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House & Garden design guides to Conran Octopus

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30.05.14
| Joshua Farrington

Octopus imprint Conran Octopus will publish a series of books from Condé Nast’s House Garden magazine.

Octopus publisher Alison Sterling signed world rights in a deal with Julian Alexander at LAW.

The books will be curated and written by Catriona Gray, books editor at House Garden, and draw upon the magazine’s archives of photography, illustration and writing. The first book will focus on 1950s style, with Sir Terence Conran writing the foreword.

Starling said: “It is hugely exciting to have access to House Garden’s archive of iconic interiors images. We’ve worked closely with Catriona and the House Garden team to capture in the book the flair, innovative design style – and humour – of the magazine during the 1950s.”

Susan Crewe, editor of House Garden, said: “House Garden is shorthand for stylish living, and its influence and impact have been in evidence for decades. For over 65 years, the magazine has had unparalleled access to the most stylish and well-designed homes in the world. This series will reveal the best of these stunning interiors, decade by decade.”

House and Garden was first published in 1947 and has a current readership of 694,000.

House Garden Fifties House will be published by Conran Octopus at £30 hardback.

  • Alison Starling
  • Catriona Gray
  • House Garden
  • Joshua Farrington
  • Julian Alexander
  • Rights deal

Brendan Moar and Jim Fogarty to exhibit at Singapore Garden Festival

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Garden guru: Brendan Moar.

Garden guru: Brendan Moar.
Source: News Limited


Horticulture hound: Jim Fogarty.

Horticulture hound: Jim Fogarty.
Source: News Corp Australia




TWO  renowned Australian garden designers will show the world what they’re made of at the Singapore Garden Festival in August.


Brendan Moar and Jim Fogarty will have exhibitions at the premier tropical garden and flower show, which brings together internationally acclaimed landscape architects and garden designers.

This is the fifth year the festival has run.

Mr Moar is a landscape architect, author and TV host who started working at his craft when he was 17.

He made a name through a wide range of garden design shows including Dry Spell Gardening and Moar Gardening as well as the host of The Renovators.

He created his first show garden at the inaugural Australian Garden Show in Sydney last year where he scooped the pool with three top accolades — a Gold Medal, Best in Show and the People’s Choice Award.

He will compete in the landscape category in Singapore.

Mr Fogarty is a garden designer and media personality based in Melbourne.

One of the early highlights of his career was designing the Australian Inspiration show garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in the UK in 2004 where he won a Silver-Gilt medal.

It was the first time a show garden team had travelled from Australia to exhibit at Chelsea.

Mr Fogarty has been a judge at the Ellerslie Flower Show since 2003 as well as the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in 2007 and 2013.

He is president of the Horticultural Media Association of Victoria, and appears on various Australian gardening TV shows, as well as being a regular garden design writer.

The Singapore Garden Festival is the first garden show to showcase creations from the world’s top award-winning garden and floral designers under one roof.

The nine-day event will feature a variety of exhibits, from balcony designs to outdoor landscapes.

Visitors will be treated to a visual fiesta of garden and floral displays, created by more than 30 internationally acclaimed designers.

It will be held from August 16-24 at Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.

Outdoor Education Classroom completed

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ANSONIA – Ansonia Local School District is reportedly the first in this area to have an Outdoor Education Center, and it was introduced to the public Friday afternoon.

Located just east of the football field at the east east end of town, it features a shelter surrounded by wetland [a vernal pool], a woodland habitat and a fossil collection area in the shape of the State of Ohio.

“We’re here to take an informal moment to thank all the sponsors and donors for the Outdoor Education Classroom,” said Jason Wright, environmental science and life science educator at Ansonia. “A few years ago, Pheasants Forever came up with an opportunity to invest in our local schools. They offered a grant proposal of $5,000 to construct it. It is on the school campus, using natural elements. Thanks for making this a reality for us.”

He said the school was chosen for the grant in January 2012

“Students researched and surveyed and polled the teachers,” Wright said. “Up until then we had two years to look for matching funds to create an outdoor element. It’s truly a community effort.”

He said it was FFA educator Brad Lentz who coordinated the project,.

“If it weren’t for Brad and the ag kids, none of this would be possible,” Wright said.

He added, “Over the last two years, we’ve tried to implement the project into our curriculum, with our landscaping class, the ag class doing the building and the planting of trees. We had the wetlands done professionally, but the rest was done by students via the curriculum.”

According to him, 20 trees were planted by students after they researched to find trees that are native to this area.

“Pheasants Forever came up with ideas for the prairie,” Wright said.

As for the vernal pool, it will stay wet when it’s raining and dry during the summer. Frogs and salamanders, it was noted, can be bred in the vernal ponds.

The woodland habitat will become a prairie, after biological studies are done.

“We made the fossil collection area for digs for children so they can find all different kinds of fossils,” he said.

The stone that was used for the flooring of the shelter was donated from a company in Ludlow Falls, and placed by local volunteers. The flooring will probably be treated with some coating soon to preserve it.

“The kids went wild with creativity and ideas,” Wright said. “What we’ve done with this investment has already impacted our students.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for reintroduction back to nature and the outdoors for students,” remarked Jeff Wenning, Darke County game warden, who presented Wright with a proclamation designating Ansonia’s classroom a ‘Wild School Site,’ as well as signs telling about the classroom to post around, even inside the school. “This is the first site to be certified in Darke County. It takes motivation to do things like this.”

Inside the shelter are five benches made from recycled milk jugs and provided by the Darke County Solid Waste District. One is sponsored by R.B. Cox Insurance and Premier Crop Insurance; another by the Ansonia Board of Education; one by Darke County Solid Waste District; another in memory of Mary H. and Stanley G. Hines; and another by Greenville National Bank.

Wright said he had 15 environmental students in his class this year.

“I saw the email Pheasants Forever sent out, and I thought we have to do this,” Wright said. “Those 15 kids were just awesome. They created a survey and sent it to teachers.”

Ansonia graduate Terry Starns, who was on hand Friday, said he was there when they started talking about it, so he decided to get involved.

“They asked if anybody was interested in helping,” Starns said. “We tried to find any kinds of matches and donations and to do community service.”

The outdoor education classroom is on land measuring 66×300 feet, and there are still more plans to add features.

“We want to install bat boxes for flying mammals and set up a butterfly garden,” said Wright, who has also taught at Ansonia for 13 years. “We’ll let the curriculum decide. It depends on standards.”

Andra Bryan Stefanoni: Garden tour to offer inspiration, ideas

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PITTSBURG, Kan. —
It hardly seems possible, but the Zone 6 Garden Club held its first communitywide tour of private and public gardens 14 years ago.

The tours have continued every other year ever since, providing an opportunity for gardeners seeking ideas, inspiration or simply lovely views.

In 2008, we were pleased to host one at our place, Woods Edge, and we still cherish our garden paving stone given to us by the organizers.

This year, the tour will be held Saturday, June 14. I am amazed at the diversity that the five chosen properties offer.

Mark Row and Zetta Varns, 812 S. Catalpa St. in Pittsburg, live in a historic part of town in an older home that had very little landscaping when they moved in. They have transformed their outdoor space, adding a pond to attract wildlife from a nearby wooded area, a playhouse for the grandchildren, an outdoor kitchen and cedar pergola, a fountain, shrubs and window boxes.

Dr. Ali and Carol Hammad, 1406 E. Quincy St., have created a private “resort” in their backyard, using a tiered approach on their sloping topography. It includes a blue-green saltwater pool reminiscent of their favorite Caribbean island, a pavilion, blue-green Atlas cedars, rose bushes, Russian sage, crape myrtle and a stone-lined rainwater creek accented with irises and hostas.

Mike and Beth Wishall, 1302 Randall Drive, have enjoyed their home at the end of a quiet road for more than 20 years. It sits at the edge of a large mining strip pit. It’s an inviting place to pull up a chair and watch for great blue herons or Canada geese, or to take a stroll to see interesting yard art assemblages.

Pete and Jo Farabi, 303 S. Crawford St. in nearby Frontenac, have added improvements to their property since moving in 45 years ago. They began by planting shade trees, then shifted focus to the small backyard. A deck and arbor added a welcoming atmosphere for a pool surrounded by planters of perennials, and a walkway and patio were built from brick made by the Pittsburg Nesch and Moore Brick Co. at the turn of the 20th century. The bricks were rescued and repurposed from the streets and sidewalks of Frontenac.

Gary and Sharon Starr, 446 E. Highway 47 near Girard, have in four years changed their yard into a beautiful panorama. They’ve added to their gardens, which intertwine and meander through the property, items they’ve collected during their travels. One of their newest additions is a potting shed. Plantings include shrubs such as hydrangea, roses, azaleas and crape myrtle, as well as an array of perennials of varying heights, colors and textures.

Tickets for the tour are $7 in advance from Zone 6 members, at Paradise Mall, VanBecelaere Greenhouse, Carla’s Country Gardens, In the Garden, or Silver Creek Antique Mall, or they may be purchased for $8 between 7:30 a.m. and noon the day of the tour at Pritchett Pavilion at Second Street and Broadway. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

The tour is self-guided, so visitors may visit the gardens in any order and spend as much or as little time as desired in each. A garden tour booklet with addresses, a map and garden photos with descriptions is included with each ticket purchase.

Proceeds from tour tickets provide funding to support the club’s garden-related community projects, educational programs and city beautification efforts.

Also at Pritchett Pavilion the day of the tour will be Zone 6’s usual gardeners market. A special garden tour luncheon will be put on by Angels Among Us from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Timmons Tea Room inside the historic Hotel Stilwell, Seventh Street and Broadway. Tea sandwiches, garden salad, dessert and beverage will be served for $6.

What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday.

FOLLOW ANDRA BRYAN STEFANONI on Facebook at facebook.com/andrajournalist and on Twitter @AndraStefanoni.

Rain gardens like one by parking deck, Town Green provide guard for environment – Rome News

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What might look like an ordinary combination of plant beds and rocks is actually a tool in the fight for water conservation and environmental awareness.

The rain garden at the Town Green is right next to the Third Avenue Parking Deck and is mostly contained within a section surrounded by a brick wall.

Eric Lindberg, the city’s environmental expert, said rain gardens help restore groundwater supply and save the ecosystems of rivers and streams that could be disrupted due to large amounts of stormwater runoff.

“If you pave over everything, there is a lot less wet dirt to recharge those streams when we have dry times,” Lindberg said. “So, the more water we put into the ground, the better we can maintain the flow of those at a more consistent level.”

Lindberg said the problem increases exponentially in urban areas. Atlanta is seeing its fair share as some of the city’s small streams have been reduced to small trickles or don’t flow at all until large amounts of rainfall, causing erosion damage.

Large-scale demonstration

Visitors to the Town Green (map) can see the spouts where stormwater comes out after it is channeled off of the four-level parking deck.

The water then goes into the plant bed where it is soaked into the soil and filtered gradually through layers of soil and gravel.

At the very bottom of the rain garden area is a perforated drain to direct any large amount of rainwater out of the area.

“In the beginning, the stormwater that runs off of the parking deck was just going to run out through a pipe and into the river,” said Brad Jones, the landscape architect and project manager on the Town Green project. “We thought, ‘Let’s funnel it to the side and allow it to be absorbed into the soil.’”

The trees in the rain garden are bald cypress, one of the plants that are well suited to both extreme flood conditions and extreme droughts.

The methodology behind rain gardens has become a big part of stormwater management plans in many urban areas, according to Jones.

“A lot of municipalities, while they don’t do this level of aesthetics, they require more and more of what is called first flush treatment,” Jones said.

First flush refers to the initial surface runoff after a rainstorm, which usually consists of a higher concentration of pollutants.

Bringing it on home

Rain gardens are not just something for city governments to install. Smaller versions can be created in residential areas.

Thanks to the upswing in conservation efforts and the resources found on the Internet, there is a lot more information about rain gardens now than there was 10 years ago, Lindberg said.

“It’s not a hard thing to do and it’s not intrusive,” Lindberg said. “If you are doing landscaping anyway, it’s an easy thing to do.”

Lindberg sad the philosophy for home rain gardens is the same as the relatively large one at the Town Green.

“What you are doing is holding water for just a little bit of time and letting it seep into the ground naturally,” he said.

Lindberg said people can check out other local examples of rain gardens by visiting the Rome-Floyd E.C.O. River Education Center at Ridge Ferry Park (map).

Garden wedding and Tuscan garden on Mountainside Garden Tour – The Star

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A spectacular specimen planting in a Tuscan urn is among many on display at the Rolling Rock Road garden which one of six gardens taking part in the Mountainside Restoration Committee’s Tour of Mountainside’s Gardens to be held on Saturday, June 7. 

Two of the six Mountainside Gardens on view during the June 7 tour of Mountainside Gardens are specially themed and staged for a Garden Wedding and a Tuscan Garden.

The Appletree Lane garden is in the backyard of a beautiful brand new home. It is newly landscaped by Harol Landscaping and the lush expansive lawn area will be staged and ready for a Garden Wedding. Featuring seating in front of a wedding arch and tables designed by Christoffers Florist, Millburn Florist and The Mountainside Restoration Committee, this yard is spectacular. Linda Condrillo will be on hand to show and sell her fantastic photo cards and prints – many of which are photos taken in the gardens.

On Rolling Rock Road, a garden which is owned by a florist becomes a tranquil Tuscan oasis. With a variety of Tuscan-inspired clay pots and urns planted with unique specimens, this poolside garden is reminiscent of the Italian countryside. Visitors to this lush and gracious garden will be calmed and inspired by its serene tranquility.

The six gardens on the Mountainside tour are located on Rolling Rock Road, Wood Valley Road, Stony Brook Lane, Appletree Lane, Meetinghouse Lane and Robin Hood Road. Each garden is uniquely themed and inspires guests with ideas for their own gardens. They can be visited in any order.

Visitors are also encouraged to enjoy lunch at Mountainside’s Publick House restaurant whose management is generously donating the proceeds of lunch ticket sales back to the Mountainside Restoration Committee. The tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Advance tickets for Mountainside’s Garden Tour are $45 for tour and lunch or $30 for tour only and can be purchased online at mountainsidehistory.org or at Christoffers Flower and Gift Shop located at 860 Mountain Ave. in Mountainside. Limited tickets will also be sold on the day of the tour at each Garden Tour location for $35 for tour and $15 for lunch.

All proceeds from the tour and lunch will be used by the Mountainside Restoration Committee for restoration and maintenance of the historic Hetfield and Levi Cory houses.

The Mountainside Restoration Committee (aka, Mountainside Historical Committee) is a 501(c)(3) registered not-for-profit committee of volunteers governed by the Borough of Mountainside.

For further information, call 908-789-9420; or, go to: mountainsidehistory.org.

Tips for getting high yields from a small or thirsty garden

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How can you get the most yield from a garden where space is limited, and water is too?

Plant smart, and pay attention to the soil.

“Your garden is only as good as your soil,” says David Salman, chief horticulturist at High Country Gardens, a Santa Fe, N.M., catalog that specializes in native and low-water plants.

Find out what nutrients your soil has — and what it’s missing — with a soil test, available through local cooperative extension offices at a nominal fee (home soil-test kits are less reliable, according to the Colorado State University Extension).

Encourage plant health by fertilizing with natural, organic fertilizers, which include fish emulsion and liquid seaweed, says Salman. Limit the use of chemical fertilizers because they don’t help build the soil.

“You will have more nutritionally complete vegetables if you have healthy soil,” he promises.

One trick Salmon recommends, especially for gardeners living in new housing developments, is adding a soil inoculant called mycorrhiza, a beneficial fungi. It’s found naturally in healthy soil, but often needs to be added to a new garden.

“New gardens in new subdivisions, their soil is scraped off as part of construction,” says Salman. “You need to put beneficial fungi back in.”

Peas, beans and soybeans could benefit from legume inoculants, which are species-specific (a soybean inoculant cannot be used to aid peas’ growth). Read product labels carefully or ask your gardening center for assistance.

“Your beans will do OK (without it), but if you really want to crank out the beans, you can do that with the inoculant,” says Salman. “It’s kind of a ‘grandma’s secret’ to growing great beans.”

Plants that can offer high yields with low watering include leafy vegetables such as kale, lettuce and spinach; beans, snow peas and sugar snap peas; and some varieties of cucumbers, he says. Plant vining beans and peas if you have space or can grow them up a fence or trellis; plant bush beans and peas in large pots if space is limited.

Plant radishes early in the season or in part shade, and mulch them and other plants to retain moisture and combat weeds.

Alzheimer’s Society garden design proves Gold medal winning

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Award-winning garden designer Adam Frost has received his sixth Chelsea Flower Show Gold RHS Medal this year, after designing a garden in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society.

Entitled ‘Time to Reflect’, the Homebase Garden took almost a year to plan and, with the help of 11 Homebase Garden Academy students, was designed to celebrate the importance of memory.

As with sensory garden designs, ‘Time to Reflect’ offered the opportunity to sit and reflect in vibrant surroundings with a wide range of colours on display, being home to over 4,000 plants. A selection of sun-loving yellow, white and blue flowers were complemented by woodland plants in a scene reminiscent of springtime in England.

Celebrities Sir Michael Parkinson, Fiona Phillips and Arlene Phillips were among those impressed by the Gold medal winner – see the video below for their reactions.