Hi GPODers!
In the Northern Hemisphere, the final months of the year represent a slowing in our outside world. Cooler weather rolls in and snow flies as we begin retreating inside for a season of rest and reflection. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere is just starting to really heat up as their peak seasons arrive. It is often during the holidays that this difference can be most interesting to experience and contemplate. So it’s a particularly special treat today that we get to explore the garden of Ezequiel Martín Barakat in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ezequiel has shared his cottage gardens through the seasons over the years (Check out his previous submissions: Ezequiel’s Early Spring Garden in Buenos Aires, Ezequiel’s Autumn in Buenos Aires, A Cottage Garden in Buenos Aires, and Cottage Style Dreams in Buenos Aires), and today he’s back with an update on a fabulous spring season.
Mis queridos amigos de Fine Gardening! (My dear friends of Fine Gardening!)
Winter there, here an explosion of life, color, warmth, spring, the sage in full bloom… Life at its most splendid. My cottage garden bursts with colors and perfumes. I enjoy every sunset in the shade of the linden trees, intoxicated by the scent of jasmine. Life is reborn. My flowerbeds explode with dahlias, jasmine, agapanthus, crocosmias, lavender, gardenias… When I lie down under a tree, I can feel that Life is worth living… MERRY Christmas from Buenos Aires, Argentina!
Ezequiel
Ezequiel’s spring garden has no shortage of color—we get a taste of it here with vibrant clumps of purple heart (Tradescantia pallida, Zone 10–11 or as an annual)—but it is the rich tapestry of greens that makes his garden a true tropical oasis.
This photo is an even better representation of that fact. Large dahlia blooms are the focal point and attention-grabbers in this bed, but the wonderful mix of foliage shapes and colors keep your eyes bouncing from plant to plant.
Ezequiel aspired for a cottage garden design in his Buenos Aires garden, it’s incredible to see the abundance that has developed over the years. His densely planted beds with a diverse range of plants epitomize the cottage style, but adapted for a humid, subtropical climate.
Ezequiel also has the space for large clumps of plants that create fine-textured backdrops for smaller plants. A bright red gladiolus still stands out amongst the busy foliage of zebra grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’, Zone 5–9).
In typical cottage garden style, plants are encouraged to cascade and crawl over certain areas of the landscape. This light pink hydrangea adds color and softness to some hardscape.
A ‘Wendy’s Wish’ sage (Salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’, Zone 9–11 or as an annual) continues the pink color story, and is paired with bright red poppies for a little more heat.
One final shot shows the grassy paths that cut through Ezequiel’s lush beds. It will be awhile before most of us in the north see this kind of vibrant greenery again, but these photos are a beautiful reminder that there is new garden life at the end of this winter tunnel.
Thank you so much for sharing your garden with us again, Ezequiel! It’s fascinating to see gardens from the other half of our world and admire the dichotomy as well as the similarities, and your landscape is a real treat.
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