Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Visiting Plano Prairie Garden (again)

After enjoying my first visit to Michael's Plano Prairie Garden last year, I recently took a side trip to enjoy another look at this inspired home front yard prairie garden.  When Michael posted about the changes he had recently completed I knew I'd want to spend more time so I headed over there on a Saturday morning for a "guided tour".  This spring has been cooler with more rain than last year so I found the prairie blooming away and looking stunning.

Those are native winecup flowers in the foreground.
 


The beautiful blue of the salvia, which I think is Henry Duelberg, contrasting with the yellow flowers and foliage plants is quite eye-catching.



 
Besides seeing Michael's garden again, I always seem to need a good landscape break during my visits to Plano.  I've been visiting Plano for more than 20 years and have always found the highly-planned nature of this Dallas suburb to be nice, but a bit uninteresting.   Strict building standards and HOA rules in most neighborhoods celebrate conformity and sameness while encouraging expanses of lawn and rows of clipped shrubbery.  You can get a glimpse of that contrast in the background of photos like the one below.
 

When I first discovered the Plano Prairie Garden blog, I think the biggest surprise was the Plano location.  During my visit one of Michael's neighbors stopped by and was surprised that the garden would draw a visitor from far away San Antonio.  This same neighbor often enjoys visiting the garden with his grandson yet still seemed skeptical about the concept of a lawnless garden in his neighborhood.  It's worth noting that if you plan to do this, especially in a town like Plano, it should be as well done and beautifully natural as this one.


I just missed the blooming Yucca pallida, but I like the way its spikiness stands out in this garden of feathery foliage.  The silvery foliage makes it a natural for my own garden.


There's the big yellow caterpillar Michael posted about recently.  It appears to be nesting in his salvia.  Can't miss it.

  



Michael showed off the changes he made this year on his blog, but it was fun to see them in person.  The round stock tank fits well in its new location to the left of the sidewalk.  Moving the tank required moving a lot of plants and dirt, but it now looks more settled in this part of the garden than it did when it was closer to the house.


The yellow hesperaloe blooming near the tank.



The birdbath fits nicely in the space between the front windows.  Those coneflowers add striking structure alongside the path across the front.

 
Decomposed granite pathways now provide a buffer with the neighbor's yards on each side.  Michael's use of metal landscape edging for the steps is very resourceful.  I liked this idea a lot.



Sedum growing in the rearranged rocks at the end of this walkway.


Yellow and blue combinations show each at its best like this blue Scutelaria wrightii in the parkway.

 


Around in the back yard Michael has reduced the flower plantings in favor of more negative space and veggie beds.

 
He added these cattail sculptures to the stock tank.


Copper pipe trellis with sculptural birdbath fountain


A new fence since last year.  Nicotiana on the right and asparagus in the veggie garden on the left.


 More of the backyard pathways

 
Bee brush blooming


Clematis blooming in the side yard.


More of that striking blue of the salvia, this time with a bee.  The only bees I see in Plano seem to be in the prairie garden.


 One last look and I'm so glad I went back this year.


Thank you Michael and nice work on the changes.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit again this year.

22 comments:

  1. This is a cool garden! Hooray for Michael being brave enough to create this vibrant pace in the desert of his neighborhood!

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    1. Oh so true Peter.

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    2. Again, It`s an inspiration to me ! I have so far to go !

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  2. Beautiful post, I love this garden and I always enjoy following its changes. The copper pipes are genius, love them.
    Watching a garden with the owner's eyes (like in Michael's blog) and with a visitor's eyes really changes the perspective.

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    1. I'm glad to hear I was able to give a bit of new perspective to such a well-documented garden.

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  3. Michael has made a lot of nice changes. I especially like the negative space and structure of his revised back garden -- and those rebar vine tepees. His decorative touches add just the right amount of garden interest to the native plantings as well.

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    1. It all looked so good, I'm so glad I found the opportunity to stop by. I especially plan to copy the rebar tepees someday.

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  4. That's an amazing front garden! Love all the blue salvia, and that copper pipe trellis is pretty cool too.

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    1. It's hard to describe just what it's like to actually be there and escape from the dull sameness that surrounds it.

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  5. Thank you for the nice tour, Shirley. And thank you for not showing too much of my mess in the backyard. It is still a construction zone back there but I should be finished in another weekend or two. If you stop by next year, I think (hope) I will be completely finished. Maybe I will get out to San Antonio someday because I would enjoy the opportunity to see your garden.

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    1. It was my pleasure Michael.

      Mess? I saw a small work area that we all need somewhere in the yard. You are welcome to visit and see a real mess in progress because we have building materials for the house staged in the yard.

      If you do visit, you'll go through Austin too and I'm sure Jenny and Pam would welcome you as well.

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    2. After your visit, I got to thinking that it would be fun to take a road trip south and visit some of the gardens and gardeners that I admire online. Yours, Jenny's and Pam's would definitely be at the top of my list. I have a few others in mind that I would like to see someday.

      Since a couple of people mentioned the copper trellis, the plans for the center one can be found here: http://www.lostarts.com/products/trellis.htm
      I made mine close to 10 years ago and used JB Weld to glue the pipes together. The two smaller trellis on the ends were my own improvised design.

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    3. Thanks for the details on the trellis. JB Weld is a good idea.

      A South/Central Texas garden tour would be fun. You'd like our botanical garden among other places and we have some good native plant resources.

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  6. Nice prairie in the burbs - always like his scenes, since it's an exuberant opposite of my own and style! Unfortunately, I know a few folks in DFW and if I happen to fly through again, I may have to take more time from my work, and make it a long layover to visit some gardens! Just what I need...

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    1. More things to do in your spare time, I know you'd like the Plano Prairie Garden.

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  7. What a magical looking garden - I only wish I could smell it and touch it. Michael has created paradise!

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    1. It is magical, trying to describe the feeling of standing there escapes me so I just show photos.

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  8. What a great visit to one of my favorite blogger's gardens! It's so interesting seeing it through your lens!

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    1. It was a fun visit and I'm glad I could add some context to the setting. We did have a few jokes about your recent "gardening Tetris" post when Michael described moving plants to make way for the tank and gravel pathways.

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  9. It must have caused quite a stir in the neighborhood when he first undertook this project. That it turned out so well might change some minds and influence future decisions (we can only hope). The prairie style is such a fitting setting for the style of the house.

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    1. According to the neighbor I met it was the talk of the neighborhood for quite some time. An article in the Dallas Morning News helped a lot but they apparently have no idea just how famous the garden is. I have noticed that children are especially fascinated with the garden, especially the bee and butterfly activity. Perhaps their early interest and exposure will lead to more natural gardens in the future.

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  10. I'm a big fan of Michael's garden blog and it's nice to see you do a post again. I don't believe I've ever seen his back yard. Easily one of my favorite gardens in Texas.
    P.S. Shirley, as you can tell, I'm out of school now!!! And catching up on your blog. :0) David

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