I am glad I saved this garden for last…….one first glance and I knew I could spend hours here……

This is going to be a loooooong post. I want you to experience everything in this garden.

This was the place of the home and garden of Ryan Gainey………now, I have to admit I knew Ryan Gainey was a gardener, but that was about all I knew about him. After I toured this garden and investigated more, I realized there was a lot more to Ryan Gainey. He was a flamboyant, brilliant, eccentric, difficult-to-work-for gardener, who loved people, in his own way, and loved gardening…………and this is what I learned…..

He often dressed in long caftans and big turbans, just to go shopping at the garden nurseries. He added all the jewelry he could, and more, plus the caftan and the turban, when he gave his garden lectures. He was a highly sought after garden designer in Atlanta, especially among the rich and famous. He was the original coordinator of the Atlanta Connoisseur’s Garden Tour, which I have been showing you in my posts………and what fabulous gardens they have been!

However, he lived in a neighborhood of small cottages and plump gardens……..you know the kind with white picket fences and plants growing where they will……..a well placed weed, is the term he used…..

At home, he was a shy man, who tended his garden and loved his dogs, Jelly Bean (JB), Leo and Baby Ruth.  When the giant 140-year-old family tree fell on his house, during a storm, and left gaping wounds to the roof….he left it, tree and all, as it was, and picked up and moved to his farm in Lexington, Georgia, to decide what to do with the house. The farm caught fire, shortly after, and he died trying to save his beloved dogs from the raging flames. But, the story does not end there……

In his will, he left his home and garden to a young mother with two boys, who lived across the street from him. When she first moved to the neighborhood, (after watching her try to tame her yard), Ryan offered his opinion, “You don’t know how to garden.” She asked the neighbors who he was. She kept working her own space, her own way. One morning, to her surprise, when she looked outside, her garden had been transformed by Ryan Gainey. Welcome to the neighborhood!

The neighborhood is a step back in time to a slower pace……he often would walk the neighborhood and pull up plants and re-locate them to his garden. He said the owners did not know how to care for them properly. Ryan Gainey was his own man.

So let’s take a peek at Ryan Gainey’s garden and how it has transformed with it’s new owner. This is the first time it has been back on the Connoisseur’s Tour since Ryan’s death in 2016.

But first, a look at one of the other cottages in the neighborhood, so you can get the feel for it.

And this was the new home at the garden of Ryan Gainey. It fits right in……but there is so much more to tell………

The driveway is where the massive tree used to be………..

It has a very inviting porch……

and I liked all these attached pots………salvaged from the house perhaps?

Looking this way and that………..Some of the old garden greenhouses are still on the property………..

There is a covered terrace from the driveway……….that leads out to the gardens…..

and a quick peek around reveals many layers to this garden………..

Many of Ryan’s possessions still can be seen in the garden. This book reveals a tale about the Weekly Weeder!

and was written by Ryan Gainey!

This plant caught my eye and I have no idea what it is………

Up close it looks like tiny milk bottles to me……………

The first greenhouse is to the right of the drive and terrace……let’s begin there……….

We must take a peek inside!

A gate is not just a gate here…….it has to make a statement too…………

I can just imagine a big garden party here with the Japanese lanterns glowing in the dusk……..caftan rustling…….

The garden was a sanctuary for Ryan. He savored his family history, his roots, his music, his garden knowledge……..all the cherished gifts of the heart. I bet he talked to his plants. And, he didn’t throw too much out either, and neither did the new owner.

He kept something for every season.

and then some…………

and he obviously loved clay pots……….

and funky doors…….

The second greenhouse on the property looked like this……..Isn’t she majestic?

I liked the old wires too, it made the place special……..at home, peaceful, lost in time…….

There had to be a treehouse……

with one of the garden helpers keeping watch……….

Looking up you get this view…….

Now for some more plants…….

What is this?

and more paths…….

and shrubs……

and nooks and crannies to discover……..

and then down another path……the garden goes on and on…….

There is a cut out in the hedge to sit and ponder in its shadows…….

or listen to the bells as they sway in the breeze.

Is that water I hear? There were small hidden ponds with giant ferns………

and another greenhouse!

I’ll call this one, the Hothouse………

It’s looking very tropical………

One can never have enough pails……

or blooming plants……

I liked all these!

with garden statuary to enhance the look……

even the chicken and chain got my attention……..

and then off to another garden setting……

Is that a tombstone along the wall?

Look everywhere! The garden is full!

The last whimsey……….. the row of watering cans, before we leave…….

and one big acorn……

and a table display of photos of Ryan’s life was perfect……the photo in the middle shows the original house.

The new owner has done a wonderful job bringing the garden back to life, but keeping a lot of of what made Ryan’s garden, well Ryan’s garden. It has all the love, whimsey and fun.

I hope you enjoyed the gardens on this years Atlanta Connoisseur Garden Tour! I am already looking forward to next year! Mark your calendars for Mother’s Day weekend! I have!