garden design | Gardening

“Art In The Garden From Arctic Owl Garden Design”

Mat-Su Women’s Connection invites you to their luncheon, Monday, May 20, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Evangelos Restaurant. Meet Corinne Reintjes from Arctic Owl Garden Design for a presentation of projects for your yard and garden. Hear Ella Embree tell about her adventures from Africa to Alaska. Special music by Carli Goeman and Heidi Swanson. $16 inclusive. For lunch reservations and complimentary daycare, call Janet @907-892-8482 on or before May 18.

Filed Under: garden design

Master Gardeners: A day to peek inside three Kentfield gardens

by Leave a Comment

Click photo to enlarge

WHAT ARE YOU doing June 1? I hope it includes visits to three magnificent and entirely different private gardens in Kentfield. I promise you will not be disappointed.

The Garden Conservancy’s Open Day offers an opportunity to visit gardens rarely available to the public. Hidden behind deer resistant gates, tucked into hillsides not readily visible from the street, these magnificent gardens filled with rare and unusual plants and cutting edge garden design are available to the public for one day only.

“By providing access to some of America’s finest private gardens — more than 300 in 19 states just last year — the Garden Conservancy underscores our mission of saving and preserving gardens for public enrichment'” says Tiburon’s Sandra Swanson, organizer of the Garden Conservancy Marin Open Day. “No other national institution has done more for America’s gardens.”

I recently had an opportunity to visit two of the gardens with designers Davis Dalbok and Tim O’Shea, who

have been involved in the evolution of these gardens for many years. They have worked closely with the homeowners to create welcoming outdoor rooms that reflect the individual owner’s lifestyles. Both designers will be on hand to answer your questions regarding plant selection, care and design process.

The gardens

“Cor-Ten Zen” at

211 South Ridgewood welcomes the visitor with stately bamboo “Robert Young” (planted in concealed barriers to discourage runners), sculpted mugho pines, and Liriope “silver dragon.” Water flows softly from a dramatic, naturally formed stone basin imported from Bali and disappears into a field of smooth river stones, bringing a quiet calm to the entry way.

A stunning steel moongate beckons you through to a natural stone path lined with native and varietal maples, assorted bamboos, and shiny leafed Camellia sasanqua (the Christmas or yuletide camellia) then leads you on to the back of the house where you gaze down upon a sun-filled pool area accentuated with vibrantly colored roses and a magnificent mountain view.

“Vista Garden” at 6 Live Oak Way invites you through a stylish metal gate to a level frontyard, anchored by four silvery olive trees, featuring sculpturelike Agave americana (Century Plant) resting on crisp green lawn. A meadow mix of grasses and sun-loving perennials adds color and texture to one corner of the front garden. A very private morning room, with a prehistoric equisetum hedge, provides a hidden retreat, filled with tranquil sounds emanating from a sheer water wall.

Wander down a path lined with clumping bamboo “Giant Timber” to the backyard, where a jaw-dropping view of Mount Tam invites you to sit a spell, surrounded by an abundance of mature succulents under specimen olive and palm trees.

A bamboo lined path leads to another outdoor room featuring a sunny pool deck backed by oaks, palms and maples. Ornamental containers filled with interesting and unique succulents surround the deck.

“Geraniaceae Garden and Nursery” at 122 Hillcrest may be familiar to some of you. Robin Parer has owned and operated it for the past 30 years, and she has collected and propagated more than 500 geranium species.

I first visited her one-acre demonstration garden during my Master Gardener training in 1997. At that time, I thought a geranium was just that pink thing on my grandmother’s porch. What an eye-opener I experienced! Practically in our own backyard is a vast collection of species plants, scented leaf pelargonium, angel and pansy face pelargonium and rare pelargonium species from southern Africa. Her garden will open your eyes to a vast variety of geraniums that you may never have known existed. As a bonus, they are reasonably easy to care for and will continue to be your garden friends for many years.

But this garden is not limited to the vast geranium collection. You’ll also find mature trees, clematis, roses, rare ferns, shrubs and perennials on this property Parer has designed and tended for more than 38 years.

Whether you are looking for inspiration for your own outdoor space, specific plant ideas for your garden or a place stroll and appreciate beautiful plants incorporated in expertly designed spaces, this day is for you.

The University of California Marin Master Gardeners are sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension. For questions about gardening, plant pests or diseases, call 473-4204 from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays, or bring in samples or pictures to 1682 Novato Blvd., Suite 150B, Novato.

IF YOU GO

What: The Garden Conservancy’s Marin Open Day
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 1
Where: Three gardens in Kentfield
Admission: $5 per garden
Information: www.gardenconservancy.org/opendays

Filed Under: garden design

Architecture in the garden: making connections to improve San Diego landscape …

by Leave a Comment

Learn about the connection between home and garden for insight into effective San Diego landscape design. Photo Credit: Can72, Photos.com.

By Paul Benton

Here in San Diego, landscape design offers architects a wealth of opportunity. We are blessed with a great variety of plant materials, and challenged with demanding needs that often result in fascinating and innovative garden settings. Of particular interest to me, as an architect, is the way in which homes and garden designs intersect. Read on to find out how connections between structure and landscape can result in stunning, sustainable and synchronized spaces for everyone to enjoy.

Where the home leads to the garden

To begin, let us consider the way in which different vantage points within the home allow us to view the garden. First there is the living or family room that opens directly to the outdoors, and then another room on the second floor – be it a bedroom or sitting room – that overlooks the garden view. These are two distinct views, each of which lends the viewer a different experience. Furthermore, the prospect change throughout the day, and alters further with the changing of the seasons.

The view from above, with the colors and plants at your feet, is a literal overview: one can see the vegetation and pathways stretching into the distance, and easily comprehend the pattern laid out below. Accent and variety are provided by the colors of the flowers and re-growth of leaves through the seasons. But looking down from above, it helps to also have a view of the garden entrance – maybe an arch or a stair – in order to comprehend the entirety of the design and enter the space, first with our minds, and eventually with our bodies as well. Finally, we need to see a connection between the garden and the home: a bit of roof or an eave or a trellis that extends from the home into the garden, a segue from one space to the other.

Next, consider the view from downstairs. Now the garden is at eye-level, the cover of the trees is overhead, and one can see the shade and cool spots where the garden is working its magic. Just as important are the trunks and branches of the trees that support this effect, a collection of vertical and spreading elements that come together to create the space for us.

From this ground-level perspective, the man-made entry to the garden is also overhead. The trellis extends above us, offering a greeting from the house to the garden, blending in with natural, rigid materials like wood or steel, doing it’s best to imitate the branches and yet, at the same time, offering a contrast that simultaneously links and distinguishes home and garden from one another. Imagine yourself into this space, and end our virtual tour with a walk out of the home and into the garden. The trellis and eaves provide a transition, a bit of shade to protect you as well as a frame and a structure that give way to the great outdoors.

A portal into the natural world

This is just one example of how the garden and the home might come together. But wherever and however this is accomplished, it is important that there be a thoughtful, mindful transition in place. Our gardens protect us and tell us about the seasons, the weather, and our place in the world. Good architecture in the garden is our way of entering that world.

To learn more about San Diego landscape architecture and design, or to discuss a remodel or building project, contact us at Alcorn Benton Architects today for an individualized consultation. Our team is dedicated to creating the best, most beautiful and sustainable structures and landscape designs in San Diego. Find out more about us and our work at www.alcornbenton.com.

Did you know? Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural philosophy was rooted in his appreciation of the way that plants grow, and the expansive views of the plains and farms he experienced in the Midwest. Wright believed that an architect can and should design architectural elements and buildings that mimic the organic processes of nature. The best examples of this in his own work include his trademark stained-glass windows and placement of roofs and entrances within the building. He worked with straight lines and sharp angles, and then composed them so that the final result would be made up of many repeated elements with a variety and pattern that follows nature in its deceptive simplicity.

Short URL: http://www.lajollalight.com/?p=107397

Posted by Social Media Staff
on May 18, 2013. Filed under Columns, Paul Benton, Sponsored Columns.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Filed Under: garden design

Designer centres

by Leave a Comment

16 May 2013

Offering design services is an increasingly popular method for garden centres to attract customers with money to spend, Jack Shamash discovers

Filed Under: garden design

Pottery that brings Vermont charm to home and garden

by Leave a Comment

Farmhouse Pottery is operated out of her home-studio in Woodstock, Vermont, where she works with two master potters and a master perfumer. Zilian is responsible for the design of her stoneware tabletop collection and does the hand-dipped glazing herself.

A table for two set with Farmhouse Pottery tabletop stoneware.

Much of her tabletop pottery features the organic feel of a homemade hand-dipped piece. The stoneware collection includes provincial home staples such as a windrow berry bowl, farmer’s pitchers, milk jug vases, and a great, multi-use confit jar.

You’ll recognize the Farmhouse Pottery collection by the signature stamp on each product. Zilian does all of her own illustrations and graphic design.

But despite the name, Farmhouse Pottery isn’t all about hand-thrown ceramics. Zilian also has a passion for creating garden scents that last year round. Her “Cultivate Garden” candles come in luscious floral aromas such as gardenia and lavender and will make any home smell like a New England garden.

Her apothecary line also includes lavender bath salts made with essential and natural oils, organic hydrating body milk, and home-pressed soaps that smell like a fresh bouquet of flowers.

Herbs including parsley, thyme and Rosemary grown in Farmhouse Pottery stoneware garden pots can perk up a city windowsill.

Zilian is zealous about being true to the New England experience — almost everything she uses in her products is sourced within 20 miles of her Vermont home. Her Hutch+Pantry line offers gift sets that include a hand-made honey pot paired with Vermont-farmed honey and a small barrel pitcher with Vermont-farmed maple syrup that Zilian retrieved from a local evaporator herself. For her stoneware saltcellar, she goes a bit farther a field by filling it with freshly harvested sea salt from the coast of Maine.

A display set up at good boutique of dip-glazed and hand-hewn vases from Farmhouse Pottery.

The inventory at good is a rare, if welcome by us urban dwellers, foray outside of the Green Mountain State for Zilian and her products, which are mostly sold in Vermont at shops at the Woodstock Inn in Woodstock, Vermont Farm Table in Burlington, and the Stowe Mountain Lodge in Stowe. But they are also available through the Farmhouse Pottery website.

Filed Under: garden design

‘Earth Perfect?’ to feature prominent speakers, garden tours

by Leave a Comment

1:34 p.m., May 15, 2013–Everyone who appreciates the beauty of nature and gardens from backyard enthusiasts to art historians will find something to learn and enjoy at the “Earth Perfect?” symposium, being held June 6-9 at locations at and near the University of Delaware.

“Earth Perfect: Nature, Utopia and the Garden” will combine themed tours of some of the area’s most renowned gardens with lectures, panel discussions and academic papers on topics related to the garden. Designed for members of the public who are interested in the importance and meaning of gardens, as well as for professional gardeners and scholars, its expert speakers will focus on such aspects as landscape architecture, history, art, literature, botany, environmental impacts and garden design.

Events Stories

The symposium follows the publication of an essay collection by the same name, co-edited by Annette Giesecke, professor of ancient Greek and Roman studies at UD, and Naomi Jacobs, professor of English at the University of Maine (Black Dog Publishing, 2012), that explores the relationship between humanity and the garden through a variety of disciplinary lenses. A second collection of essays is in development.

“This is not an event designed primarily for scholars,” Giesecke says of the symposium. “Just about everyone seems to have some connection to gardens their own, their grandmother’s, a public garden. People really light up when they hear about this event.”

Following are a few highlights of the symposium.

Keynote speakers will include Emma Morris, author of the acclaimed Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World; Jane Knight, landscape architect of the Eden Project, a new global garden and environmental education charity in Cornwall, England; Rick Darke, widely published author, photographer, lecturer and consultant on regional landscape design and conservation; and Stephen Forbes, executive director of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide in South Australia.
Additional keynote talks will be delivered by photographer Margaret Morton, whose work includes four published books; UD’s McKay Jenkins, professor and author of What’s Gotten Into Us: Staying Healthy in a Toxic World; UD’s Doug Tallamy, professor and author of Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens; permaculture expert Eric Toensmeier, author of Perennial Vegetables; and landscape architect Marcus de la fleur, whose projects apply sustainable site development principles.
Tours will be given at Longwood Gardens, site of the June 7 sessions, and at Chanticleer Garden and Winterthur Garden, where the June 8 events will be held. June 9 will feature tours at Mt. Cuba Center and at the Delaware Center for Horticulture, where Wilmington community garden tours will be available.
In addition to several opening-day lectures on June 6, when all events will be at Clayton Hall Conference Center on UD’s Newark campus, a variety of presentation sessions and workshops will be held that day. Topics will include science and the garden, reclamation and reuse, ecosystem designs, literary gardens, sustainability, and gardens and healing.

For a detailed program and registration information, visit the website. The symposium offers attendees 20 American Society of Landscape Architects CEUs.

UD sponsors of the symposium are the Interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center, the Center for Material Culture Studies and the departments of Art, Art Conservation, Art History, English, Fashion and Apparel Studies, History and Philosophy, all in the College of Arts and Sciences; the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources and of Earth, Ocean, and Environment; and the Delaware Environmental Institute. Other sponsors and participants include Longwood Gardens, Chanticleer, Winterthur, Mt. Cuba Center, the Delaware Center for Horticulture and the American Public Gardens Association.

Article by Ann Manser

Photo by Evan Krape

Filed Under: garden design

Eco-design at Chelsea Flower Show 2013

by Leave a Comment

Although eco-sound landscaping is a thriving part of US garden design, it has been dragging its heels here. So it’s great news that at next week’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London (21-25 May), sustainable garden design will take centre stage.

Several of the gardens on display, at what will be the centenary year for the legendary flower show, will feature environmentally sound materials and systems.

Collecting rainwater

In the Trailfinders Australian Garden, landscaper Phillip Johnson will showcase an impressive system for capturing rainwater, complete with waterfalls! Water is channelled into a tank and a natural pool and filters through permeable landscaping (such as sand and pebbles) so that the garden doesn’t require watering. The space also features sustainably sourced timber, reclaimed pylons, solar-powered electrics and wildlife habitats.

The centrepiece of the RBC Blue Water Roof Garden is another good-looking system of collecting and storing water. This has been created by Professor Nigel Dunnett (who wowed us all with his meadow flowers at the Olympic Village) and features a wetland that captures rainwater runoff. Nigel aims to demonstrate how we can bring greenery and wildlife onto rooftops and save water.

Regenerating urban spaces

Designer Kate Gould is presenting a show garden called The Wasteland, which demonstrates how derelict, unloved spaces in towns and cities can be transformed into havens for wildlife and the community. Industrial waste (such as corrugated steel panels, old timber and stone) has been recycled and used as the garden’s hard landscaping materials.

In the East Village Garden, designers Michael Balston and Marie-Louise Agius follow suit, illustrating how an urban area can be regenerated in a stylish way.

Native plants

Studies show that native plants are more appealing to wildlife (such as honeybees). Award-winning designer Robert Myers has planted the Brewin Dolphin Garden with native UK plants, showing how they can be used ornamentally.

Elsewhere, in both The Daily Telegraph Garden and The Fera Garden, designers will try to hit home the dangers that our native trees and shrubs currently face.

All in all, 9 out of the 15 main show gardens at Chelsea will focus on the environment in some way. Such a strong emphasis on green gardening at the world’s foremost gardening show is great news. Long may it continue!

FIND OUT MORE: Tickets for next week’s show have sold out, but since it is always such a crowded event, it is easier to see the gardens on the television anyway! You can watch endless BBC coverage of the gardens and their creation at bbc.co.uk

READ MORE…

GREEN LIVING
Greener gardening at Chelsea 2012
From boosting biodiversity to gardens that are helping to tackle climate change, Chelsea Flower Show 2012 will be green in more ways than one. Rebecca Campbell went behind the scenes

GREEN LIVING
How to… build a raised flowerbed
Whether it’s poor soil or limited space, a raised bed could be the solution to your gardening woes. And with National gardening week approaching there’s no better time than now

GREEN LIVING
The spotters guide to spring wild flowers
With spring in full swing, the UK’s ancient woodland is bursting into life. From bluebells to ramsens, Rebecca Campbell rounds up the best British blooms

GREEN LIVING
Why bees biodiversity benefit from indigenous wildflowers
Filling your garden with wildflowers helps honeybees and butterflies, and creates a relaxed mood. And, from the Easton Walled Garden to Sissinghurst, there’s plenty of inspiration

GREEN LIVING
Grow your own in pots
You don’t need a big garden to grow your own produce, says Hazel Sillver – a windowsill and a bit of outdoor space will do.

Filed Under: garden design

Jenny Feuerpeil of Real Japanese Gardens Shares Japanese Garden Design …

by Leave a Comment

Tokyo, Japan, May 16, 2013 –(PR.com)– Jenny Feuerpeil, garden designer and writer of Japanese garden e-books was selected for the second time as a presenter for the Tokyo edition of PechaKucha Night. After delivering a talk about her career change at age 26 and how her Japanese garden studies have since then impacted her life, the young garden designer returns to the stage with new insights gained from the Japanese garden tradition.

This time, Jenny Feuerpeil concentrates on overall design principles that can be learned by carefully looking at Japanese gardens. In 20 garden pictures, which stay on for 20 seconds each, the audience in the SuperDeluxe club in Tokyo will catch a glimpse of the ancient garden culture in Japan.

“My favorite Japanese garden master is Muso Soseki, also known as Muso Kokushi,” says the 30-year-old. “His most famous Japanese garden is probably Saiho-ji, the moss temple or Koke-dera in Kyoto from 1339. His gardens lead not only the visitor’s feet on the garden paths through the garden, but also guide the soul on a whole journey through it. It is said that Kokushi created a garden experience not unlike a pilgrimage through his gardens. I will explain in the presentation how he achieved this and what design tools he used. There will be lots of beautiful Japanese garden pictures and I cannot wait to share the beauty of the Kyoto gardens with the audience.”

She adds: “After the warm welcome on stage and the great feedback we received for our ”Real Japanese Gardens’ website in November (PechaKucha Tokyo vol. 97), I am thrilled to go back to Tokyo. I hope more Japanese people and foreigners living or traveling in Japan will discover the amazing gardens in Japan.”

PechaKucha night is a monthly event in Tokyo’s SuperDeluxe club in Roppongi. The May edition takes place on Wednesday, May 29th 2013. The event starts at 20:20, the tickets are 1.000 Yen.

Note to editors:
Tokyo-based garden designer Keizo Hayano and German garden designer Jenny Feuerpeil write short eBooks about Japanese garden culture on their website www.japanesegardens.jp. They focus on providing authentic, reliable information in combination with a great number of quality pictures at an affordable price. An eBook with 10-15 pages and 40-60 illustrations sells currently for USD 1.95.

Jenny Feuerpeil is a San Francisco-based German garden designer who came to Japan hoping to soak up the essence of Japanese design. 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. Since 2012 she writes e-book about Japanese garden culture for the online garden platform “Real Japanese Gardens.” She loves the rough texture of natural materials, the boldness of stone arrangements and dry landscape gardens.

Filed Under: garden design

London College of Garden Design to inspire visitors at Hampton Court Palace …

by Leave a Comment

The London College of Garden Design has announced that it is creating a design clinic in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

The show feature will form part of the newly redesigned show and allow visitors to get design inspiration from professional graduates of the College. Andrew Wilson, Director of Garden Design Studies said “This is a great opportunity for visitors to find out how a designer might be able to help them and in short half hour design sessions they will get some inspirational ideas. They may only want a few planting ideas but it is also a great opportunity for our graduates to meet potential clients and of course suppliers”.

Wilson added “we always want to display the talents and achievements of our students and graduates and ensure they get value for the investment that they have made with us. This is a great way of doing just that.” The design clinic comes just after the College announced plans to be the first specialist garden design college to provide graduates with free continuing professional development after they have completed their Garden Design Diploma.

-ENDS-

About the London College of Garden Design
The London College of Garden Design aims to offer the best professional garden design courses available in the UK. The College is one of Europe’s leading specialist design colleges and offers professional level courses including the one year Garden Design Diploma which is taught from the Orangery Conference facilities at the world famous Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Regents College in central London. The college also has a partnership with the Royal Horticultural Society offering short courses at RHS Garden Wisley.

The London College of Garden Design’s short course programme is available at a number of locations. To find out more visit http://www.lcgd.org.uk/

For more information please contact
Andrew Fisher Tomlin on 01276 855977 or 07957 855457
email: andrewft@lcgd.org.uk

This press release was distributed by SourceWire News Distribution on behalf of e-Zone UK in the following categories:
Education Human Resources, Retail Fashion, Construction Property, Men’s Interest, Leisure Hobbies, Home Garden, Women’s Interest, Environment Nature.
For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/sourcewire

Filed Under: garden design