Frome’s community gardens group will be asking people what they would like to see in a garden on the former showfield this Saturday.

Children will have a chance to plant a seed and there will also be information on new and existing community gardens in Frome.

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   What do you want to see in a new community garden which will be based on the former Frome Show field?

The group plans to set up a gazebo on the showfield, near the medical centre and hospital, and people are invited to drop by and give their opinions on the plans to create a community garden.

Frome Town Council’s community projects officer Sarah Hobbs said: “The showfield is such an important open space in Frome and it is vital that local people have a say in what happens there.

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“We hope that lots of people will come along to help design and get involved in their very own community garden.”

Community gardens organiser, Helen Johnstone, said it was time for people to say what they want.

She said: “The time has come for people to tell us what they want.

“A community garden can have so much more than just space for growing fruit and vegetables.

It can have seating, specially built beds for disabled access, sensory planting, shared herb and fruit areas, ponds, wildlife planting and trees.”

The community gardens group has been supported by the Frome Development CIC, which wants to make it easier for people in Frome to grow their own food.

The community garden would have beds for growing vegetables, some of which can be made available to local community groups.

Others could be for rent by people living in the local area, and anyone interested is invited to pop in and talk to the community gardens group.

Following the consultation, the Frome Community Gardens group will draw up some plans for a garden, which people will be able to comment on.

The Garden City Board of Education focused on Universal Design for Learning, which is a set of principles for curriculum development that provides all students with equal learning opportunities, at its June 4th work session.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen explained that the school district has made numerous advances in the way curriculum materials are adapted for students. By using UDL, the district continues to explore ways in which technology can help all students participate and better understand content.

“One of the things that I am excited about as an educator is that UDL is embedded into the new assessments,” said Ruth Fuller, the district’s special education assistive technology specialist. “I think that will help open up more opportunities for students because in order for us to reach more students we have to be more flexible in terms of how we present information and how they can show what they know and how they’re engaged.”

Dr. Teresa Prendergast, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, explained that every child and adult benefits from the new learning opportunities that technology offers. “The beauty of what we’re seeing with the UDL is that it’s not just for special education students, but it’s also for general education students, all students, and you’re looking at the different types of accommodations that are available for students to utilize to help access the curriculum.”

After the UDL presentation, Dr. Prendergast announced that this summer teachers will be finalizing curriculum revisions for mathematics at the kindergarten through fifth grade levels to ensure alignment with the New York State Common Core Learning Standards. They will also be creating math videos for the school district’s Web site. Parents and students will be able to watch videos for their child’s grade level based on specific units of study which feature teachers demonstrating and re-teaching how to solve certain math problems.

At the regular Garden City Board of Education meeting (which is scheduled for June 11 at 8:15 p.m. in the Garden City Middle School cafeteria), the school board is expected to establish its annual list of classes at Garden City High School that have enrollments under 15 for the 2013-14 school year. The school board has the authority to cancel classes that do not have at least 15 students enrolled. They also have the option of offering the course every other year.

Dr. Fino Celano, assistant superintendent for personnel, announced the current list of courses that do not reach the minimum enrollment level: honors-level social science research; honors-level advanced programming; introduction to visual basic, which is a computer programming course; French 2R and 2H; college French; college German; music theory 1 and AP music theory.

Dr. Celano said that with the exception of the World Language courses, it is expected that the other courses will reach enrollment levels higher than 15 before the school year begins. In the past, the school board has continued world language courses that do not meet enrollment levels to allow students to complete a sequence in a particular language.

In 2011, the school board decided to eliminate French from the list of language options made available to students entering the Middle School in September of that year. Students are now offered German, Italian, Latin or Spanish. Those students who had already begun the French sequence will be able to follow it through to completion.

Dr. Celano said the school board may want to consider offering music theory 1 and AP music theory every other year. Music theory 1 currently has an enrollment of nine for September and AP music theory has seven. The AP music course has mostly students who will be seniors, so Celano recommends that the course be offered in September.

In other news, school board trustee Tom Pinou reported that at the June 3rd meeting of the Eastern Property Owners’ Association, members asked when the school district plans to do its next demographic study. Dr. Feirsen said that he will likely recommend a study be done next year because the demographer’s projections for kindergarten differed significantly from actual enrollment numbers.

Dr. Jonathan T. Hughes, the demographer who did the school district’s last study in 2010, told Dr. Feirsen that he and other demographers have been overestimating this year’s kindergarten enrollment. The school district paid Hughes’ firm, Columbia Educational Associates, $7,650 for the 2010 study.

“We don’t know if it’s a long-term trend or not,” Dr. Feirsen said. “So, it’s probably wise for us to do a demographic study sometime next year, earlier rather than later so we can have the information for our enrollment projections for the budget.”

Design magazines and home-decorating catalogs tend to feature sprawling backyards with big wooden decks and room for everything from decorative fountains to artificial ponds.

But few of us have that much outdoor space.

Still, with a few strategic choices, you can create something truly special out of even the smallest yard or porch, says Los Angeles-based designer Brian Patrick Flynn.

Here, he and two other design experts — small-space specialist Kyle Schuneman and landscape designer Chris Lambton — offer advice for making the most of a small yard, modest deck or petite patio.

Go flexible and mobile

“With a small outdoor space, I really like to think double-duty,” says Schuneman, author of “The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces” (Potter Style, 2012). Look for seating that has hidden storage space inside and tall planters that add privacy.

And choose items that can easily be moved, such as lightweight flowerpots or planters on wheels, says Lambton, host of the gardening design series “Going Yard” on HGTV. “It’s an easy DIY thing,” he says.

Furniture choices

“The easiest way to make small outdoor spaces appear smaller is to fill them with lots of pieces,” says Flynn, founder of the design website decordemon.com.

“Instead, go big with sectionals, or flank perfectly square or rectangular areas with identical love seats or sofas. This not only maximizes the seating potential, but it also keeps the space from becoming too busy or even chopped up.”

When arranging furniture, consider the view: If the home’s exterior is more attractive than the outdoor view, Flynn says, consider positioning seats so that you’ll face your home rather than looking away from it.

Plant wisely

All three designers say your choice of plants is especially important when space is limited.

Choose plants with a purpose: “Lavender’s great,” Lambton says, because it’s attractive, easy to grow and deters bugs. Marigolds will also help keep insects away.

Lambton suggests putting up a trellis as a privacy wall, and planting it with colorful wisteria or climbing hydrangea or tall holly. .

“Holly will be green all year round,” he says, and can transform an unappealing view.

Think vertically

If you love plants but have minimal space, add a wall-mounted garden filled with succulent plants to one wall, says Schuneman: “It’s a great way to add life and texture without actually taking any real estate up on your small balcony or patio.”

He also suggests using narrow planters to create “long, narrow, raised flower beds that go the length of the space.”

Flynn suggests playing up the height of your space by adding long outdoor curtains or hanging pendant lights.

Drench with color

“I usually paint concrete slabs (on the floor) a bold color or an accent color carried out from an adjacent room,” Flynn says. “This helps the patio feel like an extension when you look out to it through a door. On the flip side, when seated out in the patio looking inward, the consistent use of color flowing inside and outside makes the patio itself feel much more open.”

Flynn also suggests outdoor curtains for a burst of color and to block an unattractive view. “Outdoor draperies are, hands-down, the easiest way to soften an otherwise all-concrete and stucco space, while also being able to control how much or how little neighbors can see.”

Create your own art

“Most people don’t think of using art outside, but it can be done, especially in a DIY manner,” Flynn says. “My favorite trick is to use tent canvas and stretch it across a DIY frame made from pressure-treated lumber, and add some gesso to the surface for texture.”

You can make any outdoor space more beautiful, Lambton says, with just a few hours of effort and a small investment.

“If you get two or three pots and a couple of bags of planting mix,” he says, “it’s easy to do for a couple hours on a Saturday. … Just a little bit of color and life will really dress up your outdoor space.”

San Francisco, CA, June 05, 2013 –(PR.com)– Japanese garden designer Keizo Hayano and San Francisco-based garden designer Jenny Feuerpeil write short picture e-books about Japanese garden culture. Part 2 of their new series about signature plants of the Japanese garden (Japanese bamboo gardens, Japanese moss gardens, Japanese maples) has been released on May 31st 2013.

The e-book titled “Moss in the Japanese Garden” has 11 pages and 45 quality pictures of famous moss gardens. It introduces 15 different moss varieties with close-up photographs for easy identification and gives advice on how to grow a moss garden.

German Garden Designer Jenny Feuerpeil says: “Coming from Europe, I know many gardeners around the globe envy Japan’s warm and humid climate that provides the perfect conditions for establishing moss in a garden. In this e-book we give instructions on how to create a beautiful moss garden in climate zones different from Japan. There are also a lot of helpful tips on moss garden maintenance.”

This time the design duo received support from the gardener and plant lover Anika Riedl, who currently works in a Japanese garden company near Tokyo. She researched the most popular moss varieties in Japanese gardens, wrote the instructions for establishing moss in a Japanese garden corner and identified the moss in the pictures.

Chief Advisor of Real Japanese Gardens Keizo Hayano adds: “My recommendation for moss fans and Kyoto visitors is to visit Saiho-ji aka Koke-dera, the moss temple in Arashiyama and Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion in Higashiyama. Jenny (Feuerpeil) took the most amazing pictures of Japanese moss in these gardens. We had a hard time to select the best pictures for this e-book.”

Currently the website www.japanesegardens.jp features basic information, pictures and directions to around 90 gardens in Japan. To date, 12 eBooks about famous, secret and private Japanese gardens have been published. Another 3 eBooks have been released about typical elements of a Japanese garden – traditional fences and gravel patterns. The first e-book in the plant category is an introduction to Japanese bamboo.

Note to editors:
Providing reliable information to our readers is Real Japanese Gardens’ highest priority. Before writing an e-book, the team visits the garden and takes photos of the garden and its features. Up to 80% of the research is done using Japanese resources (books, journals and interviews) to stay as close to the Japanese garden tradition as possible.

Keizo Hayano is the owner and head designer of the Japan garden design studio Niwashyu in Shibuya, Tokyo (www.niwashyu.jp). He studied the fine arts at the Kyoto City College of Arts and loves small intimate gardens that soothe the soul. Member of the Japanese Association of Garden Designers.

Jenny is a German garden designer who came to Japan after leaving her job at a global IT company. She studied garden design in Chelsea, London and founded the garden design label Dendron Exterior Design (www.dendronexteriordesign.com).

In 2010, she decided to go to Japan to learn the Japanese garden tradition first hand as an apprentice in a garden maintenance company near Tokyo. She loves the rough texture of natural materials, the boldness of stone arrangements and dry landscape gardens.

BERKELEY — Twenty-two years after Marion Brenner’s 4- by 5-inch camera captured the burned beauty of the apocalyptic Oakland hills fire, the Berkeley photographer has turned her lens to a new subject, with tight, cerebral images in the ORO Editions release “Living Land: The Gardens of Blasen Landscape Architecture.”

The 187-page book features images with Brenner’s signature command over natural light and living spaces. Applied to the wildly organic vegetation artfully coaxed into 11 sophisticated California topographical designs by Eric and Silvina Blasen of Blasen Landscape Design, the intimate, insider’s glimpse into private spaces is accompanied by writer Hazel White’s detailed, poetic narrative. Chapters begin with captivating descriptions of each project and include the Blasens’ philosophies and motivations.

Told in convincing, conversational tone, reading the text is like actually strolling through a location’s native grass-filled field or pausing with the husband-and-wife team to contemplate the texture of a boulder left untouched by their less-is-more approach.

With the addition of an extensive plant list, a landscape design lexicon, and garden design drawings by the Marin County husband-and-wife team, “Living Land” lifts itself well above coffee table eye-candy status to become a resource for architects, scholars, landscape artists, and botanical gardeners.

Meeting in an Elmwood cafe before a recent book signing, Brenner

talks about her work and the intersection of land, animals (including humans) and architecture.

“After the fire,” she says, recalling the devastation that came within two houses of destroying her home,”I became obsessed with taking pictures. Initially, I only did my street because I didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy. But people wanted me to take pictures. I realized afterwards that (taking) photos of the fire was a way of making order out of a chaotic experience. It helped me deal with the vagaries of life.”

Brenner grew up around photography; her father owned a camera shop.

More interested in painting and fine art, she chose art history as her major, but never thought she’d be an artist. After living abroad for several years, she returned to Boston and began taking pictures.

Eventually, she relocated to California and continued; working with architects, visiting gardens after hours, aiming her Hasselblad into the sun, racing to catch the “magic 10 minutes of good, natural light” at sunrise and sunset, graduating to a 60 megapixel camera that shoots 300 dpi at 22 by 30 inches.

“I was interested in space, all along,” she says, expressing dissatisfaction with the “garden/landscape photographer” terminology used to define her genre. “I’m interested in how people create space. It’s fascinating and political: gardens are cultural statements.”

She describes an 18th century English style garden she is photographing in France, where protest against the king’s authority is expressed in the landscape’s meandering, emotional design. And she talks about projects here in California, where land and water use are as much a consideration as Douglas firs, Pacific willows or gardenias.

Unsurprisingly, the Blasen book project encompasses eight years of work.

“We’d get to the space four hours before sunset,” she says, “and there can’t be fog, because it does funny things with color. We walk the land, keep our eye on the light, mark a shot while the light is bad. The landscape designer knows the space intimately, so they have to be there with me, but it’s my job to make sense of the space and reveal it in two dimensions.”

Ironically, the Blasens’ landscape design is as much about hiding their work as it is about amplifying the terrains’ beauty.

In one location, “Light Touch on the Land,” a home and garden are segmented and sculpted to avoid disrupting a ridgeline. Enormous boulders are integrated into walls and pathways to avoid excavation. Given the designers’ propensity for economical, subtle creations, Brenner’s photos could have resulted in an aloof, push-away portrayal.

“I’m a natural light photographer,” Brenner says, explaining the resulting magic and perhaps, inadvertently, finding an acceptable label for her profession.

New book

“Living Land: The Gardens of Blasen Landscape Architecture” is available on Amazon, Barnesandnoble.com, at ORO Editions (http://www.oroeditions.com//book/living-land), and at your local neighborhood bookstore.

Like many US railway stations, New York’s Penn Station is a shadow of its former self. With redevelopment of the station hindered by its location under Madison Square Garden, the Municipal Art Society (MAS) of New York hopes to relocate the gardens and rebuild the station for the 21st century. Last week, the MAS announced four possible designs for Penn Station and Madison Square Garden as part of its Design Challenge aimed at replacing or remodelling the current structure.

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The brief of the competition was to reimagine Pennsylvania or Penn Station as an “urban gateway” and move Madison Square Garden to a new location to allow for expansion. If realized, this redevelopment would be the most radical change to the station since the original building was controversially demolished in 1963 and rebuilt with the current Madison Square Garden on top of it.

The competition was prompted by expiration of Madison Square Garden’s permit, which its owners wish to have renewed in perpetuity. However, the MAS, in partnership with the Regional Plan Association, formed the Alliance for a New Penn Station with the objective of renewing the permit for only ten years to prompt redevelopment of the site. The final decision on the permit will be made by the New York City Council in July and the Design Challenge is intended to help build the case for a limited permit and redevelopment.

The Winning Designs

Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Josh Sirefman

Dubbed “Penn Station 3.0,” the Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) with Josh Sirefman design is presented as a city within a city and “a porous and light-­filled civic structure filled with diverse new programs that reflect the hybridity of contemporary urban life.” The designers see it as not only a transport hub, but as a destination in itself. It consists of layers divided into various activities based on time taken, from fast activities on top to slower ones below. The idea is that the structure will have a cascade effect as one descends to the trains and the layers “decelerate” in time. In this design, Madison Square Garden would be relocated to the west end of the Farley building on Ninth Avenue, with access to Eighth Avenue.

H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture

The H3 Hardy design sees itself as a way to improve New York’s essential systems. In this case, these systems are seen as public spaces, entertainment, environment, transportation, education and economic development. The key to this is relocating Madison Square Garden to a 16-acre (6.4 ha) site on the west side waterfront. The project would not only involve a new Penn Station, but also an eight-track high-speed rail expansion going south, improved amenities and three-acre (1.2 ha) public park, retail complex, and two-­acre (0.8 ha) roof garden, a new Center of Education and 24 million feet (222.9 ha) of private development.

SHoP Architects

SHoP Architects plan to expand the main hall of Penn Station to turn it into a bright, airy space that the designers see as the center of a new destination district called Gotham Gateway. Security and rail capacity would be improved and there would be new parks and amenities with a view to attracting private investment to help pay for the project, as well as a new High Line to connect with the relocated Madison Square Garden.

SOM

The SOM design wants to expand Penn Station over two more blocks with high-speed rail lines for the Northeast corridor for better commuter rail service and direct rail connections to John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International airports. The main focus would be a ticketing hall dominated by a dramatic oval skylight. A dedicated vehicular drop-off and pedestrian connections to the surrounding area would also be included. Retail spaces would be integrated into traffic areas, so that the station blends seamlessly into the city itself. Expanded train platforms would make up the lowest level.

Source: MAS via The Verge

The 2011 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion by Pritzker laureate Peter Zumthor was unveiled today. A design that ‘aims to help its audience take the time to relax, to observe and then, perhaps, start to talk again – maybe not’, the materials are significant in aiding the design which emphasizes the role the senses and emotions play in our experience of architecture.

Zumthor added that ‘the concept for this year’s Pavilion is the hortus conclusus, a contemplative room, a garden within a garden. The planted garden enclosed by this dark structure was conceived by the influential Dutch designer Piet Oudolf.

The building acts as a stage, a backdrop for the interior garden of flowers and light. Through blackness and shadow one enters the building from the lawn and begins the transition into the central garden, a place abstracted from the world of noise and traffic and the smells of London – an interior space within which to sit, to walk, to observe the flowers. This experience will be intense and memorable, as will the materials themselves – full of memory and time.’

More info after the break:

“I am very pleased to be collaborating with Peter Zumthor and the Serpentine Gallery on this year’s Pavilion and to be part of this exciting project. My work aims to bring nature back into human surroundings and this Pavilion provides the perfect opportunity for people to reflect and relax in a contemplative garden away from the busy metropolis.”

– Piet Oudolf

The pavilion will be open to the public between Jul 1st and Oct 16, 2011.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2011, designed by Peter Zumthor. Photo by Walter Herfst

Christine Cho is named general manager of new restaurant

Orlando, FL  (RestaurantNews.com)  Olive Garden opened at 1866 Montebello Town Center Dr. in Rosemead, Calif. on Monday, May 6 at 11 a.m. — creating approximately 200 new jobs. The Olive Garden in Rosemead is the newest Olive Garden in the family of more than 800 local restaurants committed to providing every guest with a genuine Italian dining experience.

The 7,441 square-foot restaurant can host up to 257 guests and features a design that is inspired by traditional farmhouses found in Tuscany, Italy.  Olive Garden design teams traveled to Italy to work with Italian architects Fabio and Lucia Zingarelli and the result is a restaurant design that recreates the warmth and simple beauty of a Tuscan farmhouse.

The Rosemead Olive Garden has a rustic stone exterior, typical of the buildings in the Italian countryside, and an interior accented by Italian imports designed to make the dining experience here a tribute to the restaurant’s Italian inspiration.  Ceilings supported by exposed wood beams, stone and wood accents throughout, and terra cotta tile highlight the interior.

In addition, the bar top is crafted from lava stone and hand-painted by artisans in Italy with a design created exclusively for Olive Garden.  Vibrant imported fabrics decorate windows and dining seats, while hand-painted plates, adorn rustic stone and stucco walls.

The restaurant also features a number of sustainable design elements, including recycled building materials, enlarged windows to increase natural light, low-water landscaping and energy-efficient equipment.  These enhancements are part of the Sustainable Restaurant Design initiative launched by Darden Restaurants, Olive Garden’s parent company.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead the Rosemead restaurant and a great team at Olive Garden,” said Christine Cho, newly named general manager.  “In addition to our Italian specialties, including signature items like our homemade soups, garden fresh salad and warm, garlic breadsticks, the menu at the Rosemead Olive Garden will feature limited time offers such as our 3-Course Italian Dinner. Guests can enjoy an abundant and delicious three-course meal for only $12.95. Guests choose from five delicious entrées, along with unlimited soup or salad, and one of three decadent desserts.”

Cho brings extensive restaurant industry experience to her new position.  She has been with Olive Garden for seven years, most recently as general manager of the Olive Garden located at 430 E. Huntington Dr. in Arcadia.  Cho received a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from Boston University in Boston, Mass.

Cho is one of more than 1,400 managers who have visited Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany in the Tuscan village of Riserva di Fizzano, which serves as the source of inspiration for some dishes on Olive Garden’s menu.  Each year, more than 100 managers visit CIT and learn about Italy, its food, wine, culture and people.  This includes learning the time-honored traditions of Italian cooking and working side-by-side with Italian master chefs.  The CIT is designed to inspire attendees to share the Italian culture of hospitality and passion with their restaurant teams and guests back home.

To recognize Cho’s role as head of the Olive Garden family in Rosemead and to emphasize the importance the company places on its general managers, Olive Garden honored Cho by setting her name in stone.  Travertine marble imported from Tuscany was chiseled with Cho’s name and placed prominently by the restaurant’s front door.

Olive Garden is now accepting applications for employment.  To be considered for an interview, please apply online at www.OliveGarden.com/Careers.

About Olive Garden

Olive Garden is the leading restaurant in the Italian dining segment with more than 800 restaurants, more than 90,000 employees and more than $3.5 billion in annual sales. Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI), the world’s largest full-service restaurant operating company. In 2013, Darden was named to the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the third year in a row and is the only full-service restaurant company to ever appear on the list. Olive Garden is committed to making a difference in the lives of others in the local community. As part of this commitment, the Rosemead Olive Garden will participate in the Darden Harvest program, which has donated more than 60 million pounds of food to local community food banks across the country. For more information, visit www.olivegarden.com.

Rosemead Olive Garden at a glance:

Contact:
Catie Jackson
Pierson Grant Public Relations
954-776-1999, x236
or
Tara Gray
Olive Garden
407-245-5642

3 June 2013
| By Mark Wilding

Four practices submit visions for future overhaul of area around New York’s Penn Station

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