Friday, May 31, 2013

White Rock East Garden Tour Dallas: Collins/Spalding Garden

During our recent weekend in Plano I headed down to the Dallas Arboretum area for the White Rock East Garden Tour where nine neighborhood gardens were featured.  The gardens on tour ranged from new homes with very standard landscaping to older homes with lots of character and personal backyard retreats.  I'll feature my favorites in individual posts and combine highlights from the rest.

The first garden is the Collins/Spalding garden in the Casa Linda neighborhood. This one could easily translate to my Central Texas region especially with this sign greeting us on the side of the backyard shed.  Luckenbach is close to San Antonio and a long way from Dallas.



An inviting and colorful shed porch

 
The very large yard featured drifts of perennials set in just enough lawn for traversing and viewing the various garden areas.  I liked the layout of this garden because the generous perennial beds flow out into the yard instead of hugging the fence line.


A rustic fence as a focal point adds structure to the bed and a background for the taller grasses in the middle.



Matching birdcages with colorful flowers in a nearby tree.


A Texas mosaic in one bed.  Yes, I know, but we're Texans and this is what we do.


A look back at the shed near the gate.




Pretty orange bench creates another seating area near the back of the garden.




Across the way a galvanized table and benches are placed near the silver agave and veggie garden.



And this bright casual seating area around a fire pit.  The tour also included displays by artists and artisans from the neighborhood and you can see paintings displayed in the background.


 
The seating area was centered on rays of concrete and surrounded with mulch.  Fun end table.


Another view of the seating and garden beyond.
 
 
A nearby fountain was set on a concrete base similar to the firepit area.




A mulched pathway led out through another perennial garden


A rose covered trellis in the corner near the exit pathway.



My next post will feature The Wright Garden. a modern house with front yard stock tanks full of vegetables.

21 comments:

  1. Casa Linda is a great, mid-century neighborhood. Love all those big, old trees.

    That shed is great. I do miss having one.

    Thanks for sharing your tour. Looking forward to the next garden.

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    1. I did like the neighborhood which seemed similar to mine. That was a nice shed and it was quite large like the rest of the yard.

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  2. Looks like the owner of this garden likes to have fun and entertain. Love all the seating and the colorful shed is fabulous! Those hanging birdcages are pretty cool! Looks like a great place to have a beer or margarita and enjoy the view.

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    1. This was a colorful and fun garden. Very inviting to just sit down and relax.

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  3. "A Texas mosaic in one bed. Yes, I know, but we're Texans and this is what we do." So true -- we do! I really like the way they've handled what looks like a large lot, with generous perennial beds and a cool fire pit area. And even the little touches, like the flowers in the bird cages, are nice.

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    1. It was an enormous yard but felt intimate with all the areas set out for activities. Colorful and tasteful, I liked their choices too.

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  4. You have really been hitting the garden tours lately. I think you may be ahead of Pam this year. There are some interesting gardens in Dallas around Casa Linda, Forest Hills and Little Forest Hills. LFH is often on the funky side. I kind of like the simplicity of that fountain.

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    1. I keep looking back at that fountain myself. It's relaxing. We'll visit all three of those neighborhoods on the tour. Next is LFH where I even take a side trip to photo some of the neighbor's gardens too! The funky part gets plenty of blog time here.

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  5. Yep, greaat fountain! Steal worthy.
    And I appreciate these posts about distant gardens.

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    1. I was surprised how familiar this garden seemed since Dallas style is very different from San Antonio.

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  6. I must get back down to Texas! I so enjoy the plants you can grow there and the whimsy of the Texas gardens you've highlighted. The fountains, sitting areas, and little magical touches are priceless.

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    1. It's fun to see new places and different gardens. C'mon down to Texas!

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  7. Nice tour, very cottagey, yet serene and shady. The contemporary table / chairs with the agave, framing the lush understory is one amazing contrast, and my favorite thing to see.

    Last trip out, I went to Luckenbach, and commented to you how native New Mexicans put the zia sign on everything, just like you all do your lone star or state outline. I was given a Texas stepping stone by the nicest lady master gardener in Odessa years ago...it's heavy, but it's going with me - wherever I go!

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    1. Good observation, plenty of negative space balances the garden areas. The table and chairs with agave work well and have just enough space as do the other areas of the garden.

      I remember discussing that with you and I also think I saw your post on that garden in Odessa.

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  8. I love the whimsy and that blue is stunning. Of course then there are the bird cages and all the wonderful benches and chairs to rest and relax...

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    1. It was a nice garden to visit with lots of good ideas to consider.

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  9. Lovely and fun! I like that. I enjoy having a fire pit. We don't have one at this house yet, but we will one day.

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    1. We haven't had a fire pit here either. There's been a burn ban in effect. If we get rain this fall, we would enjoy one too.

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  10. Most benches seem to be painted blue..the orange is a refreshing change. Love the stacked fountain...well, the whole thing, really. I do shudder at the work load when it comes time to cut everything back.

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    1. I thought of that too. Dallas is in Zone 7 and gets a lot colder than we do so there's a lot more work all at once.

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  11. Don't know how I missed this post. I loved this garden. That water feature is very clever. I've been thinking of using bird cages instead of hanging baskets on the hooks on my front porch, so I loved seeing the cages hanging in the tree.

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