GardenDesignOnline

Christmas Gifts: Last-Minute

1) Give a membership to your favorite local botanical garden or arboretum... or to The Garden Conservancy or the American Horticultural Society.

2.

 Garden knife from AM Leonard.  Since I bought one of these some years ago, it's the only tool I need in the garden:  weeding, digging holes for bulbs, digging holes for small-ish plant installations.  And it's stainless steel, so no rusting ... and ... you can usually always find it because of the orange handle.  Don't be without it.

 

3.

Order an amaryllis (or orchid, or something else) from White Flower Farm , or  if. you're really late ordering online, pick one up at your local nursery.  A touch of spring in the coldest months always brings happiness to the recipient. 

Christmas Books III

If you can't join designer Carolyn Mullet on one of her European garden tours), then do the next best thing, and read her book, Adventures in Eden: An Intimate Tour of the Private Gardens of Europe (Timber Press, 2020). Fifty private gardens are profiled, gardens designed by some of the best in the business today.

 

In Gardens of the North Shore of Chicago, (Monacelli Press, 2020), author Benjamin Lenhardt profiles 25 private gardens, both traditional and modern, that stretch along the coast of Lake Michigan.  Lenhardt is former chairman of the Garden Conservancy, and has long been interested in historic preservation. Gorgeous photos, and an essay accompanies each.

 

In David Culp's latest book, A Year at Brandywine Cottage: Six Seasons of Beauty, Bounty, and Blooms (Timber Press, 2020), you can tour his personal garden. Culp, a horticulturist, author, designer, and VP of Sunny Border Nurseries in Connecticut, has spent 30+ years creating his own spectacular garden in Pennsylvania. The book features scores of beautiful photos, a plan of the garden in the frontispiece, and recipes scattered throughout.

Christmas Gifts II

Blue Agave Garden Torch

From the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix .. galvanized steel, powder coated flowers and realistic patina finish that will not fade.  Comes in large or small sizes.  Beautiful way to illuminate your patio or deck!

Red Poppy Solar Light
Also from the Desert Botanical Garden, all-weather steel construction, powder-coated color, two bright LED solar lights that run on batteries.  Not something you'll see in a local garden store, and a great way to brighten your garden.

 

  Orchid Travel Mug,

24.99 from the shop at Longwood Gardens

And check out the other items in their orchid collection: mugs, tea towels, coasters, prints, and more.

 

 

Paper Salad & Dessert Plates

Hillwood Museum & Gardens shop
High-quality paper board & water-based dyes. 8"diameter, garden-themed.  Napkins & guest towels also available.

Set of 16, $10.

 

Limestone Orchid Coasters

Hillwood Museum & Gardens Shop

Four distinct orchid images ... high-quality limestone with cork backing; hand-washable. $28.

Christmas Books II

Some of my favorites from the past year:

In Garden Design Master Class: 100 Lessons from The World's Finest Designers on the Art of the Garden (Rizzoli International, 2020), author Carl Dellatore asked 100 designers for their thoughts on the elements that go into notable gardens. Top landscape architects, designers, horticulturists and garden stylists offer essays on everything from restoration and materials to symmetry, space, scale, water, estates, borders, hedges, romance, liberty --  you name it.

I have, and have read, more than one book on Sissinghurst, but this one is absolutely the one you want on your bookshelf.  In this new book, Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden (Frances Lincoln, 2020), author Tim Richardson offers a fresh perspective and new insights into one of the most famous gardens in the world.  

 

The inspiring story of Windcliff, the personal garden of renowned plant explorer and designer Dan Hinkley.  Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens (Timber Press, 2020). It includes plants you've never heard of, tons of design tips, and excellent writing from a master of horticulture.

 

Meet 75 dedicated, talented women working in the field of design and horticulture. The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants (Timber Press, 2020). Some you've heard of, some you haven't, but a "find" for anyone who wants to know some of the women who are at the forefront of gardening and landscape architecture.

 

 

Christmas Gifts I

While you're staying in because of Covid, tired of TV, and looking for something to occupy your time, try these:

A 1000 piece puzzle of arboretum trees. Great present for any gardener.

From the NY Botanical Garden shop, just $19.95, and you can learn the botanical names of all those trees.  Also a herbarium puzzle on offer.

Get it here.

 

For your coffee mug, while you're working at home.

Dendrobium orchid coaster, white limestone marble with cork backing. $8.  NYBG shop.

Get it here. And other orchid images available.

 

And for going out when you can't stand being inside anymore:

Floral Mum mask, NYBG Shop, $9.95

Dual cloth layers, and other designs available.

Get it here.

 

I don't have an image, but check out this mini zen garden for your desktop.  From The Huntington. You could spend hours re-arranging the elements. $15.95

 

 

 

Books: BIG Christmas Books

Deisgners are familiar with garden elements like ha-ha and folly, and they know the difference between an arbor and a pergola.  As for styles, most of us can picture a tropical garden, a prairie garden, a Japanese garden and the like.

But, in The Garden: Elements and Styles  (Phaidon Press, 2020), British author Toby Musgrave has compiled a book that features more than 200 garden features, ornaments, styles and elements.  Essentially, it's a glossary for designers and dedicated gardeners with more than 500 photos that illustrate each entry.

The book has an A to Z organization, ie, from Allée to Zeitgeist. Each entry has a brief explanation followed by a page or two of photos. You'll learn some new terms like "Quincunx,"  "Giochi d'acqua," and "Ferme ornée," and you'll recognize some of the featured gardens and designers:  Windcliff, USA; Giverny, France; Gravetye Manor, UK; Andrea Cochran, Piet Oudolf, Roymond Jungles, Steve Martino.

The book is grand reference, and a welcome addition for any designer's library.

 

This book is a celebration of flower images, from botanical illustrations and paintings to sculpture, floral arrangements, quilts, vases, objets d'art and more.

Curated by an international panel of experts, the images in the book, Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom (Phaidon Press, 2020) range over 4000 years, from ancient Egypt to today.  You'll see gold ornaments (leaves, a flower pendant, a flower-shaped hairpin) c. 2300-2100 BC from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Andy Warhol's famous flower-screen prints; paintings by Monet, Dutch artists from the 1600's, Georgia O'Keefe and many more; and even a photo of a girl holding a flower in front of National Guard troops during the 1967 anti-Vietnam march in Washington DC.

Great gift for anyone who loves flowers of any kind.