Happy Visit To The Inspiring Garden Of Little and Lewis

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I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. From the very first glimpse of the garden of George and David, I knew that I would love it. It was lightly raining the day of our visit to their place on the island, but I quickly forgot about the rain. Their small space filled with plants and pieces of art held me captive for two hours. People were coming and leaving, and I kept making circles around the garden.

The first thing that attracted my attention was this fairytail tree fountain covered by moss and ferns.
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The first word that came to my mind was fun. I was in a funny, happy place. Even the rain and dark sky couldn't destroy those feelings of fun and happiness.
I read about George and David just a tiny bit and saw several pictures of their garden gallery on the Internet, but I had no idea what I would encounter on that June morning. I was in the garden of two people internationally famous for their art and garden book! Don't you usually read a book and then, armed with the information, go and explore what you've learned? In my case, it happened the other way. Knowing close to nothing, I was absolutely unprepared and, maybe, it was even better. Everything that I saw was unexpected, and the whole experience was exciting!
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If a visit to a special garden is a great event, what would you call that visit when you could talk to the owners, ask questions, listen to their stories about individual plants and acquire their autographed book right there in the garden? Are you happy for me? I know you are!
I have only one regret after the visit. I didn't see George and David's previous garden, a bigger one, that is pictured in their book 'A Garden Gallery: The Plants, Art and Hardscape of Little and Lewis'. The new home of their garden gallery is smaller and thus can accommodate less plants and art objects. But hey, it was the very first time that they opened it for visitors! Isn't it special? It means I'll have a chance to see this place in the future as it evolves, changes and gets filled with new treasures. And, I have no doubts that I will be there again!
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A Gunnera sculpture, as other leaf sculptures, is cast from a living leaf.

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Do you see a huge pomegranate? This one is a piece of art, but David and George are experimenting with growing the real ones.

On both sides of the little narrow path in the above picture, there are rows of red and white alpine strawberries.

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The house plant seen in the picture above and others are kept inside for the winter. It takes two days to transfer the plants to the garden in the spring. The plants are firstly placed in a shady holding area for several weeks and, only after the acclimatization period, are moved to their places for the warm season.
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Can you believe that this fountain, under the Dogwood tree, is just one month old? Looks like it was here for ages! It is surrounded and underplanted with monkshood, primroses, adjugas, daylilies, podophyllum, etc.

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Podophyllum

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Hosta 'Sum and Substance'
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Columns. I find it very interesting what George says about them and other pieces: "... I am interested in making structures that in themselves may not be strictly organic -like our columns- but that suggest an organic origin through their surface texture, color washes, and their placement in the garden. We like to juxtapose such columns and other sculpture against plants that in turn look sculptural or architectural to give the viewer a sense that everything grew up out of the same soil - or the same idea."*

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Obviously, gardening is seen as an art here, and the art is an organic part of this garden.
I want to share one of George and David's tips about art objects' placement in a garden: "Put the sculpture or artwork off center, obscured by a plant, or hidden in a less-traveled part of the garden, where it will create a revelation about you and your garden."*

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Do you see the tall trunk in the right part of the picture above? It is a Tetrapanax papyriferus 'Steroidal Giant'. It grows tall, has beautiful leaves and gives a tropical look to a garden. Isn't it a great plant? I have it on my 'Want' list. But be alert: it spreads extensively by sprouts from an underground root system!

The owners of this garden love tropicals and other large-leaf plants. Their garden is proof that the tall architectural, big-leaf plants make a small space visually larger and more substantial.

Their list of architectural- and sculptural-looking plants includes umbrella plant (darmera peltata), giant timber bamboo (phyllostachys bambusoides), bananas (Musa basjoo), cannas, calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica), palms (Trachycarpus wagnerianus), etc.

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Dicksonia antarctica (Soft Tree Fern, Man Fern or Tasmanian Tree Fern. Evergreen tree fern native to parts of Australia).
George told us about this Tasmanian fern with such love that we could tell he was happy and proud to be the owner of this specimen. It was shipped from Tasmania (where else from?!) and it could be the biggest one of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

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The turtle is holding a planter with Tradescantia zebrina(Wandering Jew, Inch Plant).

Not only the house plants, but also those which are traditionally used in beds and borders, such as Crocosmia, Japanese forest grass, etc., can be seen in the pots. It makes them more noticeable, prominent, dramatic and, if you wish, it makes them stars in the garden.
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Hosta leaf sculptures, as almost all the other planters and art objects, are elevated which makes them more visible and interesting. I put this tip on my own garden list. Lift your plants! Exhibit them! Show them off!
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Hosta Abiqua Drinking Gourd.
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To see this dripping fountain, you need to go under a big tree, where you feel like you are in a separate little garden room. There, I felt myself like a child in a secret place. As I realized later, while reading the book, it's one of the garden creators' intentions - to take visitors back to their childhood world full of mysteries, surprises and expectations of wonder.

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Even before reading the Little and Lewis' book, I knew there was something special about the blue color adorning many art pieces. As I learned from their book, the old weathered buildings in Mexico and the flowers of Brunnera 'Jack Frost' were on their minds while they were creating this signature color for their art. They believe that it goes well with any plant.

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Ferns and hydrangeas, as 'Ayesha', are among the favorite plants here.

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I loved this water feature. Simple and beautiful! The floating bloom is from the rose bush growing behind the house.

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I started to read 'A Garden Gallery: Inspiration from an Enchanted World of Plants and Artistry' the same day I bought it. I love, love, love that book! I read it over and over and often, after going through a chapter, I walk through my own garden and make little changes inspired by it.
There are words in the book which are so close to how I feel about gardening! For example: "There is something very satisfying about not following a plan." How do you feel about that?

The book is not only inspiring, but also practical. George and David generously share their tips about:
-making a single-drop fountain

- creating a jardiniére fountain

-using water features

- importance of portable arrangements

- tropicals looking great in pots (these are some names: Elephant's Ear, Glory Bush, Century Plant, Red bananas, Flowering Maple, Passion Flower, Angel's Trumpet)

- balancing a pond's ecosystem without the use of mechanical filters! David and George believe that "the right combination of plants, animals, and water movement can keep the pond healthy and algae-free."

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The photographs in the book, taken by Barbara Denk, are wonderful and perfectly reflect the spirit of David and George's garden gallery.

A hardcover edition of the book, published in 2005, has the title 'A Garden Gallery: The Plants, Art and Hardscape of Little and Lewis'. This best-selling book was awarded the Silver Medal for Best Garden Book of 2006 from the Garden Writer's Association.

This is the information about the owners of this magical garden gallery taken from the book:

"George Little and David Lewis are both interested in classical art but pursued their early fascinations in different ways: George has been a watercolorist and sculptor for more than thirty years and was an instructor at the Seattle Art Institute before co-founding Little and Lewis, Inc., in 1992. David combined his studies in a career as an archaeological illustrator. He was based in Corinth, Greece, for several years before moving to the Pacific Northwest".
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To work on this post was a pleasure. Looking at the pictures, recalling meeting two talented, generous people and realizing that I am going to share my experience with you, my gardening and blogging friends, was a happy time. I hope you enjoyed it!

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The garden gallery of Little and Lewis is located in USDA zone 8 (as they say, the cool edge of it).

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Coopyright 2010 TatyanaS