GardenDesignOnline

Happenings December 2019

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

Events:

Dec 1, SALE, Seibert & Rice, Somerset, NJ
10am-3pm, Annual sale of terrific terracotta pottery, 973-379-2536
Dec 6, Ecological Plant Conference, Brooklyn, NY
8:30am-4:30pm, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, ELA 617-436-5838
December 12, Designing with Native Plants, San Marino, CA
2:30-3:30, Lecture, The Huntington (FREE) 626-405-2100

Holiday Shows:

Thru Dec 29, Gardens Aglow, Sandwich, MA
Heritage Museum & Gardens, 508-888-3300
Thru Dec 31, Gardens Aglow, Boothbay, ME
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, 207-633-4333
Thru Dec 31, Las Noches de las Luminarias, Phoenix, AZ
Desert Botanical Garden, 480-941-1225

Thru Jan 4, Garden Glow, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO 314-577-5100
Thru Jan 4, Glow, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Botanical Garden,216-721-1600
Thru Jan 5, Lightscape, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL 847-835-5440
Thru Jan 5, A Longwood Christmas, Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Gardens, 610-388-1000
Thru Jan 6, Gardenfest of LIghts, Richmond, VA
Thru Jan 6, Season's Greetings: America's Gardens, Washington DC
US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333

Thru Jan 11, Garden LIghts, Holiday Nights, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden, 404-876-5859
Thru Jan 26, Holiday Train Show, NY Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 718-817-8700

LOOKAHEAD:

Jan 8-10, MANTS - Mid-Atlantic Trade Show, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center, 410-296-6959
Jan 9-10, New Directions in the American Landscape Conference, Bryn Mawr, PA
"The Culture-Ecology Bond, Perspectives for Landscape Designers," Bryn Mawr College, 215-247-5777 x125
Jan 16-17, Program Repeats, Connecticut College Arboretum, New London, CT 860-439-5020

Jan 15-17, Western Trade Show, Kansas City, MO

Feb 21, Green Matters Symposium, Silver Spring, MD
8am-4pm, Ecologically Sustainable Landscapes, Brookside Gardens.
Feb 29-March 8, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
March 3, Davidson Horticultural Symposium, Davidson, NC
"Gardening with 20/20 Vision," Davidson College
March 21, Northwest Hort Society Spring Symposium, Seattle, WA
9am-4pm, "Gardening for the Future," 206-780-8172
April 17-19 Colonial Williamsburg Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA
74th annual symposium, "Celebrate Planet Earth,"  757-565-8937

Books: Design, Inside to Outside

Anyone familiar with the work of Marmol Radziner knows that their expertise lies in the smooth transition between inside and outside.  As they write in a preface to this new book, "The book demonstrates the relationship of architecture and the passage of time, drawing attention to the ways each home is designed to embrace seasonal changes, the sun's movements, and the gradual erasure of boundaries between indoor and outdoor as nature grows upon and around the architecture."

In Site: Marmol Radziner in the Landscape (Princeton Architectural Press, 2019), the authors profile 19 houses, organized by habitat:  desert, canyon, urban, and woodland. There's a brief description of each site, followed by large-format photos from inside and outside.  The book contains more than 200 photos which aptly celebrate the firm's work.

As novelist Mona Simpson notes in a foreword, "In a Marmol Radziner residence one is less aware of the house and more conscious of the trees.  Counters in bathrooms and kitchens seem to be made of the stones outside .... Each room, each corner,feels purposeful and conducive to play, concentration, or gazing into the trees and hills beyond."

If you love modern landscapes, this is the book for you.

Books: A Potpourri of Titles

Most anyone in their 50's or 60's knows the drill on gardening:  it doesn't get any easier with age.  And though all the work helps keep your body and mind in shape, it helps to have a guide to keep you. (and your garden) going.

In The Lifelong Gardener: Garden with Ease and Joy at Any Age, (Timber Press, 2019) author Toni Gattone offers loads of tips to make gardening part of your life at any age. She shows you how to downsize the garden, how to design for easy maintenance, and how to use ergonomic tools that will make. every task a bit easier. If you want to keep your garden growing and keep your body prospering, this is the book for you (or for your aging friends and relatives).

 

I once went on a tour of a moss garden in Virginia, and although I can't remember exactly where it was, this book reminds me of its calming atmosphere and ethereal beauty.

In Moss: From Forest to Garden: A Guide to the Hidden World of Moss, (Countryman Press, 2019) Swedish author and moss fanatic Ulrica Nordstrom takes you through the anatomy and culture of mosses, and then leads you on a worldwide tour of amazing moss gardens and the horticulturists that practice true artistry with an amazing palette of mosses.

You may not have the space or shade for a moss garden, but even if you don't, Nordstrom shows you how to create indoor moss gardens and miniature landscapes that will leave you in a higher state of mind at any time of year.

 Lots of us have gardens with plenty of flowers, but if you're like me, you don't exactly know what's best when you try to bring them indoors.  That's why you might want to have a copy of In Bloom: Growing, Harvesting, and Arranging Homegrown Flowers All Year Round (Companion House Books, (Fox Chapel Publishing) 2019).  British author Clare Nolan illustrates how to furnish your residence with scent, joy, color, and yes, days and days of happiness.  As Nolan says in the introduction, "Flowers are an emotional marker through our lives, a symbolic gesture to mark our rights of passage -- moments of joy, sadness, passion, and love.  It's unbelievably special to honor these with your garden-gathered blooms."

She profiles all of her favorites, and tells you how to grow them and how to preserve them once you bring them inside. The book is filled with gorgeous photos that will inspire you to try some of these simple arrangements yourself.  I haven't seen a better resource on flower gardening and arranging.

And finally, for those who have no choice but to garden indoors, author and blogger Enid Svymbersky (acharmingproject.com), creates modern terrariums to bring the outdoors indoors and bring in life and oxygen to almost any room or space, no matter how small.  In Creative Terrariums: 33 Modern Mini-Gardens for Your Home (Fox Chapel Publishing) Step-by-Step Cutting-Edge, Contemporary Designs to Add a Decorative Organic Presence to Even the Smallest Room (Fox Chapel Publishing, 2019), Svymbersky writes about 33 projects in creative containers, and includes step by step instructions for creating them and keeping them alive!   Try your hand at gardening on a tray, inside a lantern or a seashell, or inside a hanging glass globe.