IN T H E G A R D EN

outdoors

n Colorado, Southwestern style lives amiably with the

Rocky Mountains. So when Carol Parsons renovated

I

the landscape around her Spanish-style Denver house,

the design almost created itself. “I wanted to do

something in keeping with local character, an improve-

ment for the neighborhood.”

Carol started with aspens and a Ponderosa pine, native

trees with unmistakable Colorado character. Boulders in the

perennial-filled flowerbeds reinforce the montane personality of

the garden. Blue varieties such as allium and salvia complement

turquoise-colored doors and blue patio decor, all of it working

together to cultivate that mountain/Southwest feel.

Carol enjoys it all from a patio that was added as part of the

project. “I wanted a sanctuary,” she says. “It’s a nice place to have

friends over, gather, and relax from the work of the day.”

CLIMBING THE WALLS Fairy roses and coral honeysuckle,

above

and

left,

stand

out against a stucco wall, improving the vista from Carol’s patio,

above.

“I

thought roses were way beyond anything I could do,” says Carol. “But when I

transplanted these from a friend’s garden, I was amazed at what they did.”

126

JUNE 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS