![]() …and past a tiny patio that holds two wooden chairs adorned with tillandsia “bouquets.” There’s so much to look at here, and it’s all put together so beautifully. A gap in the “ripples” leaves room for one upright stand of horsetail to emerge from the pond, while goldfish swim beneath.Įmerging from under a stacked-paver retaining wall, a U-shaped scupper divides a clump of moisture-loving sedges to spill water into the pond.Ĭlimbing another short flight of steps, you find the stream zig-zagging in its course through dwarf mondo grass… … this pond, in fact, which is transformed into a sculptural piece of art thanks to a raccoon-foiling, ripple-like grate that rests over the water. A stream flows from the top of the slope through a series of pipes and channels, pooled here and there for your enjoyment, all the way along the stairs to a small pond near the bottom of the hill… Today you climb several short flights of steps broken by landings and intimate patios. The steeply sloping side garden contained only a “boring narrow walkway” in the late 1990s, when owner Ann Nichols brought in designer Bob Clark to help create a one-of-a-kind garden. ![]() Here’s Mary Ann Newcomer coming back for a second look.Ī bundle of tillandsias (I think), shaped like a hornets’ nest, is attached to the top of the fence - an unusual living finial. On the left, a tall fence of lashed tree branches - a la the Swiss Family Robinson - studded with more tillandsias and overhung with dangling, trumpet-shaped flowers, promises that this garden will be a treat to explore. Just before the gate, this ground-covering mix of plants invites close inspection.Īs does the gate itself - an industrial-style work of art.Ī cheery red abutilon is espaliered against the foundation of the house. Instead, let’s follow a stepping-stone side path to a vine-cloaked fence and bent-rebar gate bejeweled with tillandias. What is the blue plant? Aloe? Dyckia? Something else? Update: It’s Tillandsia albida, a terrestrial tillandsia that grows in the canyons of Hidalgo, Mexico.Īlong the street, I admired this variegated, trunking tropical - a type of ponytail palm maybe? A water-holding bromeliad picks up the yellow-green color.Ī majestic Canary date palm - all that remains of the original landscaping since the purchase of the house 30 years ago - shades the facade.Ī collection of tillandias colonizes its craggy trunk - so clever!Īscending to the front door, red-brick steps offer display space for a collection of potted plants.īut we’re not going through the house. Smooth-skinned Agave attenuata contrasts with an egglant-colored oxalis.Įverywhere I saw wonderful textural and color contrasts. Not an inch of bare soil is visible, and every plant looks healthy and happy, which indicates a high level of maintenance.Ī star-shaped bromeliad and frilly kalanchoe are color-matched. …and agaves and other succulents creating strong silhouettes, underplanted with mats of delicate groundcovers. The front garden appears quite tropical, with flowering bromeliads… I was thrilled, however, to see one growing so beautifully here. What a treasure! I covet this aloe, but this species grows best bathed in fog, in mild climates with cool summer nights - not even close to any description of an Austin summer. Lucky neighbors who get to enjoy this view every day!Īs soon as I stepped off the bus, I made a beeline for a large spiral aloe casually planted by the sidewalk. A subtropical front garden - a tapestry of bromeliads, aloes, and various other succulents - offers a showy welcome. Gorgeous plants, beautifully combined and meticulously maintained, adorn a series of intimate garden rooms on a hillside lot. ![]() Our 4th stop on the final day of the San Francisco Garden Bloggers Fling was my absolute favorite of the Fling: the Ann Nichols Garden.
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