Immersion in Lucinda Hutson's Joyous Spirit (Garden Bloggers' Fling)

Another of the gardens I looked forward to seeing as part of the 2018 Garden Bloggers' Fling was that of Lucinda Hutson.  I'd seen photos of Lucinda's garden a few times on-line and I knew it was colorful, special and unique but nothing had prepared me for the experience of immersing myself in it.  Afterwards, I tried to find words to categorize it for myself and to describe it to friends but I couldn't come up with anything that fit.  An explosion of color?  Yes, but not descriptive of its spirit.  A poetic expression of Mexico's culture?  Yes, but that doesn't capture its effervescence.  Alice in Wonderland, Texas?  Maybe.

Lucinda's house was impossible to miss once our bus pulled onto her street.

Even with a few brightly painted houses nearby, Lucinda's purple house stands out

The front garden was packed with herbs, succulents, and flowers.  There wasn't a blade of grass in sight but there were 2 seating areas.

We'll come back to the front of the house and take a brief tour inside but first let's proceed, as most of the bloggers did, through a gate into the back garden.  Lucinda calls the area immediately inside the gate her "Mermaid Lounge."

That agave is growing out of the top of a stone wall, balanced over a small pond

Mermaids like to hang out in groups it seems

Leaving the Mermaid Lounge, I found another seating area featuring "Our Lady of La Tina" (bathtub).  Chairs for children decorate a bright yellow wall on the other side of the walkway, which also bears a plaque that says "Mi Casa Es Su Casa."

More bright colors can be found in a purple wall nearby, decorated in exuberant detail.

These curio cabinets bookended the stacked benches shown in the photo above

The "Kitchen Garden" picks up the same bright colors.

There's another nice seating area tucked into the corner against the wall (left) but, unlike virtually every other garden we toured during the course of the Fling, I didn't find bloggers sitting there or in any of the other spots available throughout the garden.  Intent on seeing all that there was to see in Lucinda's garden, no one seemed to stop moving.

Nearby, I found "La Lucinda Cantina," a party space.  Unfortunately, I didn't get photo of the area as a whole but I did photograph some of its details.

These included a tree festooned with tequila bottles, a metal mariachi, and an outdoor shower with posted rules.  A table with a bowl of colorful plastic glasses sat in the middle of a table, awaiting use.

Moving over to the other side of the garden, I stepped up on to a wood deck with a large dining table.

As you can see, literally everything was decorated

An office or, as Lucinda calls it, her "cathedral for writing" occupies a small structure next to the outdoor dining area.  Enchanting as the inside of her house is (we're coming to that!), I liked her office even more.  I count myself a quasi-minimalist when it comes to interiors (not gardens!) but this space looked warm and comfortable to me.

Decoration of one kind or another was everywhere in the garden area.

Colorful glass marbles functioned as grout between walkway paving stones.  Mosaic decorated the windows.

But, as well curated as the garden was, the interior of the house was even more so.  Let's walk back through the front door.

And into the house.

These photos show either side of the narrow alcove just inside the front door.  The light was poor for photos but I hope you can see its charm.

This was the front room

This is the dining room

This is the kitchen

And this is the view through the back door.  My cat should be so lucky to have a cat door like that!

As we leave, we bid goodbye not just to Lucinda but also to her companion, Sancho.

Lucinda showed us how she'd carved her cat's name in the pad of an Opuntia.  As the scratched area heals, Sancho's name will be immortalized there.

If you'd like more information on Lucinda and her garden you can find her site here and a great post by Diana Stoll Kirby, one of the 2018 Garden bloggers' Fling organizers, here.  Lucinda has written at least 3 books, the latest entitled Viva Tequila!: Cocktails, Cooking and Other Agave Adventures, which you can find here.

Best wishes for a colorful and adventuresome weekend!


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party