We are grateful to Trish Brock for inviting us to paint in her garden as we work the kinks out of this new focus on gardens instead of capillas. Can we convey the qualities of each garden through simple watercolor sketches and a few paragraphs of text? Will this be of interest to a subset of readers? Please let us know.
As we sat down to chat with Trish about her garden, her first comment was, “This is my dream garden!”
This
The garden design has been a collaborative project with San Miguel landscape designer, Alfonso Alarcon, and was finished just a few months ago. Her new house sits on a sloping hillside and was designed so that all larger rooms capture the view. Most gardens on a level site are to be viewed (in San Miguel) with the walls as the backdrop, but this garden along the lowest part of the property serves as a frame for a spectacular view of San Miguel.
Trish has capitalized on the indoor/outdoor lifestyle of San Miguel with the garden used as extended living space. Her childhood home was on Lake Michigan with an endless view of the horizon, sky, and evolving weather patterns. Her sloping site has a similar atmospheric feel with a view of the city, the backdrop of the mountains beyond, and the unencumbered big sky view.

I was drawn to the central water feature with its monumental sculptural cantera fish from Michoacan with koi swimming below, the distant view that includes La Parroquia, Las Monjas, and the lavishly blooming lavender Jacarandas planted throughout San Miguel now in bloom.
Both Linda and I, without discussion, included in our paintings the old

View along lower garden wall L. Whynman
The grass in this garden was planted just for Trish’s pack of pampered dogs to romp and run. And romp and run around the fish pond and across the grass they did the entire time we were chatting with Trish. It’s a garden to be in and to be enjoyed, not simply to view.
Since Trish is a friend and lives nearby, we look forward to views of her garden as it matures.

GREENS—Fuchsite Genuine is made from pure Fuchsite, a Russian mineral with mica-like characteristics. This transparent pigment creates a luminous, pearly green shimmer which I added as a glaze to the koi pond.