Garden On, Vashon

Of all the gardens in the VAA Garden Tour, this one is the most relaxed—now that it’s done.

When Greg and Lisa Elliott moved in, the landscape around their house was a tangle of undergrowth beneath the trees, sopping wet from run-off coming from uphill. Today, it’s a landscape of soothingly flat lawns separated by rock terraces and wide beds, surrounded by paths Greg bushwacked through his forest.

When you approach, notice the two large coral-bark maples, brilliantly lime against the galvanized metal garage. Descend the steps down the center of Greg’s favorite border, now blooming with red-blooming heuchera against golden abelias and grasses. Framing the front door are two box-leaf azara trees, one variegated, one not; ‘Variegata’ lost much of its top in the winter storm of 08/09.

To the east is the first stone wall, created to ease the uphill water run-off; there’s a french tile at its toe. Mahonia, Cistus, Hardy Geraniums, and small trees punctuate it. Near the border’s center steps is another near-casualty: a snowbell tree now in bloom that lost its top when part of the willow uphill fell on it.

Opposite, against the house, is a series of variegated plants: Iris pallida, Hosta, and a surprisingly large variegated Buxus. At the SE corner, a Phlomis jabs its weird yellow flowers in front of a mounding golden Berberis. Beside the house, yellow dwarf Callas bloom. Uphill, yellow Asiatic lilies are just coming on. 

And around the corner, slightly up in the woods, a splendid dogwood tree—Cornus kousa—glows like the moon rising in the shadows, preceded by a purple Berberis contrasting with a Spirea bumalda ‘Gold Flame” in front.

This is a restrained garden, but all this variegation, silver, and gold, move the Elliott Garden from dull to sparkling. As you move to the west side of the house, notice the groundcover Corydalis lutea (yellow fumitory) covered with tiny yellow funnels against tear-drop leaves. These plants are descendents from the garden of Greg’s grandma, who died in 1970. “I kept the seeds in my desk drawer through college and beyond, and threw them on the ground here years ago.  I love that they self-sustain and move around the yard.” In fact, they’ve crowding up against a large stand of Solomon’s Seal. Also here is a Fatsia that once rose to the house gutters before being struck down by, again, that winter storm of 08/09.

Greg says, “the garden’s basically finished now,” but I get the sense there’s a new interest budding. In that favorite border, he wanted me to see two diminutive plants: a tiny Pagoda Holly by the steps, stubby at 16″ high and further on, what looks like a spray of evergreen fiber-optics. “That’s an Alaskan Red Cedar—it’s called ‘Whipcord.’ Isn’t it great? I got it from Portland Avenue Nursery in Tacoma. I really like their stuff.”

Maybe the Elliott Garden isn’t done after all.