GardenDesignOnline

In the Magazines April 08

American Gardener March/April

• C. Colston Burrell on Plants with Spiky Foliage
• Trilliums Worth Growing
• A new home near Portland, OR for the 900O+ clematis collection of Brewster Rogerson
• An interview with NPR's Ketzel Levine

Fine Gardening April

• Designing with Annuals
• A Lesson in Pruning Hollies
• How to Successfully Design a Narrow Side Yard
• Interview with Plantswoman Sydney Eddison

Garden Design April

• Garden style: chain-link tables, boxy chairs, drainage grates with actual pizazz
• Landscape architect Rob Steiner's LA garden with boardwalks, pool, spa, and much more.
• High pruning art:  topiary, pollarding, pleaching, coppicing, espalier, cloud pruning
• Oversize garden sculptures

A Big Hitch in Outdoor Living

If you talk to any high-end landscape designer, they'll tell you that one essential in any garden these days is fire outdoors:  a firepit, a fireplace, a chimenea, almost anything that glows in the dark and heats the place up a bit on chilly nights.

BUT -- from Connecticut to the Chicago suburbs, to California and Canada, municipalities are either considering or imposing bans on wood burning outdoors.  And that includes a lot of fancy and expensive new garden amenities.

You may be able to get away with gas-fired modules like those shown here (by FireByDesign), but anything that burns wood is now taboo in large swathes of California and in many other municipalities across the country.

Earlier this month, California's South Coast Air Quality Management District approved strict new regulations on wood burning fireplaces that affect homeowners in Orange County, parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernadino counties.  The new rules are in line with others already in existence elsewhere in the state. The wood-burning ban is aimed at reducing fine particle pollution, including bits of soot, which can work their way into lungs and cause a variety of health problems, including asthma, heart attacks and lung diseases.  The regulations cover indoor and outdoor wood-burning fireplaces, as well as chimeneas, back yard firepits, and other devices that burn wood.  Beach bonfires are not included in the ban, nor are wood-burning cook stoves, such as pizza ovens.  Within a year, wood-burning fireplaces in all newly-constructed homes will be banned completely.

In the Chicago suburbs, a group called Breathe Healthy Air is pushing for a ban on second-hand smoke that comes from wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, and similar campaigns are taking place in communities across the country.

While an outdoor firepit or chimenea can be relatively inexpensive, a real outdoor fireplace could cost tens of thousands of dollars.  Designers and homeowners should be aware of the trend taking hold in many states before they shell out thousands of dollars on something they might never be able to use.

(image: FireByDesign)

Colonial Style Containers

Campania's Williamsburg Collection

Not everybody wants a classic Colonial-style garden, but if you live in certain parts of the country -- Virginia, the old South, or even parts of New England -- you might be quite familiar with 18th century gardens and/or classic English garden style.  If so, this new collection from Campania  International patterned after some of the urns and other garden accents at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, might be just the right thing.

This classical frieze urn, a prominent feature on the grounds of the Governor's Palace, can now adorn your own classical garden.

Williamsburg style is not exclusively ornate -- many of the garden urns are simple in style, like the Linenfold urn shown at right, which also comes in taller version.  Most of the urns in this new Campania collection can also be placed atop a pedestal, where they might look good on either side of an entry path or on either side of a simple door.

The collection also includes a Chippendale fretwork window box, a stepping stone with an embossed leaf and flower of a southern magnolia, a small, stone bounding bunny, and a very simple "tea table" bird bath.

Colonial style is not for everyone, but in many gardens these pieces might be set against an evergreen hedge, among the boxwoods, in front or on the back patio of a federal-style urban townhouse, or in garden rooms on a large country estate.

(click on images to enlarge -- all images: Campania International, Inc)

Happenings April 08

Through April 13, Orchid Show, Washington DC
US Botanic Garden

April 2, Designing Your City Garden, Bronx, NY
10:30AM-12noon, Lecture, Linda Yang, NY Botanical Garden, Watson Bldg 718-817-8747
April 3, "12th Century Gardens at the Crossroads of Cultures," Washington DC
5:30PM, Lecture by William Tronzo, Dumbarton Oaks Music Room
April 5, Northern Gardening Symposium , Randolph Center, VT
9AM-2PM, VT Technical College, lectures by 3 native plant experts on best options for the northern garden 508-877-7630
April 9, "Green & Sustainable- What's Our Responsibility" Kennett Square, PA
7PM, Lecture, Longwood Gardens, Heather Venhous of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center 610-388-1000 ext 559
April 9, Art of Japanese Gardens, Somerville, MA
7-9 PM, Lecture by Lynette Tsiang, Somerville Garden Club, 167 Holland St, 2nd Floor, (617) 320-2801
April 10, "Sustaining Places we Value in the 21st century, Kingston, RI
7PM, Lecture by Patricia O'Donnell, Principal, Heritage Landscapes Landscapes, Charlotte, VT 401- 874-2983
April 12-13 Spring Garden Tour, Chapel Hill, NC
10 private gardens, self-guided tour 919-962-0522
April 15, "Gardening with Drought," Atlanta, GA
7:30 PM, Lecture, Jim Harrington, McElreath Hall, Atlanta History Center 404-636-1119
April 17 "Climate Change, Tibetan Alpine Plants & People," St. Louis, MO
6:30 - 9 PM Lecture, Spink Pavilion, Missouri Botanical Garden.(314) 289-4424
April 17-19 Trillium Symposium, Wilmington, DE
Lectures by top trillium experts, garden tours and more
April 18-20 Antiques & Garden Fair, Glencoe, IL
Chicago Botanic Garden, 100+ Exhibits, Demos, & More 847-835-8326
April 19-27  75th Historic Garden Week  Virginia
Various locations around the state (804) 644-7776
April 19-27 Cincinnati Flower Show, Cincinnati, OH
"Wonders of the World" 19th Annual Show
April 20, "Eco-Elegance: 21st Century Gardening Style," Boylston, MA1-2:30 PM, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Lecture by landscape architect Priscilla Randall 508- 869 6111
April 21  "America’s  Public Oasis: US National Arboretum in the 21st  Century," Washington DC
6:30-8PM, Lecture, National Building Museum,USNA Director Thomas Elias & landscape architect Faye Harwell (202) 272-2448
April 24-25 Boxwood Symposium, Charlotte, NC
Annual Meeting, American Boxwood Society
April 24-28 National Garden Clubs Convention, Memphis, TN
Garden Tours, Meetings, Workshops, & More. 314-776-7574
April 25-June 15 "Darwin's Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, Special Exhibition focusing on Darwin's work with plants; many special lectures throughout the show 718-817-8747
April 26, Kitchen Garden Symposium, Boothbay, ME
8:30AM-4PM, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, 508-877-7630
April 26, Eco-Friendly Gardening Program, Bronx, NY
10AM-4:45PM,, NY Botanical Garden, Watson Building 718-817-8747
April 26, Partners in Evolution Symposium, Washington DC
8:30AM-5PM, National Museum of Natural History, program focus on interaction between plants & animals
April 26-27, Antique Garden Furniture Show & Sale, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 16th Annual Show, 30+ Exhibitors 718-817-8777
April 29-May2 Garden Sculpture Workshop, Washington DC
9AM-4:30PM US Botanic Garden, workshop with DJ Garrity, Sculptor 202-225-1116

May Lookahead:

May 4-7, 62nd Garden Symposium, Williamsburg, VA(800) 603-0948
May 20-24 Chelsea Flower Show, London, UK
Royal Hospital, Chelsea

A "Green" Grower

Steve Hutton, President of Conard-Pyle, Inc., is a grower with a vision. He spoke recently at a regional meeting of the Garden Writers Association and gave an astonishing presentation about his company's efforts to promote sustainability and protect the environment.  You've all heard the bad raps about growers -- that they're not concerned about invasives or pesticides or trucking plants for thousands of miles -- they're just in it for the money. 

Hutton has thought hard about of lot of these issues, and Conard Pyle is making every effort to be eco-friendly.  Consumers are one of the company's biggest problems.

Here's a photo of a pink "Knockout' shrub rose growing next to a 'Mr Lincoln' hybrid tea. No pesticides or fungal sprays were used on these plants, and while 'Knockout' is doing fine, 'Mr. Lincoln' is definitely struggling. Despite the plant's problems, Conard sells thousands of Mr. Lincolns every year. Hutton told us if he were in the toy business, the government would probably shut him down.

Hutton advises planting more natives, but he says they are usually the last thing consumers want.  When they show up in the nursery, he says, they look at a plant and ask "Does it do anything?"  Hutton is high on the native Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur,' but in the plant's home neighborhood of the Delaware Valley (PA), Conard Pyle sells 10 Mr. Lincoln roses for every V. 'Winterthur.'

(click on image to enlarge - image: Conard Pyle Inc.)

In the Magazines March 08

Garden Design March

• 50 new "Way Hot" plants for 2008
• Designing with "rivers" of color
• Designer John Carloftis creates a 10th floor wrap-around urban oasis in Manhattan
• A roof garden at a California winery incorporating lush English borders and VERY formal parterres
• Bold colors & unusual materials in a California garden by designer Shirley Watts

Horticulture April

• C. Colston Burrell lists a number of native alternatives to take the place of invasive plants.
• A profile of Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, PA -- winner of this year's Award for Garden Excellence from the Am. Public Gardens Assn (APGA).
• All about Lilacs
• Gardening with great success in the extreme climates of Alaska. success

Abolish the Lawn -- Part II

If you scroll down a couple of posts, you'll see the article on architect Fritz Haeg and his campaign to turn front lawns into edible landscapes.

Read more about it in today's New York Times special design magazine, link here for the complete story.

Trees & George

Two Days of Trees

Trees, of course, are the backbone of any landscape design, and no better place to learn about them than Mount Vernon, where some of the big ones planted by George Washington himself still survive.

The American Horticultural Society is hosting a two-day seminar at Mount Vernon April 10-11, "Trees of the American Landscape."  It's an opportunity to learn about tree care, preservation, and restoration, and also the value of trees in the landscape and characteristics of the next generation of landscape trees.

Guest lecturers include landscape architect and arborist Guy Sternberg of Starhill Forest Arboretum; Tom Smiley of Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories; noted tree enthusiast Mike Hayman; Tony Aiello of the Morris Arboretum, and Holli Howard of Casey Trees, a non-profit organization that is restoring the tree canopy in Washington DC.

CEU's will be awarded to members of APLD.

To register, visit the AHS website or call 703-768-5700 x 137.

American Gardens: The Real Thing

Claire Sawyers has been involved with plants and gardens for most of her life, and now, the director of the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College is pushing the development of a true American garden style. 

In her new book, The Authentic Garden: Five Principles for Cultivating A Sense of Place (Timber Press, 2008), Sawyers says "we come up short when we try to identify the essence of the American garden."  She believes that's perhaps because we haven't been making gardens long enough, or because we're still trying to define the American garden ethic.

Sawyers urges all Americans to abandon what so many in this country like to do:  install English or Italian or Japanese or Persian or whatever-else gardens in our unique United States landscapes.

In the book, she outlines a five-step process to make our gardens authentically American, and scores of photos throughout the book illustrate each of her principles beautifully.  She advises everyone to work with their own particular landscape, rather than struggling against it -- i.e., take your design cues from the natural rock outcroppings, open fields or natural forests already in place -- don't raze them in favor of formal terraces. This, Sawyers calls capturing "a sense of place."

Next, she says designers should "derive beauty from function."  Working with natural materials, she believes, enhances the American landscape:  using natural stones for fences and walls in New England, adobe in the Southwest, and split-rail fencing in the hills of Virginia. Sawyers advocates designing pools and spas that are integrated into the landscape design so that they "don't look like a giant Caribbean tub dropped into the garden."

Finally, she calls for the use of "humble materials," making sure that you "marry the inside to the outside," and "involve the visitor" in the garden experience.  "Even on a small urban lot," says Sawyers, "garden paths can direct and encourage a visitor's experience and create a sense of journey."

At the end of the book, Sawyers writes about several residential and public gardens that capture the spirit of a true "American garden," and she demonstrates how each one includes the five principles she outlines in the book. Among them area the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas and the Brandywine Conservancy River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Sawyers is not writing about some kind of design style that's one-size fits all for American landscapes like the "New American Garden" developed by James van Sweden and Wolfgang Oehme, with wide swathes of ornamental grasses, shrubs and perennials.  The "American" garden that Sawyers envisions would be different in every region of the United States, yet have singular qualities that everyone could recognize as truly "American."

If you're tired of English cottage gardens, Asian-style gardens and formal landscapes, as I often am, this is the book for you.  It'll inspire you to think about how to create a landscape that's not only original, but one that will last through the American ages.

(click on image or link to purchase book through Amazon)

 

Abolish the Lawn, Improve the Community

Architect Fritz Haeg is on a mission: he proposes to do away with front lawns across the country and replace them with edible landscapes.  "Food grown in our front yards," he says, "will connect us to the seasons, the organic cycles of the earth, and our neighbors. The banal lifeless space of uniform grass in front of the house will be replaced with the chaotic abundance of biodiversity."

Haeg's project is already well underway and documented in his just-published new book "Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn (Metropolis Books, 2008).  The book contains personal accounts of the first four gardens that are part of Haeg's Edible Estates project, which was launched on July 4, 2005 in Salina, Kansas, near the geographic center of the United States.

In the book, Haeg tells us that Edible Estates gardens "are meant to serve as provocations." He explains that today's towns and cities are "engineered for isolation," and says front-yard gardens become street performances, prompting neighbors to stop by and chat, and creating a new sense of community.  Moreover, the elimination of lawns will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from mowers and string trimmers, and reduce pesticides currently seeping into drinking supplies and groundwater.  And Haeg's project fits in perfectly with the burgeoning movement to eat and grow local produce.

Aside from the Kansas project, the book profiles other ongoing edible landscapes in Lakewood, CA; Maplewood, NJ; and London, England -- complete with landscape plans, photographs, and much more.  There are also reports and photos from other owners of edible yards around the country, and resources to help you get started on your own 21st century victory garden.

Well, I have a small vegetable garden in my own back yard, and if it weren't for my year-round Sunday morning organic farmers' market a couple of miles away (Takoma Park Farmers' Market), my front yard ornamentals (no lawn, anyway) might well give way to edibles.

(click on image or link to purchase book from Amazon)