GardenDesignOnline

Happenings April 2019

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

Exhibitions:

thru April 12, Landscape Legacy of Dan Kiley, Palm Desert, CA
Univ of CA Riverside, Palm Desert Center, TCLF, 202-483-0553
thru April 7, Dallas Blooms, Dallas TX
Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden,
thru April 28, "Orchids: Amazing Adaptations," Washington DC
National Portrait Gallery, Kogod Courtyard, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
thru April 7, Orchid Daze, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
thru April 28, The Orchid Show: Singapore, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
thru October 15, Celebrating New American Gardens, Washington DC
US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333

EVENTS:

April 1, Kiley Fellow Lecture, LA Monserrat Bonvehi Rosich, Boston, MA
noon-1:30pm, Harvard Graduate School of Design.  617-496-2414
April 3, LA Scott Jordan of Civitas LA, Amherst, MA
4:30pm, Lecture, Univ of Massachusetts

April 8, Film on Piet Oudolf's Gardens, Silver Spring, MD
7:45pm, Lecture and Film, AFI Silver Theater, 301-495-6700
April 9 PWP Landscape Architecture, LA Adam Greenspan, Washington DC
6:30pm, National Building Museum, Lecture: Glenstone, SF Transit Center Park, More 202-272-2448
April 12-14 What's Out There Weekend, Nashville, TN
Landscape Tours & Much More, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, TCLF, 202-483-0553
April 12-14, Garden Furniture & Antiques Fair, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700

April 13, Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium, Woodstock, VT
8am-4pm, Woodstock Inn & Resort
April 13-20 California Native Plant Week
Garden Tours, Lectures, More 916-447-2677
April 15 - Waza to Kokoro Seminars on Japanese Garden Design, Portland, OR
April 15 Applicatons due for Sept Seminar, Portland Japanese Garden

April 17, LA Eric Blasen of Blasen LA, Amherst, MA
4:30pm, Lecture, Univ. of Massachusetts
April 22, EARTH DAY -- Events Everywhere

April 26-28, Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
73rd Annual Symposium, 757-565-8937
April 27-28 Garden Conservancy Open Days Tours: NJ, NY
NJ: Essex, Somerset Counties; NY: Putnam, Westchester Counties 845-424-6500
April 27-May 4, Historic Garden Week, State of Virginia

LOOKAHEAD:

May 9, Landscape Lecture: LA Cheryl Barton, Boston, MA
7pm, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 617-278-5156
May 21-25, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK
June 7  Roberto Burle Marx Symposium, Bronx, NY
10:30am-12:30pm, NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8700
June 8-Sept. The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx, Bronx, NY
1st large-scale horticultural tribute to Burle Marx, NYBG, 718-817-8700

Books: The New Tree Bible

Wow!  How long have we been waiting for something like this???  Yep, you almost tremble as you open the pages.  If you ever hoped for a tree book that could match Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs, this is it!

In The Tree Book: Superior Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and Gardens (Timber Press, 2019), authors Michael Dirr and Keith Warren, among the country's top tree experts, have written the tree book that will be our top reference work for many years to come.

As they say in the introduction, "We Love Trees," and it's evident throughout this comprehensive masterpiece.  I hardly know where to begin.  In the Cornus florida entry, they note that "a cultivar exists for every garden situation." They add that small seedling trees are inexpensive and ... will reward abundantly... Kudos to a great native!"  Dogwood trees are listed by color - white or pink, and/or variegated foliage. There's also a special section on the Rutgers hybrid dogwoods, which have better disease resistance.

As for Juniperus chinensis, the authors say they have "lost their allure" in recent years, but I loved some of the cultivars I didn't know, like the upright 'Star Power', with bluish foliage and good resistance to winter burn in cold climates.  I also liked the hardy 'Trautman', 20' tall by 5' wide, with a narrow, tight pyramidal form.

There are more oaks and maples than any of us could name, making this book indispensable for landscape designers and architects as well as tree-loving homeowners.  In all, the book contains entries for more than 2400 species and cultivars, and each includes photographs, descriptions, cultural requirements, and landscape use.  They also specify whether each tree is suitable as a street tree. Where else would you ever find that information?   A 21st century classic, for sure.

 

In the Magazines - March-April 2019

Landscape Architecture March

*Trees!
*Reed Hilderbrand renovates the failing maple allee at Storm King Art Center
*A new visitor center & protecting the sequoias at Yosemite
*Decreasing the risk of wildfires
*Trees at Ypres, Belgium & the !st World War

Sunset March

*A "wave" garden in San Francisco, inspired by the ocean surf, including a wooden wave, a greenhouse/cabin, and planting design by Horticultural Holiday. 
*Bellweather Blossoms
*Build your own Bed (for plants, that is)

 

Martha Stewart Living March

*A primer on classic garden styles:
Italian: plants, accoutrements, where to see them in the US.
French Flair: parterres, topiaries, potagers, where to visit in France & the US
English Romance: landscape parks, cottage gardens; where to visit in the UK & US

 

BHG March

*Trends:
Community Gardens & the people creating them
*Novelty Veggies
*DIY Greenhouses

 

 

Horticulture March-April

*Plants that support Wildlife
*Best roses for cutting
*Plants to protect from wildfires

 

 

Philadelphia Flower Show 2019 - Expertise

The big, designed landscapes are always the premier attraction at the show, but there are also annual attractions that showcase the expertise of amateur horticulturists and others. Here are some of this year's winners:

click on images to enlarge

Interiorscape:
As the judges noted, "Execution of intent hits the mark throughout the four seasons."
It's the interior of a rustic Maine cabin, and, as the designer said, "perfect for the many moods of Maine," its lakes, its colors of fall, the forests, the mountains, and spring flowers.

Jewelry:

I can't imagine designing this creation, a blue-ribbon winner made from dried plants, including corn kernels, a sweetgum pod, almonds, caraway seeds, bay leaf, long pepper, rosemary, mustard seed and more.

Genius!

 

Specimens:

There are tables and tables full of specimens: cacti, begonias, you name it ... and other plants grown for flowers, foliage, and many other attributes.  I loved this winning Thuja plicata 'Whipcord'.

 

And table decorations always have a place at the PHS Flower Show.  Love the colors in this one.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2019 - First Look

After you pass by a number of vine sculptures and "pods" featuring creations by some of the world's top floral designers, you're greeted by a towering, flowering meadow up above as you enter this year's Philadelphia Flower Show.  The theme this year is "Flower Power," and there are more flowers than you'll probably ever see in one place. 

The show this year is also hosting the FTD World Cup, an international floral design competition among top designers from more than 20 countries.  Their creations are simply breath-taking, not to put too fine a point on it.

Among the landscape exhibits, the top prize went to Hunter Hayes Landscape Design of Ardmore, PA, for "The Power Plant," featuring an abandoned mill and water wheel, a natural pond filled with aquatic plants, along with a native tree grove and meadow to attract wildlife.  Featured plants included 'Cully' river birch, fothergilla, deutzia, knockout roses, hellebores, polemonium and daffodils.

But for sheer "flower power," I liked the "All Along the Watchtower" design by McCullough's Landscape and Nursery of New Albany, Ohio.  The design is inspired by the Woodstock Music Festival 50 years ago, looking out from the stage at a haze of purple and brilliant textures created by infinite flowers. 

 

Among the flowers are alchemilla, astilbe, carex, artemesia, stachys 'Silver Carpet', 'Flame' foxglove, verbena, daffodils, and many, many more. Nick McCullough is well known for his artistic designs, and check out his blog, "Thinking Outside the Boxwood." And you might want to also follow him on Pinterest, where he has more than three million followers!