Kelly Williams’ Garden
Kelly is a great customer of our nursery, but also a super-volunteer! He volunteers twice weekly at the nursery sharing his gardening experience and knowledge about our nursery plants.
Working with our climate: Kelly has created a garden that focuses on drought-tolerant plants that are sustained with very little water use during our dry summers. Another consideration in his garden is the wildlife that will benefit from the plants he has chosen. A large percentage of his garden’s plants are pollinator plants. Many of the plants also serve as habitats for birds and other small native mammals. A small water feature provides a water source for birds of all kinds, from finches to hawks. Bees also utilize the water feature. Kelly hasn’t forgotten the people who enjoy the garden, creating a beautiful flagstone patio and pathway system that allows for (more) planting spaces!
Garden bed behind house in fall: Hesperaloe parviflora red yucca (foreground, very front), Santolina chamaecyparissus lavender cotton (foreground left), Epilobium canum 'Silver Select', Silver Select California fuchsia (middle), Muhlenbergia rigens deer grass (mid-right background), Diplacus aurantiacus yellow sticky monkey flower (background far right ), Ruellia brittoniana Mexican Petunia (background left.)
Long view of previous photo (enjoyed by Jake, the dog) in summer: Hesperaloe parviflora red yucca (foreground, left), Euphorbia rigida (foreground, very left), Achillea filipendula fern leaf yarrow (front, center), Salvia africana caerulea African sage, Santolina chamaecyparissus lavender cotton (midground left), Epilobium canum 'Silver Select', Silver Select California fuchsia (middle), Muhlenbergia rigens deer grass (mid-right back- ground), Diplacus aurantiacus yellow sticky monkey flower (background far right ), Ruellia brittoniana Mexican Petunia (background left.)
Closeup, blooming bright yellow in spring: Euphorbia rigida (foreground) Teucrium fruticans bush germander (background left) blooming blue at same time.
Included in photo: Salvia leu- cantha Mexican bush sage (right foreground), mixed planting of Monardella vil- losa Coyote mint and Lanta- na montevidensis trailing lantana and (left fore- ground), Gallardia x grandi- flora blanket flower (midground), Santolina chamaecyparissus lavender cotton (behind Gaillardia), Epilobium canum 'Silver Se- lect' Silver Select California fuchsia (background right), Ruellia brittoniana Mexican Petunia (left background), Hesperaloe parviflora Red yucca (deep mid-ground right.)
Closeup of: Monardella villosa coyote mint blooming in spring
Kelly envisions his garden as "a drought-tolerant English garden."
This approach embraces the informal, densely planted (with highly diverse species,) cottage garden style, which was popularized by the renowned English garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll, in the early part of the last century. The benefits of adopting the cottage garden planting style are plentiful. From late winter until frost, the garden boasts many months of blooming, providing a haven for pollinators and a source of immense human enjoyment. Furthermore, the diverse array of plant species renders the garden adaptable and resistant to pests and diseases. This natural resilience prevents any potential outbreaks from devastating single-species plantings, safeguarding the overall health and balance of the garden.
Shades of purple—springtime backyard bed: Iris germanica bearded Iris (right foreground), Lavender ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’ (mid-foreground), Verbena lilacina (left foreground), silver foliaged Teucrium fruticans bush germander (left midground), Lupinus albifrons silver bush lupine (background right.)
Blooms closeup: Lupinus albifrons, silver bush lupine
Summer blooms and foliage: Lobelia laxiflora Mexican Lobelia, blooming red (background, left), Diplacus aurantiacus yellow sticky monkey flower(midground left), silver foliage of summertime Epilobium canum 'Silver Select' Silver Select California fuchsia (foreground right), Muhlenbergia rigens deer grass (left foreground.)
Carpenter bee on Mexican Lobelia These bees “steal” nectar by piercing the flower base and bypassing the pollen.
Bright yellow blooms of: Diplacus aurantiacus yellow sticky monkey flower (right), silver foliage of summertime Epilobium canum 'Silver Select' Silver Select Califor- nia fuchsia (left.)
In front yard planting bed: Gaura lindheimeri— white white/pink and pink shades.
In front yard planting bed: Gaura lindheimeri— white white/pink and pink shades.
Closeup of bloom: Gaura lindheimeri— white and pink shades. (These blooms are a result of nat- ural garden hybridization between white and pink Gaura). Gaura draws many different pollinators.