MySecretGarden

U.S.A., Washington State. USDA zone 8b. Sunset climate zone 5

In the Smart Garden of Jennifer Carlson



If not for an NPA Open Garden event,  I'd never guess that behind this dense greenery there is something special.
Jennifer Carlson's corner garden seemed to me like an oasis of countryside life in the middle 
of the city and a classroom for demonstrating several practices of sustainable gardening.




Who can tell now that almost nothing from these luscious green fences existed when the property was bought fourteen years ago.


You can see a busy street in between the trees in the background


Step by step, Jennifer worked on the front yard and then on the side and back gardens.



Among the sustainable features, there are three sets of rain barrels and cisterns  catching water from the roof - at the front, side and back of the house.



Interesting decorative elements can be found in different parts of the garden:



I love the gate and the rustic 'plant stands':






Several doves, that create so-called soft noise which helps to reduce the noise from the traffic nearby:


Jennifer's compost fence with the arbor above is amazing:



Hard materials are composted here, and the nutrients from the compost feed grapes and other plants growing along the sides of the fence.
I like how composted materials are artfully layered:



This is another side of the compost fence:



Kitchen garden includes not only veggies and herbs, but also beneficial annuals such as calendula and marigold, with fruit trees, colorful containers and blooming perennials nearby.




All the visitors got interested in the passive compost tea that Jennifer prepares in a container from  beekeepers' supply:




Surface here is covered with a thick layer of mulch.

Poppies were unbelievably beautiful, and bees love them!




All these plants benefit from the compost tea. Healthy, bright and cheerful!





Farm animals were another attraction . Angora rabbits and chickens' manure are mixed with garden's clippings to make a good compost.




Don't miss the green sedum roof on the bunny's hutch!






You can read about these and other smart features of Jennifer Carlson's garden here:
Haven Illustrated Home Page
The Sustainable Garden by Valerie Easton
Sustainable in Seattle by Valerie Easton
*
Thank you Jennifer for opening your garden for the NPA members!

***Copyright 2016 TatyanaS

5 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 26, 2016

    I was fortunate to see her place at a previous NPA tour and was truly inspired. The doves sounded so very peaceful and soothing. I made the comment that I wouldn't be able to have something like that because of coyotes...and the fact that I don't have a fence around my house. I was surprised to hear that they have coyotes in the city, too. I would like to make a compost hedge, too!!! She did warn not to put it too close to the house, though, in case of a fire. The birds use bits to build their nests. Thanks so much for sharing, Tatyana! Karen Mashburn

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice garden. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. An interesting garden, that compostfence is great and also the natural plantstands are good ideas. I love this kind of garden because it is not only beautiful for the eyes, but there is also something going on.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We visited this interesting garden on a previous NPA tour. We were especially taken by her use of shrubs around the property perimeter.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Tatyana, that certainly is a lovely and interesting garden to visit! Everything looks so lush, cheerful and healthy. Is that the magic of the compost tea? Thanks for sharing!
    Warm regards,
    Christina

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by and for your comment! I appreciate your time! See you soon on your blog!

Blog Archive

Search This Blog

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

I'M GLAD TO SEE YOU!

Labels

Abyssinian Banana (4) Actaea s. (1) Agapanthus (1) Agressive plants (1) Alaska (8) Amaryllis (5) Aquilegia (1) Aralia (4) Arizona (1) Arundel Castle Gardens (1) Autumn (47) Bainbridge Island Gardens (8) Before and After (8) Berry (4) Bird Houses (1) Bloedel Reserve (1) Blotanical (3) Blue Poppy (2) Book review (1) Botanical Gardens (3) Bouquets (9) Butchart Gardens (9) California (3) Calla (1) Canada (2) Chanticleer Garden (1) Clematis (4) Coleus (1) Colonial Gardens (7) Conifers (3) Containers (22) Corydalis (1) Dahlia (5) Dan Klennert (1) Desert Landscape (1) DIG (1) Dogs (14) Dry creek bed (1) Duris Cucumber Farm (1) Elandan Gardens (2) End of Month View (12) England (16) English Gardens (2) Euphorbia (1) Eze France Exotic garden (2) Fall garden (19) Far Reaches Farm (1) Favorite plants (52) Favorite plants. Tree Philodendron (1) Fences (2) Foliage (7) Formal gardens (1) Foxglove (14) France (4) Frankfurt Botanical Garden (1) Front Garden (5) Fuchsia (8) Garden decor (3) garden design (1) Garden elements (48) garden rooms (1) garden structure (1) Garden Tour (1) Garden works (15) Gardening Tips (4) Gardens of nature (11) Gardens to see (113) Gardens to see (tours) (25) Geraniums (2) Germany (5) GH Garden Tour (7) Giveaway (4) Giverny (2) Gossler Farms Nursery (1) Grasses (8) Great Dixter (3) Greenhouse (2) gunnera (4) Hampton Court (1) Hawaii Garden (1) Hellebores (8) Herbs and Vegetables (22) Heronswood (7) Hidcote (1) History of gardening (11) Holidays (25) Hops (1) Hosta (4) Hydrangea (7) Illumination (1) Italy (12) Japanese maple (14) Kew (4) Lakewold Gardens (22) Lavatera (1) Lavender (3) Leucosceptrum stellipilum ‘Ogon' (1) Little and Lewis Garden (1) Lobelia tupa (2) Meconopsis (2) Melianthus major (2) Minter Gardens (1) Missouri Botanical Garden (1) Mount Vernon (1) My Garden (150) My Open Garden (4) MY PICTURE OF THE DAY (80) Neighborhood (9) NPA Open Gardens (13) NWFGS (29) Old Goat Farm (3) Orchids (1) Oregon (4) PalmenGarten (2) Pampas grass (1) Peony (6) Perennials (59) Plant ID (9) Poppy (5) Problem areas (3) Recipes (2) Rhododendron (5) Rock garden (2) Romneya c. (2) Sarah P. Duke Gardens (2) Serre de la Madone (Lawrence Johnston) (1) Shade Garden (20) Shayne Chandler Garden (1) Shrubs (11) Sissinghurst (9) Sky Watch (1) Slope garden (6) Slugs (3) Spring/Summer garden (141) Stachys (1) Succulents (9) Summer/Fall garden (74) Texas Arboretum (1) The Garden of Great Depression (1) Tree Peony (2) Trees (36) Trips (81) Tulip Festival (16) Uncategorized (7) Vegetable garden (4) Vegetables (1) Villa Cimbrone (2) WA (114) Weigela (1) Wells Medina Nursery (1) White garden (3) Wild animals (21) Wild flowers (16) Windcliff (1) Wineries (1) Winter and winter garden (54) Wordless Wednesday (31) Yang's Garden and Nursery (6)
Copyright 2009-2022 TatyanaS, MySecretGarden Blog



*