Spring Fling: Touring the garden of James David
After lunch at Nuevo León, and after spending the early afternoon shopping at The Natural Gardener, the garden bloggers toured the garden of Austin landscape designer James David. His Rollingwood garden is two acres of pure gorgeous–my words simply won’t do it justice. My photos really don’t either; the alternating harsh afternoon sunlight, dappled sunlight, and shade were challenging conditions for an amateur photographer like me. But in the interest of documenting a visit to an amazing space, I’m sharing a few of my photos anyway:
Rectangular containers cascade down the steps outside the front door.
A staircase behind the house leads to a large goldfish pond. The stairs are divided in half by a small stream.
Goldfish pond
A pair of voodoo lilies grows at the intersection of two woodland paths. They smell like rotting carrion and even attract flies.
In the greenhouse David grows rare begonias, assorted succulents, orchids, and flowering bulbs.
Potted cacti line the outside walls of the greenhouse.
Terraced veggie garden
Formal lawn
Birdhouse with boxwoods and poppies
David and his partner Gary Peese have been building their garden for more than twenty-five years, they told us. When asked how much time they spend maintaining the garden, David shook his head and said, “This is all we do.”
What a privilege, to be full-time stewards of such a lush, vibrant space. Thank you for sharing it with us, James and Gary!
Posted in community
April 9th, 2008 at 8:41 am
“What a privilege, to be full-time stewards of such a lush, vibrant space.”
How true. And what a privilege for us to be given a private tour by the owners. My thanks to James and Gary!
Don’t forget that their garden will be on the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Austin Tour on October 4th. As they said, late summer/fall is their favorite season, so you’ll see their garden at its very best then.
Yes, we were very fortunate to receive a guided tour from the owners–I’m adding my thanks as well.
-Brianna
April 9th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I would like to see it in the evening, and, of course, in the fall which is also my favorite season. But I consider myself lucky to have seen it at all.
After reading other bloggers’ posts about the David-Peese garden, I see that there was a lot of the garden that I missed. It’s too much to take in in one visit! I’d love to see it in the fall, too, which is also my favorite season.
-Brianna
April 9th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I’ve found it interesting comparing all the different perspectives of the day–mostly different. The one thing in common is that photo of the lawn. I took it and I’ve seen it on almost every other post about this garden. Isn’t it odd after all the exotica, the element we’re all drawn to is the formal lawn?
That is a little strange. *scratches head* Maybe it’s just the familiarity of a lawn in an otherwise lush, complicated landscape? I wouldn’t say the lawn was the part of the garden I was most drawn to, though. The staircase that descends to the goldfish pond made a big impression on me.
-Brianna
April 9th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Oh! I LOVE that Voodoo lily! It is so weird and exotic. If I were a fly, that is the plant I would hang out in! Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos of the garden
The Voodoo lily was a lot of fun to see. It was truly putrid, though. As in, I thought I could still smell it on my clothes even after I had walked past it.
-Brianna
April 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I think the lawn was so photographed because it’s a no-brainer for composition. The more loose shapes in the garden require the photographer to choose between myriad options in framing & subject. With the focal point and the symmetry of the containers & plants, the choices for composition of the shot were very few. If you notice, we all had the pedestal & plant focal point as the focal point of the shot. You’re right about the difficulty in doing this garden justice in the harsh light of afternoon.
I think you might be right about the lawn being a comparatively easy subject. I just took a look at the lawn photo you posted–it’s almost exactly the same composition as mine.
-Brianna
April 10th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I thought your photos were great and you really got a great shot of that voodoo lily. And thanks for the peek inside the greenhouse - I didn’t venture inside there and now wish I had!
Glad you enjoyed my photos. Rachel of In Bloom took the best voodoo lily shot, I think.
There was a lot of the garden that I missed, too. Maybe we’ll get the opportunity to see it again sometime. Until then, I’m glad other bloggers got photos of the parts I didn’t see.
-Brianna
April 11th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I missed the Voodoo Lily as well as the greenhouse. You have a very good eye. Thanks for sharing your great photos, Brianna!
April 12th, 2008 at 9:54 am
I love seeing everyone’s photos from the Peese garden. I feel like I saw so little of it. Everyone captured different little cool spots. What an amazing place it is.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
Here I sit in front of a roaring fire looking out at the melting snow and drooling big time over these luscious photos. Am I envious? Oh, nooooo, let it snow; let it snow; let it snow, NOT!
Actually, the photos of this indescribably gorgeous garden give me a great ‘pick me up’ and hope that the sun will soon shine here on my mountain garden. Thanks to all the photogs. Jayne