The White Buffalo cometh

I'm pretty sure the Native Americans who hold the White Buffalo sacred never envisioned it with golf carts zipping around in the background. But that's what I saw as I went to take this picture. Yes, all that greenery behind the buffalo statue (and what a statue!) in this high-altitude garden is a golf course. The background is the Williams Fork Range with the scourge of the mountain pine beetle very visible. They chew through and decimate lodge pole pines in an unrelenting onslaught.

This weekend we toured gardens at a much higher altitude of about 8,500 to 9,000 ft. in Summit County, Colorado. Rocks all over. It IS the Rocky Mountains but I think these below might have been brought in on a flatbed truck. Unfortunately we were destined to have a close-up view of a flatbed truck but more on that later.

Below, a stepping stone path through a wildflower-meadow look.

Just plain pretty. Love the Blue Spruce in the background.

I thought this was some new variety of Columbine since we see so many in the mountains. The Expert Gardener told me it was Trollius also known as Globe Flower. I think she looked at a plant marker.

This garden below was all about a fairy garden for the owner's grandchildren. Nice little stone bridge...

...and stone house with sedums growing on the roof. Clever!

Charming trellis...

...and lit-up seating area for fairies. The whole fairy garden was huge, tucked under spruce and pine trees behind a raised stone retaining wall. So well done, but so tidy I wondered if her grandchildren ever played in it. The one I made for my grandchildren looks like a tornado swept through it. Sheep upturned, houses on their sides, fairies askew like they've been on a binge. But this was one to aspire to.

Since we got lost finding the next garden we decided we might as well eat lunch. The Mountain Lyon Cafe hit the spot. I love this kind of place with a ton of choices on the menu, everyone is friendly, and there were lots of cars in the parking lot. That's the same as a good review for me.

Excellent - a buffalo head on the wall!

But that wasn't as surprising as what we saw on the way to the next garden - a buck on the roof of the Alpine Garden Center munching on poppies and pansies. Nice!

I really liked this fairly long waterfall but I liked the Sweet William even more.

Not a bad idea for an old whiskey barrel. But I think gravity will win out soon.

Nicely done walkway to a front door with volunteer violas coming up through spaces in the pavers.

Crack plant.

Dubious Gardener and Reluctant Gardener taking a break from all that up-and-downhill walking.

A lot of people used orange traffic cones to cordon off their driveways from garden tour vehicles. Not these homeowners.

They had some very effective simple plantings showcased against stone.

 

Is this stunning or what? Look at that bright burst of color against the white stones.

This was not a stunning moment. This is not us, but it's what happened to us. It's never a good idea to throw a rod on Interstate 70 on your way home. Sure glad I've been paying for that AAA membership (with 100 mile towing) for all these years. We could have used some of that White Buffalo karma though.

Posted with Blogsy