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Could 23, 2024
Each time I go to Tanglewild Gardens, an Asian-influenced, daylily-hybridizing, future-wedding-venue backyard in North Austin, I’m impressed by the vitality and ambition of its homeowners. Skottie O’Mahony and Jeff Breitenstein, 13 years into the making of Tanglewild, proceed to increase on its backyard rooms and are within the course of of transforming a indifferent storage into an ADU with a tiki bar. Skottie calls the 1.7-acre property within the Wells Department neighborhood a “non-public (for now) north Austin botanical backyard & Nationwide Daylily Show Backyard.” It’s a botanical fantasia not like every other backyard I’ve seen in Central Texas, with tropicalesque palms, bananas, and cannas galore. Oh, and plenty and plenty of daylilies.
I used to be there every week and a half in the past, when the daylilies had been popping with the arrival of Could’s warmth. However let’s begin our tour within the moon backyard, a black-fenced courtyard stuffed with white- or pale-flowering vegetation for night enjoyment. Thai rice goddess figures and a carved wood doorway in a stucco wall provide the sense of getting into one other nation.
A tiered fountain on a gravel patio provides the music of trickling water.
Variegated bamboo stands out towards the dark-stained fence.
Framed view into the moon backyard
Skottie and Jeff had been hybridizing daylilies in Seattle earlier than they relocated to Austin, they usually introduced a bunch with them. They quickly discovered that lots of the greatest performers in Seattle’s gentle local weather couldn’t make it right here. However others develop properly in our hotter local weather. The couple constructed a number of raised beds to show their assortment, with every plant fastidiously labeled.
I didn’t write down any cultivar names, however right here’s a fairly sampling.
Fellow customer Lori Daul checking them out
A couple of crinums and cannas share area with the daylilies.
Griffin guardian of the daylilies
The property slopes steeply all the way down to Tar Department Creek. Skottie and Jeff took benefit of the grade change by operating an extended stair down the slope and up the opposite facet, creating a robust axis. A big patio with a stone fireplace pit is the point of interest of the sunken backyard.
Skottie and Jeff have organized branches within the fireplace pit, giving an impact of crackling flames even within the low season.
Let’s head down.
Pairs of Adirondacks flanked by silver-stump drink tables supply room for a crowd. You possibly can see the ADU below building within the background.
A sword in a tree — current when Skottie and Jeff purchased the property — has been dubbed Texcalibur by the couple. There’s a complete legend about that sword, which you’ll be able to examine in my authentic weblog put up about Tanglewild.
Tar Department Creek winds lazily by way of the backyard. It’s house to an enormous snapping turtle, which I’ve not but been lucky sufficient to see.
Jeff and Skottie love huge, daring foliage and have the water to help it, because of the creek and a properly.
Take a look at the vivid purple foliage on this Japanese maple, and it’s not even autumn.
Dwarf orange cannas march up the steps on the opposite facet of the creek.
Wanting again on the creek-crossing bridge and fire-pit patio
Smoldering cannas
An arbor with formal busts marks the doorway to the long run wedding-venue backyard.
A big, round garden makes a beautiful area to change vows.
White prickly poppy
Cannas
Arbor view
Bull thistle
A windmill provides slightly Texas aptitude to the backyard.
Mexican hats
This elephant sculpture (except they’ve acquired a second one) used to dwell within the moon backyard, however now he’s frolicking in a mattress of Mexican hats and cannas.
He appears joyful right here!
Extra daylilies
Past the marriage garden, a patio backs as much as a dramatic bamboo forest.
Now let’s return to the fire-pit patio and take a facet path to the remainder of the backyard. I particularly take pleasure in this view of the lushly planted creekside backyard.
Wanting again towards the fire-pit patio…
…and the creek because it widens round a bend.
An Asian sculpture greets you alongside the way in which.
Heading again up towards the home, the place a vitex exhibits off its fairly purple spires
Skottie and Jeff invited us to see the work-in-progress contained in the ADU and identified this view from one of many home windows. That’s the again of their foremost home and pool courtyard, with the moon backyard behind the white wall on the best.
And right here’s the reverse view from their again porch trying throughout the pool towards the ADU.
Courtyard wall with laser-cut Moroccan-style screens. What a retreat this place is!
Thanks, Jeff and Skottie, for sharing your lovely backyard with me once more!
My earlier posts about Tanglewild Gardens:
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Digging Deeper
June 1-2: Take a self-guided, 2-day tour of ponds and gardens in and round Austin on the annual Austin Pond and Backyard Tour, held 6/1 and 6/2, 9 am to five pm. Tickets are $20 to $25.
Come find out about gardening and design at Backyard Spark! I manage in-person talks by inspiring designers, panorama architects, authors, and gardeners a couple of instances a yr in Austin. These are limited-attendance occasions that promote out shortly, so be part of the Backyard Spark electronic mail record to be notified upfront; merely click on this hyperlink and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Keep tuned for more information!
All materials © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized replica prohibited.
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