by July 10, 2022
We visited several gardens with ponds last month at the Garden Bloggers Fling in Madison, Wisconsin. Tom Kuster, who was not a gardener at the time, inherited his pond with the house he and wife Cheryl bought in 1990. Did the pond work its magic on him, transforming him into an avid gardener? He didn’t say what sparked his interest, but by 2004 he had hired a designer to create a design he could install himself, and soon became obsessed with the “huge array of plants available.”
Tom identifies himself as a plant collector. On a typical suburban lot, he has collected more than 600 different varieties of plants, organized by genus, in 20 sections of his yard. Not being the collector type myself, I just wandered around, admiring the beautiful pond and waterfall practically tucked into a wooden shed in the back yard.
The fishpond is nicely surrounded by low plants and sedges and a few accent conifers.
I also appreciated the combo of this leaf — the size and shade of green — along the property line.
Orange nasturtiums tumble against golden-green bushes along the edge of a tall cobalt (or purple?) planter – a lovely color combo.
And I love the rough texture and shadow-bright gold of this stepping stone path lined with Japanese forest grass.
No idea what it is, but it is handsome with forest-green leaves and snow-white flowers.
Ah, the hostas. This Texas is such a foreign sight to the eye, and so beautiful among the redwoods.
Another eye catching shade combo
nice hair
Clematis were blooming all over Madison. Spectacularly. I dub them Madison Fling’s Signature Plant.
Allium fireworks in the front garden
And near the front porch, these two grass-headed pots represent people – the plant-loving owners, perhaps?
Next: Native-prairie, wildlife-friendly gross gardens. For a look back at Part 1 and Part 2 of Brazil-Golbach Gardens, click here.
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dig deep
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