I'm Getting Spring Fever---Virginia-Highland garden

Back in the last century when Steve and I started attending the Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour (yippee!! I finally learned to spell it without spell checker!!) this is one of the first-- if not THE first--garden we visited.

I was totally smitten--head over heels in love--and knocked for a loop.
Since then I've seen this garden published a number of times.  Truth be told I almost cyber stalk it.


source BHG.com

I can honestly say this garden is what got my attention and attracted me to living in town;
especially living in Virginia Highland and Morningside.

The houses were small enough to manage and there were such incredible gardens.
This is the home of David Ellis, owner of landscape design company, Ellis Designs.


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You just don't do this in the suburbs.  For one thing this is the sidewalk in front of the house and most neighborhoods in the 'burbs don't have sidewalks and for another thing, the neighbors might think you were loony if you landscaped like this.

source: me

Not saying you can't, just most folks just don't.


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This is the front yard garden.
You have to really study this picture to "see" it.

Nearly every inch of Ellis' property is planted with vignettes of succulents to trees to colorful perennials, like these roses and clematis. "I like it if a person comes here and spends time zeroing in on little sections," said Ellis, 46. "If they span for 30 seconds and walk out, they didn't get it." STORY: KATIE LESLIE PHOTOS: MIKKI K. HARRIS / AJC  source

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This is the driveway for crying out loud.

source: me



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I love this next picture.
The gates, the dog statue, the azalea blooming in the rustic pot, the tiny fern peeking out from under the stone step... umm, umm, umm

These temple doors, which Ellis found at Scott Antique Market in Atlanta, lead to an Asian-inspired shade garden. "The back garden is completely different from the front -- it's the ying and the yang with the house in between," he said. The canine yard ornament is an homage to his late dog, Amos. STORY: KATIE LESLIE PHOTOS: MIKKI K. HARRIS / AJC source

 (He's cute, too, don't you think?)

Ellis said his backyard garden was designed around this seating area. When he first moved into the house, he placed three lawn chairs in this spot because of the way the afternoon sun lit the area. "This became the center of everything I wanted to do," he explained. From there, he created privacy by planting trees and shrubs along the border of his property. Next, he planted trees and built pathways within the garden itself. STORY: KATIE LESLIE PHOTOS: MIKKI K. HARRIS / AJC source

 This view from the back porch into the shade garden is Ellis' favorite. "Part of a garden is walking into it and forgetting the space outside of it," he said. "My efforts were to make it otherworldly." STORY: KATIE LESLIE, PHOTOS: MIKKI K. HARRIS / AJC source

To read the whole article and see a few more pictures please visit the link below.

Gallery | Linger in this Virginia-Highland garden | ajchomefinder.com

I so hope this garden will be on tour again soon.

Later,
Patti

Terraces

My house sooooo needs a terrace.

Not a patio, but a raised terrace.

This one is very nice don't you think?

It's from a 1920s home on East Lake Drive in Decatur, Georgia.

image from the FMLS

There's a covered area- shown here and an open area that goes around the front of the house.

The decorating on this terrace is really pretty. I love the colorful pillows.  Notice the distressed sideboard on the left side of the picture.

Nice.

I'm looking for inspiration for floors and steps down from the terrace to the lawn.

The terrace below was on the garden tour last year. It was so good but tooo big.

These steps could work on my house---they're my not so secret inspiration. I like the planting beds on each side of the steps.  The stone is beautiful but might be a little too busy for my taste.  I can go with stone steps and a plainer deck.

The elevated terrace is surrounded by a low stone wall and sports a fantastic fireplace.  I'd love my terrace to look like this.

The terrace below was also on last years garden tour. It has a pergola!  with a swing!!

So shady and lush.  This is more of a patio in my opinion--we need an elevated terrace.

Another garden tour terrace- from 2008 I think.  Here we have a pea gravel terrace with a border to hold the gravel in place. An outdoor kitchen was a real bonus.

It's raised and has nice steps down from the terrace to a pool deck.  The "Garden Tourists" seemed to enjoy the terrace.

Hydrangeass planted in a row make a great hedge.

The seating area and outdoor fireplace were awesome. I sat there ad admired everything for the longest time.

The furniture was perfect.

An alternative to solid stone is scored concrete with stone accents.

Here's a nice example.  I really like this look better--not so busy.  Another graden tour stop.

The concrete isn't smooth--it has a rough finish that mimics stone but the color is calmer.

It could be that I don't like crab orchard stone--its too orange.

Here's one of the nicest terraces I've seen.  Check out the fireplace.  The spa and pool aren't too shabby.
images from the First Multi List

So classy.