GardenDesignOnline

Happenings Jan 10

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY

Jan 10, Indiana Home & Garden Show, Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Convention Center
Jan 11, The Explorer's Garden, Charleston, SC
6:30 PM, Lecture by Dan Hinkley, Charleston Hort Society 843-579-9922
Jan 13, The Aesthetics of Sustainability, Los Altos, CA
7PM, Lecture, Photographer Saxon Holt, sponsor Western Hort Society 650-948-4614
Jan 14-16 Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE), Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Tropicals Trade show, Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center: Exhibits, Lectures, Workshops & more 407-295-7994

Jan 15-17 Oklahoma Home & Garden Show, Oklahoma City, OK
State Fairgrounds
Jan 15-17 Maricopa County Home & Garden Show, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona State Fairgrounds
Jan 16-17 Annual Camellia Show & Sale, Orlando, FL
9AM-5PM, Harry P. Leu Gardens, 407-246-2620
Jan 17, Parks, Plants & People, Philadelphia, PA
2PM-3PM, Lecture, designer Lynden Miller, Morris Arboretum, 215-247-5777
Jan 19, Spirit: Garden Inspiration, Boston, MA
7PM-8:30PM, Lecture, British designer Dan Pearson, sponsor: Arnold Arboretum 617-524-1718
Jan 21, Gardens Re-imagined: Into the Wild, Bronx, NY
10AM-Noon, Workshop, British designer Dan Pearson, NY Botanical Garden, 718-917-8747

Jan 22-24  30th annual Southbay Home & Garden Show, Santa Clara, CA
Santa Clara Convention Center, 408-236-2000
Jan 24  14th Annual PLANT Seminar, Columbus, OH
8:15AM-5PM "Plants & Design for the Suburban Landscape," Greater Columbus Convention Center, sponsor: Perennial Plant Association 614-771-8431
Jan 23, Spirit: Garden Inspiration, Glencoe, IL
1PM-4PM, Symposium with British designer Dan Pearson, Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440
Jan 26, For the Greener Good: Urban Agriculture, Washington DC
6:30-8PM, Panel Discussion, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
Jan 27-31 Tacoma Home & Garden Show, Tacoma, WA
Tacoma Dome

Jan 29-31 24th Annual Southern Gardening Symposium, Pine Mountain, GA
Callaway Gardens, Lectures, Plants Sales & much more. 1-800-225-5292
Jan 30, Embracing Sustainability, San Francisco, CA
10AM-3:30 PM, Symposium, SF Botanical Garden, 415-661-1316 x400
Jan 30, Rooftop Gardening, Brooklyn, NY
10AM-3PM, Workshop, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 718-623-7200

LOOKAHEAD:

Feb 11-13, Antiques & Garden Show, Nashville, TN
20th annual show, Nashville Convention Center, 615-352-1282
Feb 27, 2010 Workshop with Dan Hinkley, Baltimore, MD (50% full, already)
9AM-4PM, Conference Ctr at Sheppard Pratt, sponsor: Hort Socy of MD 410-821-55
Join plantsman & collector Hinkley for seminar on design & new plants
Feb 27, Annual Symposium, Atlanta, GA
8AM-3:30 PM The Exuberant Garden: Creating Joyous Spaces, Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404 876-5859
Feb 28-March 7  Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania Convention Center,215-988-8800
March 20, Spring Garden Symposium, Seattle, WA
8:30AM-4PM, American Garden Design from Dumbarton Oaks to Living Roofs, sponsor Northwest Hort Society, 206-780-8172

Christmas Gifts IV -- last minute

If you haven't ordered online early enough, head out to your local garden center.  You should be able to find almost any of the items listed below, all worthy presents for avid gardeners.

This garden gift set is just one of a number of "Garden for the Cause" items available this season.  A portion of the sales will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Many of the items in this set may also be purchased individually, and they are carried by Walmart and many independent garden centers.

You can never have enough containers to hold garden clippings of any kind, and what's nice about this one -- from Fiskars -- is that it collapses down to nothing, making it very easy to store.

This size is 10 gallon, but it also comes in a 30 gallon size, useful for garden clippings, leaves, etc. 

Available almost anywhere.

How often have you been out in the garden ... only to run back into the house again for a kitchen knife (which you shouldn't be using out in the garden!)

This garden knife from Oxo would be a handy item for anyone ... and it's one of their "good grips" handles, so you won't lose hold while digging in compacted soil .... or using it to cut twine, open bags of mulch, or ... you name it.

Everyone who has a garden needs one of these.

Oxo also has a line of garden tools like this trowel with a "gel-filled" handle. According to Oxo, the gel "flexes" so that when you dig into the soil, your hand is "cushioned."

I'd have to try one of these to see how it works, but sounds good!

Available at garden centers, Amazon and other big retailers.

St. Louis Sculpture Garden

Earlier this year, (yes, an event I missed) Citygarden opened in downtown St. Louis, MO, a wonderful oasis and a great addition to the downtown area.  Designed by Charlottesville, VA landscape architects Nelson Byrd Woltz.  There's a comprehensive article about it in the November issue of Metropolis Magazine. Read the entire article here.

(photo: KSDK/KW)

Christmas Gifts III - Luxe

If you're not hurting this season, any of the following items would warm a gardener's heart and be a great addition to the landscape.

From McKinnon & Harris , a new furniture collection called Pavilion VI -- patterned after Thomas Jefferson's Pavilion VI of the Academical Village at the University of Virginia, which has a Tuscan colonnade and Roman Ionic details and Chinese railings.  As well as the club chair shown here, there's also a sofa that's 104" long, and both feature tailored plush cushions.  The frame is powder-coated aluminum that comes in a variety of colors.

Also from McKinnon, there's a new dining table collection  -- Maury, shown left.  It's named after the Maury River in Virginia, which takes its name from the Commodore who's considered the father of modern oceanography and naval meteorology.  The Maury cafe table has a 36" diameter top, but larger tables -- circular or rectangular -- are available in the this style, also in a variety of colors.

 Among the offerings at Stone Forest this season, this suspended fire vessel, which would fit nicely into almost any garden and provide welcome warmth to extend the patio season.

The iron grate, to be used with wood, is drilled for drainage, and it's intended to develop a rusty patina over time.

Other fire vessels and much more for the garden at the Stone Forest website.

Christmas Books II

Here are some of my favorite gardening and design books from the past year, in no particular order.  Any of them would make a gardener or landscape designer very happy on Christmas morning.  If you click on the title link, you can buy the book, or click on "here" to read the review.

Understanding Perennials: A New Look at an Old Favorite, by William Cullina.  Review here.

The New Low-Maintenance Garden: How to Have a Beautiful, Productive Garden and the Time to Enjoy It  by Valerie Easton.  Review here.

Sibley Guide to Trees by David Allen Sibley.  Review here.

A Clearing in the Woods: Creating Contemporary Gardens by Roger Foley.  Review here.

Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes by Judith Tankard. Review here.

Fragrant Designs (Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guide) Review here.

And finally, for those gardeners who really love old, beautiful photographs:

Italian Gardens: Romantic Splendor in the Edwardian Age by Helena Attlee. Review here.

09 Christmas Garden Books - I

The following are some great new titles in paperback that any gardener would love to have:

From celebrated landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy, a lovely little volume, The Toronto Music Garden: Inspired By Bach (Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio, Inc 2009), which she designed in collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. It includes landscape plans, plant lists, and beautiful photos of the garden's main music landscapes: Allemande, Prelude, Sarabande, Courante, Gigue, and Menuett.  Intro by Yo-Yo Ma, who calls the garden "a piece of music joyously and meticulously brought to life in glorious plants and pathways to be savored and enjoyed by all."

 

If you've ever wondered what powdery mildew looks like, or what kind of damage is done by earwigs or whiteflies, then this is the book for you.  In What's Wrong With My Plant? (And How Do I Fix It?): A Visual Guide to Easy Diagnosis and Organic Remedies (Timber Press, 2009) Botanist David Deardorff and naturalist Kathryn Wadsworth offer a comprehensive survey of diseases and pests that cause plant problems, along with detailed drawings and photos that will actually let you distinguish exactly what is ailing your plants. Whether it's deer damage, too much or too little water, the authors offer natural remedies to correct almost any problem.  An essential book for anyone who gardens.

Know a high school or college student who loves the outdoors and is not sure what they want to do with their life?  Then this new book from landscape architect Kelleann Foster, Becoming a Landscape Architect: A Guide to Careers in Design (John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2010) might be just the solution.  Foster profiles dozens of people and projects across the country to provide a wide ranging view of the possiblities:  design of residential properties and everything from parklands to resorts to playgrounds and more.  Many others in the profession are now involved in the sustainability movement and are engaged in projects using environmentally sound techniques. You can't find a more comprehensive view of the profession and its grand opportunities.

Christmas Gifts II

 From here and there around the web, gifts that won't break the bank.

Top of my list every Christmas for any garden lover:  a gift membership to the local garden of your choice ... or to the Garden Conservancy, an organization that works to preserve worthy gardens around the country.

Kinsman Company:

This is actually a collapsible vase ...  they're made of plastic, but they look like glass, and they store flat.

A great gift for someone who lives in a small house or apartment and hasn't got a lot of room.

They come in three sizes, and are less than $5. How about that?

Leaf grabber, anyone?  Looks like it would work a lot better than gloved hands or a rake & dustpan.  The bright yellow color almost guarantees that you won't lose it among all those fallen leaves. 

It comes in two sizes, too.

Books: Landscapes You'll Never Forget

If there's one thing for certain about the gardens designed by landscape architect Ken Smith, it's that you'll never forget the ones you've experienced, whether in person or on the printed page.

A new book, Ken Smith: Landscape Architect (Monacelli Press, 2009) surveys Smith's most important works to date, from huge public projects to small private gardens. Some are natural, some are artificial, some serious and some quite humorous.  Some of the installations are temporary and others permanent.  All of them have a lasting impact.  

In the introduction to the book, John Beardsley, a senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and director of garden and landscape studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, says of Smith:

"Is he a landscape architect or an installation artist? A public servant or a provocateur? An elite gardener or a populist? A careful site sculptor or an in-your-face simulator? The perplexing truth is that Ken Smith is unapologetically all of these things -- and others as well."

If you haven't seen one of Smith's projects, this book will introduce you to the plastic rocks and boxwoods and black Mexican beach pebbles made of rubber ... and the other lightweight materials that made the roof "garden" atop the MOMA in New York possible. For a private residence on Long Island, Smith crafted a bridge of wooden planks to connect long views; and an arbor made of wood, aluminum and frosted acrylic.  Perennials, including sage, yarrow, lavender and daisies are planted in drifts to reflect the dune-like setting and Hollywood junipers are randomly placed for color and texture throughout all four seasons.

The book also includes profiles of many other Smith landscapes, including the Santa Fe Railyard Park, 7 World Trade Center in New York City, and Orange Country Great Park in California.

I recently attended a lecture Smith gave at Dumbarton Oaks, entitled "Big Little Skip the Middle." Smith explained that he likes to work on big ideas that are brought to fruition by working on the little details.  He added that the lecture title also reflects his current thinking about the practice of landscape architecture:  that there's "too much in the middle and a lack of critical thinking."

After reading this book, you'll realize that Ken Smith certainly isn't in the "middle" of landscape architecture. As Beardsley puts it, "Ken Smith injects an element of experimentation into a profession that all too often can seem all too conventionalized.  For this, ladies and gentlemen, hats off to him -- whatever fashion you profess." 

This large format book (9"x 10.5") includes more than 200 color images (some of them Ken's "plans") in beautiful detail. 

A great Christmas present for anyone interested in gardens, landscapes, or modern art.

Container Sale this Weekend

Seibert & Rice Annual Sale
Dec 5 & 6

If you live in the New York - New Jersey corridor, don't miss the annual fall sale at Seibert & Rice, importers of cold-hardy terracotta containers from Italy.   Great Christmas presents for any gardener.
Sale is at:
Atlock Farm
545 Weston Canal Road
Somerset, NJ 08873 
Full details on the Seibert & Rice website here.

    

Christmas Gifts I

From the NY Botanical Garden Gift Shop:

This is a pretty nifty wine stopper  ...  made of glass .. you'll find it in the "Around the House" section.

For true plant lovers ... there's the iris, shown here, but you can also opt for an orchid, a lily, a rose or a magolia (in different colors, of course). 

 
Same section of the website, rose coasters and placements to choose from, as well as Himalayan flowers, peonies, tulips, and some placements to match as well.

For the woman who likes to look her best outside, there's a lovely rose apron, (with a hat to match) ... and if that's not your style, opt for the english vines (apron, hat and gloves).

These miniature garden torches made of stainless steel would last forever, they're just short of 18" high and imported from Germany.  Great around the patio, in a container, along the edge of a bed.

Nose around the website, there's far more than I can illustrate here, but prices range from the very modest to the quite expensive, so you'll certainly  find something suitable for every gardener on your gift list.