GardenDesignOnline

Books: The "New" New American Garden

If there is one book you want to gift this holiday season to a designer or a dedicated gardener, this is the book.  As most of you know, a revolution in garden design occurred in the mid 1970's, when James van Sweden and Wolfgang Oehme teamed up and established a garden design firm in Washington DC.  It was dubbed the New American Garden style and featured broad, bold sweeps of perennials and ornamental grasses, along with keen attention to architectural details.

Although both partners have died, they ensured that the Oehme van Sweden firm, OvS, would live on with the three landscape architects who joined the business in the mid 1980's:  Sheila Brady, Lisa DelPlace, and Eric Groft.  Beyond Bold (Pointed Leaf Press, 2022) is the 6th book about OvS gardens, and it showcases the work that carries on in the Oehme-van Sweden tradition.

The book features 23 gardens, from residential landscapes across the United States, to The American Museum & Gardens in Bath, UK, to the Native Plant Garden at the New York Botanical Garden, to the Tippet Rise Art Center in Fishtail, Montana.  There's a written description of each garden, along with plans and gorgeous, stunning photographs by some of the country's leading landscape photographers.

In the introduction to the book, Charles Birnbaum, president and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), says Lisa Delplace "believes that 'an OvS garden is really about placemaking.' " He quotes her as saying that "Jim saw to it that we would all see and experience what being in a garden at sunrise was like; what the job of physically planting bulbs in December teaches; and how to see and design for what a garden looks like in all four seasons." 

Brady's opinion, he says, is that the OvS secret lies in its "mastery of taking it from ecological to artistic," where the plants have a distinct function: color, texture, and pattern-making. Groft, says Birnbaum, believes it's a "balance of landscape and architecture that really makes our gardens special."

I've never been able to decide which of the OvS books is my favorite, so what I'd say is that you need to have all of them.  This new book takes you back to the beginning, and through the evolution of one of the country's leading landscape architecture firms. All of the books, and particularly this new one, are a guide, a lesson, and an inspiration explaining the importance of art and nature, and why gardens are so necessary to the human experience.

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PHS Gold Medal Plants 2023

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society recently released the list of its Gold Medal Plants for 2023:

Some of my favorites:

Spigelia marilandica (Indian Pink)

This native has been my favorite perennial for many, many years.  I had three of them in my old garden, attracting hummingbirds and flowering for most of the summer season.  It's also deer resistant (a requirement for non-fenced gardens), and non-beatable for smaller spaces.  Zones 6-9.

Juniperus 'Grey Owl' (Juniper)

There aren't that many needled evergreens that aren't green, and that's what makes this plant so special.  The grayish-green color makes it a standout in almost any garden.  It's a low-growing spreader that resists drought, tolerates poor soil, heat, and cold, and it will grow in full sun in most parts of the country (Zones 2-9). It has bluish-hued cones that attract birds, and it, too, is deer resistant.

 

Nyssa Sylvatica Green Gable™ (Tupelo or Black Gum)

I've never been able to figure out why more people don't plant this tree, if only for its spectacular fall color.  There aren't many others that will give you such a great autumn display.

In spring and summer, its leaves are dark green and glossy, and the tree has a lovely upright shape with horizontal branching.

It is a slow grower, but it's a low maintenance plant that's well worth consideration. Zones 4-8.

See all of this year's Gold Medal plant winners here.

 

 

Books: American Designers at Home

 It's not very often, unless you're on a garden tour, that you might get to visit the home garden of a professional designer. But now, you can visit them from home in this new book, American Roots (Timber Press, 2022) by Nick McCullough, Allison Mccullough and Teresa Woodard. 

It's divided into four chapters -- Midwest, East Coast, South, and West, and in all, the authors take you to 20 gardens. As Nick McCullough says in the introduction, "A garden is so much more than the soil, plants, and furnishings -- it is the personal touch of each and every individual who helped create it....The American gardening spirit is one of the most creative and diverse I have experienced in all my travels.  I hope you find the same."

From the McCullough design team's garden in Columbus, Ohio to the Rhode Island garden of nurseryman and designer Sean Conway, to that of garden photographer Caitlin Atkinson in Nevada City, California, you'll be inspired by the 21st century designs, the plants, and the people who put their design dreams to the test.

The book is a reference that every designer, or would-be designer will want on their bookshelf.

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