GardenDesignOnline

Happenings December 2021

SELECTED EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTRY:

Exhibitions:

thru Jan 9, Rich Soil: Sculptures by Kristine Mays
Hillwood Museum & Gardens, Washington DC 202-686-58
thru May 16, 2022, A Garden of Words,
The Huntington, San Marino, CA
Dec 3-June 19, Chihuly in the Desert, Phoenix, AZ
Desert Botanical Garden, 480-941-1225

HOLIDAY SHOWS:

thru Dec 26 Gardens Aglow, Sandwich, MA
Heritage Museum & Gardens, 508-888-3300
thru Dec 31, Las Noches de las Luminarias, Phoenix, AZ
Desert Botanical Garden, 480-941-1225
thru Dec 31, Holiday at the Arboretum, Dallas, TX
Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden 214-515-6615

thru Jan 1, Gardens Aglow, Boothbay, ME
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, 207-633-8000
thru Jan 2, Lightscape, Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden 847-835-5440
thru Jan 8, Garden Glow, St. Louis, MO
Missouri Botanical Garden 314-577-5100
thru Jan 9,  A Longwood Christmas, Kennett Square, PA
Longwood Gardens 610-388-1000
thru Jan 9, Lightscape, Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 718-623-7200
thru Jan 9, Gardenfest of Lights, Richmond, VA
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden 804-262-9887

thru Jan 15, Garden Lights, Holiday Nights, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Botanical Garden 404-876-5859
thru Jan 23, Holiday Train Show, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden 718-817-8700

Events:

Nov 28-Dec12, Seibert & Rice Annual Sale, ONLINE
Fine terracotta pots from Italy and more.

DEC 1-4 APLD International Design Conference, ONLINE
Dec 2, "Beyond Wild," Lecture, Garden Conservancy, ONLINE
2pm Eastern, LA Raymond Jungles
Dec 2, LA in the early 20th Century, Race & Gender, Philadelphia, PA
6pm, Lecture, LA Thaisa Way, Penn Design
Dec 3, Ecological Plant Conference, ONLINE
8:30am-4:30pm Eastern, Ecological Landscape Alliance

Dec 14, "The Art of the Possible," Bronx, NY
1pm, Lecture, Landscapes of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, NY Botanical Garden

LOOKAHEAD:

Jan 5-7 MANTS, Mid-Atlantic Trade Show, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center
Jan 20-21, 27-28, NDAL 33rd Annual Landscape Symposium, ONLINE
1pm-4:30pm EST, New Directions in the American Landscape

May 24-28, Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK
June 11-19, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA

 

Christmas Books I - New R. Jungles book

If you thought there's nothing more you can learn from LA Raymond Jungles, then think again. In his latest book, Beyond Wild: Gardens and Landscapes by Raymond Jungles (Monacelli Press, 2021), Jungles offers a look at 21 of his latest projects, located from Miami to Manhattan, Panama, Mexico, and the Florida Keys.

Filled with fabulous photos and Jungles' iconic drawings, you'll want this book for no other reason than the description and images of the restored Atrium Garden at the Ford Foundation in New York City. It combines the vision of the original landscape architect, Dan Kiley, with new scientific horticultural innovations in order to allow Kiley's design to last for many more years. The plant colors are mainly the same -- shades of green -- but in one instance, Jungles replaced the original southern magnolias with with 'Amstel King' fig trees, which are similar in shape and size. The garden now again looks like the New England forest that Kiley designed, and when you pass by the building on East 43rd Street, you'll definitely take a step inside for a truly sensational experience.

Likewise, you'll want to visit some of the other public gardens profiled in this book:  the Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden and a public plaza  at 1111 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

In the introduction to the book, landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh notes the influence of the late Roberto Burle Marx in Jungles' work, but there is much more.  As Van Valkenburgh says, "Nature is not inherently generous.  Raymond is.  He composes landscapes with broad, confident gestures that come out of abundance.  They are moments that are engulfing -- places that hold you within a madness of plants.  But his abundance always comes back to the same purpose:  to make us feel good."

And it will certainly make you feel good to have and hold this book.  A perfect present, as well, for anyone on your holiday gift list.

 

Books: Guerrilla Flowers, Edibles

New York City:

Yes! You walked by that ugly construction site at 9th Ave and West 14th St. every day ... but the next morning, it was bedecked with sunflowers, cattails, and lavender.  It was all the overnight work of florist Lewis Miller, who's been bringing life to trash cans, sculptures, construction sites, bus stops, subway entrances and more -- and much pleasure and happiness to New Yorkers.

Some of his work is now documented in Flower Flash (Monacelli Press, 2021). HIs first flash was at the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park, using more than two thousand flowers recycled from an event the night before. In the dead of night, Lewis creates stunning installations that have shown up in all parts of the city.  As Lewis says in the introduction, "Flower Flashes celebrate all the good that flowers embody and have to offer us mortals....Precious sweet peas share company with unloved carnations, chrysanthemums make nice with English garden roses."  Those are the kinds of recipes for success, he says, because NYC is built on the same principle. "Like a true Flower Flash, Gotham City is a glorious mash-up of all kinds of people and personalities."

Flowers have personalities, too, and you can enjoy them in all their glory in this book, documenting 90 of his inspiring installations.

 

I've never seen an okra flower, and I certainly have never tasted one. But in Edible Flowers: How, Why, and When We Eat Flowers (Monacelli Press, 2021), author Monica Nelson lets us know that the petals can accent dishes that incorporate okra, or can be lightly sauteed and eaten.

Nelson profiles 100 flowers that can be used in cuisine, from acacia to zinnia.  The entries are organized alphabetically, with a short description of the plant and the parts that can easily be consumed.

There are recipes from famous chefs as well, and yes, a list of poisonous flowers that should be avoided at all costs.  Beautiful photos by Adrianna Glaviano accompany many of the entries.  The book itself is on the small side, and could easily be tucked into a backpack for reference by anyone who's into foraging.

#Commission earned on book sales.