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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sailing Away with the Bonney Lassie Part 1 of 6: The Garden of Jonathan Mose

My pal Alison of Bonney Lassie, Tom, and I hitched a ride on a Washington State ferry just like the ones on  "Grey's Anatomy" to Vashon Island to attend our first group of Northwest Perennial  Alliance Open Gardens.

This sign from the ferry is reassuring.  It seems that if you're falling apart, you can get yourself together here. 

Here we are arriving at Vashon Island.  I love the relaxed pace of the island  and the  friendly folks who live there. It's only a 10 minute ferry ride from Tacoma, where I live, 20 from Seattle but it feels like it's much farther away. 

The Garden of Jonathan Morse is located on the north shore of the island and is, I'm assuming, where Jonathan came up with the name of his business, North Shore Garden Design.  The first area we explored was this one with the beach view closest to the parking area.  As we came down the driveway, we saw fabulous sets of gates which we thought led to the gardens of neighbors.  We learned that these were all part of North Shore Gardens!

Pulmonaria foliage is one of my many favorites! 




I could live with a view like this! 

The staircase down from the deck was flanked with pot groupings.

Do you think that Jonathan likes Agaves?

 Maybe we should descend the staircase to think about it.


Looking a little dangerous, don't you think?
 
From the blurb in the tour book:
Tucked into a long, narrow ravine, surrounded by century-old Douglas firs and Western red cedars, North Shore Gardens is divided into several distinct garden spaces.  As you enter the property, a large gateway, built from log rounds, leads you into the Orchard Garden, where you will find a potager, perennial beds, a shade garden and a small grove of fruit trees.  Farther down, the land slopes toward the Puget Sound.  On the left is a terraced hillside garden with a small greenhouse and paths leading to the main house.  The entrance to the main house is formalized by a succulent/alpine garden and a massive arbor - complete with a living roof that "drips" succulents onto the ground below.  a narrow path meanders along the side of the main house out to the front and a spectacular view over the sound. 
 

Honeysuckle lines one of the paths.  Must be very fragrant at night and early morning.


Here's a view of the very ferry that we just arrived on making another crossing.  The spot on the water fairly close to the dry part of the shore just about in the middle of the picture is a Great Blue Heron doing a little fishing.  Unfortunately I didn't bring my big zoom lens with me.

Do deer, of which there is a large population on the island,  like hostas or is this slug damage? 

Loved this!
 More Fabulous pots!


The aforementioned succulent-dripping arbor.
 
 Part of the succulent tapestry that carpets the ground in the alpine/garden.

Looking  back at the main house.



 The shiny smooth trunks of Manzanita - Yum!

As you can imagine, this fuchsia was quite alive with humming bird wings.

Another of my plant favorites, Podophyllum delavayi.  Jonathan reports that he's found seedlings of these far from the parent plants coming up between rocks in full sun so something is transporting the seeds.
 
 
 Delightful grouping of Arisaemas.
 
 Inspired combination of Arisaemas and Brunnera 'Jack Frost'



 Amazing entrance to the Orchard Garden.

 
 
Purple and gold is a favorite combination and one area that kept drawing me was this one with Cerinthe purpurascens, Geranium 'Ann Folkard', and Red Orach, another edible relative of spinach.



 The Cerinthe was simply glowing in the bright overcast morning. 

Red Orach is a reseeding annual and I'm told that once you have it, you've got it for as long as you want it.  I found a plant of it at the Vashon Farmers Market later in the day.

What a wonderful property with  towering evergreens as backdrop and views of the bay!  It's an island, there's a lot of that kind of thing happening there!

Hooray, it's cardiocrinum season!

Looking toward the potager with the orchard just behind and a tiny view of the bay.

Another gorgeous gold and purple combination.

The potager.


 Tradescantia "Sweet Kate"  (guessing)

Hill from Jonathan's home to the main house with quintessential Pacific Northwest plants, Salal and sword ferns both evergreen.


In one part of the garden Giant Horsetail was allowed to grow.  I know it's considered a weed but I think it's gorgeous and it's a native to boot! 


 
 
And here's the gardener who does all of this himself although he gets some help from his parents who also live on the property. Jonathan has done all of this over the last 16 years.  (That must have made him about 10 years old when he started.) 
Alison and I decided that we would post in opposite order of each other so she'll be starting with the garden with which I'll be ending. Our posts will meet somewhere in the middle.  Be sure to check out her upcoming posts here!

22 comments:

  1. You two get into all sorts of garden adventures eh!

    What a delightful garden in a stunning location! The pot grouping photo alone has demonstrated the eye for design of the owner. Looking forward to the next tour already!

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    1. We only live about a 20 minute drive from each other so it's easy to get together for these adventures. I loved this garden!

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  2. The gates, plants, and that view! It's a beautifully designed garden so appropriate to its location.

    Hostas are a deer favorite right after roses.

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    1. It is beautifully done! The individual spaces are quite different from each other but they flow together beautifully. Although this garden is gargantuan compared to my postage sized urban garden, the spaces had a wonderful intimacy about them. The fun personality, plant knowledge and eye for design of the gardener, and of course the fabulous setting really made this a special place.

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  3. Wow...so many agaves and conifers both in the same garden! I noticed a lot of his containers come from IKEA, I like that it doesn't always have to be fancy expensive containers even in a high-end garden like this one.

    (also interesting to note that we three all posted from Vashon Island today!)

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    1. I liked this place and I liked that Jonathan does it all himself (with a little container watering help from his parents who also live on the property.)

      Woa man, like it's a cosmic confluence!

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  4. Is it weird that amongst all the perfection and the gorgeousness I took some comfort from the deer-ravaged hosta ? :-)

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    1. Not weird at all. No garden is perfect! (O.K. no garden that doesn't have a large staff.) I choose to only show the good stuff most of the time. The deer damage just made me smile because I was thinking about how nervous I would be if a group of gardeners were planning on visiting my garden and what I might be thinking if I woke up on the morning of the tour to find a beautiful plant half eaten.

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  5. What a great tour! Nan Ondra uses red orach a lot in her mixed beds--it's nice to hear that they self seed so buying some starts would be a good investment. I love that punch of color.

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    1. I was lucky enough to find one start later that very day. Such a beautiful color!

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  6. Oh no, that poor Hosta! I've been meaning to try Red Orach...love how it reseeds about.

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    1. Could you imagine waking up on the morning of a garden tour to find that kind of damage? Yikes!

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  7. He does all that himself? Well, clearly, he hasn't had time to age. Just keeping all those undulating edges perfectly trimmed looks like a full time job to me. He has my gratitude for providing a visual feast...as do you for serving it up.

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    1. Pretty amazing Isn't it? He was pulling weeds between questions and greeting visitors. Maybe he doesn't require sleep.

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  8. What a great garden in a beautiful setting. Never saw red orach, but I also am bowled over by it, and love the combination with the gold geranium leaves.

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    1. I'd heard about orach before but as an unusual vegetable not as an ornamental plant. This was the first time I'd seen it in person and it simply glowed! I'm looking forward to finding a place for it in my garden!

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  9. What a gorgeous place, and a beautiful garden. LOVE the arbor and entrances. The wheels in my mind are turning. Thanks for some inspiration this morning!

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    1. It was a treat to tour and now to share this wonderful garden! Glad that it inspired you!

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  10. WOW!!!! I am so impressed with those sedums and agaves! I think the manzanita takes it all for me though. Wow! the other day I tried to load your post and my internet was acting up so I missed it! I'm so happy I came to look back on it now!

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    1. I'm glad you got to see this post too because this is such an awesome garden!

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  11. Wow Peter, I love that you were over on Vashon and had a good time on our garden island. Jonathan is amazing and his garden exceptional. He used to work up at Island Lumber's garden center and I'd corner him to talk plants. A most kind and generous fellow. Nice pics and nice travelogue!

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    1. I'd love to live on your magical island but we both like our jobs and love only having a 15- 20 minute commute. While there were lots of stupendous gardens on the tour, Jonathan's was my personal favorite.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.