When most gardeners would be frantically combing the yard for every stray leaf and twig before opening their garden for a charity, Deborah Dolgin was as cool as sculptor Ella Tulin's Woman in a Bath, above (don't miss this link!)—one of several sculptures peppering her expansive Central West End garden. Her totally laissez-faire attitude exhibited last Friday–the day before the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Tour—extends to volunteer plants, like the fleabane observed sprouting here and there…"If it likes it here, it stays!"
Deborah has been plotting and shaping her garden into a series of rooms since she and husband Bob Dolgin bought their home 25 years ago. Of all the settings Deborah has created, the one looking across the pool to the patio is her favorite.
The tall orange-flowering tree in one of the ceramic pots above is a tropical Jatropha, which will be wintered indoors.
Deborah describes herself as a "putterer" whose time in the garden is a source complete joy. Over the years her taste has evolved from planting beds of perennials to installing flowering shrubs as they are easier to maintain. Several varieties of hydrangeas in bloom seemed very happy in this south-facing garden which is shaded by towering trees.
I was especially captivated by a tiny water garden, above, with its beautiful water lily in bloom and goldfish swimming underneath.
While most gardeners consider artemisia a "filler," Deborah gives it prominence as a single plant in an unusual clay pot.
A striking stone nude sculpted by a South American artist rests at the back of the garden.
Deborah tore a picture of Ella Tulin's Renya, above, out of a magazine and saved it. As a surprise Bob found the sculpture, one of six cast, in Martha's Vineyard and had it shipped home to St. Louis. Renya looks right at home in this Central West End garden. Woman in a Bath (shown at top) was the second of Tulin's sculptures to find a home here.
Deborah was not up for being photographed last Friday, but Cruiser the cat was as relaxed as his owner and didn't object.
Thank you Deborah for letting me share these photos of your gorgeous garden and introduce readers of this blog to another of the really special people who call the CWE home.
This was my favorite garden on the tour. It was a real lesson to me to relax as a gardener and let nature guide your design.