Visit Gardens:
Bullivant : Driggs : Stanley-Moyemont : Olsen : Treherne-Michel : Little-Lewis
The 2008 Garden of Tish Treherne & Adam Michel
Tisha Treherne and Adam Michel created their expansive garden from scratch, following construction of their home in 2004-05. Tisha, a professional garden designer, owns and operates Bliss Garden Design. She is the design and maintenance force behind their now lush, magnificent sanctuary, but Adam did the heavy lifting – including 100 yards of compost, 7 yards of river rock, 2 palettes of flagstone, over 20 yards of gravel, and 20 large pots. (He may have breathed a sign of relief when a broken arm from a bicycle accident saved him from the rear patio duty.)
Although surrounded by tall evergreens, this is a garden of color, light, and texture, with a fluidity and movement provided by winding paths, undulating mounded beds, and two (sometimes raging) storm creeks. Greens and blues, which compliment the interior house colors, predominate, with splashes of orange, red, and pink.
For Tisha, the most note-worthy aspect of the 100 percent organically-maintained garden is that it holds its own in every season. "Nearly every plant in the garden has something to offer other than just flowers, be it foliage color or texture, form, fragrance, winter interest, bark or just as a powerful performer. Every month of the year, something is happening."
The rich plant variety is complimented by wire and stone garden art, paved walkways, and large ceramic container gardens. Deer are a problem, but Adam and Tisha are trying to accommodate them in an undeveloped section on the back half of their property. More welcome are the visiting black-capped chickadees, nuthatches, pileated woodpeckers, bees, butterflies, and occasional Pacific Northwest tree frog.
This garden is not necessarily low maintenance. But Tisha explains, "As much as I invest, my garden gives back ten-fold. It is my sanctuary and the place where I feel most at home. I view it as both therapeutic and as a large scale art installation. The best gardens are the ones that evolve constantly, where the designer sets the stage, then steps back a little and allows nature's ebb and flow to co-create."
Vist more gardens:
Bullivant : Driggs : Stanley-Moyemont : Olsen : Treherne-Michel : Little-Lewis
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