GardenDesignOnline

The Battery Restored - Plantings by Piet Oudolf

photos: Suki Choe for Quennell Rothschild & Partners- click to enlarge

The Battery, at the foot of Manhattan, is open to the public again after surviving the 9-11 attack and Hurricane Sandy.  Landscape Architects Quennell Rothschild & Partners led a team of designers to restore the area, in cooperation with the NYC Parks & Recreation Department and the Battery Conservancy.

The site includes a two-acre area for large gatherings, a bikeway, and Monument Walk, which features 10 restored sculptures that are monuments to this country's explorers, defenders, and inventors. Quennell's lead designer Beth Franz says "New Yorkers and tourists alike will now be able to enjoy a safe, lush, and exciting park.  While creating sustainable amenities for 21st century parkgoers, we were careful to preserve the most important historic features."

The two-acre Battery Oval is carpeted with Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue, free of fertilizers and toxins.  An outdoor performance area is located between the Oval and Castle Clinton, with 300 chairs for early-bird visitors designed by Andrew Jones to look like blue flowers floating in a field.

The Battery Bikeway links the Hudson River and East River bikeways, and is flanked by gardens designed by Piet Oudolf. Native plants include Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) and Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) trees, along with witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) and many other native shrubs and perennials.

The landscape architects also re-designed circulation to preserve the mature trees, including pin, red and willow oaks, gingkos and elms already on site.  The Battery is the city's first line of defense against hurricanes, so paved areas were reduced and mown lawn gave way to huge swaths of native salt-tolerant grasses. 

If you decide to visit, there are two cafes in the Battery Bosque, and you might also want to visit the historic Castle Clinton and the SeaGlass Carousel. The Battery Conservancy website also has a complete list of plantings.

 

Italy - The Grand Garden Tour

Join landscape architect Robert Mcdufffie for a 15-day tour of Italy's most famous gardens, from the grand Villa d'Este to Villa Gamberaia, Isola Bella and Isola Madre.  The tour, May 25-June 8, is two solid weeks of education about the craftsmanship and design creativity by Italian masters in Sorrento, Rome, Florence, Venice, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast, with many more stops along the way.  Closing date for the tour is February 25, so sign up soon.  Details about the trip here.

And while you're at it, check out his other grand 2011 trip to Scotland in July -- details here.

The Pretentious Gardener

My annoyance level went up about a thousand times last weekend as I made the first stop on a public garden tour. "Jane, there are no photos allowed in this garden."  What?  "Norma (not her real name) doesn't want people to publish photos of her garden (for commercial use) without her permission."

And, you may ask, what was so special about this particular garden.   Well, it had unusual  stonework patterns, and nice plantings, but I've seen hundreds of gardens in my career, and believe me, this one was beautifully put together, but nothing so extra special.  Come on folks ... what is it you're afraid of?  Afraid that a garden club member or a student might like to show a picture of a very nice garden to a friend?

Afraid someone might copy your idea of planting a blue hosta next to a golden one?  Or copy that brick inset (or edging) on the flagstone patio?  Or the cobble edge on the side garden walk?

The fact is, no professional photographer would be caught dead taking photos for publication in the mid-day sun.  Pros usually work only in very early mornings or late afternoons in order to capture the garden in the best light.  And if you don't want people putting up photos of your garden on Flickr, just ask them not to do that.

The most fabulous garden I saw all weekend was one designed by DC landscape architect Guy Williams.  Did he stop people from taking photos? No.  He was talking to EVERYONE who asked about the plants, the combinations, the hardscape and much more.  That's what real professionals do.  They like to share their work with other people. 

And here's a photo of great garden I took a couple of years ago on a garden tour ... a garden by a professional landscape designer at that!

Brazilian Landscapes

Dr. Jules Bruck, Asst. Professor of Landscape Design at the University of Delaware, recently took a group of students to Brazil to study  Brazilian landscapes -- including many designed by Roberto Burle Marx, one of the 20th century's most celebrated landscape architects.  Check out their blog - which includes many pictures of Brazilian flora, Burle Marx designs, gardens, and tropical landscapes. 

Garden Trip to Ireland

The Great Gardens of Ireland

I have to admit that I'm not nearly as familiar with gardens in Ireland as those in Britain.  But there are several that should be just as well-known, and you can visit them on this summer trip.

Landscape Architect & Professor Robert McDuffie of Virginia Tech leads this 13-day trip that actually begins in Belfast at Butterstream, also known as the Irish Sissinghurst. While in the north, you'll also see the Botanic Gardens, and two National Trust properties, Mt. Stewart and Rowallane, which includes the national collection of penstemons.

On to Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, the Ring of Kerry, the world-famous gardens at Annes Grove in County Cork, the amazing Bay Garden created by Francis and Iain McDonald, and finally, Helen Dillon's garden.  Helen is perhaps Ireland's most well-known garden writer, who recently published a book in the United States, Down to Earth with Helen Dillon.

For more info on the trip itinerary, click on "Gardens of Ireland" at the top of this post.

South Africa Trip

Dec 30-Jan 11 South Africa Garden Tour
Join Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture Professor Robert McDuffie on another one of his grand tours, this time nearly two weeks in South Africa, with visits to stunning landscapes, magnificent wildlife, and, -- need I even mention it -- some of the most incredible gardens in the world.  Just a few of the highlights: the Featherbed Nature Reserve; Karoo National Gardens, with the largest collection of indigenous succulents in the country; Stellenbosch University Botanical Gardens, with exotic trees, tropicals, ferns, and much more; and Cape Town's Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the Good Hope Nature Reserve. And as always, a real bargain, with the added benefit of an expert's eye all along the way.

Tommy Church Tour

Design Techniques from a Master

Breaking the rules sometimes frees the spirit and unleashes a kind of genius.  Thomas D. Church (1902-1978) was one of the first 20th century landscape architects to break the rules of traditional design and lead the profession in a radical new direction. He abandoned strict formal geometry and introduced concepts like piano curves and zig-zags to make his gardens more livable.  As Church himself put it, "A garden should have no beginning and no end, and should be pleasing when seen from any angle, not only from the house."

Church was based in California and designed thousands of residential gardens  and also did the Master Plans for UC-Berkeley, UC-Santa Cruz and Harvey Mudd College in Claremont.

Now, there's a chance to see some of his surviving works in a 7-day tour in the San Francisco area, June 9-June 15.  Led by landscape architect Richard McPherson, Jeff Sainsbury Tours Ltd is actually offering an entire course in Church's design philosophy.  Each garden visit will include an analysis of the design, information hand-outs, and an examination of form, scale, plant material, and the "flow" between garden "rooms" in Church's gardens.

Included in the tour is the well-known Donnell Garden, also called El Novillero, plus many others featured in Church's classic book on modern California gardens, Gardens are for People.

To reserve a space on the tour, contact [email protected] or log on to the website, www.jeffsainsburytours.com.

If you can't manage the trip, you can still get a copy of Gardens Are For People, Third edition.  It's one of the most useful books in my large collection, and I never tire of reading it again and again.

(photo: Richard McPherson courtesy Jeff Sainsbury Tours Ltd)

Burle Marx Tour - Brazil

The late Roberto Burle Marx designed some of greatest landscapes in the world, most of them in his own country, Brazil.  The Burle Marx gardens are among the most unique, modern, and magical anywhere.  So grab this chance for a fabulous Brazilian tour led by landscape architect Isabela Ono, who works in the Burle Marx office in Rio and is the daughter of Marx's former business partner, Haruyoshi Ono.

Organized by Jeff Sainsbury Tours, Ltd, the 11-day tour, "A Brazilian Odyssey: The Gardens and Landscapes of Roberto Burle Marx," March 6-18, is limited to 16 participants and includes many private properties rarely open to visitors. Visitors will see Burle Marx's own estate and studio near Rio; a private residence in the Tijuca Forest, the world's largest urban woodland; and Burle Marx's many public landscapes and private residences in Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, and elsewhere.  A bargain at $4750 -- many meals included.

(image: Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden)

Items PPA Award, Garden Trips

Perennial Plant Assn Award
Finally ... it shouldn't be any surprise that this catmint has made it into the PPA hall of fame.  Nepeta "Walker's Low" is the energizer bunny of plants .. it keeps going and going and going. And now its' the PPA's 2007 plant of the year.  Greyish-green foliage, deep blue flowers, no pests or diseases, zones 3-8, 36" inches high with an equal spread, and even tolerates shade in hot climates.  Prune it back by two-thirds after the first flowers fade, and it will re-bloom for the rest of the summer. It looks great under roses, and we use all the time in place of lavender ... it's less fussy and far more tolerant of various soil conditions.

Garden Trips - California & Italy

Two more trips are in the planning guided by Landscape Architect & Prof Robert McDuffie of Virginia Tech.  The first to southern California March 4-10, 2007, includes stops in San Diego, LA, the Huntington, Descanso Gardens, the Quail Botanical Garden, the LA Arboretum & the Getty Museums.

McDuffie flies out again in May (May 15-29) for a grand tour of Italy: Rome, Capri, Venice, Verona, Padua, Florence, Siena, and the Lake Como area.  Some of Italy's greatest gardens are on this tour: Villa d'Este, Villa Lante, Villa Gamberaia, Isola Bella and Isola Madre.  And think of the food!

Gardens & New Year's in Sydney

New Year's Eve in Sydney sounds like a great (and fun) idea, and what a beginning to a wondrous garden and winery tour of Australia.  Landscape Architect Robert McDuffie, Professor at Virginia Tech, is hosting a two-week tour that'll the take the group from Sydney to Canberra, Melbourne, and many gardens and wineries along the way.  The itinerary includes the Royal Botanic Garden of Sydney, the Mount Tomah Botanic Garden, the National Capital Botanical Gardens in Canberra, Fitzroy Gardens and the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, plus private gardens, the Snowy and Blue Mountains, and the Great Coastal Highway.  A bargain at $4195 per person, including round trip airfare from LA. More info: [email protected]