Monday, March 28, 2011

Houston’s Open Days–McLaren Garden

IMG_2094_1On Saturday, I attended Houston’s Open Days garden tour held by the Garden Conservancy with Pat from Commonweeder and her family. The proceeds from this garden tour go to Peckerwood Gardens which is a place I definitely want to go visit sometime.

I went to six of the gardens on the tour, but the first one I visited was by far the best. It was the best because it was hosted by the homeowners, who are also the creators of the garden and it has a very naturalistic style. They were there to answer questions about their garden and also had a table showing a pictorial history of the garden.

 

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They grow many native plants and pass-along plants given to them by friends and family. Their garden is also whimsically decorated with bird houses, old garden tools, and all types of other items repurposed as garden art.

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IMG_2106They built the garden shed (below) as a gift to each other. And their potting area is one to be envied. It holds “the nursery”, spots for some experiments, and extra dirt and pots.
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They have four fig trees on the property. This one in particular caught my attention. It’s what you might call an informal espalier (or probably more technically correct, a fan espalier). Something to try with my little fig.

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For more pictures of the McLaren garden, check out the 2008 American Begonia Society garden tour.

I also want to give a big thanks to Pat, Henry, and Kate for touring with me and for the extremely enjoyable lunch. Until Seattle, Pat!

3 comments:

  1. Theron was in my MG class and I very much want to visit his and Olga's garden. I can tell from the pictures it's my kind of place!

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  2. Those are beautiful pictures you could take from this tour through the McLaren garden. I wish I could have gone. I can see why you enjoyed it so much - I for sure would have enjoyed it too.
    Thanks for sharing the great pictures and your report, Girl.
    Regards
    Paula Jo

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  3. This garden was definitely our favorite, but the other gardens are certainly fun to talk about. We loved being able to go through the gardens with you who could really fill us in on the plants of this region. Thank you!

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