I think they would be a great plant to use, too!
DeleteGarden tours are such a wealth of inspiration aren't they? I looked back through your posts and this looks to have been a great tour. I like the whimsical touches in this particular garden, especially the bottle tree. Any garden ornament that is personal and handmade has charm for me.
ReplyDeleteI love getting new ideas from these tours. It seems every garden has some idea in it I can steal!
DeleteHollyG - that was a fun garden tour! I love the individuality of this garden. It's a one of a kind. The pathway in the front is quite smart and something I'll be keeping in mind as I plan my new gardens this coming year! Cheers, Jenni
ReplyDeleteI thought that was a great idea, too. I may have to use it in one area of my own garden.
DeleteSweet! All the glass gives the garden a classy, artsy feel. And the plantings are expertly placed. Thanks for taking us along on the tour!
ReplyDeleteI liked the glass - I can imagine sometimes when the sun hits those bottles just right, it's magical.
DeleteI think what most fills me with awe about that front planting is that, from the front, it's a lovely "static" garden, and you'd never know about the path. But then you discover the path, and the garden is just as satisfying on either side as you walk through it. That's some thoughtful gardening!
ReplyDeleteI have always heard if you have plantings on one side of a walkway, be sure to include plantings on the other side, too. I don't have that in my own garden, but was wonderful walking through the middle!
DeleteQuite a whimsical garden. How much fun to get to tour it.
ReplyDeleteIt was so interesting. And I can imagine children would never want to leave!
DeleteI love the history of the bottle tree...... such an interesting concept, I'd like one in our garden.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of them until a few years ago, but it seems they are becoming quite popular.
DeleteWhat a fun and quirky garden Holley, full of personality! I've enjoyed reading and looking at your pics, bought a smile to me this morning :)
ReplyDeleteThis garden would certainly put a smile on anyone's face - I can't imagine anyone being sad while in it!
DeleteCan't help but smile in this garden.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Darla! I bet having coffee in the garden every morning would be a great way to start the day - with a smile!
DeleteI love going on your garden tours - you are a great guide! We are having a windy morning here today; maybe that is what made me think - what does the gardner do when a big storm blows in? Gather her bottles inside? Could only imagine them shattering in the garden - what a mess and how would she get the shards from the soil?! However, on a still day, what a charming sight and so very clever to adorn her garden like that!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about big storms. Her lot was surrounded by big trees, so I think she was fairly protected from winds, but you're right - what a mess that would be if they were to break.
DeleteBottle trees make me smile. They always remind me of the South. I don't see them anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize they were a southern thing! :)
DeleteI love the walkway - that is so pretty! It's so much fun to see a garden with so much personality. It's fun to find little treasures hidden throughout the garden. I like the bottles hanging on the tree - a different kind of windchime!
ReplyDeleteI do love to find little treasures. I need to put more surprises in my own garden!
DeleteI very much liked the use of glass, and agree, it was more creative too. I think like GirlSprout, bottle trees remind me of the south too.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of color in this garden and it looks like it all works really well. The sponge flowers are really different and fun.
I hadn't seen any sponge flowers like this before. I wondered if she crafted them herself. Now it makes me wonder where the line is for the cutoff of the bottle trees! :)
DeleteI love the fig climbing the lights! I may steal that idea!
ReplyDeleteI am going to, too! :)
DeleteI missed your blog as I have been sick and down with operation. Now, I am hopefully back. Hope you have been doing great and also your roses. I just read two of your garden tour. The Versailles one must have costed millions - wow! it indeed looked grand. And, this one seemed really fun with all those art decorations.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm sorry to hear you've been sick. I hope you recuperate quickly. I'm not sure about millions, but I agree that the garden that reminded me of Versailles cost one pretty penny! This one was a little more budget friendly. :)
DeleteAmazing garden! I like all the interesting aspects of this garden...the creativity...the unique touches. I love the glass sculptures and wall art. Thanks for sharing...
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed it! It was definitely fun seeing it!
DeleteI love adding quirky art but my climate means I have to take it all in for winter...so I will enjoy this garden.
ReplyDeleteWinter is something one needs to think about when putting art out in the garden. Thanks for the reminder!
DeleteGlad you mentioned the rooster, or I might have missed him, he's cute! I definitely seem to have missed the boat on using glass in the garden. I see a lot of bottle walls, and bottle trees, but I don't think I have a single piece of glass in our garden. I do have an old glass fishing float around here somewhere, maybe I should move it outside!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any glass in my garden, either. But I do think it would be pretty, especially as the sun hits it. I may have to think about adding a piece to my garden, too.
DeleteI love gardens that are a bit funky. Fun tour, indeed! :o)
ReplyDeleteFunky and fun seem to go hand in hand! :)
DeleteYou're certainly having a tour of very different gardens, Holley. Hope you're getting plenty of tea and cake on these visits? D
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that's an English tradition. No tea or cake here. :(
DeleteThat does look like a fun garden! I like the use of string lights.
ReplyDeleteI think at night it would be magical!
DeleteAw, I LOVE glass bottles, especially unique ones in different colors. This is inspiration to do more with bottles in my garden! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got some inspiration from it! I do think using unique bottles and different colored glass made it all the more interesting, and personal.
DeleteHow cute! I love how all the garden art actually works well together. It really is very cheerful :-) I have a neighbor that has a lot of garden art in the front and I am always admiring her creativity.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you neighbor puts her garden art in the front. I've noticed most people only put these things in the back, where hardly any one can see their garden personality style.
DeleteLoved this tour! The bottles in the garden are so quirky and fun and right up my alley. Will go well with my mug tree :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, a bottle tree with your mug tree would make quite a couple! How fun! :)
Delete