Land Park Garden Tour - Highlights

 The Land Park Garden Tour was full of beautiful gardens besides the one that I staged . I captured some of the highlights for you!

I had no idea that this Moroccan inspired oasis could be found mere blocks from my own home. I felt like I had a mini vacation without even leaving my own neck of the woods. The owner of this garden collected all of the furnishings from ebay, antique fairs and discount locations around the city. He built much of the garden elements himself, like the bar,  sofa platform and wall niches.

Honestly, I could have spent the rest of the day right here.

I loved the covered patio seating area with all of the exotic pillows

In the back corner of the garden was this lounge area, perfect for dreaming about the Arabian Knights

The outdoor kitchen had beautiful tile work, and there were beer taps built right in!

If you look closely, you can see there is a little stream that starts at the end of the bar and runs around the edge into little fountain at the other end. This would help keep anyone cool during our hot Sacramento Summer evenings. 

Every possible area in this garden was thought out and utilized for art or a place to sit a spell. Perfect for parties, and I bet the home owners enjoy many of them!

 Another garden on the tour was enhanced by Event Planner and designer, Cara Crowley. She imagined a birthday celebration with a Mary Poppins theme complete with chalk to draw those imaginary lands on the sidewalk, umbrellas for flying through the air, and of course, a spoon full of sugar! 

 Beautiful flowers, and perfect table settings! I think having a party planned by Cara would be "practically perfect in every way!"

 This next garden was a multi-layered beauty with a pool area with pergola.....

 terraced planting beds.....

 which led down to a shady lawn area where Cara Crowley staged another space. This time, Cara conjured up a wedding theme all about George Eliot. The lilacs and the strawberry pots were on my mind for the rest of the day!

The last house on the tour featured an art installation by Danny Scheible. Danny is known for his tape art....objects and sculptures made out of various kinds of tape, a technique known as "Tapigami". In this installation, Danny took wire coat hangers and covered them in a rainbow of fabrics and hanging them throughout the yard in a riotous display.

At the table in this garden, Danny created tape flowers and a cherry blossom chandelier to compliment the Japanese theme. 

This hanging installation  reminded me of huge flowering wisteria hanging from this arbor.

In the front yard, turquoise, sky blue, and royal blue banners blow in the breeze....

The tour is over for this year, but perhaps I will see you next year?

Upcoming...more from the Curtis Park Home Tour

 and the San Francisco Decorator Showcase!

Land Park Garden Tour - Garden Staging

 Last Saturday, I had the great pleasure of staging a beautiful garden for the Land Park Garden Tour here in Sacramento. It was so much fun to bring together all of the finishing touches to an already gorgeous garden. And it doesn't hurt when the home owners are a gracious and fun loving young family.

In my previous post, I described the process of how I decided on the elements used. As promised, here is the end result! I hope you enjoy....

Seating area under the pergola

The sheers added a romantic feeling and also help create a more intimate setting.

White lilies, light and dark blue delphinium, and olive branches make up the main elements in the floral arrangement

The table settings included turquoise glazed plates that remind me of watercolor paint.  I added bundles of paint brushes as a nod to the Crocker Art Museum's upcoming American Impressionist exhibit opening May 15th. One of the paintings to be shown in the exhibit  is Woman Sewing in a Garden by artist Louis Ritman. I made multiple bouquets  in different size glass vases in shades of blue, white and green that were inspired by the painting's garden of flowers and vegetables. 

Upcoming.....Highlights from the Land Park Garden Tour and the Curtis Park Home Tour!

Land Park Garden Tour - Elements

Things have been a whirlwind around here! I am in hunter gatherer mode as I have been pulling things together for the garden I am staging for Land Park Garden Tour this Saturday (tomorrow!).  

The garden I am working on is highlighting the upcoming exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum, Transcending Vision: American Impressionism, 1870-1940 which opens at the Crocker May 14. It is soon to be followed by Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism which opens June 11. This second exhibit includes works by Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet, as well as American impressionists, John Singer Sargent and Frederick Childe Hassam.

Working with the home owners garden as well as the Impressionist art theme, I pulled together fabrics that looked "painterly" and hand crafted in navies and turquoise blues. I added a bit of green as well. Artists easels, straw hats and blue skies are what is in store this Saturday! I will be taking lots of pictures which I will post soon!

The Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. It is home to William Land Park, which includes the Sacramento Zoo, the Land Park Golf Course, two children's parks where my kids spent many a weekend growing up: Fairytale Town and Funderland. William Land Park is also home to the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival , a small fishing lake, ballparks and acres of tree shaded park area. The park is surrounded by stately homes which were built in the early 1900's ranging in style from Tudor to Monterey, Bungalow, Colonial with even a few Streamline Modern thrown in. The streets are lined with huge Sycamore trees making it one of the most beautiful areas in the city.

Proceeds from the Land Park Garden Tour benefit the School Arts Program at Holy Spirit School in Land Park as well as the Mustard Seed School arts education program.

For more information about the Land Park Garden Tour and Afternoon Tea be sure to check

 HERE!

I hope to see you there!