Garden Club Mountain Tour III

The last two days, I have posted about the garden tour that I was privileged to be a part of.  One of the members of my garden club has a vacation home in one of the loveliest areas and she invited us to tour her garden and two of her friends' gardens.  This one I'm featuring today is a true labor of love.  The owners of this home have designed, installed, and maintained these gardens themselves.  When he invited us to tour the inside of the home as well, we were inside in a flash!

He was so knowledgeable about all the specimens and planting details and was so lovely about sharing.  It was remarkable to see the results of that passion.  I was so in love with the sculpture and hardscape.  This pair of dogs was so fabulous.  They sit at the entrance to the first garden.  Aren't they just wonderful? 

This beautiful seating area was carved out of the approach to the cleared area between two English specimin gardens.  Wouldn't you love to sit with a good book and read in this little paradise?

I just had to grab a photo of this lichen-covered Luyten style bench.

It is so iconic to put an armilliary in an English garden, and they found a beautiful one!

This guy stole my heart.  I am such a sucker for any design item that represents the canine species.  I am crazy about how he sits regally among the shrubery.

Some of their design items were in focal points of the garden, and some were subtly nestled among the plants.

Here's his sweeet face up close.

This font is filled with ground cover and sits at a crossroads of the peagravel pathways.

Look at the carving on the bottom.

Although it is almost the end of the blooming season for dalhias, there were several wonderful types of them still giving a wonderful show.  I don't know the name of this one, but it is my very favorite.

And this is another special one.  It is just kissed by lavender.

This beautiful outbuilding held before and after pictures of the grounds.  It's amazing to see the progress of these dreamers.

Across the driveway is this wonderful pond which was also the result of their artistic planning.  The curved footbridge is designed to look like the one at Giverney and the Adirondack chairs are painted to match.

Here's a close up photo.

The inside did NOT disappoint.  This serves as their family room.  It has the feel of a sunroom with the skylights and plants.  It was so beautifully accessorized and had great art.

This is the warm and inviting dining room.  Who doesn't love those chairs?

This is the first floor bedroom.  It doesn't show in this photo, but they have the biggest ottoman in this room that I have ever seen.  I think several of their Golden Retrievers sleep on it!

I could spend forever in this living room.

The anteroom to the powder room sports these great fern crewel panels.  Aren't they beautiful?

One of my all-time favorite things is carved black forest wood.  This book slide is a fine example of it.  I would love to own it.

Here's another wonderful fabric on these sofas.  I love the colors and the fern print.

In the living room, they have this wonderful twig framed mirror.  It gives such texture and the round shape fits the space so well.

This picture is very dark, but I wanted you to see more twigs made into a valance in the bedroom.  Perfect.

This stag head is another example of carved wood.

This is one of the greatest powder room treatments that I have ever seen.  This vanity is so creative, and they use every inch to show their beautiful collections.

You can see a little more of the window and the artwork in this shot.

This shows the view from the inside to the pond.  I can only imagine how gorgeous it will be in a few weeks. 

 I'll post the last part of this trip tomorrow.