Scenes From The Garden Of Ryan Gainey

This past spring on Mother’s Day weekend, a friend and I went on the Atlanta Botanical’s “Gardens for Connoisseurs” garden tour. One garden I always love seeing and look forward to each year is the garden of Ryan Gainey. His garden has been on the tour every year for the past 20+ years!

Ryan Gainey

Ryan Gainey with his dogs via Ryan Gainey dot com

 

This year I heard rumors this would be his last year participating. I hope that’s not true but I do understand if it is. Ryan has been very generous sharing his garden with us all these years so maybe he’s ready for a little break. Or, maybe he’s planning on moving. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see if it’s on the tour next year.

You may recognize the name Ryan Gainey because his gardens and those for many of his clients, have appeared in many well-known magazines…way too many to list here. You can read more about Ryan Gainey and his amazing career at his website here: Ryan Gainey.

I’m never able to get a photograph of the front of Ryan’s home because it is just a few feet away from the sidewalk and road and there are always cars parked directly in front. Also, some parts of his garden grows wild and woolly (which I absolutely love) so it can be a little tricky to photograph. The area in front of his home is a bit on the jungle-like side. That’s probably intentional since it gives privacy to the front porch. Here’s a little peek of his cute, cottage home from Erica Glasener’s website.

Ryan Gainey's Home

 

The following photos are pictures I took while touring Ryan’s garden this past spring. Hope you enjoy!

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Ryan Gainey's Garden 6

 

A beautiful focal point here in the garden.

Touring Ryan Gainey's Atlanta Garden

 

Ryan has a wonderful greenhouse in his garden; you can see it in the background in this photo. We’ll take a peek inside on this tour.

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

There are so many wonderful flower-covered arbors throughout the garden…truly a wonderful bit of paradise right here in the city.

Ryan Gainey's Garden 5

 

Love this!

Rustic Window Boxes in Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Ryan is also an artist so you see a lot of artsy touches throughout his garden.

Ryan Gainey Windowbox

 

A collection of vintage watering cans…

Vintage Watering Cans In Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Trash cans were blocking the way so I couldn’t get a great shot of the gate, but you can see a bit of it here.

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Love all the boxwood planters we saw throughout the garden.

Boxwood Planter In Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

This may be a New Dawn Rose, but it’s so light in color, it’s hard to tell.

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Ryan creates the most enchanting paths and rooms in this Atlanta garden. It’s just a dream to walk through.

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

The greenhouse is always one of my favorite destinations in the garden. This looks like it should be the scene of a wonderful, romantic movie. I half expect to see Brontë inside re-potting one of the plants.

Ryan Gainey's Greenhouse

 

We couldn’t go inside but it was wonderful just getting a little peek. I’m guessing a lot of planning and preparation takes place in here.

Greenhouse in Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

The trees on Ryan’s property are just beautiful. This one was wearing its new spring green wardrobe. I wonder if the leaves are changing color now?

Ryan Gainey's Garden

 

Hope you enjoyed this tour of the beautiful garden of Ryan Gainey. If it’s on the tour again next year, be sure to see it if you’re in this area on Mother’s Day weekend. It’s a wonderful way to spend Mother’s Day with your children or with your Mother.

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Comments

  1. Karen Wheeler says

    I just was handed down my mother’s wedding china and wondered if you could help me design a tablescape to use it. The pattern is Sango “Florentine” circa 1950’s. My own pattern is Lenox “Moonspun” circa 1970’s. I’d love to see your thoughts on that, too! Thanks for an awesome website!
    Karen

    • Both of those patterns are very pretty and appear to be fairly neutral in color so you could go almost any direction you choose. So much would depend on the occasion. Think of a centerpiece you would like to use, maybe your favorite flowers or something you have in your home…then choose your napkins and napkin rings pulling the colors from the centerpiece. Or, if you haven a party or a special occasion coming up, that may guide your choices. Really you could do almost anything with those two patterns.
      Karen, check out these two beautiful tablescapes Laurie created using your Lenox pattern. Notice how different the tables are but how great the pattern works in both since it’s so neutral: http://www.bargaindecoratingwithlaurie.com/2013/01/ring-in-new-year-tablescape.html
      AND
      http://www.bargaindecoratingwithlaurie.com/2013/06/burlap-ing-tablescape.html
      Hope this helps a bit. I’ve always found the best thing to do is to not think about it too; just start setting the table and play with the things you already have in your home. You’ll know what works as you see it coming together. Promise!

  2. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk through that garden every day in the early morning light and gather your thoughts and plans for the day as you meander through canopies of color and scents? Be still my heart!!! Plus I just love the smell of a hot house. The earthy scents of dirt, peat moss, flowers, etc. just makes one want to dig in the dirt. Loved the tour.

    • It would! I would live out there. I bet he has amazing garden parties! Can you imagine…you’re guests would arrive and you might not ever see them again with all the paths and areas to retreat to in the garden.

  3. Mr. Gainey is truly a master of design and colour. I had to peruse his website. He also appears to be a bit of a bon vivant and would be a truly fun and intriguing person to get to know. Love your site and all you do to share it with us.

  4. You took some lovely photos of all of the beautiful plants and flowers. Thank you for sharing them.
    I would like to invite you and your readers to check out my blog at: simplysantabarbara.blogspot.com
    Best,
    Michelle

  5. This one just “took my breath away”….absolute perfection. Not too contrived and just artfully done. Marvelous!! franki

  6. bobbi duncan says

    My goodness, you can just see all the work and artful design that went into that garden…so pretty. Love meandering paths with focal points at every turn. The heart branch is so sweet. I don’t have the energy for a garden of any great size anymore, but I sure enjoy the efforts of others. Now I just mostly plant ornamental trees with fall and spring color, lots of evergreens, some flowering shrubs, and seasonal flowers on my little plot of ground and think I’ve really accomplished something. LOL.

  7. It is beautiful, he really doesn’t seem to worry about pulling weeds tho!

  8. I don’t get to the Atlanta area very often, but it has always been a dream to go visit Ryan Gainey’s garden. I got the opportunity a couple of years ago, when I attended the Atlanta hydrangea tour with a friend. We made sure to make time for it, and made our way into the neighborhood where he lives. It was easy to see which garden was his, and we parked and dropped our $5 into the basket hanging on the gate. We spent a couple of hours wandering all the paths, often sitting and absorbing the serene beauty of the lush plantings. We took many photographs too. Such an incredible space. If, as you say, this is his last year for the garden to be available, I am especially glad that I made time to go. He has an amazing gift.

    • I didn’t realize he had it open at other times…how wonderful of him to open his backyard that way! I think it was the neighbors next door who told us that this was the last year. I hope it’s not. I had kind of taken for granted that it would always be there to see so now it really makes me sad to think I’ll never get to tour it again. So glad you did get to go through it that day. Yes, he is amazingly talented and his love and passion for gardening is so apparent when you tour his garden.

      • He has had a sign hanging on the gate for years, asking that folks pay $5 to come in. I think the pic is in his first book too. I met him in Nashville a few years ago when he did the entry garden for the Antiques and Garden show there. Now THAT was a garden!

        • Interesting, I never even noticed it. Wonder if he donates the money to Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I just flipped through A Well-Placed Weed and didn’t see it in there. I bet the garden in Nashville was amazing!

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