Garden Photo of the Day

Tatyana’s garden in Washington State, revisited, Day 1

Froggy playing chess was everyone's favorite on the recent garden tour. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy

Back in January Tatyana Searcy shared several photos of her gazebo with us. It’s in her garden on the Kitsap Peninsula, and it makes her particularly happy in winter. Then in June she shared her gorgeous blue poppies with us. But today and tomorrow we get to see so much more! Yup, she’s been holding out on us.

Japanese holly hedge, grape gazebo, Mediterranean palm trees in pots. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy

Tatyana says, “Recently, my garden was on the Gig Harbor Garden Tour benefiting literacy programs for kids and adults. More than a thousand people visited during the tour. The garden is 9 years old. It’s eclectic with features of an English cottage garden, some formal elements and some oriental and northwestern features.

Two blue containers are planted with Japanese Yew and blue lobelia. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy

“The guests liked the lushness and variety of plants and their combinations, mixing perennials, shrubs, vegetables, and herbs. Many of them said that the garden has a peaceful, calm atmosphere and that it is understatedly elegant.

Working Bench in the shade garden. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy

“I do all the garden work beside the lawn care. I like to dig, rake, plant, divide, start new projects, and turn the lawn into plant beds. I learn through success and failure, garden books, blogs, and tours. I try to grow only plants that I love. I believe a garden reflects one’s individual taste and should be a space that works best for its owners.”

Fountain area with red Abyssinian banana (Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’) underplanted with white nicotiana in the container on the left and oriental lilies on the right. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy

Gorgeous, Tatyana! **Tatyana sent in so many great photos that we’ll revisit her tomorrow to finish out the week. Stay tuned! Meanwhile, visit her blog, MySecretGarden.

I’ll keep hounding you….This is prime time to take some photos in your garden. So get out there with your cameras and send some in! Email them to [email protected].

Cucumbers in plastic containers wrapped in burlap climb on bamboo trellis. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy
A hill with Rhododendron ‘Rex’, daphne, oakleaf hydrangea, hosta, ferns, Japanese anemone, and bleeding heart. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy
Clematis montana arch. Fir trees are underplanted with bishop’s weed (Aegopodium podagraria) and variegated lamium. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy
Garage wall with a narrow border and a path leading to a shade garden. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy
Penstemon ‘Husker Red’. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy
Sitting area within the cutting garden during the garden tour. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy
Succulent on a pedestal that has young Japanese maple ‘Autumn Moon’ as a background. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Tatyana Searcy

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Comments

  1. user-1020932 07/25/2013

    all beautiful and full as i would expect no less from someone who has BLUE poppies! and i gotta say , , , those are THE most elegant cucumbers i have ever seen anywhere. i have redneck cukes growing on discarded grills from old screen doors :(

  2. Deanneart 07/25/2013

    It's all lovely, beautifully maintained. The deck area is so elegant!

  3. flowerladydi 07/25/2013

    Absolutely beautiful Tatyana!.... and I agree with you,, by using only things you love,, and the finished product truly does reflect one's taste,,, so I can only assume that you have fabulous taste! -:),,,,sophisticated yet humorous - a great combination! I love the burlap wrapped pots,,, and the column!,,, in addition to everything else!! Great job!,,,

  4. User avater
    meander_michaele 07/25/2013

    I can easily imagine why "froggy playing chess' was a favorite...he's a real smile getter! And, for the life of me, I can't figure out what that heavy fabric looking item is in the background in the frog picture. Your garden does have a serene elegance that is very appealing. I know you worked like a dog (ha, a funny expression since most dogs nowadays live a pretty relaxed life) getting ready for the garden tour and your visitors definitely benefited from all the extra little touches...the burlap wrapped pots are a great idea for dressing something up to make it look special. Everything looks wonderful. Can't wait for more pix tomorrow.

  5. arthurb3 07/25/2013

    Beautiful!

  6. pattyspencer 07/25/2013

    Totally love your frog and a very unique way to display your cucumbers. All your pics are just beautiful. The pics on your blog are amazing!!!

  7. Quiltingmamma 07/25/2013

    Lovely and lush. Thanks. Love the burlap sack covering plastic pots. As mentioned, very elegant.

  8. CTpat 07/25/2013

    Lovely, and I envy your lawn--although not enough to do the work we'd need to to get ours looking like that. Froggy is great! Can you leave him out all winter or does he get too cold?

    meander1, I think the "fabric looking" thing is green lawn (on the left of Froggy?). As I said, mine doesn't look like that.

  9. tractor1 07/25/2013

    Tatanya is very meticulous and detail oriented gardener, everything in her garden is arranged and maintained with toolmaker's precision. I grow lots of cucumbers, mostly Kirbys, I love cucumber salads of all types, especially with tomatoes, and I prepare many gallons of fermented garlic dills. Great garden, Tatanya, thank you.

  10. Quiltingmamma 07/25/2013

    I had to come back and say how beautiful your photography is. Just was checking out your blog and it is lovely. Problem is you make the plants so tantalizing I want to know the names. The first shot from yesterday - that green and white hosta is dramatic.
    It is now bookmarked as a place to visit in our harsh Ottawa winters when I need a fix of green garden.
    Beautiful.

  11. GardenersWK 07/25/2013

    Love the froggy playing chess! I also notice the pot with the red Lucifer crocosmia! What a great idea! That plant is a magnet for hummingbirds in my garden.

  12. GrannyMay 07/25/2013

    Beautiful and appealing, obviously grown with love and attention to detail. Tatyana, thanks for giving us all more great ideas to try in our own spaces - like burlap to make plastic pots look special! Meander1 I think those are large dark leaves (canna?) behind froggy. Jeff, my really redneck cukes must grow up bits of old string, poor things!

  13. DCNative 07/25/2013

    I'm amazed at how pristine your garden is Tatyana. Great job.
    Also, the next to last photo is a perfect example of "borrowing" a landscape view from your neighbors.. and then using the bamboo trellises to frame that view. It looks like its right out of a landscape design "how to" book.
    Is that your neighbor's yard or just an extension of yours?
    Kevin

  14. sheila_schultz 07/25/2013

    Your love and passion for creating beauty is truly reflected in your gardens. You are quite the artist, Tatyana! I'm most eager for tomorrow's installment.

  15. nsands 07/25/2013

    Beautiful! I am trying to imagine 1000 people walking through my garden. Quite the fund raising success. How did the lawn look when you were done?

  16. tatyanas 07/25/2013

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind, encouraging comments! I'll try to answer some questions:
    -The plant in the Froggy picture is Red Banana(Abyssinian banana, Ensete ventricosum);
    - Froggy will be OK outside since we have mild winters;
    - The lawn looked not bad after the tour, although it still has a couple of brown patches where the guests entered the cutting garden (it'll be shown tomorrow);
    - The green space behind the bamboo stands is a golf course;
    - The white-edged hosta in the blog's last post could be Ice Follies, but I am not 100% sure.
    Some additional information about the tour and the plants can be found in my blog's three posts:
    Part 1: http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/2013/07/random-notes-from-my-recent-garden-tour.html
    Part 2: http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/2013/07/random-notes-from-my-recent-garden-tour_7.html
    Part 3: http://tanyasgarden.blogspot.com/2013/07/part-3-of-random-notes-from-my-recent.html
    I also recently posted my July garden pictures.
    Sorry, I didn't mean to advertise myself...
    Thanks again!

  17. cwheat000 07/25/2013

    It is amazing how many beautiful home gardens the GPOD finds. Tatyana, well done! You have so many beautiful specimens. Oddly, what catches my eye the most is that impeccably trimmed holly hedge. I just trimmed my own boxwood hedges 2 days ago, after not doing it for a year. I am really starting to appreciate more touches of formality in the garden. I love how it frames the more wild sections. Your blog spot was a joy, thank you so much.

  18. User avater
    meander_michaele 07/25/2013

    Ahh, ha, large Red Bananas leaves, thanks so much, Tatyana, for solving the mystery for me. Now I realize that the leaves are not really behind the grinning chess playing Mr. Frog but probably in front of him and to the side a bit.
    The various flower and plant close ups on your blog are stunning...just one gorgeous shot after another.

  19. dirtgirl1949 07/26/2013

    What an amazing garden! Froggie is just the epitome of a relaxed gardener, can see why everyone was taken with him. Absolutely beautiful. I do so love Open Gardens as I have learned so much through visiting other established gardens. Here in Oz the money raised goes to the gardeners favorite charity, such a great idea.
    Looking forward to tomorrow's photos......

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