I visited a special garden last month.

Dragonfly Hollow, the garden of Vanessa Gardner Nagel in Vancouver, Washington, is the garden of a professional garden designer, art lover, and author. She literally wrote the book on garden design, and her newest book is on garden furnishings.

I knew her garden (23 years in the making) would be a treat, but I wasn’t prepared for how complex and detailed it was.

Yet it wasn’t fussy or busy!

There was art everywhere, but many of the pieces were half-hidden, and I didn’t see them on the first go-around (I wandered all over that half-acre for a couple of hours, and I’m sure there was still a lot I missed).

It was chock full of plants, too, but every one was thoughtfully placed to make a pleasing companion to its neighbors with a complimentary texture, color, or form.