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This is absolutely my very favorite place in New York City ... eons ago, as a very young woman when I worked there, I used to walk down and have lunch there frequently.
For the best info on the park, the design, and fabulous photos, check out the recent post by my good friend Melissa Clark, designer and photographer, at her Garden Shoots Blog here.
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SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:
May 17-Sept 7: Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them
Lectures, Films, Poetry, Concerts & More; NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
April 26-May 31, Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage, 410-821-6933
May 2, Ethics & Nature Symposium, Glencoe, IL
9AM-4:15PM, "A Cascade of Loss, an Ethics of Recovery," Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440
May 3, Venice Garden & Home Tour, Venice, CA
10AM-5PM, Self-guided walking tour, 30 gardens, 310-821-1857
May 3, All About Containers Saturday, Bronx, NY
10AM-5PM, 3 Separate Workshops, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
May 3-4, Mary Lou Heard Memorial Garden Tour, various sites, CA
10AM-5PM, 43 gardens, self-guided tour.
May 4, Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, Various Cities, CA
10AM-5PM, Self-guided tours, 40 gardens, 510-236-9558
May 4, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: IL, NY
May 9, National Public Gardens Day: Events at Public Gardens Throughout the Country.
May 9, Native Perennials with Bling, Washington DC
noon-1:15PM, Lecture, Author Stephanie Cohen, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
May 10, Georgetown Garden Tour, Washington DC
10AM-5PM, 86th annual tour, 202-965-1950
May 10-11, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CA, CT, NJ, NY, RI
May 14-21, Healthcare Garden Design, Glencoe, IL
Eight-day certificate program, Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-8261
May 15, Beacon Hill Garden Tour, Boston, MA
9AM-5PM, 85th annual Hidden Gardens Tour, 15 gardens, 617-227-4392
May 16-18, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: NC, CT, NJ, NY
May 17-18, Garden Dialogues: TX, DC, MD, NY
Tours of private gardens with the designers. TX: Austin/Ft. Worth; MD: Baltimore, Bethesda, Chevy Chase; DC; NY: Scarsdale. The Cultural Landscape Foundation. 202-483-0553
May 17-18, Trade Secrets Show & Garden Tour, Litchfield Hills, CT
Garden antiques, plants, garden tours, more. 860-364-1080
May 18, Society Hill Garden Tour, Philadelphia, PA
1PM-5PM, 10 Society Hill Gardens & Houses, 215-629-1288
May 20-24, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK
May 21, Women Landscape Pioneers, Bronx NY
10AM-noon, Lecture on Works of Ellen Shipman, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
May 24, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: NY, SC
May 31, Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: CA, SC
LOOKAHEAD:
June 20, Women and the City from the Landscape Perspective, Bronx, NY
10AM-noon, Symposium, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
July 18, Annual Woody Plant Conference, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
July 28-Aug 1, Perennial Plant Symposium, Cincinnati, OH
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Several new collections are now available for order at Thos Baker in Bainbridge Island, WA.
This new hampton java collection, which features over-sized seating, is fashioned from all-weather wicker. The resin wicker is dyed-through, obviously for an even color, and the sub-frame is powder coated aluminum. Sunbrella cushions are included.
The items in the catalina collection have weathered, heavy-gauge aluminum frames, and they feature a classic crossback style. I liked the curving armrests and slighly flared legs -- this would look great in a formal garden and could also set off a modern one.
For something a little different, you might prefer the Ibiza collection. It's very beachy, perfect for a seaside setting. The frames are powder coated aluminum with fade-resistant woven polyester sling fabric over quick-dry foam. The pieces in this collection are modular, so they can be rearranged to fit entertaining events of almost any size.
See all the new collections here, along with more photos of the above collections.
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Readers ... My host, Typepad, suffered an attack over the past few days (of what kind I don't know, or from whom) ... but I was unable to post any articles. Hope to be back soon. And we all hope the problem is fixed
Jane
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If you haven't yet taken Jan Johnsen's class at the NY Botanical Garden on "Serene Gardens," or read her blog, Serenity in the Garden, then you'll likely want to read her latest book, Heaven is a Garden: Designing Serene Spaces for Inspiration and Reflection
In this book, Johnsen, a landscape designer in Croton on Hudson, NY, teaches us how to pause and connect with the world around us. As she explains in the introduction, "I have found that mixing contemporary taste with historic design approaches makes a garden more relaxing and encourages that magical "stop time" we all desire. It allows us to enter into an unhurried state of mind, no matter what is going on beyond our garden gate. "
In the chapters that follow, Johnsen explores key landscaping elements that can help anyone find serenity.
"The Power of Place" explains how landscapes can be shaped to create "sanctuary and meaning."
"Creating Music for the Eye" guides us through the major elements that designers use to unify a garden.
"Calling on Trees" is one of my favorite chapters ... Johnsen points out that that trees are considered by many as "energy," and I certainly agree. It's nice to know, too, that trees have "essential qualities." Hawthorns signify proper alignment and "being in the present." Magnolias enhance clarity, love and self-awareness, and Oaks promote endurance and bravery.
You'll also learn about the magical qualities of water; the power of stone; and the therapeutic effects of color in the landscape.
Lovely photos throughout the book (most taken by Johnsen herself) beautifully illustrate the author's major ideas, and sometimes an image says everything best.
It's a book that every designer will want as a reference ... and a great gift for any client or anyone you know who loves landscapes and gardens.
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I've never understood why trellis manufacturers just keep doing the same old thing, year after year after year. After all, a trellis doesn't have to be just for vining plants. An attractive trellis structure can be just that ... part of the decor on a garden wall.
So ... I was quite happy to receive a catalog from Trellis Structures, a Massachusetts company that makes some very attractive items -- gates, fences, trellises, arbors, and more.
The image above is one of their "accent" trellises ... a modular piece 41 inches high that can be combined with a second one for a full-size trellis. There are a series of these accents in different designs -- all quite striking -- that would enhance almost any garden.
I also liked the "Palmate" trellis shown here -- six feet four inches high and two feet one inch wide in kiln-dried western red cedar (with stainless steel fastenings). It does, of course, evoke a tree's branches, so it's a wonderful garden match.
I can't imagine why anyone would want to grow anything on this "Ribbon" trellis and cover up the design ... but you could install some nice plants below it and beside it to call attention to its whimisical structure.
And best of all, designers, these trellises are definitely affordable ... so even your most modest (or price-sensitive) clients could easily afford one.
And do check out the others available on the Trellis Structures website.
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It's back, and it's going to be much better than ever -- a magazine for true design aficionados, packed with articles on top designers; photos by Roger Foley, Marion Brenner, Rob Cardillo and other craftsmen behind the lens; and a celebration of great AMERICAN gardens. Yay!
As you may recall the sad story, the Bonnier Corporation folded Garden Design magazine in April of 2013. Jim Peterson, owner of the Landscaping Network and the Concrete Network was so distressed to see the magazine go that he decided to buy it himself and put it back in business.
Peterson says the original idea was to publish a digital version of Garden Design for the ipad, but everyone he talked to -- designers, editors, photographers, and others -- said they missed the magazine. So he finally decided to publish a magazine that is, as he describes it, "a hybrid between a soft-cover book and a magazine." The new Garden Design will be ad-free, supported by subscriptions only, along with sales at garden retailers. It's to be published quarterly, 132 pages in each one with beautiful photos and 10 to16-page spreads on gardens. "We want to talk about the makers of gardens," said Peterson," and "focus on a designer" in every issue.
There will be standard features in every magazine.
Among them are STYLE: garden decor.
MAKER: a new product or idea and the person behind it.
LANDSCAPE SOLUTION: in-depth solutions to devilish problems.
GROUNDBREAKER: innovative leaders in landscape design.
PLANT PALETTE: how to grow them, how to design with them.
And much more. This new magazine sounds a lot like the original Garden Design published in Washington DC by James Trulove. I wasn't around back then to subscribe to that version, but I've seen copies of it, and there hasn't been anything like it since that celebrates residential landscape design.
The new Garden Design ships on May 15th. I can't wait for mine to arrive.
You can order yours here.
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My winter-blooming jasmine is finally blooming ... the very first flower in this year's garden, but when it appears, you know everything else is not far behind. This photo was taken at Hillwood Museum & Gardens in Washington DC, planted where the jasmine looks best, spilling over a wall.
Another sure-fire sign of spring is Helleborus foetidus, with one of the earliest spring blooms, these ones pale lime-green-yellow. I LOVE this plant and try to put it in every client's yard. The fine-cut evergreen foliage is attractive year-round, and the plant spreads slowly as well, eventually filling in all of those bare spots.
My yard also has two Cornelian cherries (Cornus mas), not yet as big as this one, which you can order from Wayside Gardens. The buds on my trees are not quite ready to bloom, but when the lovely yellow flowers appear, you know that spring is just around the corner.
For the life of me, I can't figure out why everyone I know seems to hate forsythia. Too boring? Too pedestrian? Too many of them around? BUT -- there is nothing as incredibly beautiful in spring as a glorious flowering forsythia hedge, like this one at Dumbarton Oaks in DC. If you don't like them when the flowers fade and the green leaves appear, then do what the Brits would do: plant some clematis at the base of the shrub and let them flower and spill over and through the forsythia from late spring to early autumn. Just takes a little imagination.
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These days, everyone seems to want to grow herbs and/or vegetables in their back yards, or join a community garden in a city neighborhood for the pleasure of a little plot of your own.
However, if you go that route, you need to be super aware of the soil conditions ... ie, make sure you get the soil tested.
A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) says while gardening in urban settings can have many health and social benefits, there is also a risk of exposure to contaminants like heavy metals, petroleum products and asbestos, which could be present in urban soils.
Keeve Nachman, PhD, author of the study, said while gardeners are usually aware of a garden site's prior use, they may be unaware of the best ways to minimize the risk of exposure to contaminants in urban soils.
The Center notes that the most dangerous elements found in urban soils are cadmium, arsenic, lead and mercury -- and that gardeners may introduce these elements into their bodies through skin contact with contaminated soil, by inhaling dust particles, or by ingesting soil particles.
Visit the Center's Urban Soil Safety Page for information on the best way to deal with contaminated soils. But by all means continue urban gardening. It's one of the great pleasures in life.
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It looks kind of strange, but this new Gaucho Grill from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet might just be the one you want.
I once lived in Buenos Aires for two years, and the Argentines are probably among the world's greatest grillers. (Grilled provolone, anyone, with a charred outside and a soft, spreadable interior?) Not to mention the chorizos, grass-fed beef -- need I say more?
You can use wood or charcoal in this grill, and there's no need for starter fuels. As the wood or charcoal burns, the debris falls through to a bin at the bottom that you simply empty from time to time. The wheel at the top raises and lowers cooking surface cradle for either searing or low-temperature grilling. And it includes a rotisserie, too, with a built-in motor.
Maybe not as cheap as a trip to Argentina, but you'll get many more meals out of it.
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READ other press reviews about Garden Design Online
Groft, Eric: Beyond Bold: Inspiration, Collaboration, Evolution
Newhouse, Victoria: Parks of the 21st Century: Reinvented Landscapes, Reclaimed Territories