Visit Gardens:
Bullivant : Driggs : Stanley-Moyemont : Olsen : Treherne-Michel : Little-Lewis
The 2008 Garden of Terri Stanley & Terry Moyemont
At first glance, the sight of a 135-year old Northwest clapboard farmhouse sitting amidst a profusion of tropical and Mediterranean foliage might give one pause. But it begins to make sense when you learn, from owners Terri Stanley and Terry Moyemont, that a wide variety of water-wise Mediterranean and hardy tropical plants are surprisingly well-suited to the Pacific Northwest. Their own 7-acre meadow, which includes a 1,500 square foot greenhouse, weathered barn, and expansive garden areas, is proof of that.
Mesogeo (Greek for “middle of the world”), the couple’s thriving Mediterranean and tropical plant propagation and garden design business, grew from their joint love affair with the Mediterranean region. They spent much of 2000 restoring Terry’s 400-year-old home in Visari, Crete. In the process, Terri, a garden designer constantly on the lookout for new and interesting plant varieties, became hooked on the rich colors, outsized foliage, and other striking attributes of the local offerings. They now raise and sell over 300 varieties of those plants from Mediterranean climate regions and tropical areas around the world that are best suited for Northwest gardens. Terry, formerly a documentary filmmaker and photographer, has become the designated dirt mover and planter.
Most of the 100 percent organically-raised inventory gets a test run in Mesogeo’s display gardens, which boast a complex collection of pottery, shaded areas, water features, and drought resistant, often exotic and fantastically large plants that take turns flowering throughout the year. A Moroccan ambiance is created with the small blue-violet pool and fountain, and with blue water rills. Visitors are invited to wander through the greenhouse and along paths leading to the lower field garden, home of a 100-year old black locust tree. And ask to see the only rose on the property, a 50-year old double-violet Gallica that even the local deer respect.
Except for an occasional lawn mowing, the gardens and greenhouse are owner-maintained. The couple says, “We’ve always tried to evoke in our gardens feelings of the places we’ve traveled throughout our lives, growing these sights and smells and colors of climates and cultures in the rich soil of our own home.”
Vist more gardens:
Bullivant : Driggs : Stanley-Moyemont : Olsen : Treherne-Michel : Little-Lewis
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