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WHAT ARE YOU doing June 1? I hope it includes visits to three magnificent and entirely different private gardens in Kentfield. I promise you will not be disappointed.
The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day offers an opportunity to visit gardens rarely available to the public. Hidden behind deer resistant gates, tucked into hillsides not readily visible from the street, these magnificent gardens filled with rare and unusual plants and cutting edge garden design are available to the public for one day only.
“By providing access to some of America’s finest private gardens — more than 300 in 19 states just last year — the Garden Conservancy underscores our mission of saving and preserving gardens for public enrichment'” says Tiburon’s Sandra Swanson, organizer of the Garden Conservancy Marin Open Day. “No other national institution has done more for America’s gardens.”
I recently had an opportunity to visit two of the gardens with designers Davis Dalbok and Tim O’Shea, who
have been involved in the evolution of these gardens for many years. They have worked closely with the homeowners to create welcoming outdoor rooms that reflect the individual owner’s lifestyles. Both designers will be on hand to answer your questions regarding plant selection, care and design process.
The gardens
“Cor-Ten Zen” at
211 South Ridgewood welcomes the visitor with stately bamboo “Robert Young” (planted in concealed barriers to discourage runners), sculpted mugho pines, and Liriope “silver dragon.” Water flows softly from a dramatic, naturally formed stone basin imported from Bali and disappears into a field of smooth river stones, bringing a quiet calm to the entry way.
A stunning steel moongate beckons you through to a natural stone path lined with native and varietal maples, assorted bamboos, and shiny leafed Camellia sasanqua (the Christmas or yuletide camellia) then leads you on to the back of the house where you gaze down upon a sun-filled pool area accentuated with vibrantly colored roses and a magnificent mountain view.
“Vista Garden” at 6 Live Oak Way invites you through a stylish metal gate to a level frontyard, anchored by four silvery olive trees, featuring sculpturelike Agave americana (Century Plant) resting on crisp green lawn. A meadow mix of grasses and sun-loving perennials adds color and texture to one corner of the front garden. A very private morning room, with a prehistoric equisetum hedge, provides a hidden retreat, filled with tranquil sounds emanating from a sheer water wall.
Wander down a path lined with clumping bamboo “Giant Timber” to the backyard, where a jaw-dropping view of Mount Tam invites you to sit a spell, surrounded by an abundance of mature succulents under specimen olive and palm trees.
A bamboo lined path leads to another outdoor room featuring a sunny pool deck backed by oaks, palms and maples. Ornamental containers filled with interesting and unique succulents surround the deck.
“Geraniaceae Garden and Nursery” at 122 Hillcrest may be familiar to some of you. Robin Parer has owned and operated it for the past 30 years, and she has collected and propagated more than 500 geranium species.
I first visited her one-acre demonstration garden during my Master Gardener training in 1997. At that time, I thought a geranium was just that pink thing on my grandmother’s porch. What an eye-opener I experienced! Practically in our own backyard is a vast collection of species plants, scented leaf pelargonium, angel and pansy face pelargonium and rare pelargonium species from southern Africa. Her garden will open your eyes to a vast variety of geraniums that you may never have known existed. As a bonus, they are reasonably easy to care for and will continue to be your garden friends for many years.
But this garden is not limited to the vast geranium collection. You’ll also find mature trees, clematis, roses, rare ferns, shrubs and perennials on this property Parer has designed and tended for more than 38 years.
Whether you are looking for inspiration for your own outdoor space, specific plant ideas for your garden or a place stroll and appreciate beautiful plants incorporated in expertly designed spaces, this day is for you.
The University of California Marin Master Gardeners are sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension. For questions about gardening, plant pests or diseases, call 473-4204 from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays, or bring in samples or pictures to 1682 Novato Blvd., Suite 150B, Novato.
IF YOU GO
What: The Garden Conservancy’s Marin Open Day
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 1
Where: Three gardens in Kentfield
Admission: $5 per garden
Information: www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays
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