Today’s Memphis Fling post offers an eclectic sampling – plus a fantastical caiman habitat – from multiple gardens visited over 3-1/2 days.… Read More
The post Eclectic Memphis Fling gardens, plus caimans! appeared first on Digging.
A peek into private gardens is at the heart of every Garden Fling — an annual meetup and tour for social-media gardeners, held in a different city each year (join us!). At the Memphis Fling in June, we visited so many gardens that I’ve been sharing them across multiple posts. Check out my Fling Memphis category to see them all.
Today’s post offers an eclectic sampling — plus a fantastical caiman habitat — from multiple gardens visited over 3-1/2 days.
Jacki Distretti Garden
An unusual willow oak in the Distretti Garden fascinated me, with upright, finger-like limbs, each one a mini tree in itself. A utility line runs through the canopy, and it appears that the tree was hard-pruned away from the line at some point. As it recovered, water sprouts rose vertically from the severed limbs, eventually growing into the dreamy shape it has today.
Someone — I can’t remember who — told me it reminded them of an ancient Japanese tree-pruning practice called daisugi. It does! I’d never heard of it, but here’s an article about how daisugi is done, and why.
Also, the shade garden under the tree is textural perfection.
And in the front yard, a formal garden. For me, this is lawn done right: small, geometric, and set off with lush garden beds.
Mary and Jeff Sexton Garden
A decked-out and floralized car was parked in the driveway at the Sexton Garden. What’s the story, I wonder?
In the park-like backyard, a tiered fountain and circular pool provide a traditional Southern garden view.
Dogwood in bloom, giving more Southern ambience
Karen and Alex Wellford Garden
At the Wellford Garden, details like this pretty urn planter stood out.
And a castle! This, I was told, was once a water feature. I’m picturing a moat…
As it turns out, yes! The garden is archived at the Smithsonian for its significance (wow!), and the entry explains more:
“A formal garden serves as the second room whose focal point is a lily pond surrounding a sculpture, a rusted Cor-Ten steel castle by Leonard Delonga. Goldfish reside in the lily pond which serves as a moat for the castle. The resulting marriage of the sculpture and pond are exceptional in concept and scale.”
It’s too bad the pond is no longer present, but water features do require regular repairs. Hopefully it’ll be back up and running soon.
Another pretty planter…
…and garden sculpture.
Susanne and Walter Allen Garden
At the Allen Garden, a floofy oakleaf hydrangea caught my eye.
Also a framed grid of slag glass
This would make a pretty gate window, wouldn’t it?
Sassy bird sculpture
Ellen and John Hornyak Garden
At the Hornyak Garden, augers make rusty sculptures.
The contemporary garden features only black pots and furniture, along with green plants…
…and a green bottle tree.
Kathy Ake and Leigh Powell Garden
At the Ake-Powell Garden, I spotted two cheery Dale Rogers sculptures (the artist is also featured in the Thornton Garden).
Red flowers coordinate with red birds.
David Babij and Brian Spight Garden
At the Babij-Spight Garden, purple fountain grass spouts from a terracotta pot.
A metal flamingo showcases more purple foliage.
Lenox neighborhood signs
In the Lenox neighborhood, where we did a walking tour of several gardens, we were urged to check out a fence with a slew of signs commemorating neighborhood events.
And look — here’s the Memphis Fling, already commemorated! It reads:
“On June 5th, 2025, international Garden Fling visitors tour 9 gardens, as part of the 16th Annual Garden Fling Tour. Lenox gardens also ‘show off’ for the 2nd year in a row in the annual ‘Experience Memphis Gardens’ tour.”
If you’re wondering, the Experience Memphis Gardens tour is an annual, citywide tour that’s open to the public and designed to foster pride in the neighborly spirit and beauty of Memphis’s walkable urban neighborhoods. Inspired by Garden Walk Buffalo, Kim Halyak founded a similar tour for Memphis back in 2016. She also led the planning committee for the Memphis Fling. What a dynamo, community builder, and visionary booster for Memphis! Here’s a podcast where she eloquently talks about the power of garden walks to transform a community.
Check out the tour and go see Memphis gardens yourself one day.
Bernhard Meck Garden
I’ll wrap up with the last garden I saw on the Memphis Fling — the Folly Garden. This is the garden of Bernhard Meck, who constructed the tree goddess in the Morrison Garden, seen earlier on the tour. Here, “crumbling” temple walls — like something out of an Indiana Jones movie — invited us to explore.
Bernhard is an environmental sculptor who’s created installations for the Memphis Zoo. He creatively sculpts concrete to look like stone or tree trunks or apparently anything he can dream up.
Like this “stone” fireplace, with a totemic head on top that exhales smoke when a fire is lit.
But the biggest surprise awaited us inside the house. A massive faux-stone aquarium takes up one entire wall of Bernhard’s living room…
…and houses a pair of caimans! Yes, crocodilians (not crocs, don’t worry) inside the house. Meet Sméagol and Gollum, y’all. Well, this is Gollum. Sméagol was tucked away in a corner.
After exclaiming over the caiman peep show, I parked myself by the door and had the best time watching each Flinger as they stepped inside and astonishment bloomed across their face.
Bernhard’s fantastical home is featured on YouTube in an HGTV “Look What I Did” episode. Check it out and be amazed.
Up next: The Asian-inspired garden of Laurie and Tom Rieman. For a look back at the gracious shade garden of Bonnie and David Thornton, click here.
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Want ideas for your yard besides lawn? Sure you do! I’m giving a talk called “Lawn Gone: 8 Great Ideas for Your Yard” on Saturday, September 13, at the Concho Valley Master Gardeners Fall Symposium in San Angelo, Texas. The cost for the all-day symposium with 4 speakers is $30 per person; refreshments and lunch included. Register by 9/10 at this link to attend. I hope to see you there, West Texas homeowners and gardeners!
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Come see me on tour! I’ll be speaking and hosting book events across Texas this fall and into next spring to celebrate the release of Gardens of Texas. Join me to learn, get inspired, and say hello!
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Read all about the Season 8 lineup here!
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The post Eclectic Memphis Fling gardens, plus caimans! appeared first on Digging.
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