GardenDesignOnline

New Ginger Species

photo: A.J. Plumptre/WCS

Scientists from We Stand for Wildlife (WCS) have discovered a new species of ginger in the Kabobo Massif of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The rugged mountainous area is one of the most biodiverse in Africa and the recent discovery underscores the importance of conservation on this site.

The new plant is Aframomum ngamikkense, named after the four main peaks in the Kabobo Massif.  The plant is found at higher altitudes -- between 1500 and 2000 meters  -- but it is quite abundant in those areas.

There are approximately 50 known species of ginger throughout Africa, including Madagascar, and the fruits are eaten by the local population and also by gorillas and chimpanzees.  The new ginger is the eighth unique species found in the region, and another five are being investigated.  Three of them are plants, the rest are mammals and a bird.  WCS Senior Scientist Andrew Plumptre says it is "uncommon to find so many unique species at one site, particularly when we have only made biodiversity surveys over a period of about four months."

To date, more than 1400 plant species have been documented in the Kabobo Massif.  Scientists hope the recent discoveries will help upgrade the area to National Reserve status, especially since it adjoins the recently-named Ngandja Reserve.

AHS Garden Book Awards 2017

The American Horticultural Society has announced its garden book awards for 2017. Here they are:

All the Presidents' Gardens: Madison's Cabbages to Kennedy's RosesHow the White House Grounds Have Grown with America (Timber Press, 2016) by Marta McDowell.

Author McDowell takes you through the decades and all the changes wrought by various presidents and their wives in the landscape of the White House.  Surprises abound. And as AHS notes, "...historic images tell a refreshingly non-partisan story of how the White House grounds have grown with America."

My review of the book is here.

Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (Timber Press, 2016) by Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher

Everything you want to know about meadows, natural landscaping, how to put it all together in one fabulous design. AHS: "...a fresh take on how to garden ecologically and beautifully."

My review of the book is here.

Rock Gardening: Reimagining a Classic Style (Timber Press, 2016) by Joseph Tychonievich.

Great rock gardening is a special art, and Tychonievich is one of the great rock gardening artists.

AHS: "...readers just can't help but fall in love -- or in love again -- with this style of gardening."

My review of the book is here.

AND ... two other books that I did not review also made the AHS list for 2017.

Plant: Exploring the Botanical World (Phaidon Press, 2016) by editors at Phaidon

AHS: "...an art exhibit in book form that provides tidbits of knowledge without being the least bit pedantic."

 

The Bee-Friendly Garden: Design an Abundant, Flower-Filled Yard that Nurtures Bees and Supports Biodiversity (Ten Speed Press, 2016) by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn

 AHS: "...practical information that any gardener can use," ... "a useful resource anywhere in North America."

Happenings April 2017

Selected Events Around the Country:

 Exhibitions:

thru April 16, 2017, "The Landscape Architecture of Lawrence Halprin," Washington DC
National Building Museum, 202-272-2448, sponsor: TCLF
thru April 9, Orchid Daze, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
thru April 9, The Orchid Show: Thailand, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
thru May 14, Orchids: A Moment, Washington DC
21st Smithsonian Orchid Show, Hirshhorn Museum, 202-633-2220
April 22-Oct 29, Artworks & more by Dale Chihuly, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700

April 1, Heronswood Garden Open & Plant Sale, Kingston, WA
10am-3pm, Guest Speaker Dan Hinkley, 206-842-8922
April 1-2 What's Out There Weekend, New Orleans, LA
Free tours of the city's most significant landscapes, TCLF, 202-483-0553
April 5, Urban Tree Care & Planning, Washington DC
12:30pm, Lecture, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
April 5-9, San Francisco Flower & Garden Show, San Mateo, CA
San Mateo Event Center, 415-684-7278

April 10, LA Catherine Mosbach of Mosbach Paysagiste, Philadelphia, PA
6pm Lecture, Penn Design, 215-898-6591
April 15-23, California Native Plant Week, CA
Lectures, garden tours, workshops, more. 916-447-2677

April 19, "Art & Nature of LA Ellen Biddle Shipman," Washington DC
6:30pm, Lecture, National Building Museum, 202-272-2448
April 19, "Immersive Landscapes" with LA Andrea Cochran, West Hollywood, CA
7pm, Lecture, Pacific Design Center, sponsor: Garden Conservancy, 845-424-6500
April 20, "Urban Forests" with author Jill Jonnes, Glencoe, IL
7pm, Lecture, Chicago Botanic Garden, sponsor: Garden Conservancy 845-424-6500
April 22, EARTH DAY - Events Everywhere
April 22-29 Historic Garden Week, Virginia
250+ gardens, homes, historic sites will be open  804-644-7776
April 22, 13th Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium, Woodstock, VT
8am-4pm, Woodstock Inn & Resort (note: sold out, but accepting waiting list)
April 22-23, Garden Conservancy Open Days Garden Tours: CA, NJ, NY
CA: San Francisco East Bay; NJ: Essex County; NY: Dutchess County

April 28-30, 71st Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
8:30am-5:30pm, "Small Spaces, Great Rewards," 757-565-8937
April 29, People's Climate March, Washington DC
April 29, Garden Dialogues, Hempstead, TX
3-5pm, Tour of Peckerwood Garden with landscape architect, TCLF, 202-483-0553
April 30, Garden Conservancy Open Days Garden Tours: CA, NY
CA: Pasadena; NY: Lewisboro, NY

LOOKAHEAD:

May 11, LA Mia Lehrer, Boston, MA
7pm Lecture, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156
May 23-27 Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK

Chickens in the Garden, Anyone?

photos: Hobbit Hole Store

I know that chickens are very popular these days ... and even if you're doing high-end design, you may run into clients who want a big vegetable garden and perhaps chickens, too.

So -- if you're going to go that route, the least you can do is have a good-looking chicken coop, like these hand-made ones from the Hobbit™ Hole Store.

They come in different sizes and styles, so that you can decide upon having a whole flock or just a few.  Coops have insulation for cold climates, windows, perches, nest boxes, everything you could possibly need.  Well, if you're going to have chickens, why not a designer coop?

 

March Events Update

March 23-March26

82nd Annual Savannah Tour of Homes & Gardens, Savannah, GA.

Should be lots of wonderful plants in bloom.

Funky Furniture

New offerings from David Francis Furniture:  Fun, Funky, Fabulous for the right yard.

photos: David Francis - click to enlarge

The Marrakesh Armchair
Woven Eolene over powder-coated aluminum frame.

Colors: White or Paprika

 

Nantucket Loveseat
Powder-coated aluminum frame in Snow finish, Sunbrella Fabrics
Armchair and tables to match.

 

Napa Armchair
Powder-coated white aluminum frame; Sunbrella Fabrics
Dining chair, barstool, loveseat, coffee table to match.

 

See all of the new outdoor offerings on the David Francis Furniture website.

Is your Firepit Legal?

I don't endorse any products, and I'm not endorsing Solus Firepits, but the company had a very interesting blog post recently on the legality of firepits around the country.

The message is:  if you or your client are thinking about putting one in the yard, make sure you check out your local ordinances first. In some communities, wood-burning firepits or outdoor fireplaces are simply illegal.

The blog post is very interesting.  You may read it here. 

Books: Japanese Gardens

There have been many books published about Japanese gardens, but The Gardens of Japan (Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2017) by Helena Attlee is right up there near the top of my list.  (FYI, the hardback was published in 2010, and this new edition is the paperback).

Although it includes well-known Japanese gardens like Ryoan-ji, the major emphasis in the book is on Japanese gardens off the beaten track -- ones you certainly might miss on a regular tourist trip.  As the author notes in the introduction, different garden styles marked different eras in Japanese history.  "Consequently," she says, "in Japanese gardens old and new are interleaved and inseparable, rather than being, as Japanese garden historian and author Teiji Itoh puts it, 'piled up like strata in an archaelogical excavation.'"

Nineteen of the 28 gardens profiled in the book are in and around Kyoto, the rest spread around the country.  Each entry includes a number of stunning photographs and a brief description of the garden and its major attributes.  I was particularly fascinated by Ritsurin-koen in Takamatsu, At the foot of a mountain, famous because it's known for the Japanese art of niwaki, or sculpting trees.  The garden has more than one thousand pine trees, six ponds, miniature hills, rocky islands and plains as well.  If you're planning a visit to Japanese gardens, this one, and many others in this book, will definitely be on your itinerary -- and not on everyone else's. 

New Maple Tree

Mesa Glow® Maple
(Acer grandidentatum 'JFS-NuMex 3')

A new maple that's drought-tolerant and cold hardy is expected to be on the retail market next year.   And besides those attributes, it has deep orange-red fall color, an upright form, and great disease resistance. 

Developed at New Mexico State University by Professor Rolston St. Hilaire, the university recently received a patent on the tree.  In the Southwest, St. Hilaire noticed that the Bigtooth maple rivals East Coast sugar maples for brilliant color, and he was determined to develop one that could withstand a dry climate, salty soil, cold temperatures and lots of light.

It's taken more than 15 years, but in partnership with the J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co. in Boring, Oregon, the tree became a reality after much time-consuming research.

St. Hilaire says the tree will be a benefit to homeowners. "...it's a smaller maple, it only grows to about 30 feet," he says, "So if a homeowner wants to have a tree that will have brilliant fall color, he or she can have that plant in his or her backyard."

According to J. Frank Schmidt, the tree is hardy to Zone 4, with a height of about 28 feet and a spread of 18 feet.  It has an upright oval shape, with glossy dark green foliage that changes to deep red in autumn.  Schmidt says the tree is a top choice for homeowners in the intermountain West.  I wonder how it would do in the midwest, mid-Atlantic, or a little farther north.

For more on the tree with Prof. St. Hilaire, check out this You-tube video here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHyDn1WG81s

Dutch Wave at Philadelphia Flower Show

click on photos to enlarge

If the theme is "Holland, Flowering the World," you'd of course expect to see lots of tulips.  But this year's Philadelphia Flower Show is much more: it's a celebration of Dutch Wave Design, the latest trend in sustainable, naturalistic gardens. 

Three major proponents of the Dutch Wave style designed gardens for the show, and the one shown above, by landscape architect Nico Wissing, incorporates all of the main elements in his exhibit "Reconnection."

All the materials are natural, local,  and sustainable, and as Nico explains, "The entire natural climate is positively influenced if we take account of biodiversity, climate adaptation, and the use of products and materials with a small ecological footprint in our own environment."

  American-born Carrie Preston, of Holland's Studio Toop, has been designing in Holland for almost 20 years.  Her exhibit evokes the "stinze" gardens that surround stately brick manor houses in the northern part of the country.  "These estates are known for their unique plants communities of naturalizing bulbs," she says.  And the design "marries Dutch cultural heritage -- embodied in brickwork and lacework -- with the exuberance of spring and raw American energy." 

And a sustainable roof garden by designer Bart Hoes "highlights ways of being creative with the resources nature gives us," he says. "Growing vegetables, herbs, and grains in combination with spring bulbs and perennials creates a beautiful yet beneficial garden."  There's also a narrow canal; lots of colorful tulips; a greenhouse; and a gutter system that collects rainwater for use within the garden.

At the entrance, you pass under a bridge and huge swathes of tulips into a typical Dutch Wave landscape, complete with windmills, thousands of dried hydrangeas hanging from the ceiling above, and just a little farther on, the Dutch Ecodome -- a geodesic sphere designed by Nico Wissing that's a showcase for Holland's green technologies.

It's a fabulous show this year -- many lessons for designers as well as homeowners, so don't miss it.  Through March 19 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.