Sunday, June 17, 2012

La Jolla Secret Garden Tour Is More Than Just Pretty Landscapes




The annual La Jolla Secret Garden Tour is a popular event. 



La Jolla is literally "the jewel" of Southern California with ocean front properties and pricey real estate.  The Secret Garden tour, hosted by the La Jolla Historical Society every May, usually guarantees a great tour of some beautiful private escapes--or should I say gardenscapes?  Because this tour is more than just pretty gardens, it's the whole package and it feels more like a big garden party.  The most recent one last month was no exception.


 I found myself drawn to the seating areas, the intimate nooks and crannies where a comfy chair or sofa was thoughtfully planted and made for a great escape from the daily stress. And there were so many to admire. The one above,


just a small corner on this grand terrace,
turned out to be my favorite spot of the day.
And it didn't even have an ocean view,

although there were ocean views at this home and others on the tour.


This French country house, with chaise lounges and a pool in the front yard


 was one of my favorite homes on the tour.
The pool is hidden from the street by hedges of clipped boxwood.


This relaxing spot is at the top of a back yard slope where the property owners


 take advantage of their ocean view.


Don't get me wrong, of course there were lots of lush garden beds
and landscapes to admire on the Secret Garden tour.
                                

There was even a bed planted lushly with herbs.
I guess that would be a bedscape.



Vertical gardening is always popular too.


This wallscape, also at the French country home,
has pyracantha espaliered on a diamond trellis.
It will look like jewelry in autumn when the plant blooms
with bright orange berries.


There were lots of tablescapes.
Designers were on hand to create them in almost
every garden on this tour. After all, this is La Jolla.


Musicians filled each garden with live music


while artists painted vignettes of the gardens on canvas.


This was definitely the jewel of garden tours in the San Diego area.


 But I am a sucker for tablescapes and I love creating them myself.
So even though I went on the tour to see beautiful foliage, blooms and landscapes,


 I feasted on the beautifully set tables.


Tables set for morning coffee on the patio,


and tables set for an elegant dinner in a formal dining room.


While tablescapes aren't always a part of a garden tour, set tables do seem to add the final touch to a well tended garden and they aren't completely unexpected on a tour.


One the other hand, these succulent chairscapes were definitely unexpected!
They took many of us by surprise.


Thoughtfully planted chairs, 
which brings us back to the beginning, sort of--although these are not for sitting on.


Gardens are a just a great escape, on so many levels.

This is GardenEnvy.






Copyright 2012 by jayro. All rights reserved.