Tanglewild Gardens (2018 Garden Bloggers' Fling)

Tanglewild Gardens, the last stop on the second full day of the 2018 Garden Bloggers' Fling in Austin, Texas, is the creation of Skottie O'Mahony and Jeff Breitenstein, who relocated to Austin from Seattle in 2011 and established Tanglewild Gardens in 2013.  Their plan to create a daylily nursery to operate upon their future retirement eventually morphed into a plan to create a botanical garden.  While continuing to work in the tech field, their garden provides an opportunity to "unwind and recharge" and plenty of room for their beloved daylily collection, as well as space to entertain friends.

To my eyes, although the garden is only 5 years old and the owners are still caught up in their day jobs, the infrastructure to support their future plans seemed well-established.  The first thing I saw as I walked through the gate into their property were raised planters with neatly labeled daylily specimens and an impressive greenhouse.

In addition to these in raised planters, there were daylilies in beds throughout the property.  Their collection contains more than 800 cultivars.

The greenhouse extends back to the fence

Early May isn't the peak season for daylily blooms, even in Texas, so there weren't many flowers at the time of our visit but I found a few to pique your interest.

Clockwise from the left: 'Gladiator's Shield', 'Alberene', 'Sweet Patootie', and 'Indigo Dragon'

Tropical plants were plentiful.  I couldn't get over the Cannas, which I saw everywhere I looked.

The large plants under the tree here were Tetrapanax papyrifer (aka rice paper plant) - what a groundcover it makes!

Few flowers are as pretty as backlit Cannas

The area for entertaining friends and visitors centered around the pool and patio adjacent to the house.

Two carved wood guardians marked the entrance to the pool courtyard

This was one of the smaller seating areas adjacent to the pool

The large covered patio felt like an outdoor living room.  A dining table can be seen in the distance.

There was great attention to detail throughout the property.  Although there were a lot of decorative elements, they felt well integrated and supportive of the garden's tropical vibe.  Here are a few of my favorites:

This griffin looked just right seated in a bed of daylilies

Moroccan-style screens like these decorated the walls surrounding the pool courtyard, allowing glimpses of the garden beyond

Three carved figures decorate a fence.  I understand that they represent Thai rice goddesses.

More seating surrounded the fountain here

I didn't have good light to capture the elephant or owl sculptures shown here but I hope you can appreciate them anyway

Intriguing as the front half of the property was, I found the back half even more compelling.

This stately tree drew my eye first

The Tar Branch Creek weaves through the back half of the property.  When water is flowing it's a home to fish and turtles.

A tree trunk bearing a Texas star provided a decorative element suitable to this natural area

Still more seating was provided in this area alongside the lawn.  This place was made for parties!

There's still a lot more Fling to cover and I'll continue to chip away at it.  In the meantime, have a great weekend!


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