Lance and Gloria Amaral's garden

Garden Tour continued

(Sunday May 19, 2013)

 Mel didn't go with us Sunday to finish the garden tour, because Mike was coming over to work on the backhoe with him. For some reason, he didn't seem too disappointed not going with us. I can't imagine tinkering on machinery being more fun than looking at beautiful gardens.

Garden 6

We decided to begin Sunday's tour with garden number 6 at the Amaral's  on Pasquale Road, not far above our former home

As Dick Tracy says, "Most locals familiar with Lance and Gloria Amaral have visited there during their annual Christmas light show that brings 'children of all ages' to witness the spectacle and chat with 'Eddie T. Elf.....But what far fewer people know is there's an even more colorful display all year in the couple's lavish 2 1/2 acre garden. Of course the elf's quaint 'dollhouse' (as the Amaral's call it) is on the garden tour, but is just one element in a landscape that's bursting with spring color and whose most recent additions include a Boddi court, wine cave and dining cave.

"Towering native pines provide the framework for the show on one level while magnificent Japanese maples grace the understory. They're framed, in turn, by stonework, ponds and a profusion of annuals, perennials and flowering dogwoods. A decorator by profession, now retired, Gloria employs her sense of design in the garden and relies on guidance from longtime friend, neighbor and nurserywoman Carol Douglas as well as getting input from the family's gardener, Melanie Marineau...Gloria credits her grandfather for her love of horticulture: 'He owned a nursery and was a landscape architect in Sierra Madre. I was kinda raised in the potting shed.'"

Is this the entrance to the wine cellar, or the Hobbit?

Eddie T. Elf's home. Dick Tracy says,"So many show up that the Amaral's have created a circular path at the cottage for crowd control. Eddy, by the way , has his own Facebook page under Eddy T. Elf." If you visit you'll notice he has a lot of home town friends. Much to my surprise one of our Wyoming relatives is one of them.

We say goodbye to Eddie T. Elf and then head back to Nevada City where we visit....

Garden 5

Garden number 5 is the Deer Creek Inn located downtown in Nevada City. Dick Tracy writes, "At one time, the Deer Creek Inn's garden was a horticultural showplace, occupying nearly an acre with 150 feet of creek side footage that drew wedding parties and return visitors over the years. Dating back to the 1860's, and site of one of the early gold finds, the structure was originally a wedding gift from his parents (owners of a mercantile store) to James Colley, who later became the first postmaster of Nevada County. The property passed through several owners over the years. Then, in late 1997 and early 1998, an unusually heavy snow pack was turned to water by an early Spring and the entire garden was completely covered with mud and debris." For those of us who remember, dead trees and debris formed a dam at the bridge (just below the garden) and the water rose almost to the top of the bridge before the crane got it cleared to allow the water to flow through.

"Owners Chuck and Elaine Matroni began cleaning up the mess, but sold the property in 2004. The Inn went into foreclosure in 2011 and the Matroni's returned, determined to restore the site to its original splendor. Now the gardens are a work in progress under the watchful eye of 'Innkeeper extraordinaire; Ruth Poulter - who has completed training as a UC master gardener - and by following the original design from The Oak Tree Farms in Penn Valley, the garden is becoming the restful Eden it once was. To achieve that goal, the owners have taken steps to help prevent major damage in case the creek should go on a rampage again....nearly 50 tons of jagged blue stone was installed as rip-tap along the creek to create a five-tiered rose garden. And, since it was impossible to get machinery next to the creek, it was all placed by hand."

You can see the Broad Street bridge through the trees.

It's simply beautiful here...  But now we're off and running to the Alta Hill Mine Road, and...

Garden 3 is where the Hobbits roam.

Dick Tracy writes, "Anyone driving by the home of Leigh and Chip Johnson can tell at an instant, 'A true gardener lives here. In fact, most of the 1 1/2 acre property has been developed into a garden that's slowly evolving into a low maintenance, drought tolerant landscape. 'People get older,' Leigh chuckles, 'and appreciate it when a landscape like our dry garden area will pretty much take care of itself. I'm also getting more involved in edible landscaping.'

"While Leigh - a nurserywoman at A to Z Supply -is the driving force behind the garden, she gets ample support from Chip, a retired naval officer who teaches Earth Sciences at Sierra College. 'Chip tackles the big projects like installing our irrigation system, and I make the rounds to check that everything's working properly. We have a lot of drip irrigation, and I prefer the spray heads over drip emitters because you can see if they're plugged up.'"

"Another of the major features is a rustic stream that begins in a mound of tailings from an old chromium dig. 'I studied native streams in the wild to see how best to place the stones, 'Leigh says. 'Aside from that, we've got lots of hellebores, hostas and a Double file viburnum that drew lots of attention on the last tour. It looks like a wedding gown and I refer to it as 'she.' All my plants have male or female nicknames.'"

"A highlight of the garden is a cluster of miniature Hobbit houses. 'We only had one the last time we were on the tour,' Leigh says, 'But since then we've had triplet grandchildren, so we have three: One for William, one for Henry and one for Eleanor. I love doing the landscaping there with miniature plants like dwarf conifers.'

"New to the garden is a sturdy 8-by-12 foot greenhouse, certain to expand the growing season into the cold months. Like this winter, when two inches of hail sat on the ground. Leigh has also been a longtime honeybee booster for the wonderful things they do in the garden....A deer fence surrounds the vegetable garden, with its raised beds. 'Deer really aren't too much of a problem, but they love to feed on the euonymus and roses. I spray with either Liquid Fence or Plant Skyd to discourage them,' Leigh concludes,'But we did have a major nuisance with a gopher who ate the roots of some beautiful climbing roses along the front fence, then gobbled the roots off a Sun gold cherry tomato. But not anymore. I learned how to trap them.'"

I especially appreciated the Johnson's wonderful garden.

Garden 4

We're now close to downtown Grass Valley (not far up the street from the Del Oro Theater) on Neal Street. Dick Tracy fills us in on Chauncy and Teresa Poston's home and garden.When they..."moved downtown Grass Valley from rural Peardale in 1999, Teresa was crestfallen: 'We were there 21 years. I really didn't want to live in town or leave my garden. We had an acre there.' In comparison, the yard on Neal Street - which Chauncey's mother willed to them - might be described as a, postage stamp garden. 'It was just a sloping back yard with a few shrubs,' Teresa recalls. 'And we had everything but the historic 80 -  year old Brandywine maple removed.'

"Today, Teresa is a happy proponent of urban living, and her gem of a garden reflects that enthusiasm. It's an inspiration for urban green - thumbers. 'It took three years to get the hardscape done,' she nods, 'then we started planting.' Teresa credits General Contractor Dan Fitlin with construction of the compact guest cottage, potting shed, patio, concrete retaining walls and fencing. Her son, Dan, and his crew did the rock walls, lighting and irrigation. Her daughter - in - law, Elizabeth - who runs Living Outdoors Landscape Design - developed the garden renewal for this year's tour. And, she's done a plant list handout for the tour....

"'Chauncey and I found this home for his mother, Georgina, in 1988. It was built in 1915 as part of the original Harold George estate. He's the one who planted the maple in the front yard.' The tree was a sprout of a larger Brandywine maple at the corner of Neal and South School Streets revered by locals as, 'The Tree' for its show of autumn color.

"Reflecting on the creation of the garden, Teresa acknowledges that Chauncey was glad to move to a smaller property than their acre in Peardale: 'He just didn't want to do that much work anymore. Here, he's still in charge of blowing off the patio and walkways. I can do the rest myself. And even in the dead of winter it's appealing to the eye. I love my garden."

Going up the stairs from the garden we pass by the enchanting sound of a fountain of flowing water near the hot tub.

...And to the right is a wonderful little lounge and dining area before we enter the garage.

This "postage stamp" garden is compact, convenient, beautiful and has everything. Thanks guys, for sharing your wonderful home with us. Sorry to go, but we've one more garden to visit before the day is gone.

Garden 2

Our final destination takes us back to David and Elan Rafferty's 40 acre property in Penn Valley. As we drove up Eddy Ranch Road we noticed a flock of wild turkeys. There were three males really struttin' their stuff to impress the ladies at the right.

As we drew closer to the Rafferty's we could see many wild animal statues midst the natural surroundings. We parked across the road by some garages and a rustic resemblance of a mine shaft with an Indian nearby. Walking up to the front of the house we see a magnificent statue of a Chieftain  on his horse. To his right is a beautiful deer.

Dick Tracy writes: "When David and Elan Rafferty first became familiar with Nevada County it was because they bought a 40 acre parcel in Penn Valley to help a friend undergoing financial hard times. Initially, they'd drive up from their Anaheim home and spend weekends in a refurbished mobile home on Eddy Ranch Road to enjoy the scenery and quiet. Soon, visits became more frequent. Then, in 2001, they sold their industrial chemical business and decided: 'Instead of traveling back and forth, why not build a home and move here?' The 6,000 square-foot stucco home was newly completed and the landscape was in its infancy when the garden was featured on the 2005 Soroptomist's Garden Tour.

"Suffice it to say, a lot has been accomplished since then. Complete with a Koi pond, splashing waterfall and brook, fountains, palm trees, rock garden and a courtyard full of productive citrus in large terracotta pots, the landscape looks like it's been transplanted from Southern California. And it got that way through the hands-on evfforts of the owners. Ture, they had some initial design and installation help from Cathy D's Landscaping, who then returned and did extensive landscaping along the driveway, but the continuing creation of planting beds, rock walls, statuary, landscaping and installation of irrigation has been the Rafferty's. They have no regular outside help, even when moving large boulders from elsewhere on their property to incorporate into retaining walls and other aspects of the landscape. 'I have a small tractor for that,' David smiles. 'But even then it's sometimes a struggle.'

"David's passion developed watching his wife: 'I'm the finisher these days,' he smiles. 'Elan has the talent of being able to visualize what a completed project will look like. Once I understand what that is, I help finish it off.'

"Now, according to Elan, David gives helpful suggestions along the way. 'At first it was chores, but then he got into the artistic process,' she smiles. 'That's much more fun.' The ornamental statuary throughout the garden - including a life size deer, cougars, a bear and some lovely Grecian ladies bearing water - were Elan's purchases: 'I got addicted going to auctions for awhile,' she nods. 'This Grecian lady was supposed to be 'one of a kind' according to one auctioneer. But there's another - from another auction - just like her right around the corner.'"

Sharing time with artist Natalia Corich. Her paintings are very beautiful. You can view them online and contact her if you're interested.

We couldn't resist a little extra fun!

"Roughly 2 1/2 acres is enclosed in 8-foot deer fencing to discourage those freeloaders, but the Rafferty's have an ongoing struggle with moles, gophers, hungry birds and wild turkeys. And raccoons going after fish in the ponds. 'It's all part of living with nature,' Elan shrugs. 'We think we'll have the major projects done in about five years.'

"Lots of work, but it's a labor of love. David laughs in reflection: 'Whenever we travel, we really can't wait to get back home.'"

So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed Dick Tracy's account of the tour along with our photos. Before we leave Cheryl demonstrates the temptation warning signs convey. It's been a great weekend seeing what many creative, hard working people have accomplished. A great big hug and thank you to everybody involved.

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