GardenDesignOnline

Happenings Jan 09

Selected Events in January

Jan 5-6 Design Studio, Chicago, IL
2-day design workshop, Am. Academy of Landscape Design 847-657-7900
Jan 10, Unusual Palms for Bay Area Gardens, San Francisco, CA
9AM-12PM, Workshop with Jason Dewees of Florida Grubb Gardens, Strybing Arboretum, 415-661-1316 x 400
Jan 11, Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, New Hope, PA
2PM, Lecture, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, 215-862-2924
Jan 13, Spotlight on Design: Olin, Washington DC
6:30, Lecture & book signing by Landscape architect Laurie Olin, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
Jan 13-14 "Native Landscape Design Exploding into the Mainstream," Villanova, PA
20th annual symposium with Jean Marie Hartman, landscape architect Larry Weaner, author Rick Darke & others. 215-247-5777 x 156
Jan 14 "My Life in Other People's Gardens," Seattle, WA
6:45PM, Lecture, Steve Lorton, former editor Sunset Magazine, NW Horticultural Society, Center for Urban Horticulture, 206-780-8172
Jan 14, "UC Davis Arboretum New Plants, Gardens & Programs," Los  Altos, CA
7PM Lecture by Ellen Zagory, UC Davis Hort Director, Christ Episcopal Church 650-948-4614
Jan 15-16 "Native Landscape Design Exploding into the Mainstream," New London, CT
20th annual symposium with Jean Marie Hartman, landscape architect Larry Weaner, author Rick Darke & others,  860-439-5020
Jan 15-17 Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Tropicals Trade Show, Ft. Lauderdale/Broward Country Convention Center. Exhibits, Lectures, Workshops & more 407-295-7994
Jan 16, Pool Design, Bronx, NY
10AM-2:30PM, One-day seminar, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8747
Jan 16-18 Southern Gardening Symposium, Pine Mountain, GA
23rd Annual Symposium, Callaway Gardens. Lectures, Workshops, Plants Sales & More.  1-800-225-5292 ext 5153
Jan 17-18  Annual Camellia Show & Sale, Orlando, FL.
9AM-5PM, Harry P. Leu Gardens, 407-246-2620
Jan 20 & Jan 27, The Art of Ecological Landscape Design, Bronx, NY
9:30AM-5PM, Workshop, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8747
Jan 21, Giardini La Mortella, NY, NY
6PM, Lecture & Book Signing by Anna Neerman, Horticultural Society of NY, 212-757-0915
Jan 25, Revival of the American Chestnut, New Hope, PA
2PM, Lecture, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, 215-862-2924
Jan 29, The Authentic Garden, Boston, MA
7PM,Lecture & Book Signing by Scott Arboretum Director Claire Sawyers, Arnold Arboretum, 617-384-5251
Jan 30, Native Plants & Genus Loci, Boston MA
9:30AM-12:30PM, Workshop with Scott Arboretum Director Claire Sawyers, Arnold Arboretum, 617-384-5251
Jan 30 & Feb 6, Desert Gardening Challenges, Phoenix, AZ
6-9PM, Workshop, Desert Botanical Garden 480-941-1225
Jan 31, "Gardening for the Future," Stockbridge, MA
10AM-2:30PM, Seminar, Berkshire Botanical Garden 413-298-3926

LOOKAHEAD:

Feb 18-22, Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Seattle, WA
Washington State Convention Center 206-789-5333
Feb 19, "Creative Approaches for Ecological Landscaping," Langhorne, PA
8AM-4PM, 9th Annual Land Ethics Symposium, Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, Sheraton Bucks County Hotel, 215-862-2924
Feb 28, 3rd Annual Garden Design Seminar, Baltimore, MD
9AM-3:30 PM, Workshop with author & designer Gordon Hayward 410-821-5561
March 1-8  Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
"Bella Italia," Pennsylvania Convention Center, 215-988-8800
March 18-22 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, San Mateo, CA.
San Mateo Event Center, 415-771-6909
March 21, "Design for Sustainability, Habitat & Diversity," Seattle, WA
8:30AM-4PM, Symposium, NW Horticultural Society, Bastyr University Auditorium, 206-780-8172

Vacation with Halprin at Sea Ranch

Just in case you missed this week's travel section from the Sunday New York Times ....

Fans of landscape architect Lawrence Halprin can actually vacation at one of his premiere sites, and stay in a home designed by some of the 20th century's iconic architects: Charles Moore, Joseph Esherick, William Turnbull, Donlyn Lyndon and Richard Whitaker.   Sea Ranch occupies a 10 mile stretch of coast about a two and half hour drive north of San Francisco.   You can walk along wind-swept trails laid out by Halprin, and follow others into deep forests.  You can stay in one of the spectacular houses designed to take the wind and blend subtly into the natural landscape.

Read the entire article, including full descriptions of the site, the houses, and how to rent them, here.

Sensational, Inspirational Gardens

If you're a designer, this is the book that you want for Christmas -- no doubt about it.

Every landscape designer feels an affinity with nature, but Raymond Jungles may actually be closer to nature than most other practicing landscape architects.  And that's not surprising, given his background. Jungles grew up in a family that revered the outdoors, and he developed his design philosophy through a long association with the late Brazilian landscape designer and artist Roberto Burle Marx.  Jungles visited Burle Marx every year for 14 years at his home in Brazil (now a renowned botanical garden, Sitio Roberto Burle Marx) and spent days with him collecting plants, studying his designs, and discussing the many gardens he created.

In his dazzling new book, The Colors of Nature: Subtropical Gardens by Raymond Jungles (The Monacelli Press, 2008), Jungles profiles more than 20 gardens he's designed, most of them in Florida, and they are simply wondrous.  Despite the fact that Jungles obviously uses tropical plants and other materials not hardy or available in other parts of the country, the lessons from this book can be applied to landscapes almost anywhere.

In the introduction to the book, Jungles sums up his major goals:  "Bringing people closer to nature, creating space that is inspirational, advancing curiosity, knowledge, and appreciation of the relationship between people, nature, and art."  And he says the guidance he got from Burle Marx is the best advice he's ever received: "Do what you like": be true to yourself, your passions."

Jungles's goals are evident throughout the book.  A rooftop garden in Coconut Grove, 34 stories above street level, includes a pool and a water wall with views all around to the sea and to Miami beyond.  Pavings and plantings are reminiscent of gardens at ground level, and lights in the water wall echo those in the distant city.

In a garden for writer Judy Blume, Jungles moved the bathroom mirrors to reflect the garden outside. "Nature permeates the interior," he says. ".... "The bananas embrace, while the thorny wall-top planters sustain privacy."

Throughout the book, beautiful photographs capture the character of the plantings and design.  If you study each garden, you'll learn how to juxtapose plants for color and texture, where to locate focal points and paths, how to frame views and create private spaces, how to add a special touch to each design to give each garden its own unique personality.

Many plans are included along with written descriptions, a valuable touch that's too often omitted in garden books.  Photographs by Roger Foley, Richard Felber, Lanny Provo and others beautifully illustrate the main concepts behind each garden.

It's a book you'll want to keep forever and refer to time and again.

(click on text link to purchase book)

Gifts for Gardeners 08

  The NY Botanical Garden this year has quite a collection of stunning ornaments, featuring some very striking plants.

The zinnia ornament, shown here, would make a great gift for the perennial or annual lover.

Select from sunflowers, poppies, ferns, maple trees, hollies, dogwood, and many more. Most in in the vicinity of $30.  Ornament collection here.

Mint Pillows is featuring a series of outdoor collections that are botanically inspired and quite different from the ordinary.  The pillow shown here is called Blue Hibiscus ... there's are also a couple featuring designs from a tropical forest.  I loved the series on the Tokyo Freeway, and although the Japanese-inspired pillows have nothing to do with gardening subjects, they are definitely cool. All pillows are made from a fade-resistant outdoor fabric (Outdura canvas) which can be cleaned with a mild soap & water solution. Each pillow is also numbered and dated.

Animal Sculptures
from the shop at the Missouri Botanical Garden are made from "found" materials by Kentucky artist Richard Kolb.  This peacock -- made of bare metal materials -- is intended to rust naturally, but it can be preserved with a clear acrylic spray.  Each sculpture is slightly different, since each is made from recycled materials.  It measures 6.5" x 14" x 11". 

There's also a snail, an owl, a monkey, and a cat with a lot of personality.  Peacock $58.

Gardening for Birds

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a great gift for children ... a poster and kit that recommends container plants to attract birds, as well as garden ideas, a poster, sunflower seeds, a data sheet to fill out, and more.

$10 at the Cornell Shop.  And they also have available a card game, more books, and a gift membership in Project Feederwatch.

For the fall enthusiast:
Chrysanthemum placemats from the NY Botanical Garden shop ... the images on the placemats are from rare nursery catalog published in the late 19th century that was illustrated with woodcuts by Kanezumi Imai.  The placemats are backed with cork and can be cleaned with a damp cloth.  $48 for a set of 4.
Coasters also available, $18 for a set of 6.

(images from respective shops)

Landscape Architect Tom Oslund

Landscape architect Tom Oslund of Minneapolis is the person who gets called when the client wants something out of the ordinary.  Some of his latest projects include the design for the new I-35W bridge (to replace the one that collapsed last year); the city's Harley-Davidson Museum; and the new Minnesota Twins ballpark, scheduled to open in 2009.

He was recently interviewed by Metropolis Magazine about his projects, his design philosophy, and the practice of landscape architecture.  You can read the entire, fascinating interview here.

Christmas Book TItles 08 - 1

Some of my favorite design titles published earlier this year

Stylish Sheds
As far as I'm concerned, every designer ought to have a copy of this book.  Not only is it inspiring, it's filled with terrific ideas for turning even a small garden shed into something special.  A shed can be a writer's hideaway; a garden retreat; an actual shed for storing tools, containers and the like; even a guest-house.  You'll find all the answers in this book, which includes terrific photos and design tips. 

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways: Big Ideas for Small Backyard Destinations by Debra Prinzing (Clarkson Potter, 2008).

My full review of the book is here.

The Authentic Garden
Author Claire Sawyers is Director of the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, one of the small gems of the garden world. 

In this well thought-out book,  The Authentic Garden: Five Principles for Cultivating A Sense of Place (Timber Press, 2008), Sawyers lays out the major design principles for creating an authentic American garden -- a garden that is consistent with the landscape, the culture and the history of each unique region within the United States.  Why put a Japanese garden in your back yard when you can make a unique American statement that will fit your state and your neighborhood.

My earlier review is here.

Great Gardens of the Berkshires
This book would delight anyone who lives in the New England, or anyone who even occasionally ventures there for vacations.

In Great Gardens of the Berkshires (Down East Books, 2008), Author Virginia Small gives you all the details about the inspiration behind each garden that she profiles. 

Terrific photos by Rich Pomerantz complete the picture.

My complete review is here.

(Click on text links to purchase books).

Offbeat Holiday Gifts 08

Hats

There are pictures in some of our old family albums of young women back in the 1920's wearing hats shaped much like these.  So if you know a gardener with whimsical leanings, someone who might have been a flapper in a previous life, this might be the perfect gift.  Hand-crafted tweed with crocheted flowers, imported from Italy. $118 from the NY Botanical Garden gift shop.  There are several styles available at different prices.

Bambisitter
Can you think of child who wouldn't want one of these in the garden?  And this one won't eat your plants!

Pre-aged pine wood, it's 55" long, about 13" high.  It also comes in a "high" version that's a bit shorter in length, but about 30" high.  Either version is $390.  From the Conran Shop.

Thimble Planters

These planters come in sets of three -- with three different sizes.  As a trio, they certainly make a statement, just because of the unusual shape.  Planted with innovative choices, the three would look great at the corner of a patio or deck.  $72 for the set. 

Available from H. Potter, whose online catalogue has a wide variety of garden gifts that well worth perusing.