1 March 2013

A backyard garden designed to
inspire

Darfield landscape designer Ross Baldwin is
hoping his exhibition garden will inspire visitors to the
Ellerslie International Flower Show to look at their
backyards in a new light.

His ‘Out the Back’ garden is
based on a typical Kiwi backyard and is designed to be both
appealing to the eye and functional – two things that Mr
Baldwin believes are critical to good garden design.

The
garden has been deliberately designed in such a way that
people could build it themselves if they wanted to, as money
and time allows. It features a deck with a pergola, a paved
area for entertaining, attractive planting, trees, lawn, a
vegetable garden and garden shed. There is also moving water
and a pond to add to the garden’s visual appeal and sense
of tranquillity.

Mr Baldwin, who has more than 40 years’
experience as a landscape designer, is hoping that people
will look at it in and say ‘I could do that’.

“So
many people have a backyard and don’t know how to develop
it to make it both functional and visually interesting,”
says Mr Baldwin. “You need it to not just look good, but
also function well to fit your lifestyle.”

For example,
he says it is important that lawns are flush with adjacent
surfaces so they are easy to mow and that trees and plants
are selected and positioned logically to provide shade in
the summer and sun in the winter.

“It usually does pay
to get advice from experienced people who’ve done it all
many times before,” says Mr Baldwin.

The key piece of
advice he likes to offer home gardeners is to plant species
that will last many years and perform on a seasonal
basis.

“Many people are scared of planting trees but
there is a great selection of deciduous ones that are easy
to manage and provide seasonal interest, shade in summer,
sun in winter, and attract birds. Home owners don’t have
to plant tussock grasses, cabbage trees, flaxes and hebes
ike they see endlessly on motorways and around most service
stations. Many of the Northern Hemisphere plants and trees
suit our environment well and really flourish here.”

Mr
Baldwin’s ‘Out the Back’ garden is one of dozens of
exhibition gardens that will be open to the public
throughout the course of the Ellerslie International Flower
Show next week.

Follow Ellerslie International Flower Show
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Ellerslie International Flower Show will
be held in North Hagley Park from 6 – 10 March
2013.

Tickets for Ellerslie International Flower Show, at
a pre-gate price of $35 for Adult Anyday passes, are
available from the website www.ellerslieflowershow.co.nz, all open
Christchurch City Council Service Centres, Mitre 10 Mega
Stores in Christchurch, Ashburton and Timaru, Terra Viva,
EziBuy Christchurch and Nichols Garden
Centres.

ENDS

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Set within a 6.5-acre Japanese garden, the Tillman administration and laboratory building is an “architectural swan” among “ugly duckling” public utility buildings of the time. A 1989 Los Angeles Times piece called it “the most attractive public service facility in Southern California.” In its time, it heralded the increased design quality of public buildings around the city.

Metal-framed glass cascades down the elongated building’s façade, much like a multi-level waterfall, to be tucked neatly into the structure’s concrete base in the end. From afar, it seems as if the building is floating on a huge pond, surrounded by greenery and wildlife. Its marriage of the natural and man-made is the stuff of utopian futures.

The Tillman complex was the brainchild of city engineer Donald C. Tillman, who first thought to combine garden and utility. By providing a public amenity, Tillman was able to gain public support for the upstream water reclamation plant.

Today, the plant treats up to 80 million gallons per day of reclaimed water, ¼ of which supplies the Wildlife Lake, Balboa Lake, the Japanese Garden Lake, and the golf course in the Sepulveda Basin. The rest of the reclaimed water is released to the Los Angeles river.

Much of the complex’s beauty lies in its authentic Japanese garden. Designed by Dr. Koichi Kawana — who created botanical gardens for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, San Diego’s Balboa Park, as well as Seiwa-en in Missouri, the largest Japanese garden in the country — the garden is an easily overlooked gem in the San Fernando Valley, swallowed up by the larger Sepulveda Basin complex.

Entrance to the garden is through an unremarkable path on Woodley Avenue. After successfully finding your way, a guard will halt you to ask for identification. At least for these few moments, a trip to the Japanese garden feels more like a visit to a government office that it really is. But, the sight of the garden more than makes up for its awkward first impressions.

Hidden behind a partially opened wooden gate, the path throughout the garden meanders, offering lots of opportunities to explore. “Japanese gardens are an art form,” says Gene Greene, the Japanese Garden’s director. “Dr. Kawana created this garden with the philosophy of hide and reveal, so you don’t see everything in one look.”

True enough, the garden’s treasures are revealed slowly with every step. More formally called Suiho-en (the Garden of Water and Fragrance), the garden combines three types of gardens in one: the dry garden, a Zen-garden kind of arrangement that most usually comes to mind; a stroll garden, which includes lakes, streams and carved stone lanterns gifted by Los Angeles’ sister city, Nagoya; and a tea garden that sits beside the a Japanese-style residence.

Despite combining three types of Japanese landscape design, “it’s not a hodge-podge,” notes Greene, “It takes elements from different garden styles and creates an all-new authentic design.”

As we walked through the gardens, Greene filled me in one the many symbolisms that abound within the grounds. The stone lanterns from Nagoya are said to house good spirits; the Shoin building is a typical residence for upper-class monks and samurai; even tree types were meant to depict specific gender attributes.

I could easily see there was a lot to appreciate within the 6.5-acre site. Greene’s deep commitment to his work was also evident. A fixture in the gardens since it opened in 1984, Greene has never felt the need to move on to a different position. “I have the best job in the city.” He says, “I deal with the best people. It’s just nice — except for the paperwork — that’s a lot.” Greene helped Dr. Kawana realize the gardens and placed six of the large stones in the garden himself.

Over the past three decades, Greene has been ensuring the quality of landscaping in the Japanese garden, as well as in other treatment plants around the city. For those uninitiated in the art of Japanese greenery, he recommends a docent tour and also imagination. “They’re beautiful gardens but they’re a lot more,” he says.

As ducks, egrets and other waterfowl came to rest around us and the sound of water gurgles in the background, I think I begin to see why.

Top: The water reclamation plant within the Japanese garden

Photos by Carren Jao

If you own a property in the Manchester area and you are planning on giving your garden a new design and makeover, why settle for anything less than the best quality and service.

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Today’s Dispatch Home Garden Show offers advice on how to design your new house or
addition to serve all generations of a family, and to update your home so that it serves your needs
as you age.

Also on tap are sessions on home safety and security, as well as tips on gardening and
cooking.

The show runs through March 3 at the Ohio Expo Center, aka the State Fairgrounds at I-71 and
17th Avenue, north of Downtown Columbus.

It’s open noon to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. See
the full schedule
here.

You’ll find hundreds of professionals among the exhibitors, people who are able to answer
questions about your home projects. And there are four stages for demonstrations and entertainment
related to home-improvement, landscaping, design and cooking.

Today’s Dispatch Home Garden Show offers advice on how to design your new house or
addition to serve all generations of a family, and to update your home so that it serves your needs
as you age.

Also on tap are sessions on home safety and security, as well as tips on gardening and
cooking.

The show runs through March 3 at the Ohio Expo Center, aka the State Fairgrounds at I-71 and
17th Avenue, north of Downtown Columbus.

It’s open noon to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. See
the full schedule
here.

You’ll find hundreds of professionals among the exhibitors, people who are able to answer
questions about your home projects. And there are four stages for demonstrations and entertainment
related to home-improvement, landscaping, design and cooking.

San Francisco, CA, February 27, 2013 –(PR.com)– Providing reliable information has the highest priority for the team. Before writing the eBook, both garden designers visit the garden and take pictures of the garden and its features. Up to 80% of the research is done using Japanese resources (books, journals and interviews).

“We want to show the world what real Japanese gardens look like. This is why we named the project Real Japanese Gardens,” said Keizo Hayano. “Of course, everyone loves Kyoto’s famous gardens like the Golden Pavilion or the rock garden Ryoan-ji. We want to build on that interest and introduce lesser-known Zen gardens as well as secret and private gardens to a wider audience.”

“Before I came to Japan as a garden apprentice in 2010,” said Jenny Feuerpeil, “I found it hard to find reliable information about Japanese gardens or traditional garden techniques like stone setting. Now I am researching and writing the books I wish I had when I started my journey. It is a dream job!”

Currently the website features basic information, pictures and directions to around 90 gardens in Japan. To date, 10 eBooks about famous, secret and private gardens have been published. Another 3 eBooks have been released about typical elements of a Japanese garden – traditional fences and gravel patterns. The first eBook in the plant category will be an introduction to Japanese bamboo and is scheduled for end of February.

About us:
Keizo Hayano is a Japanese garden designer with 20 years of experience under his belt. He is the owner and head designer of the 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 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. She loves the rough texture of natural materials, the boldness of stone arrangements and dry landscape gardens.

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FRIENDSHIP – The Friendship Museum will host speaker and garden historian Diane George Chapin of The Heirloom Garden of Maine on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Friendship United Methodist Church in Friendship.

Chapin will present slides and stories on historic garden design, heirloom plants for Maine gardens, and the joys and challenges of seaside gardening. Flower–themed refreshments will follow the program. This event is the first in a series sponsored by the Friendship Museum to support and generate interest in its first self–guided garden tour this coming summer. On August 10, fifteen gardens will be featured in Friendly Garden Visits along Harbor Road, with follow–up garden related activities and raffles.

This event is free and open to the public, although donations are accepted.  For more information, contact Liga Jahnke at 832-6646 or Susan Lagasse at justarene@msn.com.

25 February 2013

Society of Garden Designers’ chair Juliet Sargeant is going back to her roots to teach aspiring garden designers the creative art of transforming landscapes.

CAP: Gardeners Exchange member and floral designer Karen McDonald opened the 2013 Gardeners Exchange season with a “Winter Floral Arranging” workshop in February. Don’t miss the next program, “Shapes and Sizes: Designing for Impact and Interest,” on Saturday, March 16, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Hazen Memorial Public Library, located at 3 Keady Way in Shirley, MA. For more information, contact GE Co-Chair Dina Samfield, 978-448-9311, or Lela Rhodes, 978-425-0027.

SHIRLEY — The Gardeners Exchange invites the public to a presentation on “Shapes and Sizes: Designing for Impact and Interest,” on Saturday, March 16, at 10:30 a.m. at the Hazen Memorial Public Library, 3 Keady Way.

Shape and size contribute to the design and overall impact of a garden. With the addition of texture, the savvy garden designer can tap into a tempting trio of design elements for use in spring projects.

In this presentation by garden designer Cheryl Salatino, we will explore the elements of design and composition to provide a different perspective of garden design. The workshop will begin with some design fundamentals and move quickly into how shape, texture and size can be used to achieve powerful combinations.

Salatino is the principal designer and owner of Dancing Shadows Garden Design, a residential landscape design and services firm. She has been designing gardens across Massachusetts and as far away as Maine since 2002.

The Gardeners Exchange

is a community garden club with members from all around North Central Massachusetts. It meets monthly on weekends between February and October to visit members’ gardens, take field trips to other gardens and nurseries, participate in workshops, and gain expertise on a wide variety of horticultural topics.

The garden club acquired its name from its members’ exchanges of ideas, as well as plants. Its March 16 meeting will begin with its annual houseplant swap.

First-time attendees to meetings are not required to join, but membership is encouraged. Annual membership dues are $20 per individual or $30 per couple. Membership benefits include all events, spring and fall perennials, and discounts at many area nurseries and garden centers.

For information, visit gardeners-exchange.org or contact GE Co-Chair Dina Samfield at 978-448-9311, or Lela Rhodes at 978-425-0027.