The wedding of Mary and Lew Reid more than 20 years ago also united his love for plants and her talent for design. The result is an extraordinary garden

Towering Douglas firs and redwood trees edge the Reids' sweeping southern view, where a vista of farm fields, woods, and rambling foothills unfurls. The tapestry of plants, which features types native to the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia, and California, creates a richly textured foreground.

"Madame Alfred Carriere" roses grow on the arbor near the lavender garden.

Mary Reid wove burgundy plants, including Eucomis comosa "Sparkling Burgundy," Weigela florida "Wine and Roses," Leucadendron salignum "Summer Red," Echinacea purpurea "Bravado," and Penstemon "Hidcote Pink," through a cluster of yellow-green euphorbia, santolina, and silver grasses.

Giant Gunnera manicata share a bed beside a fish pond with ferns, gingers, and orange Mimulus. The fountain sculpture is by the Reids' son Charles Washburn.

"Painting makes me see the garden differently," says Mary, whose taste for vibrant color and bold effects has intensified over time. Here, she stands with dark calla lilies.

Lucy, the Reids' cat, basks in the morning sun amid the rustle of grasses, including Calamagrostis x acutifolia "Stricta," Miscanthus sinensis "Gracillimus," Panicum virgatum "Hanse Herms," and Deschampsia cespitosa.

Lew working in his greenhouse.

The lavender garden includes Buddleia davidii "Opera," Robinia pseudoacacia "Frisia," Acer carpinifolium, and Salvia canariensis.

A double boundary fence keeps deer at bay.

The garden's main cross axis cuts through borders of euphorbia, Crocosmia "Lucifer," Callirhoe involucrata, mixed penstemons, Lavandula angustifolia "Hidcote," and Rhodocoma gigantea; the distant golden locust echoes the euphorbia's hue.