I met SHARI on a GARDEN TOUR.She was standing in a GARDEN as she was the CREATOR of THAT GARDEN!
I liked HER WHOLE LOOK!From what she was wearing to the fact she was kinda tall like me!
I blurted out something like “GUESS WHERE I AM GOING NEXT MONTH?”
SHE GUESSED CORRECTLY!
She gave me her card……….ENCHANTING PLANTING.
It was SO beautiful I couldn’t toss it!I kept moving it around my house from the kitchen to the computer back to the kitchen……….so one day I called HER!
And just like that we became friends!
Come to find out we have FRIENDS in common!
TO this day I still do not understand WHY those FRIENDS did not put TWO AND TWO TOGETHER and put us together………..we both live in the same town.We are both married to Europeans.Why our paths had not crossed before I have no idea but NOW WE HAVE FOUND EACH OTHER…………….and I am sharing HER with YOU ALL!
YOU ARE SO WELCOME WONDERFUL READERS!
One major aspect is Transformation. To take a space that is under- performing for the clients and make it into a place where they not only feel good but are drawn to it is a huge draw for me. I have seen my gardens change peoples lives in a significant way. I had no idea that this was really possible until recently when clients commented on it. I love putting myself in their shoes and really listening to what inspires, calms, excites and/satisfies them. Everyone is so different in this way. To do the same garden over and over is doing a disservice to the client. Yes, I can make a garden I like, but does that have any bearing on what makes a satisfying space for the client?
How long have you had a PASSION for GARDENS?How did that come about?My passion for gardens happened inadvertently in two ways: being the youngest child I always got conscripted by my father to help him with tasks in the garden. Although an Aerospace Engineer, my dad had a passion for gardens and plants and did all of our landscaping including building a small Japanese garden. While I may not have loved every minute of working in the garden, I learned so much from him. I found myself learning the Latin names of plants and remembering them ( not like today!) and appreciating the different qualities of each particular kind chosen. Flash forward to 1979 at UC Berkeley where I majored in Japanese Studies. I fell in love with Japanese gardens and won an undergraduate fellowship to study in Kyoto with Mr Kinsaku Nakane- a Living National Treasure of garden design and history.
Being in Japan was the experience of a lifetime and I was absolutely hooked. When I graduated I decided to go to Landscape Design School and become a Landscape Designer and Contractor.What kind of ENERGY does a GARDEN give you?A garden makes me feel CALM.If it’s working for me it makes TIME stand still.Can YOU PICK just THREE FAVORITE PLANTS and tell us WHY they resonate with YOU?MY DEAR lovely Contessa, I have decided to break this assignment down into parts in order to make it more manageable. Consider this the first installment where I tackle what my three favorite plants are. That is really a TUFFY but I gave it some thought and here are my answers.NUMBER ONE ROSES. Roses are the back bone of the summer garden and many of the best roses will also continue into the fall. I am partial to floribundas in the garden because they are such great landscaping plants. Holding many clusters of flowers in each branch they provide an abundance of impact in the garden. Some of my favorites are intrigue, adobe sunrise, jump for joy, and I am really limiting myself by choosing only three because there are so many great choices. I also love hybrid teas when they are well behaved, disease free and fragrant! Certainly hope John Paul team is a winner in this regard with his gorgeous snow white blooms and powerful Fragrance.There is even an old rose that I love in the garden for her beautiful fruit in the fall and she is called Hunter with a delicate lilac into purple flower and fruits the size of a kumquat in the fall – so yummy !
Next on my list are GERANIUMS – I know that sounds really silly but I have a whole new lease on life because of these beautiful ladies. In the Bay Area we have a fabulous geranium grower named Robin Parer who grows a huge variety of fancy flowered and leaved varieties.These varieties are miles away from the red flowered Felton loved grandmother that we all think of when the word geranium is mentioned.These fab flowers come in practically any color, have gorgeous foliage-some quite delicate and finally cut- variegated, long flowering ,evergreen and fairly drought tolerant. That’s quite the ticket if you ask me!Third-now I really feel the limitation of Only three things to choose! But I have to say the Third title of distinction would be to go to EVERGREEN SHRUBS. There is nothing more important in the garden and things that don’t change. Whether it is a boxwood, Pittosporum, evergreen grass, or euonymus The value of an evergreen plant a foil for other more evanescence planting in the garden is essential.Which FLOWER describes your PERSONALITY and which Flower describes your Husbands personality?How about the SON and DAUGHTER TOO?!!What four FLOWERS are in one FAMILY!FLOWER PICKS FOR MY FAMILY………..Don Ricardo HUSBAND ~ definitely a San Pedro CACTUS~spiky on the outside but beautiful on the inside!However if we are talking FLOWER it is a delphinium!Lolo DAUGHTER ~ranunculusBRENDAN SON ~foxglove or lotusShari Garden Maven– tulip(CONTESSA HERE,do you realize your FAMILY makes up the image of an English Garden?)What is your Favorite Season?Least Favorite?Gardens have allowed me to experience just about every emotion there is.THE FALL is bittersweet with its bright highlights of red and yellow but they are so temporary. You take a photo and it’s gone.
SPRING is ebullient! Everything is in its perfection with fresh new leaves and bursting buds. Every plant excited in its own unique way.SUMMER– languid and lazy, the summer garden has a more relaxed feel, plants tumbling over each other in such a generous wayWINTER– stark and structural winter allows certain beauties to really shine. The weeping trees such as maples, Katsura’s and Harry Lauder’s walking stick can look even more shrinking when out of leaf. The garden opens up when the garden is cut back revealing the original design intent. Up lights are especially effective when there are less leaves to distract from the true form of the plant.CONTESSA HERE…….NOTE SHE DIDNOT REALLY ANSWER MY QUESTION!Perhaps,it was not meant to be!All seasons resonate with THE GARDEN MAVEN!OH JOY~JOY~JOY!!If you could invite a ROUND TABLE of Fellow Gardener’s for dinner who would they be?Vita Sackville West would be number 1 seat of honor.Andre leNotre, Helen Dillon, Thomas Church, Russel Page and Fredrick Law Olmstead.Have you considered writing a BOOK about GARDENS?YES!My concept would be on MAINTENANCE as I find people invest in their GARDENS and feel its a DONE DEAL.However, pruning and maintaining a GARDEN is essential to the OVER ALL SUCCESS of A Good Garden Design.
Please leave us with a Garden Quote!“GARDENING IS THE WORK OF A LIFETIME:YOU NEVER FINISH.”OSCAR DE LA RENTA
GOOD TO KNOW THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING TO DO!
ALL PHOTOS HERE ARE GARDENS THAT OUR MAVEN HAS CREATED!
HARDSCAPES AND GAZEBO’s as well.
To fInd SHARI on Instagram click here on MISSPLANTYFACE!
(If you scroll down far enough
on the LEFT look for THE ITALIAN with SHARI!
He took her for a spin on his FAVORITE TOY!)
WEBSITE PUSH THOSE DIRTY FINGERS HERE!
COMPANY NAME IS
ENCHANTINGPLANTING.COM
I HOPE MY GARDEN MAVEN HAS PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE EVEN IF YOU DONOT HAVE A GARDEN OR A PASSION FOR GARDENING…………….I do believe THE GARDEN can TEACH US A LOT!
Until My NEXT POST…………
XXX
YOUR FAVORITE CONTESSA!
I HOPE!
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