Clara's Amazing Garden

Clara lives in Bluebird Canyon, a micro-climate, like Laguna's other canyons, where winter frost is fairly common. Clara's garden is at the very bottom of the canyon so she's able to grow a surprising variety of plants. 

Clare invited me over to see her new sun deck & Asian Lillys while they were still in bloom. To view the garden we started from her back deck at street level & descended the shaded walkway leading through tree ferns, tropicals, shade plants galore.

Besides flowers and plants to admire are some wonderful garden sculptures.



Three frogs trying not to get involved ...

A Gargoyle thinking....

 Under a redwood tree a birdhouse waiting for a family.

Just above the canyon floor facing the afternoon sun, is Clara's new deck. She works, works-out & gardens. At the end of the day she takes a glass of wine down there to admire the fruits of her labor. Before the deck was built Clara & Jake, her husband, had to remove a two story high Giant Bird of Paridise plant that had outgrown its position. While they were digging and hauling they realized this location was the sunniest place in the garden and would be perfect for a sundeck & some SUCCULENTS!

Newly planted succulents fill in the construction chinks.  A terra cotta god guards, while the ducks maintain their row.

Speaking of ducks....

Clara is a serious gardener. She recycles & composts. She grows flowers but also fruits, herbs & vegetables. She has a unique way of keeping snails & bugs under control. She keeps ducks. They're a bit hard on the lawn but are really efficient at finding protein snacks. They seem to like being in a row too.

Looking at the house from the sun deck you can see the duck house with its open door. Every evening the ducks must be put away or coyotes or racoons will kill them. A few have gone that way over the years.

The Asian Lillys were in bloom. Clara's house has cut flowers year round.

This is Babe, the black Lab, sniffing around the compost bins.

Hidden among the grasses,  the duck pond.

Just above the pond, along the lower fence line is another path leading to Clara's vegetable & flower terraces.

Behind the wire barrier, protection from the ducks, are squash plants. Leaves of rhubarb and cannas are a few of the vegetables & flowers growing side by side on the terraced slopes above the lawn. Just out of view are berry vines, herbs, you name it. I forgot to say that Clara is a fabulous cook. What she grows her family and friends get to enjoy. Her salsa is legendary.

Some giant Red Sunflowers towered over me as I navigated the soaker hoses on an upper terrace.

Just past the Sunflowers, Clara checking out a noise in the trees above her. On the right, what's left of a big crop of sweetpeas. Never mind, the Lillys are blooming. Daisys, dalias & many others will take their place soon enough.

Its hard to grasp with photos the size & scale of Clara's garden. It looks like Eden doesn't it? You can barely make out the chain fence under the pine trees at the top of the yard & on the other side a palapa belonging to Clara's neighbor. This garden is big. It has apple, nectarine, orange, apricot, peach & avocado trees & probably more I've forgotten to mention.

After making our way down the terrace steps out of the vegetable & flower garden I looked back & saw an orange tree beside an apple tree, both bearing fruit. Now how does she do that?

Just underneath the apple & orange trees are more Asian Lillys stealing the show.

Just before we left the lower garden Clara pointed out an area I'd missed. Behind a great mound of tall grasses was this delightful birdbath sitting in deep shade.

Below the house, in shade most of the day, but lit up late in a summer afternoon, we saw this combination of ginger, canas, tree ferns, camelia trees and flowering somethings that Clara said hadn't bloomed at all until this year. Some of the tree ferns are higher than a house. I was in overwhelm by this time.

On our way up the long path to the house Clara pointed out one of my favorite Kalanchoes (the green/beige sculptural thing) & a stone temple that had earlier been in shadow. 

A few steps  further on we spied this fabulous buddha peaking out from behind some folliage.

Somewhere along the path this bowl appeared.

Some pots set down & left have slowly been covered with ficus vines. Notice the duck just above the pots.

 Gargoyle better figure it out before the ficus takes over.

I missed this on the way down. Babe is one of a series of Labs who've lived here.

If you've ever tried to grow burro's tail succulents you'll appreciate this one. Must be 4 or 5 feet long.

On the upper deck is a south facing area where sun loving plants do well. Lots of cuttings and repotted plants start here.

What an amazing garden! On my way out I took this shot of one of Clara's newly planted Tuberous Begonias. It will do well, like all the other plants that are lucky enough to grow in Clara's garden.