The challenge: Redo a narrow strip of lackluster land between neighbors.

The result: A thriving garden with an entry and private outdoor living space.

Recently, Marilyn and Bill Geib took on the project at their home in Williamsburg. Inspired by visits to gardens in Charleston, S.C., Italy and Colonial Williamsburg, they wanted something more than just a row of Leyland cypress separating their small lot from the house next door.

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“This was a relatively unique project in that it encompassed a small space with a towering nondescript neighboring wall,” says Bill.

“The 35-foot-tall Leyland cypresses engulfed the space and the resulting shade proved difficult to cultivate.”

The Geibs purchased their home, placed on the lot so the front is perpendicular to the street, about nine years ago. They had an 18-by-60-foot space to work with — dimensions similar to the favorite gardens they saw on their travels. When they moved in, the cypresses were relatively small and cute, but those cuties grew into giants that kept growing.

“Two years ago we began to explore possibilities for a new landscape plan that would give back our yard and also create a sitting area that would allow us to enjoy the outdoors,” says Bill.

“Our neighborhood is quiet and sitting outdoors to read is a favorite pastime of ours.

“In visiting Charleston we had observed that many of the historic homes were also located on lots perpendicular to the street. We learned that this was due to the city’s policy of taxing homes based upon the length of property along the street. The beautiful gardens in the side yards sparked our thinking and led us to our solution.”

First, they worked with architect Tom Tingle of Guernsey Tingle Architects in Williamsburg to design a trellis-like feature that would become the background for the new outdoor room.

Next, they collaborated with landscape designer Barbara Schuler of Creative Garden Design in New Kent County to create a garden with an Italian feel. A fountainhead of Neptune that Bill found at an antique store was used as a centerpiece for the sitting area.

Last spring, the cypress came down, stumps were ground and the soil was prepared.

“The work was a labor of love as I did most of the work over months occasionally hiring some of the neighboring high school-aged young men to help with the heavy work of digging the holes and setting the plants,” says Bill.

During the summer months the large trellis was built, all in PVC, to withstand any outdoor elements.

“Plant selection was complex due to many of our desires and site conditions,” says Bill.

“Deer snack in our yards so deer-resistant plants were a necessity,” he added. “The space delivered part shade and direct sun and we needed confidence that our other essential item, Italian Cypress, would thrive in that environment. They would grow tall to fill the vertical space, but not grow wide and recreate the problem of the lesson learned with the prior Leyland cypress.”

Barbara took the Geibs on visits to several wholesale nurseries in the area where they explored and selected plants.

“We wanted plants that would carry the eye from one interest to the other,” says Bill.

The Italian cypress is spaced with Tuscan Flame nandina – red winter color as well as new red spring growth — on each side of the central fountain. Yuletide camellia, a December red bloomer, frames each end.

“The camellias are expected to grow large enough to balance the central trellis and provide privacy,” says Bill.

24 August 2013
Last updated at 07:38 ET

The gardens at Elliscombe House recently had paths added to make them accessible to residents

Elderly residents at a care home in Somerset are helping to redesign its undeveloped seven-acre gardens.

The Aurora Care Group, which owns Elliscombe House in Wincanton, introduced the initiative to allow its residents to have a say in how the gardens are developed.

An outdoor cafe, sensory garden and pond are some ideas being considered.

A fund-raising campaign has been launched to help raise about £15,000 needed to make the improvements.

An Aurora Care spokesman said the initiative is “a means to turn the gardens for the residents of Elliscombe House into a reality”.

“The garden project is a prime priority to us, giving residents access to the outdoor facilities of the home in a way that has never previously been possible,” he said.

A fund-raising event is taking place over the weekend, showcasing creative works by residents and staff at Elliscombe House.

Bathrooms can be a very important room in your home.

Like all well-designed spaces, I begin the process by asking the question, how exactly does this room need to function? If it is the master bath, then one set of criteria exists. For a powder room, another list of requirements emerges.

In any bathroom design, whether a renovation or ground-up construction project, the first step is to decide how you want the room to “feel.” Is the design result intended to be a spa-like retreat, an enchanting elegant getaway, or perhaps a high-performance sleek oasis? Identifying both the function and the feel or style at the onset is crucial.

Flooring comes first

When designing bathroom spaces, I suggest starting with the largest surfaces, including floors, walls and plumbing fixtures.

There is an infinite variety of shapes and forms of porcelain and ceramic tile available today. The more expensive porcelain tiles are sometimes a better option; porcelain clays are denser and less porous than ceramic clays. This makes porcelain tile harder and more impervious to moisture. When using tile or marble, first consider the size of the product. I prefer large 16- to 18-inch squares on the floor. If space is limited, 12- to 13-inch tiles are more fitting.

When planning the floor’s design layout, oftentimes I like to set the tiles on a diagonal. An easy way to test this idea is to temporarily place them on the floor. This will enable you to preview the design before making it permanent. It is also easy to obtain special effects with flooring by using smaller “clips,” which are 2- to 4-inch accent tiles placed in a pattern or on the corners of your larger tiles. Glass tiles with shimmer and sparkle also make lovely “clips.”

Tiles for walls

Tile manufacturers have done an amazing job of coordinating the sizes and shapes of their products to help create your dream space. A similar version of the floor tile can be used on bathroom walls with accent tiles, such as listellos, a band of tiles that run horizontally across a wall creating a visual break.

Subway tiles are also trendy to achieve chic bathroom walls. They are rectangular in shape and come in a range of colors and finishes.

Consider marrying your mix of elements. If you used a tile “clip” on the floor, you can also include the same “clip” as a border on shower walls or a tub area. If your shower area is large and open, make it a focal point by using tile.

In one of my design projects, the shower became the focal point with a radiated shimmer glass tile. White Carrere marble was used on the floor and the countertops.

Noteworthy countertops

Granite is a popular choice for countertops; it is easy to care for and maintain. In many of my design projects, I use honed granite. Honed granite does not have the same shininess and reflective traits as polished granite. Instead, it has a more satin-feel and is smooth and velvety to the touch. It is also scratch-resistant, making it a worthy option for bathroom spaces.

Alternative countertops include marble and soapstone. If the area is high-performance, granite or soapstone is more appropriate. Marble can be a lovely choice for bathroom countertops as long as you can tolerate a little patina.

Luxurious accents

Powder rooms are the jewel box of any home. This small space should be welcoming in a subtle but explicit way.

Marble is very appropriate for both the floor and the countertop. Interesting shimmering tiles are also well-suited. This is a room to add a little glam and a lot of luxury.

Beautiful wallpapers, faux finishes and subway or decorative tiles are all possible choices for the walls. Antique and customized pieces of furniture can be easily converted into cabinets, creating beautiful, yet functional storage spaces. Vessel sinks, which sit on top of the counter, are wonderful for powder rooms.

Let your imagination run wild. Since powder rooms are typically quite small, it is fine to lavish the room with luxury items. Scented candles, monogrammed hand towels, antique soap dishes, a beautiful original painting and even a chandelier are all small items that will make a big impact for your guests to see.

In one of my client’s homes, I had a French chair faux finished and retrofitted to surround the existing toilet perfectly. These types of add-ons provide design appeal to what is otherwise considered a utilitarian space.

Myrtle Beach-based interior designer KIMBERLY GRIGG is the owner of Knotting Hill Interiors and specializes in designing, renovating and redecorating homes in the South and beyond. Visit www.knottinghillinteriors.com and www.itssofabulousblog.com.

Dan Pearson

Dan Pearson, one of Britain’s top garden designers and garden writers, will be coming to Vancouver in November to give a free lecture.

This will be a significant occasion in the events calendar for B.C. gardeners as Pearson has impressive credentials both as the winner of many awards at the Chelsea Flower Show as well as a writer for top publications such as the Sunday Times and Gardens Illustrated magazine, of which he is a member of the editorial board.

Scheduled for November 15, the lecture is the third in the annual free Garden Design Lecture series organized by the University of B.C. Continuing Studies as part of its outreach and enrichment program.

Pearson will discuss his professional career as a garden and landscape designer and share his understanding and appreciation of natural landscapes and landforms.

As well as a weekly newspaper gardening columnist for over 14 years, Pearson also sits on the editorial board of Gardens Illustrated magazine.

He is the author of a number of books, including The Essential Garden Book (with Sir Terence Conran), has designed five award-winning Chelsea Flower Show gardens, and has presented and appeared in many TV series.

In 2011 he was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and was a member of the jury for the 2011 RIBA Stirling Prize.

In 2012 he was elected a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and was awarded the International Prize and Jury Prize at the Society of Garden Designers Awards

The Vancouver lecture will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m on Nov. 15.

To reserve a seat call 604-822-1444 between 8:30 and 4:30.

August 22, 2013

Not all healing gardens deliver as advertised

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Stress is a known cause of both mental health disorders and cardiovascular diseases. Not only is stress an adverse outcome in itself, but it negatively influences a variety of other health outcomes.

Gardens with particular characteristics have been shown to have positive effects in health outcomes, primarily through the facilitation of stress reduction.

The benefits of properly designed gardens for reducing stress has tremendous health implications, and reducing stress has been shown in numerous studies to improve a number of health outcomes. There are at least 60 scientific studies that suggest contact with nature has numerous beneficial effects.

Attention diversion, produced from contact with nature, has been clinically shown to improve pain alleviation. Nature has a direct effect, quickly reducing cortisol levels (a hormone produced by stress) in subjects, but it also provides a distraction that reduces the obsession of pain when undergoing medical procedures that produce pain or discomfort. Simply viewing nature has been shown to reduce agitation and aggression in mental health and emergency room departments.

Three principles

Gardens in health care have improved significantly and proliferated, and many health care grounds have evolved into functional spaces that provide intentionally restorative or therapeutic benefits. But not all gardens deliver as advertised.

Some health care gardens featured in leading design magazines appear attractive in photographs, yet are missing elements and characteristics that optimize the health, safety, and welfare of the people that use them. Some gardens may actually be doing some harm, which is unacceptable in a medical setting.

The following three general principles are essential for health care gardens to provide positive results:

Know the garden type. The term healing garden is an umbrella term commonly used in health care settings.

Gardens cannot cure a disease or mend a broken bone, but gardens can facilitate stress reduction and foster healing, promote satisfaction with the health care system, and provide an environment of caring. Healing gardens are generally restorative places where physical, psychological and social benefits are derived from simply being in the garden.

A therapeutic garden or enabling garden — outdoor space designed to achieve specific medical outcomes — requires greater design expertise, with specialized knowledge in environmental psychology, physical therapies and specific medical goals.

Understand who will use the garden. Health care gardens, particularly therapeutic gardens, require a deeper understanding of the client groups that will use the space.

Gardens in medical settings should be tailored to meet the particular needs of their specific patient and staff populations. This is best done in conjunction with an interdisciplinary design team that includes staff and administrators, and in some cases patients and their relatives.

Gardens for dementia care, hospice, psychiatric treatment or senior care facilities will each look and feel different from one another, and should be based more on the needs and abilities of the users than abstract design principles.

Integrate the garden with the building. Research reveals that 60 percent of hospital garden users are staff.

Staff use health care gardens to find a moment of respite and escape from the stress of their jobs. Most garden users reported their primary activity in the garden was to simply relax (followed by eating and talking).

Doctors and spiritual care frequently use a garden for difficult consults with family. Patients or family members use the garden to express difficult emotions that may feel uncomfortable in the hospital room or lounges. These uses require peaceful settings with opportunity for private conversation.

Gardens that are not close enough to patient rooms or nurse stations inhibit garden use. Health care gardens have also been settings for weddings and special occasions, and for fundraising or community events. The garden is a normalizing element in an unfamiliar environment.

A mental escape

Post-occupancy evaluations of hospital gardens have indicated the high value placed on access to the outdoors by staff, visitors and patients alike.

Among the garden elements most valued are features that represent life and health, such as trees, plants and flowers, and elements that arouse the senses, such as fragrances, the sounds of birds and water, and the feel of sunlight or a gentle breeze.

These elements represent a marked contrast to the beeping machines and smell of sanitizer found in most hospital interiors, providing a sense of distance or ‘mental escape’ and allowing for reflection and restoration. Gardens that have a ratio of greenery to hardscape of around 7-to-3 (70 percent nature to 30 percent paved area) seem to be preferred by most people.

Other factors can limit the benefits of gardens. These include: lack of information on a garden’s location and accessibility, insensitivity to specific patient mobility needs, intrusive sensory stimuli (noise, allergic pollens, and so on); lack of accommodation for competing user needs (such as smoking areas and the desire for fresh air), and design elements that evoke mixed or ambiguous interpretations (such as benches in a garden used by cancer patients that resemble tombstones, or sculptures in a children’s garden that look like monsters).

This last aspect is particularly significant in a medical setting, where the fragile emotional state of many users predisposes them to place negative meanings on many things except the most unambiguously positive stimuli.

Research indicates that U.S. hospital workers are less healthy, consume more medical services, and accrue higher health care costs than the U.S. workforce at large. Much of the cause may be that hospitals are full of sick people, but how much healthier would staff be, and how many fewer medical errors would occur, if they had easy access to fresh air and a stress-relieving outdoor environment?

We don’t know yet, but since hospital staff are the biggest users of hospital gardens, and staff who use the gardens consistently report positive feelings about being there, it is well worth the effort to provide an appropriate garden, at least for staff.

While almost any garden provides a connection with natural elements, a garden design created on evidence-based principles — based on design, led by an informed designer and properly implemented — can facilitate stress reduction and improve health outcomes.

Mark Epstein is a principal of Hafs Epstein Landscape Architecture in Seattle. He is a board member and instructor of the Healthcare Garden Design Course at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and serves on the advisory board for the Therapeutic Landscapes Network.

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Much like the Amish tradition of barn raising, a Permablitz is a way of bringing the community together.

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De Chantal Hillis, Shareable /
August 20, 2013

Boys water plants as people work at a community vegetable garden in Valencia, Spain. Permablitz is a concept started in Australia in which a homeowner invites the community to help create a garden in a single day.

Heino Kalis/Reuters/File

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Ever wanted to transform your yard into a garden but didn’t know how? Well, much like the Amish tradition of barn raising, a Permablitz is a way of bringing the community together and turning a suburban house into an urban homestead … in a single day. 

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The original Permablitz network was established by Adam Grub and Dan Palmer, and more than 100 Permablitzes have been held in Melbourne, Australia, so far. The concept has since spread across Australia and begun to move overseas — with countries such as the UK and the U.S. joining in the fun. 

Here are some tips on running your own Permablitz:

First, get a really great design.

Never, ever create a food garden from scratch without first developing a really good design.

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A good design is the difference between you doing the clearing, digging, fertilizing, and pest control for your new veggie patch — or your rotationally fenced chooks (that’s an Australian chicken) doing the work for you. Isn’t it smarter to let the chickens gorge themselves on grass, weeds, and bugs; dig through soil; poo in it; and hand over eggs into the bargain? In short, you need an ultra-smart, well-integrated garden design.

Get a good Permaculture designer on board, and take the design process seriously. Work with your designer to create a plan that you are willing to commit to over the long haul. It is more important to get a great, long-term design established during your Permablitz than it is to complete all the work in one day. Use your Blitz day to break the back of that design, then keep adding to and refining your project slowly, over the years.

Then, advertise and maintain engagement.

In Australia, households use the Permablitz website to advertise upcoming events and find volunteers.

If you live in the U.S., you will need to work a bit harder. First port of call? Friends, family, and gullible (make that visionary!) associates. Second port of call? Progressive websites, any volunteer website, and every single local sustainability/urban farming groups in your area. As you craft your call outs, remember to ask yourself “Why would anyone choose to attend a thing like this?”

In Australia, many people attend Blitzes because they are a great way of learning new skills. Australian Permablitzes always feature between one and two workshops. So, if you are building a henhouse and a chicken run, advertise this fact, and also plan for a workshop or two during the day covering topics like poultry keeping.

After you have advertised, make sure that you respond to any inquiries straight away. Ensure that you make it an RSVP event so that people must email you to get the address. (This maintains privacy and gives you an air of exclusivity!) Put your respondees on an email list and send them regular, wildly enthusiastic email blasts: “Our plans for the henhouse are coming along; check out these amazing pics!” etc, etc.

It’s important to maintain engagement with your participants all the way through the process. Encouraging people to arrive at different times in the day is also pretty wise — this means that as one group of people begin to fade, new energetic sorts can kick in and start things all over again.

Remember that food can also be a drawcard for potential volunteers. My husband is a Californian of Mexican descent. Luckily, our Blitz was held in Melbourne during a visit from my mother-in-law. Our gimmick was actual Mexican food. My friends and family (not to mention nearly every urban gardener in Melbourne) had never seen a tortilla up close before. It was a riotous success with everyone except my grim, pearls-before-swine elderly carpenter, who declared that the refried beans “looked like they had already been eaten and digested once before.”

Yeah, mate, whatever. We advertised Mexican food. It worked.

Finally, get organized but be prepared to improvise.

Because most Australian Blitzes attract between 20 and 70 participants, preparation for these one day events is vital. If you haven’t prepared well, expect total chaos! If you have prepared well, expect total chaos! (But hopefully a much more constructive form of chaos.)

Site plans and designs posted around the Blitz area are a good place to start.

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Hosts need to make sure they have enough materials on hand — enough timber, mulch, shovels, and screwdrivers to finish the job. It is a good idea to get one person to coordinate food for the day, and at least one person to greet and settle newly arrived volunteers. Make sure your designer will be there to provide practical direction and support, and try to find out who among your volunteer crew has the specialist skills that you will need (like bricklaying or carpentry) in advance, if possible.

The best blitzes are the result of adequate preparation in the lead up to the event, and crazy, desperate improvisation on the day.

It’s fun. You’ll like it.

• This article was originally published by Shareable, a nonprofit online magazine that tells the story of how sharing can promote the common good.

LONDON, ENGLAND–(Marketwired – Aug. 20, 2013) – Antler Homes won two more awards at the recent New Homes Garden Awards.

They were awarded Silver Gilt, the top award, for the Best Show Home Garden for Sovereign Mews in Ascot and Gold, (also the top award) in the Best Garden Family Home category for Roebuck Grange, Maidens Green.

House builders, garden designers and landscape architects are shaping our future environment. The New Homes Garden Awards, sponsored by Express Newspapers, recognised and rewarded their achievements.

Antler Homes prides itself on their carefully planned and planted landscapes, which complement and complete their luxury homes so this award is richly deserved recognition for the team that has created these impressive gardens and the beautiful properties that stand in them.

To find out more about Antler Homes, please see the website www.antlerhomes.co.uk

David L. Culp is staring into picture frames filled with vibrant and rolling, colorful and lively pieces of art that he has created. The medium he works in is not typical of most artists. The picture frames are the windows to his office, and the artwork behind them is his 2-acre layered garden in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, better known as Brandywine Cottage.

“For me it’s all about different perspectives, Mr. Culp said during a telephone interview last week while overlooking his masterpiece. “I also strongly feel it should look inevitable, not superimposed on the landscape.”

For the nurseryman and author, growing and cultivating a garden is more than just a “how to” of digging a hole and filling it with a plant. It is an existential experience of being connected with the land, being a part of nature and a way to connect to the larger world.

That is why his book, “The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage,” has had so much success. It goes beyond the how-to and addresses the why. On Saturday, August 24, at 10 a.m., Mr. Culp will give a lecture, “The Layered Garden,” at Marders garden center and nursery in Bridgehampton. He will discuss the design, maintenance and seasonal nature of a layered garden, as well as the beauty of it.

Mr. Culp has been lecturing about gardens for more than 15 years. He is also currently a vice president at Sunny Border Nurseries in Connecticut and a former editor of Horticulture magazine.

His layered gardens at Brandywine Cottage are planted in a cyclical fashion. A natural rotation occurs so that as one breed is dying, another is blooming. It is a fluid process, a backyard microcosm of nature taking its course.

“It’s exactly what it is, the cycle of life … and it is all to be appreciated, the plants and our own, it’s all to be celebrated,” Mr. Culp said. “How much pleasure can you ring out of one spot? I’m going to have wave after wave after wave, it’s about succession planting and about relationship.”

That is the point of the master gardener’s book and lectures, to take a small point and to make a larger statement about it. The garden is not just about pretty plants. According to Mr. Culp, it is about making a connection with nature, slowing down the high-speed, technologically saturated world, as well as having a quiet sanctuary in which to retreat.

The best part of a garden, for Mr. Culp, sometimes lies in its imperfections, he said. His is a chemical-free home to singing birds and flying insects. He believes it is more important to sustain life, than to have chemically perfected leaves and petals.

“I’m walking around my garden now and seeing butterflies. That’s something money can’t buy, that’s something you have to decide, and be able to live with a few chewed leaves,” he said. “It took a while to get this balance, but I’m responsible for creatures’ lives, I’m responsible for things other than just me in the garden.”

That responsibility goes beyond the pragmatic and spiritual nature of his garden and into the more technical aspects, he reported. Mr. Culp, known for his expertise on hellebores and galanthus, (commonly referred to as “snowdrops”) is also the progenitor of a winter-blooming species. He has developed his own strain of “Brandywine” hybrid hellebores, which bloom from late winter to early spring and can withstand the abuse of winter frost. He created this hybrid hellebore—which is known for its clear colors, distinct form, and red, pink and apricot hues—over 15 years of breeding.

The plantsman is also partial to snowdrops, which bloom from January to April. He said that the two breeds, hellebores and galanthus, are pretty and practical for a seasonally changing garden. But he stressed that his garden is all about the changing seasons.

“You might as well work with Mother Nature, she’s gonna win in the end anyhow. A dialogue with nature is critical both in the garden and the whole natural world,” Mr. Culp said. “People know me for hellebores and snowdrops, but I’m an equal opportunity seeker of the sublime.”

For his lecture at Marders, he will share his thought process and design ideas. He will also teach about succession planting, the best plants through the seasons, and the use of color and texture. The year-round capabilities of a layered garden, and being in the moment, are the most important topics, he said.

“Today is my favorite planting season,” he said, adding that when people ask him if he has a favorite plant, he inevitably replies, “the last one I saw, the one I’m standing next to.”

David L. Culp will speak about “The Layered Garden” at Marders in Bridgehampton, in association with the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons, on Saturday, August 24, at 10 a.m. The talk is free but seating is limited. To reserve, or find out more, call 537-3700. For additional information, visit marders.com.