Colin Thompson's book, The Paradise Garden, is about a little boy named Peter who is driven crazy by the urban noise all around him.
"Only in one place was there any peace. In the west of the city was a fabulous garden. There, behind its tall walls and thick trees, it was possible to escape the noise. For Peter, who had lived all his life in narrow streets, it was the closest place to paradise he had ever seen."
Peter decides to live in the park one summer but as summers will, that one came to a close and by autumn, Peter was lonely and he knew that it was time to go home. The story ends with Peter planting his own paradise garden in his back yard.
On the first day of the garden bloggers fling in San Francisco, our bus drove a short distance from our hotel (10 minutes) and stopped in front of an apartment building. Street, sidewalk, building edifice with no sign of green anywhere. Here's a picture from google maps.
Were we stopping to pick up a late arrival? Flat tire? No on both counts. We followed instructions to get off the bus and follow our leader. We dutifully folowed through a convolution of stairs and corridors which seemed to get smaller and darker as we went. There was one glimpse of daylight.
And then we were herded into another dark hallway. Baa, Baa. This one had some green at the end. You can make your own 23rd Psalm parallels here if you wish. (You know, shepherd/green pastures, etc.)
We were all a little relieved to find at the other end a garden, not just any garden, but a paradise garden in a courtyard created by the arrangement of several older apartment buildings, just like the one in Thompson's book. This magical place is the creation and home garden of Organic Mechanics James Pettigrew and Sean Stout.
A used votive candle holder, found in a church by OM sits on the left of the door at the end of the hall. I already know that this will be my kind of garden!
Beautiful high brick walls enclose the garden giving it a sense of security and sanctuary from the bustle of the outside world. There are many wonderful plants and objects to be discovered in this garden. I've a feeling that we could spend several days here and we'd still be finding treasure.
Beside the still waters.
Looking up.
A sunny spot is home to an interesting collection of drought tolerant plants.
So much to love in this garden. I'm thinking that a mantle like this might rot in my garden. I'll have to find one and see!
The plants were all so fabulous. The fragrance of the brushed foliage of this tagetes (yup, that tall yellow flowered thing is a marigold which is hardy here) is a delight.
Looking back toward the door to the left through which we originally came.
Makes you wonder what they'll pull of their hat next.
The bunny on the left is embarrassed by my bad attempt at humor.
So many reasons to adore this garden!
Here are our hosts, the Organic Mechanics themselves, Sean Stout and James Pettigrew.
