GardenDesignOnline

9-11 Rose

Rosa 'Survivor' from Bailey Nurseries is this year's selection for the "Remember Me" rose gardens in New York City, Washington DC and Shanksville, PA to honor those who died on September 11, 2001.  This new rose honors all the people who survived the terrorist attacks and helped rescue  others at the World Trade Center in NYC and the Pentagon in Washington DC on September 11th.  

'Survivor' is the 7th of 11 roses that will  be planted at Remember Me sites. This particular rose is a vibrant red hybrid tea rose with disease resistant foliage and a fruity fragrance.  A donation from the sale of each rose will go to the "Remember Me" Rose Garden organization that's creating the three memorial gardens.

Previous selections for the gardens include Firefighter, a red hybrid tea; Soaring Spirits, a cream, pink and yellow climber honoring workers who died at the World Trade Center;  We Salute You, an orange-pink hybrid tea for those workers who died at the Pentagon; Forty Heroes, a yellow rose honoring the crew and passengers on United Flight 93; The Finest, a white hybrid tea for the NYPD officers who died in the rescue attempt; and Patriot Dream, a salmon shrub rose in memory of the crew and passengers on American Airlines Flight 77.

(photo: Bailey Nurseries)

Happenings April 2011

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

thru April 24:  Orchids: A View from the East, Washington DC
Annual Orchid Exhibition, National Museum of Natural History.
thru April 25: Orchid Show "On Broadway"  Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8687
thru May 1 Hanami: Cherry Blossom Festival, Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 718-623-7200

April 2, Magnolia Study Day, Washington DC
10AM-2:30 PM, US National Arboretum, 202-245-2726
April 2, Sustainable Roses for New England Gardens, Boylston, MA
10AM-noon, workshop, Tower Hill Botanical Garden, 508-869-6111
April 2, Garden Conservancy garden tour, Trumansberg, NY

April 7-9, Organic Lawn Days, MA
workshops throughout Massachusetts 413-773-3830
April 9, Natural Swimming Pools, Stockbridge, MA
10AM-noon, Lecture, Berkshire Botanical Garden 413-298-3926
April 9, "Embroidered Ground," Stockbridge, MA
1PM-3PM, Lecture by author Page Dickey, Berkshire Botanical Garden 413-298-3926
April 9, Northern Gardening Symposium, Randolph Center, VT
9AM-2PM, VT Technical College, sponsor: New England Wildflower Society 508-877-7630

April 10-11 65th Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
"Timeless Ideas for Today's Gardens" with Suzy Bales, Doug Tallamy, Stephanie Cohen & many others. 800-603-0948
April 11-12 Living Architecture Symposium, Washington DC
Green Roof and Wall Design, sponsor: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities 416-971-9844
April 13, "Creating a Contemplative Garden"  Seattle, WA
6:45 PM Lecture, Martin Mosko, Center for Urban Horticulture
April 14-15 14th Annual Symposium & Garden Tour, Pinehurst, NC
10AM-5PM, Mid Pines Inn, Lectures & Garden Tours, 336-288-1314
April 15, Postwar Landscape Architecture in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
9AM-5PM, Symposium, Southern CA Institute of Architecture, sponsor: The Cultural Landscape Foundation, 202-483-0553
April 15, The Way We Garden Now, San Francisco, CA
9AM-5PM, Symposium on sustainability, The Presidio. sponsor: The Garden Conservancy 415-441-4300
April 15-17 Antiques & Garden Fair, Glencoe, IL
10AM-5PM, Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-6944
April 16 "Mastering the Urban Garden," NY, NY
10AM-5PM, all-day seminar, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8687
April 16, "Art and Landscape in the Hudson Valley," Hudson, NY
1PM-5PM, Symposium, Columbia Green Community College, sponsor: TCLF, 202-483-0553
April 16-23 Historic Garden Week in Virginia
Garden tours, lectures & other activities throughout the state

April 19, Spotlight on Design: Landscape Architect Andrea Cochran, Washington DC
6:30-8PM, Lecture, Andrea Cochran, National Building Msueum, 202-272-2448
April 20, Tomorrow's Garden, Los Angeles, CA
6-8PM, Lecture by Stephen Orr, The Ebell of Los Angeles, 845-265-2029
April 21, Gardens of the Hudson Valley, Chappaqua, NY
7:30PM, Lecture, Chappaqua Public Library 914-238-4779
April 23, Garden Conservancy garden tour, Nutley, NJ

April 29-May 1 Maricopa County Home & Landscape Show, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona State Fairgrounds, 602-485-1691
April 30, Garden Conservancy garden tours, NY, NJ
Cold Spring NY; Colonia & Far Hills, NJ

LOOKAHEAD:

May 6, 3rd Annual National Public Gardens Day
Events throughout the country, free admissions & more.
May 24-28 Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

June 7, Piet Oudolf's "Landscapes in Landscapes" Glencoe, IL
1PM-2:30PM, Lecture, by Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440

New Plants 2011 IV

A few more new plants that caught me eye -- all from Bailey Nursesries.

First Editions® Great Star™ Hydrangea
(Hydrangea paniculata 'LeVasterival')

Can't wait to try this show-stopping hydrangea that flowers, they say, from mid-summer to hard frost.  Creamy star-shaped flowers with a bit of a curl in the petals, a shrub that's about 6 to 7 feet high and wide. the plant is from the French garden of long-time gardener Princess Greta Sturdza, and it's hardy Zones 4-8.

 

First Editions® Little Devil™ Ninebark
(Physocarpus opulifolius 'Donna May') 

For all of us who have not grown ninebark because of its large size, there's now this little one to fit the tiniest of gardens.

At just three to four feet high and wide, it features the usual deep burgundy-purple leaves.  It does flower in spring (little pinky-white blooms), but you plant this one for the impact of its foliage. Free of pests and diseases, it's a true low maintenance plant.  Zones 3-7.

 

Endless Summer® Bella Anna
(Hydrangea arborescens 'PllHA-1'

Endless summer bigleaf hydrangeas have been around for awhile, and they're exceedingly popular because they just keep on blooming until frost. Now, there's an Annabelle hydrangea version -- this one with dark pink blooms.  Bella Anna comes from the plant breeding program directed by Dr. Michael Dirr, and it's happy in Zones 3-9.

  First Editions® Fiji Hibiscus
(Hibiscus syriacus 'Minspot')

Yes, you can imagine this bloom behind the ear of one of those lovely maidens in almost any of Gaugin's paintings. The blooms emerge a medium pink color, then open to a lighter pink with a deep pink accents and a red center.  They grow 5-8 feet high with a spread of 4-7 feet, and are hardy in zones 5-8.

Best of all there are two other hibiscus in this series:  Bali, which has white blooms with a purplish-red center and Tahiti, deep pink flowers with a red center as well.

Visit the Bailey website here for more info on these plants and other new introductions for 2011.

 

Olmsted Elm to Go

The famous elm tree on the property of Frederick Law Olmsted's historic home, Fairsted, in Brookline, MA, is going to be cut down next week.  The site is now run by the National Park Service, although it has been closed for renovations for the past several years.  The elm is believed to be about 200 years old, but, like so many other classic elms in the United States, it's been hit by Dutch elm disease and other blights and now poses a hazard to the home and visitors.

NPS park ranger Mark Swartz told the Boston Globe newspaper that the park service has taken cuttings of the tree so that a replacement may eventually planted at the site.  The tree could be cut down by the end of the month, so the park service is urging people who'd like to see it to pay a visit before that time.

The park service has set up a facebook page in honor of the elm with many more pictures, found here.

 

Books: AHS Awards 2011

The American Horticultural Society has announced its selections for the best garden books of 2010.

The four winners are:

From Timber Press,
Armitage's Vines and Climbers: A Gardener's Guide to the Best Vertical Plants

Allan Armitage's comprehensive guide to vertically-inspired plants, from the usual climbing hydrangeas to a monkshood that'll scramble up most anything.

Edible Landscaping (Sierra Club Books) by Rosalind Creasy.

 A new edition of her classic book from 1982, Creasy updates the info with the latest in plants, design, and how-to.

 

  From Art to Landscape: Unleashing Creativity in Garden Design (Timber Press) by W. Gary Smith.

Smith, a landscape architect by training, explains in loving detail how to use art forms as inspiration for landscape design. Great techniques for original, imaginative design.

Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older (Timber Press) by Sydney Eddison.

Long-time writer and gardener Eddison shares her reflections on aging gardeners and gardens. As the population ages, this book is bound to be a classic.

 

 

Design: New Toy for Outdoor Kitchens

That one missing item from outdoor kitchens is missing no more. The days of schlepping dishes back inside is now over, thanks to the introduction by Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet of a dishwasher designed particularly to work outdoors.

Manufactured by ASKO, Kalamazoo says the dishwasher is made to withstand the fresh-air elements and also clean dishes that have been sitting around outside and pots and pans that have been used on the grill.

The company's president, Pantelis "Pete" Georgiadis, said the introduction of the new unit will finally give homeowners a "complete outdoor kitchen equipment line" and also give them "independence from their indoor kitchens."

The dishwasher holds 12 place settings and has clearance space of more than 15 inches between racks to accommodate large pots and platters. It's also said to have specially designed nozzles that minimize water use, using as little as 3.8 gallons a load.

Is there anyone who has an outdoor kitchen who wouldn't want one of these?

Available this summer from dealers who carry the Kalamazoo line.

 

Books: Edible Gardens for Small Yards

 Tired of spending all that money on organic produce?  But you say you just don't have room for a vegetable garden on the apartment balcony or in your small back yard?  Well, then let Andrea Bellamy, author of Sugar Snaps and Strawberries: Simple Solutions for Creating Your Own Small-Space Edible Garden (Timber Press, 2011), open your mind to the possibilities.

Andrea, creator of the popular blog Heavy Petal, has turned her sights to growing edibles almost anywhere that's big enough for a seed to take root.  A miniscule strip of dirt at the bottom of a fence is plenty big enough to grow pole beans or other vertical crops. A small container on a tiny balcony is big enough for eggplant and herbs of many varieties.

Andrea's book takes you through all the basics: finding space, planning and building the garden; sowing and growing; keeping plants healthy; extending the growing season; and harvesting and preparing for the coming year.

I have heard of dirtballs, but I'd never before read about seed bombs -- two-inch orbs of clay, compost and seeds that you toss onto a bare site and wait for the rain.  The "bombs" protect the seeds from birds and wind until they germinate and take root.  Now that's a great idea, and Andrea provides the recipe and technique.

At the end of the book, there's a very useful A to Z list of edible plants, including "Top Picks" for gardens on the small side. If you've been hankering for home-grown produce but don't have the space, then this is the book for you.  And even for those with larger gardens, you'll find this book packed with information and ideas ideal for gardens of any size.

A Million Trees

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has announced a new program to plant one million trees --- yes, one million! -- in southern New Jersey, Delaware, and the greater Philadelphia area.

PHS President Drew Becher said that trees "are vital to the environment and economic well-bring of the region" and that the initiative "will have a major impact on the health of our communities." Becher previously led an effort in nearby New York City that's resulted so far in 400 thousand new trees.

PHS also announced that the US Forest Service is establishing an Urban Field Station located at PHS headquarters to improve the city's environment.  The chief of the Forest Service, Tom Tidwell, said it's a public/private venture to "increase tree canopy cover" in the city and surrounding region and also improve the environment, create jobs and improve air and water quality.

The Philadelphia region in recent decades has lost millions of trees to development. The primary goal is to restore tree cover to 30 percent. PHS is working on the program with the New Jersey Tree Foundation, the Delaware Center for Horticulture, and in Pennsylvania, with local communities, corporate sponsors, schools, civic groups and other organizations. 

(photo: PHS gold award winner 'Slender Silhouette' sweetgum tree)

Books: Garden Design Inspired by Art

Anyone can make a garden, and even without professional training in design, it might end up a pleasing sight.  But most professional designers, whether landscape architects or landscape designers, bring an expert eye and ear to the landscape that can make a garden sing with passion, dance in the wind, change color and views like a kaleidoscope.

In his new book,  The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design(Random House, 2011), landscape architect James van Sweden explains why an informed appreciation of the arts (including painting, sculpture, dance, and music, just to mention a few) can make the difference between mediocre and truly sensational landscapes. 

As co-founder with Wolfgang Oehme of the New American Garden style, van Sweden has long been known for his naturalistic, meadow-like gardens using huge sweeps of ornamental grasses.  But as he explains in the introduction to the book, his designs also include "the ideas, techniques, and details I have gathered from the Old Master paintings I saw in the Netherlands; the layered sets and gorgeous textiles of Japanese Kabuki theater; ballet and opera; the works of an international cast of contemporary painting and sculpture; even the memories of ... Michigan barns and fields I myself tried to capture many years ago."

Case studies throughout the book, of his own firm's gardens and those of other designers, explain, for example, that the rhythmic gardens of Brazilian designer Roberto Burle Marx were inspired by his early training in piano, voice, and painting; how a familiarity with the "nocturnes" of James McNeill Whistler can help a gardener design landscapes that will be appealing after dark; the ways that sculpture can pull together a garden's spatial attributes. The text is accompanied by gorgeous photos of art and gardens to illustrate major concepts.

Van Sweden also explains how "negative" space in a garden affects a landscape's moods and why an understanding of music and dance will help you "choreograph" a visitor's journey through the garden and shape their garden experience.

I've just touched on a few highlights from the book ... it's an important book in the landscape design field; it's fun to read; and it's a volume that belongs on every designer's bookshelf.  My previous favorite garden book was van Sweden's Architecture in the Garden ... now I'm not so sure.

 

In the Magazines March-April 2011

Horticulture April 2011

*Design: How to deal with suburban lots for impact & lasting success.
*Roundup for weeds:  not as bad as you might think.
*Profile of Diane Ragone of the National Tropical Botanical Garden
 *Design:  Plant combos for stunning window boxes
*Rhododendrons that survive heat and cold
*Design:  An Italian-style garden in Los Angeles

 

Fine Gardening April 2011

*Combo-rama:  Plant textures and colors that REALLY work together for maximum style
*Design:  How to create layers and patterns that work in any garden
*Design workshop:  elements that make for successful garden design: cozy, private, warm, perfume and more

 

Garden Design March 2011

*Design: A modern interior is the inspiration for a garden in Beverly Hills by designer Judy Kameon.
*Witch Hazels to improve the winter mood
*Guide to different types of gravel
*Profile of rhododendrons

Sunset March 2011

 *Designing small gardens:
1000 sq. ft. split-level LA garden for dining & entertaining by Outer Space Landscape Architecture;
Fire, seating, dining, screening and plants in 550 sq. ft. in Venice, CA by designer Steve Siegrist;
Layered plantings and an irregular path wind thru 400 sq. ft. in this Portland OR garden by designer Darcy Daniels;
And, a drab front entry is transormed in Del Mar, CA by designer Kendra Berger;

*Recycled materials for backyard designs