GardenDesignOnline

Happenings Sept 08

Through Oct 13, "One Planet, Ours!", Washington DC
Exhibit on Sustainability for the 22nd Century, US Botanic Garden 202 225-8333
Through Oct 19, Rare & Endangered Plants of New England, Northampton, MA
Exhibition, Lyman Plant House, Botanic Garden of Smith College 415-585-2740
Through Nov 2, Moore in America, Bronx, NY
Monumental Sculptures of Henry Moore, NY Botanical Garden 718-817-8700

Sept 2 Free Admission Day , Portland OR
10AM-7PM, Portland Japanese Garden 503-223-5055
Sept 6 & 7 Garden Conservancy Tours, NJ, OR, CT, NY
Open Days Program, Nutley NJ; Eugene, Veneta, Dexter & Springfield OR; New Preston & Washington CT; Lewisboro & Waccabuc NY

Sept 8, Hydrangeas: Flowers for All Seasons, Charleston, NC
6:30 PM, Lecture by Judith King, Charleston Horticultural Society 843-579-9922
Sept 9, Sex & the Single Stamen, Towson, MD
7:30 PM,Lecture, Sheppard Pratt Conference Center 410-821-5561
Sept 10, Ecology & Art in the Restoration Garden, Los Altos, CA
7PM, Lecture by Judith Larner Lowry, Oak Avenue School, Western Horticultural Society 650-948-4614
Sept 10 Rainscaping, Washington DC
12noon-1PM, US Botanic Garden 202-225-1116
Sept 10, Small Trees for Urban Gardens, Seattle, WA
1PM-3PM, Miller Botanical Garden, sponsor: Northwest Horticultural Society 206-780-8172

Sept 11 Invasive & Native Plant Workshop, Washington DC
9AM-3PM, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-1116
Sept 12 Plants in a Changing Climate, Washington DC
12 noon-1PM, Lecture, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-1116
Sept 13 Foliage Fever, Bronx, NY
10AM-4:45PM, Six separate workshops on foliage, Watson Bldg, NY Botanical Garden 718-817-8747
Sept 13 Coleus Day, Somerset, NJ
10AM-4PM, Atlock Farm, with author Ray Rogers. Workshops, book signing, displays & more 732-249-9282
Sept 13 & 14 Garden Conservancy Tours, CT & NY
Open Days Program.  NY: Patterson, Ancramdale, Claverack, Rhinebeck;CT: Avon, Burlington, Farmington, Glastonbury

Sept 15 Weiss Manfredi Landscape architects, Washington DC
6:30-8PM, Lecture & book signing, National Building Museum 202 272-2448
Sept 16 "Unusual Australian Plants for the US," St. Louis, MO
1PM, Lecture, Monsanto Center, Missouri Botanical Garden 314-577 9400
Sept 16 City Roof Design, Bronx NY
10AM-1PM, Workshop with Jeff Mendoza, NY Botanical Garden Watson Bldg, 718-817-8747
Sept 17 & 24 Designing with Ornamental Grasses, Glencoe, IL
12:30-3PM, Workshop, Chicago Botanic Garden, Regenstein Center 847-835-6853

Sept 19-22, Annual Conference, Garden Writers Assn, Portland, OR
Sept 20-21 Garden Conservancy Tours, CT, NC, MA, NY
Open Days Program. CT:Greenwich, Wesport; NC: Cary, Raleigh; MA: Great Barrington, Housatonic; NY: Cold Spring
 Sept 22, Native Ferns, Swarthmore, PA
10AM-1PM, Lecture, Scott Arboretum, Blum Classroom, 510-328-8025
Sept 27, Landscape Construction Basics, Kennett Square, PA
8:30AM-4:30PM, Workshop, Longwood Gardens, 610-388-1000 ext 559
Sept 27-28 Garden Conservancy Tours, NC
Open Days Program, Charlotte 

Lookahead:

Oct 2 Landscape Design in a Changing Environment," Philadelphia, PA
6PM, Lecture by Landscape Architect Kathryn Gustafson, Penn Design, Meyerson Hall 215-573-3770
Oct 3-7, Annual Conference, Am. Socy of Landscape Architects, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 16 "Placemaking: Conversation with Laurie Olin," New York, NY
6:30-8PM, Museum of Arts & Design 212-956-3535
Oct 17, Perennial Plant Conference, Swarthmore, PA
7:30AM-5:30PM, Symposium, Scott Arboretum, 610-388-1000 ext 507
Nov 13-15 2nd Wave of Modernism in Landscape Architecture, Chicago, IL
Conference on modernist trends in current landscape architecture. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, 202-483-0553. Space limited.

A Trip to the Archives

Garden Design Online is going to take a couple of weeks off to attend a landscape design conference, see a lot of great gardens and gather material for the blog.

In the meantime, here are links to some of your and my favorite past posts:

The all-time most popular post: Pushing the Crape Myrtle Envelope

Other favorites:

New Plants to Covet

Late Summer Plants

A "Green" Grower

Green Driveways

Philadelphia Gardens IV

Philadelphia Gardens VII

Channeling Oehme-Van Sweden

Garden Sheds & Hideaways

Abolish the Lawn, Improve the Community

The Huntington's New Chinese Garden

The Art of Color

Happy reading, and see you in a couple of weeks!

Contemporary Design on the Water

I'm not sure who did the landscaping, but this house on Pinquickset Cove on at the end of a narrow peninsula in Cotuit, MA -- looking out to Popponesset Bay -- was designed by architect Peter Forbes & Associates, Inc of Boston.

The wind-swept landscape, however, is perfect for the  Hollywood junipers nestled up against the low building that arcs along the water on the rear side of the house.

Forbes built a series of decks off the back of the house that complement the horizontal architecture and provide seating and dining areas, along with panoramic water views.  The decks, obviously, keep homeowners and visitors off the wetlands for the most part, and colorful perennials are planted to enhance the summertime atmosphere and link the landscape to the natural plantings in the distance.

A mulched area just off the decks allows passage to the garden beds for maintenance without inviting anyone to step off into the landscape.

Books: VA Gardening & Revised Roof Gardens

This new book on low-maintenance gardening in Virginia is an all-around must-have for gardeners in Virginia, but anyone who lives within range, ie, the mid-Atlantic region, would find it useful on the gardening bookshelf. In The Virginia Gardener's Companion: An Insider's Guide to Low-Maintenance Gardening in Virginia, (Globe Pequot Press, 2008) author Donna Williamson has written a very easy to understand, comprehensive guide to plants and gardening practices. 

Williamson, a garden designer and editor of Grandiflora Mid-Atlantic Gardening magazine, includes a guide to the best plants for the area (trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, annuals, grasses, vines & more), but there are also chapters on eco-friendly ways to deal with pests & diseases; resources for gardeners (public & private gardens, useful books & websites, and even a glossary of plant terms).  She doesn't shy away from telling you which plants are invasive, and this book has some of the best "lists" and "advice breakouts" that I've encountered.  All local gardening guides should be this good, and since they're not, they should take a cue from Williamson.

Over at Timber Press, they've re-issued the 2004 classic Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls with substantial amounts of new material. From tiny planted roofs atop porches or playhouses to mammoth green roofs over industrial complexes and municipal buildings around the world, authors Nigel Dunnett and Noël Kingsbury explain everything you need to know about green roofs:  their ecological benefits; how to construct them; what plants are most suitable for green roofs planted in shallow soil and those that will thrive in a regular roof garden with greater soil depths.  They tell you in detail how to cope with roof slope and wind; how to calculate weight and load on the structure; how to insure that the roofs don't leak.  There are numerous case studies throughout the book, and lots of detailed photographs and drawings that easily explain the major concepts.

Dunnett and Kingsbury also cover green walls -- how to use climbers and other plants that cover facades to insulate buildings from high summer temperatures, to reduce winter wind chills, and to provide a lot of shelter for wildlife.  Green walls might not be suitable for  many older residential houses, but they're certainly attractive and well worth consideration.

This book is indispensable for anyone interested in green roof technology and its future promise to offset carbon emissions and have a positive effect on climate change.

(click on images or text to purchase books).