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Monday, May 13, 2013

Gardens on Tour in Austin: Westridge Drive

This is the second in my five part series of posts on the Gardens on Tour for the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin this past Saturday.  I joined Austin bloggers Pam Penick of Digging, Catherine Jones of The Whimsical Gardener, and David Cristiani of The Desert Edge from Albuquerque for a fun-filled day of touring.  You can see the first garden on the tour, Kathy Cove, in my previous post.

The second garden we toured was Westridge Drive.
 


 Let's see what's behind these beautiful gates



 A striking modern home designed by Miro Rivera Architects.         


The wire awning is amazing

  
Succulent planters along the drive and front walk begin the garden tour


The yucca and manfreda are blooming and we just missed the cactus blooms.


Great details on the steps


The pool deck is a study in minimalism


The shadows from the awning create art on the wall of the garage building.



Nearby the buffalo grass lawn bursts with wildflowers like these Winecups and Gaillardia



Steel edging keeps it modern





After seeing the carefully designed details of the front, it was a fun surprise to find rusty motel chairs around the fire pit at the end of the buffalo grass lawn.  Environmental Survey Consulting designed and installed the landscape in this garden as well as the first garden on tour.


A mulched trail with cedar log steps leads down the hill of wild flowers and native trees


Looks like a small park
 
 
Wildflowers like gaillardia grow across the hillside


A veggie and flower garden at the bottom of the hill.  There is a back gate by the garden which seems like a good idea since it's a quarter-mile trip down the steep hill and back.  So the gate would be especially helpful for unloading materials such as compost and mulch.


The trailer is used as a shed near the garden


This beautiful water feature near the garden was designed like the natural springs of the Texas Hill Country and the designer was on hand to discuss the process of implementing his vision.


Of particular interest were the rings of water plants around the central pond creating a progression to the deeper pool.


 Back up the hill and more flowers over low rock walls


 One last look at the plantings outside the gate.



The tour will continue in my next post with a homeowner-designed garden on Placid Place.

28 comments:

  1. Wow this is quite the change up from yesterday's post. I'm enthralled with that wire awning even though I don't understand exactly what it does. Gonna need to look at this one a couple more times...

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    1. The variety of gardens on tour made it quite nice. The next post will be a big change.

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  2. I didn't make it down to the bottom of this garden, so seeing what was there is a treat. I like the water feature especially. But if it were my garden, I'd want it closer to the house to enjoy throughout the day.

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    1. I think so too and I'd also prefer the veggie garden closer to the house for convenience.

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  3. Wow. Thanks for the tour -- so many great ideas in this garden!

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    1. It is a beautiful place that we enjoyed touring.

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  4. I saw this garden on CTG a couple of weeks ago and wondered what that awning was made of. I would love to have that water feature. Thanks for the tour.

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    1. So beautifully thought out and designed to look completely natural.

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  5. Very nice. I love the pool, and the steel edging. And the way the ferns hang down under the rocks in the waterfall! The veggie garden is beautiful, but I personally would want the veggies a little closer to the house. Smart idea to use a trailer as a shed!

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    1. I know I just loved that little trailer. It's not an easy walk down and back so I wondered if I might just not go to the garden or stop by the bottom of the hill on the way home and drive the veggies up to the house.

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  6. It's always a treat when multi garden tours contain such a variety of garden styles!

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    1. The styles will change dramatically in the next two posts.

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  7. That awning is kind of scary. I saw the patterns it made in Cat's post, and thought it was smaller. That pond and waterfall with the ferns hanging below and sort of inside the fall is so pretty and natural-looking. Natural is so hard to achieve in a water feature. Once again, I love the rusty metal hardscape elements.

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    1. It looks scarier in photos than in person for some reason. The engineering is impressive. Cor-ten steel is very popular in Austin and looks good in so many gardens.

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  8. How lovely! The water fall is to die for. Always after viewing these tours I walk around in my own garden letting a few of the ideas take root and find a way to be incorporated into something similar, maybe something only very vaugely similar, being only a tiny reflection of bigger, better and more beautiful things somewhere in the world, but I enjoy them none the less.

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    1. It's always fun when friends find good ideas from these tours. There are more good ideas on the way from this tour.

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  9. I think you hit the jackpot by going the extra mile (almost literally) to the bottom of this garden.

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    1. It was totally different and just as beautiful.

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  10. Oh wow - this is just incredible. I love the mix of natural and modern! Yet nothing looks weedy! Do you have a close-up of the metal awning? Did it shade a lot? You know I need something over the beer garden! It is great in the evening fully in shade - but not at lunch that is for sure,eh?!

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    1. Pam has a closer photo on Digging that would give a better idea. It didn't seem to shade a lot, more of a light screening of the sun.

      That sounds like a big engineering project, but there might be ways to make it more manageable.

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  11. I was curious as to whether the landscape design was done by the owners, so thanks for including the design company. Wonderful details to absorb from this garden.

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    1. The owners were quite active in the design per an interview I saw with them but the layout required engineering so best to have a professional tackle it.

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  12. that is one massive house. I liked all the natives.

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    1. It sits nicely on the site which is better than most new houses.

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  13. I somehow missed the path and the water feature...glad you didn't, since that might be my favorite part! I understand and like how their minimalism will work on the deck, over time, as well as the need for it and the rebar overhead with the pool below it (pools = keep litter out).

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    1. The mountain biker/hiker among us bailed on the walk down the hill? That is a surprise. You took the full walk on the first house though.

      The minimalism is important and I think the curve of the awning picks up the roof curve as well as providing a cover for the pool. It doesn't provide much shade but works the scheme well.

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  14. I came to your blog to see more of the awning. I wasn't expecting it to sag. I love the Cor-ten steel.

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    1. Cor-ten steel is quite popular in this region, especially in Austin. This project put it to good use.

      The curve seems both an intentional design to balance the roof curve and necessary due to the weight.

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