August 30, 2024

If there was one backyard that actually spoke to my very own sensibilities on the Puget Sound Fling final month, it was the Backyard of Exuberant Refuge, the joyful creation of Daniel Sparler and Jeff Schouten in Seattle. Colourful, quirky, irreverent, playful, and rewarding to the observant customer, the backyard charmed me from begin to end.

The Sparler-Schouten backyard kicked off a bonus day of the Fling for a smaller group of about 50 who signed up for it early. Gillian Mathews, former proprietor of Ravenna Gardens (which I visited in the course of the 2011 Seattle Fling), put collectively the lineup of Seattle gardens in coordination with Fling organizers Camille and Paula, and it was as fabulous as the opposite days of the Fling.

I took a bazillion pictures of the Sparler-Schouten backyard, so I’m breaking my tour into two posts. For half 1, let’s begin with the pond backyard within the entrance yard.

This pond! I am keen on it. A hoop of lime inexperienced accommodates black water and glass floats. The arrowhead leaves of colocasia and sparkler-like papyrus rise from the water, together with mossy, dripping columns. A toy alligator basks on the pond’s rim as a result of…why not?

The paving goes all-in on the circle theme, every wheel accented with a purple “eye.” A painted bench and surrounding flowers add extra grapey purple.

I like a stock-tank pond, and I like a painted wall. So after all I’m loopy for this container pond inside a painted concrete wall.

“Each little bit of this backyard is do-it-yourself,” say Daniel and Jeff, together with many painted concrete pillars that elevate pots and backyard artwork. “Design purists beware!” they warn. “In case you see something remotely tasteful, we guarantee you it’s purely coincidental. Now in its thirty third outrageous 12 months, this can be a collector’s backyard through which the wild and wacky vegetation have taken over the asylum.”

Common readers know that I’m not a plant nerd. I like vegetation, however what attracts me to a backyard shouldn’t be a novel assortment of them however moderately the general feeling a backyard evokes, its creativity and spirit. And that’s what I am keen on about this backyard — its playful and inventive spirit.

Expressiveness is the factor that’ll seize you, each time. So gardeners, take a lesson from Daniel and Jeff, and don’t be afraid to DIY your backyard and indulge no matter loopy factor thrills you!

I like a superb pot-head hairdo.

The pond’s floor is a darkish mirror.

Ceramic totem topped with a strappy sphere and slag glass. And moss!

A rubber snake coils round a trellis. A vine has grabbed it with its personal snaky tendrils.

Bushes that died have been remodeled into show pillars…

…for rubber tree frogs.

A shaggy palm trunk wears a pair of juicy lips. One other face stares out from a bit of salvaged wire mesh.

Alongside a shady path, quick concrete pillars painted lavender, pink, and yellow make a dock-like edging. Every pillar is topped with impressed tiles or stones or rebar used to cradle a potted plant.

This being Seattle, moss has colonized them too.

A red-flowering bromeliad on show

Chunks of inexperienced slag glass make a protecting fairy circle round a superbly variegated plant.

Pillar decor

A pleasant gnome and Teletubbies perch on this one.

Glass starfish and beads adorn one other.

Rebar is used to whimsical impact, like this swirling loop…

…with slightly mandrill clinging to the tip.

An extended arbor gives protected passage via the jungle, its curved path attractive you on.

A gargoyle crouches atop a purple pillar.

Shorter pillars show glass and rocks.

These rubber snakes add to the jungle vibe.

The zigzag “roof” of the hallway provides a dynamic contact.

Items of bamboo wired to the trellis make impromptu vases for allium seedheads, which appear to sizzle like sparklers.

A do-it-yourself shrine gives a purpose to pause.

Monkeys dangling from a palm tree maintain issues playful.

Mossy Buddha on a concrete bench

Ceramic-and-glass totems brighten the shady backyard.

An elevated ceramic ball makes a shiny point of interest amid tropical-looking vegetation.

Tree fern foliage

Mauve lilies

Rawr!

Heading into the again backyard, the trail curves via blue pillars displaying fairly vegetation, towards an open-sided shade construction.

I like how the homeowners use painted pillars to raise up vegetation for appreciation, including peak, construction, and shade that may stay even in winter.

The shade construction gives an intimate patio area surrounded by the backyard.

It appears to be like out on a phenomenal blue eucalyptus tree.

Patio vignette

A lot good foliage on this backyard, with colourful pots and pillars for exhibiting it off.

Up subsequent: Half 2 of my go to to the playful Sparler-Schouten Backyard. For a glance again at Half 2 of my tour of Windcliff, together with the blufftop backyard, click on right here.

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Digging Deeper

Discover the world of succulents and cacti on the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society’s Fall Sale on 8/31 and 9/1, from 10 am to five pm. Held on the Austin Space Backyard Heart in Zilker Botanical Backyard, it features a plant present with specimen cacti and succulents, handcrafted pottery, day by day silent public sale and hourly plant raffles, and professional recommendation. Entry included with the price of admission at Zilker Botanical Backyard: Adults $6 to $8, Seniors $5 to $7, Youths $3 to $4, Youngsters underneath 2 free.

Come find out about gardening and design at Backyard Spark! I arrange in-person talks by inspiring designers, panorama architects, authors, and gardeners just a few occasions a 12 months in Austin. These are limited-attendance occasions that promote out rapidly, so be part of the Backyard Spark e-mail record to be notified prematurely; merely click on this hyperlink and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Keep tuned for more information!

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