garden design - january,february 2006
DESCRIPTION
Ournewawardswith AmericanSocietyof LandscapeArchitects Best of the New Casual Outdoor Furniture Stylishly Display Gorgeous Houseplants Coleus: Couldn’t Be Easier,More Colorful BONUSTHISYEAR: J A N / F E B 2 0 0 6 $ 5.9 9 / $ 6 . 9 9 C A N.TRANSCRIPT
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Best of the New Casual OutdoorFurnitureStylishly DisplayGorgeousHouseplantsColeus:Couldn’t Be Easier, MoreColorful
BONUS THIS YEAR:Our new awards with
American Society ofLandscape Architects
2Owinning
gardens
“Monrovia challengesme to expand my paletteby always adding new,
worthy elements totheir product mix. Thequality of Monrovia’s
plants as well as the vastselection and range ofspecimen sizes providethe tools that enable meto bring my inspirations
to fruition.”–Craig Bergmann
Monrovia Style:Presents THE ROMANTIC
Chicago-based Landscape Architect
Craig Bergmann is known for
incorporating a modern day twist on
the romantic designs of the past. His vast
experience as a plantsman, coupled
with his unique design sense, work
together to create extraordinary gardens
of incredible depth and detail.
Monrovia Style™: Creating distinctive gardens ...
one plant at a time. www.monrovia.com
Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’Spartan Juniper
To plant is but a part of landscape composition; to co-ordinate is all — C H R I S T O P H E R T U N N A R D 3G A R D E N D E S I G N
On the CoverThe Lacy garden in Los
Angeles designed by RobSteiner (see page 66).
Photo by Lisa Romerein.
J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
2006 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCEIn this issue, we’ve dedicated 35 pages to the winning gardensof two prestigious design competitions:The ASLA/GardenDesign Residential Design Awards and Garden Design maga-zine’s Golden Trowel Awards. Enjoy.And borrow ideas.
48 ASLA/Garden Design AwardsFor the first time, the American Society of Landscape Architectsand Garden Design team up to showcase professionally designedgardens. Included are a gracious Louisiana garden with a proudCreole heritage; a model of modernist tropical verve in KeyWest, Florida; and a timeless landscape on Martha’sVineyard.
66 Golden Trowel AwardsEleven years of troweling for gold in our annual competitionculminates with some of our finest entries ever. Garden treas-ures, designed by both professionals and amateurs, fill 15 pages.View small-space magic in Los Angeles, nostalgia in Indiana-polis, edgy artistry in Portland and Denver, and much more.
Features
contents 48
74
78
56
Designing a garden is about connecting the body, soul and mind to the land and to itself — K A T H R Y N G U S T A F S O N4 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
POSTAL INFORMATION GARDEN DESIGN, NUMBER 135 (ISSN 0733-4923), is published 7 times per year (January/February, March,April, May, June/July, September/October, November/December) by World Publications,LLC, P.O. Box 8500,Winter Park, FL 32790. ©Copyright 2004, all rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner. Periodicals postage paid at WinterPark, FL, and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S.: $23.95 for one year, $39.95 for 2 years. Canadian subscribers add $6.00 per year, foreign subscribers add $12.00 per year. For subscription information, please call 800/513-0848. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GARDEN DESIGN, P.O. Box 421145, Palm Coast, FL 32142-1145. For faster service, please enclose your current subscription label. Occasionally, we make portions of our subscriber list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we think may be of interest to you. If you do not want to receive these offers, please advise us at 1-800-513-0848. EDITORIAL: Send correspondence to Editorial Department, GARDEN DESIGN, P.O. Box 8500,Winter Park, FL 32789; E-mail: [email protected] welcome all editorial submissions, but assume no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited material.ADVERTISING: Send advertising materials to RR Donnelley & Sons Company, Lancaster Premedia Center,Attn: Garden Design Ad Management Module, 216 Greenfield Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Phone: 717-481-2851. Retail sales discountsavailable; contact Circulation Department. Following are trademarks of GARDEN DESIGN and World Publications, Inc., and their use by others is strictly prohibited:The Golden Trowel Awards; Dirt; Growing; Style; Sage Advice; Details.
Departments
contents
188 Reader Letters
10 Dirt The new Long-wood conservatory, colonialchairs, very special pelargo-niums, Morton’s maze,labyrinthine floral design.
22 Growing Not yourmother’s coleus.Today’svarieties are better and brasher than ever.
26 Décor Going up? NewYork landscape architect KenSmith goes vertical in thisManhattan conservatory.
33 Style Buyers at theChicago Casual FurnitureShow last fall were snappingup these exciting new lines.
37 Inside Outdoorsyplants paired with statement-making containers advancethe art of houseplant display.Uncommonly cool indoorideas. B Y T O V A H M A R T I N .
44 GroundbreakerFrench visionary Jean-PaulPigeat created a whole newway to experience gardens.
84 Sage AdviceNewYear’s advice from JackRuttle. Paving combinedwith lawn.A Seattle frontgarden is transformed.
96 DetailsStill life on the windowsill.
For more, check out www.gardendesign.com.
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6 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
from the editorEDITOR- IN-CHIEF
Bill Marken
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Joanna Fortnam
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LAST SUMMER I HAD THE STIMULATING AND SATISFYING PRIVILEGE OF RE-viewing hundreds of wonderful gardens. It was a boom time for bothquantity and quality in our awards programs. Our annual 11-year-old Golden Trowel program drew more entrants than in the previ-ous year.And for the first time, we saw the results of our partnershipwith the American Society of Landscape Architects, the pre-eminentorganization for professional designers. Garden Design magazine andASLA now co-sponsor the residential category in ASLA’s prestigiousProfessional Awards.
Locked in a room—with stacks of binders, photos, garden plans andwritten descriptions from technical to rapturous—jurors for theASLA/GD program met in Washington, D.C., and the Golden Trowel
jurors met in Winter Park, Flori-da.What do we look for? Alongwith the standard criteria like func-tionality, cohesiveness, beauty andcreativity that both juries valued,I kept a special watch for:
Sheer freshness. See vivid ex-amples among the winners, in-cluding the artists’ tiny side yard onpage 82 and Andrea Cochran’s stun-ning rooftop garden on page 65.
Lesson value and idea quality.Are there take-home ideas for oth-er designers and home gardeners?Raymond Jungles’ 10,000-square-foot, idea-packed gem on page 66,for example.
Sustainability. “Is this right forthe site and the region?” we askedof every ASLA/GD entry.Win-ners noteworthy for sustainabili-ty include those in Jackson Hole
and Oregon, as well as the recycled rooftop in Minneapolis.Outdoor living. Gardens to be lived in get higher marks than gar-
dens designed just to be viewed. Part of my credo.True confession. As a magazine editor, I can’t help but imagine how
a garden would look on a magazine page. Does it stop the reader andoffer useful information? Rob Steiner’s utterly pragmatic but exquisitesolutions to typically difficult suburban spaces (page 56) do the job.
See what you think of our 35 pages of winning gardens, beginningon page 47. If you’re like me, you’ll be struck with the amazing anddiverse spirit and talent, amateur and professional alike, going intothe design of gardens today.—BILL MARKEN , EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Locked in a Room
The ASLA Professional Awards jury deliberated in Washington, D.C. Left to right: Barbara E.Wilks,
Terence G. Harkness,Todd Johnson, Gary R. Hilderbrand,Suzanne Turner, Edward A. Feiner, Beth Dunlop,
Mia Lehrer, editor Bill Marken and Karen Jessup.
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Comments on September/OctoberI love your magazine and especially appre-ciate the coverage of West Coast gardens thatis missing from many other gardening pub-lications.The September/October 2005 is-sue was especially full of useful informationfor California gardeners. I do want to com-ment on two articles, however.
In addition to The Cultural LandscapeFoundation (TCLF) that was mentioned inthe story “Teaming Up to Save Gardens,” theGarden Conservancy (www.gardenconser-vancy.org) is a national, nonprofit organiza-tion founded in 1989 to preserve excep-tional American gardens for the public’seducation and enjoyment.
And in the article “Tower of Twigs,” ref-erence is made to “digger pine.”The pre-ferred common name is gray pine, ratherthan the now-derogatory term referring toNative Americans. I’m sure the slight wasunintentional.—BraceyTiede, San Jose, CA
The slight was entirely unintentional, as you say.Our apologies.—Ed.
SteeleWaters Run DeepI fully appreciated your insightful commentson Richard Neutra and Rudolph Schindlerin “Modernism Now and Forever” in theSeptember/October 2005 issue and theirconnection to Frank LloydWright. I also ap-preciated your comments about Dan Kiley,Garrett Eckbo and James Rose, but felt youmissed out on a very important connectionthey had (in addition to Harvard) that is verymuch worth taking the time to mention. Infact, their connection was (arguably) to thefather of modernist garden design in Amer-ica, Fletcher Steele.
Steele was a guest lecturer and critic atHarvard at the time Kiley, Eckbo and Roseattended, and was a major promoter ofmodernist garden design. Fletcher wroteat least two articles on the subject at leasta decade prior, but it was Eckbo who wrotethat Steele was the link between formal-ism and modernism. So while you are verycorrect in what you said about the seeds of discontent they planted, it was likelySteele who watered the garden.—StewartMcIntosh, Vancouver,BC
Search for GoldIs the ‘Golden Sculpture’ hosta featured inJuly/August 2005 the same as ‘AugustMoon’ hosta? I couldn’t find ‘Golden Sculp-ture’ locally and so purchased ‘AugustMoon’. It looks identical, but I know thatdoesn’t mean they are. I was sorry that nei-ther your article nor the info tag on mypurchased plants provided scientificnames.—JolynWiggins, via the Net
‘Golden Sculpture’ and ‘August Moon’ are indeedtwo different hostas. If you’re still keen on ac-quiring ‘Golden Sculpture’, several nurseries offerit via the Internet.Try the Hosta Patch in DeerPark, Illinois (www.hostapatch.com). But ‘AugustMoon’ is an excellent hosta, and if it has the lookyou want, it’s a good substitute.The scientific namefor most hostas is simply the genus Hosta fol-lowed by the cultivar name—in this case ‘GoldenSculpture’ or ‘August Moon’—because most hostason the market today are hybrids (sometimes witha complex heritage) rather than species.—Ed.
True Lurie Lineup Your article on Piet Oudolf in the Novem-ber/December 2005 issue was wonderfulexcept for the very last mention of the assis-tance he received with the Lurie Garden proj-ect in Chicago. Neil Diboll from Prairie Nurs-ery in Westfield,Wisconsin, has a wonderfulnative-plant nursery and has contributedmuch to the use of prairie plants in landscapesituations. Diboll is also a good friend, but hehad no involvement in the plants, planningor planting of the Lurie Garden in Chicago.
I worked from September of 2001through 2005 with Piet, growing 14,000perennials for the project and coordinatingwith three other growers to produce its re-maining 13,000 plants. I’ve been growingperennials and native plants since 1978, andno one has had a clue about how to placethem in a position to succeed and at thesame time knock people over with the beau-tiful combinations like Piet does.—RoyDiblik,Northwind Perennial Farm; www.northwindperennialfarm.com; Burlington,WI
Thank you for setting the record straight.We sin-cerely apologize for the error. Look for more cov-erage of Piet Oudolf soon, along with Northwind’scontributions to the project.—Ed.
10 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
dirtN E W C O N S E R VATO RY | M A Z E S | W I N D S C U L P T U R E | B R I T S O N TO U R | B I R D F E E D E R S
INITIALLY THE PROVINCE OF THE WEALTHY,who built extravagant “crystal palaces” toflaunt their collections of rare flora, con-servatories became flagship structures formany public gardens, oases amid urbanlife, and a unique combination of fantasy,botany, architectural showmanship andstate-of-the-art technology. Over the past20 years many of these glasshouses havebeen restored or renovated and newerones built as part of a growing interest inhistorical and “green” architecture.
Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia isthe most recent to take this step and entersits centennial year with a modernizedglasshouse gem that reflects traditions of thepast. Originally the site of the Azalea House,the first East Conservatory opened in 1973,complete with a honeycomb arched roof.This structure has been revamped, replac-ing the roof with a style to match the mainconservatory on the site, and adding the latest in environmental systems.
But an even greater treasure is what
More and more, so it seems to me, light is the beautifier of the building—F R A N K L L O Y D W R I G H T
Top: Longwood’s newEast Conservatory,inspired by modernismand the great gardensof Europe. Above:Fountain of rare blueBrazilian granite.
House of GlassPortals to the exotic since the 1800s,
conservatories were the world’s firstvirtual reality tours. Longwood’s
new glasshouse is state of the artR
OB
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In another moment Alice was through the glass, and had jumped lightly down into the looking-glass room—L E W I S C A R R O L L 11G A R D E N D E S I G N
f u r n i t u r e
COLONY CLUBBritish Colonialstransplanted to thesteamy climes ofBurma and other Asianlandscapes may haverelinquished Westernconveniences, butthey still entertainedin style. Brits andwealthy natives adopt-ing the English mannerrelaxed in fashionableteak chairs on sec-
ond-story covered porches designed forcool breezes and junglelike garden views.
The Golden Triangle antique gallery inChicago is cornering the Asian market oncolonial veranda chairs dating from the late1800s to the 1930s, when the BritishEmpire was coming to a close.The chairshave ventilated caned seats and backs andrange in style from High Victorian to ArtDeco, the latter being the most sought-after.The chairs range from $450 to $1,500.Gallery co-ownerDoug Van Tress says afresh batch of chairsarrived this pastDecember, collectedfrom his antique furni-ture sources in Asia.—LAURIE GRANO
waits inside. Unlike most glasshouses, thenew East Conservatory is not tropical, in-stead using a palette of subtropical andMediterranean plants.Though the housecontains amazing specimens (such as therare Camellia azalea and a 12-foot En-cephalartos woodii), it is more than a col-lection of individual plants; it is a gardenunder glass, an aesthetic experience, us-ing a dynamic combination of Moorish,modernist and French influences, designedso that visitors forget they are indoors.Even ordinary species like cast-iron plant,snake plant and fatsia are used in extraor-dinary ways. For inspiration lead design-er Tres Fromme returned to the gardensthat inspired industrialist and philanthro-pist Pierre S. du Pont when he beganbuilding Longwood in 1906, such as theAlhambra in Spain, Vaux le Vicomte inFrance and Villa d’Este in Italy.
The result is a space that combinesgrandeur and glamour with intimacy, mak-ing the experience of visiting the conser-vatory awe-inspiring yet personal, withevery element coordinated into a cohe-sive whole, which were also Du Pont’soriginal goals for the entire estate.Thoughthe conservatory is Longwood’s largest in-door garden, covering a half-acre, with a48-foot ceiling, it is divided into smaller“courtyards” by dramatic10-foot hedges
and bamboo.With meticulous attentionto detail, everything was touched by thedesigner’s hand, from light fixtures, ven-tilation grates and handrails, to the blue-granite fountain in the Court of Palms,the paving patterns in the Court of Bam-boo and the urns in the Patio of Oranges.The connecting thread for it all is water,the sight and sound of it drawing the vis-itor through the space.Around every cor-ner is a revelation into the past, presentand future of Longwood.
For information on Longwood Gardensand upcoming events and seasonal displaysin the East Conservatory, visit www.longwoodgardens.org. Centennial festivities be-gin January 28 and 29. —JENNY ANDREWS
Every detail was custom-designed tocreate a unique con-servatory experience.Left: Lights combinemodern and OldWorld. Below: Stylishpotted foliage plants.
fyi The GoldenTriangle can be reached at 312-755-1266or www.goldentriangle.biz.
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A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time—D . H . L A W R E N C E12 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
p l a n t s
In the Zone
d e s i g n
SHE’S LIKE THE WINDStretching the concept of public gardens, a164-foot-tall, 328-foot-wide net sculpturetitled She Changes by Massachusetts-basedartist Janet Echelman floats magically over asculpted-earth grass plaza at the center of a
highway roundaboutnear Porto andMatosinhos, Portugal.Echelman calls it “windgarden choreography.”Made from nearly in-destructible Tenara ar-chitectural fiber (thesame material as
Teflon, this is the first-ever use of this kind)suspended from a 20-ton steel ring, the net-ted structure is symbolic of the fishing andindustrial history of the region and is sitedoverlooking a waterfront.The poles holdingthe ring are outside the traffic lanes, sowhether driving the roundabout or standingbeneath the net, the viewer has a feeling ofbeing inside the artwork.
Though the sculpture is monumental, itstranslucence and flexibility give it an ephem-eral quality as it responds to its windyseaside location.And its appearancechanges from dawn to dusk becauseof its red-and-white coloration (remi-niscent of industry smokestacks andlighthouses) and dramatic night light-ing.Though made of high-tech indus-trial materials and engineered usingprecise mathematics, the sculptureechoes the pulse of nature and givesshape to the invisible air. —JA
MOST GARDENERS RECOGNIZE THE UBIQUITOUS
zonal geraniums (Pelargonium), which,though tough and reliable, typically becomelarge and awkward. But don’t cross all zonalgeraniums off your list, because smaller, bet-ter-behaved, seductive selections are waitingfor you.Their small size, colorful foliage andflowers, easy maintenance and adaptabilityto indoor conditions make them perfecthouseplants for brightening dull winter days.
If you find your gardening spaces (and thetime to devote to them) dwindling, try dwarfand miniature zonal geraniums—many takeup less than a square foot of space.They sportbeguilingly colored and patterned leaves, andmany produce attractive flowers. Bright, lightand dark green base colors, sometimes inshades of yellow, blue green or gray, con-trast with white, brown,red and even pink zones,edges and splotches. Liketheir bigger relatives,most of them have fo-liage that features areas(zones) of markings—sometimes very preciseedges as in ‘Distinction’or unpredictable splash-es such as ‘Crystal PalaceGem’. Flowers, in white,pink and a vast range ofreds from near black toblood red to lipstick or-ange, ornament the fo-liage. First appearing inAustralia in the 1950s,many new varieties ofthese smaller geraniums
have entered the market in the past fewyears.While there are many selections (thebest known is the stellar type ‘VancouverCentennial’), they are an undiscoveredtreasure for many gardeners.
Miniature geraniums don’t ask for much,provided you understand their hard-wired
preference to luxuriatein cooler weather andthen doze in warmermonths. In cold months,nurture them in cool,sunny windows orgreenhouses and don’texpect them to remainalluring when tempera-tures rise. Give themsmallish (usually less than6-inch) pots and a well-drained potting mix. Ifthey seem thirsty butaren’t wilted, wait a dayor two to water.A high-phosphorous fertilizer(such as 10-52-10), ap-plied every 10 days or so,brings out leaf colors.
Like the larger zonals,some of the smaller onesneed a bit of manage-ment. During activegrowth, pinch the ends ofthe shoots and removeany vigorous, maverickstems. In time, you’ll en-joy a uniform littlemound of flower-studdedfoliage.—RAY ROGERS
can’t get enough?‘Alpha’ low-growing; red-
zoned, yellow-green foliage; abun-dant orange-red flowers
‘Bird Dancer’ (top, in pot) stel-lar type; dark red-zoned, cut-edgedleaves; pale salmon blooms
‘Fairyland’ tiny difficultcharmer; leaves gray-green, creamand pink; rare bright red flowers
‘Frank Headley’ larger grow-er; white-edged gray-green leaves;salmon-pink flowers
‘Mr. Henry Cox’ yellow leavesmarked with green, red, and darkpurple; pink flowers
‘Turkish Delight’ chartreuseand maroon leaves; infrequentred-orange flowers
‘Vancouver Centennial’(above) stellar-type; leaves in goldand maroon; red-orange flowers
Pelargonium Sources: Logee’sGreenhouses, Ltd.: 888-330-8038,www.logees.com. Shady Hill Gardens:630-879-5665, www.shadyhill.com.P & J Greenhouses: 604-888-3274,www.geranium-greenhouses.com.Glasshouse Works: 740-662-2142,www.glasshouseworks.com.
fyi Call 212-864-1001 (NewYork), 617-332-8778 (Boston),or visit www.echelman.com.
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THE MORTON ARBORETUM’S NEW MAZE
Garden is not the typical labyrinth of blindevergreen alleys, where winning the gamemeans finding the center. Instead, the pathstwisting through the 1-acre planted puzzlenear Chicago lead to seven hidden gardenrooms, and the prize is discovering the ever-changing beauty of underused hedge plants.
The one-of-a-kind Maze Garden, whichopened this past spring, does use tradition-al yew, arborvitae and boxwood—morethan 3,100 of them—lining its half-mile’sworth of confusing pathways. But the secretrooms are each hedged in a different plantchosen for hardiness and seasonal interest.
One room is entered through a wisteriatunnel and walled with hedge maple (Acer
campestre), which in fall glows a soft gold.Another is bordered with dramatically sway-ing switch grass (Panicum virgatum ‘North-wind’). Other showcased plants are spring-flowering forsythia (Forsythia‘Meadowlark’),berry-bearing Cornelian cherry dogwood(Cornus mas) and soft-needled Eastern whitepine (Pinus strobus).
Morton’s roughlytriangular maze, de-signed by a team ledby Peggy Pelkonen,the arboretum’s assis-
tant landscape architect, adjoins the foot ofan old sycamore outfitted with a roomylookout platform. If the unfolding plant dis-play isn’t enough to keep folks coming—even in winter—there is the puzzle’s chang-ing challenge: Although there is only oneway in and out, the maze’s direction is pe-
riodically altered, thanksto a clever system ofgates. And, for thoseworried about gettinglost, maps are avail-able.—LAURIE GRANO
MAGICALMYSTERYTOUR
p l a c e s
At Morton’s Maze Gar-den, a viewing platformwas constructed tobetter appreciate thepattern of grasses anddeciduous and ever-green trees and shrubs.
fyi The Morton Arboretum: 4100Illinois, Route 53, Lisle, Illinois.For more information, call 630-968-0074 or see www.mortonarb.org.
One solution: Use rubber mulch as KenSmith and other designers do, strictly fordecorative purposes.—DONNA DORIAN
RUBBER MULCH HAS CREATED A LOT OF BUZZ
lately, and not just from Ken Smith (see page26)—so we decided to take a closer look.
Made from ground-up old tires, rubbermulch began its career about 15 years agowhen the U.S. government directed indus-tries to find a way to recycle the mountainsof tires littering the landscape.The first re-incarnation came in the form of a soft hard-scaping material used on playgrounds; thenabout seven years ago the old tires began tobe repackaged for landscape mulching.Contemporary designers in particular likedits edgy decorative look (it’s available in arange of wild colors) and the idea that itmight actually have environmental benefits.They started spreading the word.
Unfortunately, our research has unearthedsome mixed reports:
PROS
Made of 100 per-cent recycled rubber.
May reduce weedgrowth 95 percent.
May retain groundmoisture.
Won’t attract ter-mites and insects.
Available in a rangeof colors from red toblue to brown—re-sists fading.
Does not need tobe replenished.
CONS
Has potential toleach zinc into soil.*
Susceptible tocombustion.
Not all mulch ismade equal—somehave ground-up steelbelts, which can cut.
Rubber takessome 100 years tobreak down.
Known to emit an unpleasant odorwhen first installed.
r e p o r t
THE SKINNY ON RUBBER MULCH
For more information, see www.rubberificmulch.com; www.groundscapelandscape.com;www.puyallup.wsu.edu; www.paghat.com.*Compost specialist Rufus Chaney of theUSDA Agricultural Research Service advisesthat for the zinc factor alone,“rubber shouldnever be used in gardens or composts.”
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The end is where we start from—T . S . E L I O T16 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
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t h e c u t t i n g e d g e
THE ART OF THE LABYRINTHTHE MAKING OF LABYRINTHS AND MAZES HAS
become a craze in garden design these days,so Luis Collazo, the floral designer of Lo-tus, the Manhattan-based floral and eventdesign studio, took the next step and trans-lated the idea to the table.
The concept is innovative and the cre-ation is easy, though a bit time-consuming.For his design, Collazo used Oasis, a spongy,Styrofoam-like product available at floristsand floral supply shops.Then he combineda few 40- by 10-inch strips, cutting and lay-
ing them on top of a flat galvanized metaltray. For the labyrinth itself, his shrub ofchoice was juniper, which he cut into smallsprigs and pressed one by one into the Oa-sis. Other kinds of evergreen shrubs suchas yew and boxwood would do just as well.Then he ornamented the labyrinth withacorns and glued down a light path of sand.
Collazo had even more fun with the idearecently when St. Jude Children’s ResearchHospital, working in conjunction with thefashion house Escada, asked him to host his
first event at his new venue, Lotus Space, inManhattan.Taking advantage of the longrows of columns in the 15-foot-high space,he decorated each one with its own labyrinthby taking four rectangular trays and placingthem around the foot of each column, Eachgroup made one labyrinth, and the wholeplace became a garden of mazes.—DD
Luis Collazo at Lotus, 122West 26th St.,NewYork City. For more information, call212-463-0555 or see www.lotus212.com.
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Wayside GardensSPRING 2006
America’s Premier Gardening SourcePlease send for our big 152 page full-color catalog. Well-stocked with over 750 varieties, it includes over 130 new roses, flowering trees and shrubs, perennials, vines, groundcovers, bulbs, ceramic planters, and wrought iron garden furnishings.
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I hope you love birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven—E M I L Y D I C K I N S O N18 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
dirt
EGG BIRD FEEDER Birds and eggs are a natural combina-tion.This award-winning design by Jim Schatz is a bird feederreduced to its most basic components. Beautifully simple, thehandmade Egg Bird Feeder has a slick glazed ceramic reservoirthat is durable in all weather and squirrel-proof. Custom-spunaluminum base. Comes in 10 glossy decorator colors; 8.5inches high and 6 inches wide. Named one of the 25 BestProducts of 2004 by Fortune magazine. From J Schatz:$125 (866-344-5267, www.jschatz.com).
PERCH BIRD FEEDER
The simple but stylish glazedearthenware Perch BirdFeeder is perfect for smallbirds like finches and chick-adees. Designed by NewYorkvisual artist Amy Adams, whospecializes in ceramics. Sus-pend by its 36-inch leathercord from your deck or patioor a nearby tree; 7.5 incheswide, 6.5 inches deep, 5 inch-es high. From PostmodernPets: $76 (650-331-3500,www.postmodernpets.com).
PARASOL SEED
TRUMPET BIRD FEEDER
This sturdy cone-shapedglass feeder adds color andsparkle to the garden. Pow-der-coated metal tray un-screws from the reservoirfor easy refilling and cleaning.Holds 1 quart (1.5 pounds)of nearly any seed.Availablein green, blue and aquama-rine. Includes 7-inch S-hookfor hanging. From BestNest:$48.95 (877-562-1818,www.bestnest.com).
p r o d u c t s
Modern Birdsp r e s e r v a t i o n
SAVING THE PASTDo you know of a Modernist garden
in the path of progress? Or a land-
scape from the era of the grand
country places that is threatened by
a mall’s expansion? The Cultural
Landscape Foundation and Garden
Design magazine are teaming up to
call for nominations for the 2006
Landslide program, to bring attention
to our diverse and irreplaceable gar-
den and horticulture heritage.
TCLF, established in 1998, is the only
not-for-profit foundation in America
dedicated to increasing the public’s
awareness of the important legacy of
our cultural landscapes. Landslide is
its five-year-old program that this year
will celebrate our most significant
threatened gardens, both private and
public (in previous years, Landslide
has focused on “working landscapes”
and “designed landscapes”).
Charles Birnbaum,TCLF director,
says, “So many gardens are in fact
nationally significant treasures, but
are not widely understood and are
therefore susceptible to inappropri-
ate change.
That’s where
Landslide
comes to
the rescue.”
fyi If you would liketo nominate a gardenor learn more aboutLandslide 2006, consultwww.tclf.org/landslide/.Deadline for applicationsis January 31, 2006.
These sleek, sophisticatedbird feeders are as ornamental
as they are useful, combiningcraftsmanship and mod appeal
BIRDBRAIN SAUCER
FEEDER Combining Asianflair with summer-at-the-beach colors, the ceramicBirdBrain Saucer Bird Feederholds up to 3 pounds ofseed. Six ports and threeperches allow lots of birds toeat and preen.The top liftsoff for refilling. Includes metalhook and steel wire for hang-ing; 10 inches high and 11.5inches in diameter. FromBestNest: $59.95 (877-562-1818, www.bestnest.com).
The British have the distinction…of being able to put new wine into old bottles without bursting them—C L E M E N T A T T L E E20 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
WHO’S WHO: PenelopeHobhouse, author of Gar-dens of Persia (Cassell Illus-trated, 2004, $49.95).A distinguished gardenwriter, designer, historianand lecturer, Hobhousecan only be described as a doyenne of Eng-lish gardening. She is far from a tradition-alist, though; for example, she named Span-ish minimalist Fernando Caruncho the topup-and-coming designer in this country.QWhat has inspired you about the USA?A American gardeners have great confi-dence in doing their own regional “thing.”They don’t need advice from England.QWhat is difficult to like?A There is a tendency to overplay the “nat-ural” look. Nature is there to inspire, notto be slavishly copied.QWhich American garden would you recom-mend to an English friend?A Without doubt Filoli, south of San Fran-cisco—or visit Chicago Botanic Garden toreally learn.
WHO’S WHO: An-drewWilson, authorof Influential Garden-ers:The DesignersWhoShaped 20th-CenturyGarden Style (Clark-
son Potter, 2003, $45)and The Book of Garden Plans (Universe,
2004, $35). Formerly director of GardenStudies at Inchbald School of Design in Lon-don, freelance garden designer, Royal Hor-ticultural Society judge for the ChelseaFlower Show and all-around garden expert.QWhat has inspired you about the USA?A A great sense of fusion—mixing ideas.The British gardener tends to be a bit moreconservative.QWhat is difficult to like?A The obsession with plants—many gar-dens seemed to be plant collections ratherthan successfully designed spaces. I experi-enced one or two gardens with stupendousviews completely covered up by plants.QWhich American garden would you recom-mend to an English friend?A The Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Is-land, Seattle. For me this is what a gardenshould be, uplifting and beguiling.
WHO’S WHO: RosemaryAlexander, principal ofThe English GardeningSchool at the ChelseaPhysic Garden, London.Author of The Garden Mak-er’s Manual (with RichardSneesby,Timber Press, 2005, $34.95) andThe Essential Garden Design Workbook (Tim-ber Press, 2004, $34.95).QWhat has inspired you about the USA?A How well woodland plants grow in the
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Brits on TourThe American welcome mat is always out to the
English gardener with a new book to promote.Four British survivors from the lecture circuit give
their impressions of horticulture this side of the pond
Northeast, often better than in Britain.QWhat is difficult to like?A Fast food stalls and “on-the-hoof ” eating atthe Philadelphia and Chicago flower shows.QWhich American garden would you recom-mend to an English friend?A Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, NewYork, for the range of styles and planting.
WHO’S WHO: Keith Wi-ley, author On The WildSide: Experiments in NewNaturalism (Timber Press,2004, $34.95). Between1978 and 2003, as headgardener at The GardenHouse in Devon, England,Wiley practiced“wildWest, seat-of-your-pants, pioneeringgardening,” creating one of England’s mostdistinctive gardens. Now he works as a free-lance garden consultant and runsWildsidePlants, his mail-order nursery.QWhat has inspired you about the USA?A If an American really likes what you haveto say, they may well tell you.Q What is difficult to like?A Being constantly mistaken for an Aus-tralian is a bit galling.A slavish following oftraditional English gardening, especiallywhen it is obviously not compatible withthe drier U.S. zones, is hard to take.QWhich American garden would you recom-mend to an English friend?A Ernie and Marietta O’Byrne’s NorthwestGarden Nursery in Eugene, Oregon, is bril-liant, with standards of plantsmanship andartistic flair that would stand out anywhere.Dan Hinkley and Robert Jones have blazeda trail for unusual woodland plants atHeronswood in Kingston,Washington.—JF Z
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Color is joy. One does not think joy. One is carried by it—E R N S T H A A S22 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
growingAppeal: The gardening expression“as easy as coleus” plainly startedwith these almost carefree yetversatile Indonesian natives.Theirleaves evoke images of their homelands and provide as muchcolor as—and last far longerthan—many flowers.Zones: Though coleus are perenni-al in extreme southern Florida andthe mildest parts of California, inmost of the country frost bringsdown the curtain on the season-long display. Potted plants will sur-vive winter if kept above 50degrees in a sunny spot indoors.Exposure: Coleus aren’t just forshade anymore.Almost all thrivein morning sun, and enthusiastshave been producing types that tolerate all but the strongest sun,even in the South.Soil: Any average, moist but well-drained soil suits them, but alittle extra fertilizer (such as 5-10-10) promotes lusher growth andricher leaf colors.Care: Plant coleus long after thedanger of frost is past. Cuttings offavorites root easily in water or ina loose potting medium for over-wintering and sharing with othercoleophiles. Keep an eye peeled for mealybugs and spider mites.To promote denser, more compactgrowth pinch out flower spikesbefore they elongate.
Ray Rogers started coleus from a Punch ’n’ Gro as a childand is now co-producing (withdesigner Richard Hartlage) a bookon coleus for Timber Press.
SOYOU THOUGHTYOU KNEW COLEUS? IF THE SELECTIONS MADE AVAILABLE IN THE PAST 15YEARS HAVEN’T
dazzled you, you don’t know what you’re missing.A popular bedding plant in Victorian days onceknown in only a handful of colors on cookie-cutter plants, today’s trendsetters draw from a broaderpalette.The cornucopia of choices results from the work of enthusiasts and breeders and from coleus’phenomenal natural variability.These showy mint-family members (with the weighty botanical nameSolenostemon scutellarioides) offer new forms every year. Colors from bright chartreuse to hot pink tovelvety near-black are neatly to madly applied to a variety of leaf shapes on plants from under 6 inch-es to more than 4 feet tall, making them ideal for the border or container.—RAY ROGERS
The Colors of Coleus
The coleus are the stars inthis lively planting at AtlockFarm in Somerset, New Jer-sey. Mingling with greenclumps of upright basil andboxwood standards are‘Coal Mine’ (in the pot),‘Saturn’ (red, in front) and‘The Line’ (yellow, in back).
Old-fashioned plants given a totally modern makeover,coleus add pizzazz to shady beds, sunny borders and containers
The day I see a leaf is a marvel of a day—K E N N E T H P A T T O N 23G A R D E N D E S I G N
‘ INKY FINGERS’ Aversatile and sturdytrailer, useful for hang-ing baskets and edgesof borders. Combinewith Ipomoea ‘Blackie’and Colocasia ‘BlackMagic’ to echo thedark leaf splotches.
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If you’re quiet, you’re not living. You’ve got to be noisy and colorful and lively—M E L B R O O K S24 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
growing
[1] ‘ANINI SUNSET’ Bringstogether some of the newer coleuscolors, but you need to be creativeto really appreciate them. Grow in ahanging basket or container placedat eye level to enjoy the contrastbetween the red- and green-fleckedorange upper-leaf surfaces and thebeet-red undersides. Medium-sizedhabit and likes afternoon shade.[2] ‘SATURN’ The green lava-lampmarkings range from large blobs to amass of dots, but the contrast withthe lush damask red is striking. If youfind a leaf pattern you like, root somecuttings to preserve it, and watch forvariations on the same plant. Like itsnamesake,‘Saturn’ is a big boy. Bestout of direct, strong sun.[3] ‘ALABAMA SUNSET’ Theleaves change from golden chartreuseto orange red to darker red as theyage, providing opportunities to com-bine them with foliage and flowers inharmonious or complementaryshades. Dazzling in sunny areas andcombined with dark-leaved cannas.[4] ‘WILD LIME’ An excellentchoice for brightly lit areas out ofdirect sun.Viewed from a distance, apatch of this creates the illusion of alime-green haze. It grows less rapidlythan many of its kin and won’t attainimpressive proportions, so try it in adark-toned container on a plinth.[5] ‘SUNN’S GOLD’ Brings lightto semishady areas and tolerates agood deal of sun, too, becoming adense mound of foliage.Too muchshade increases the number and sizeof green patches and lessens impactof the gold. Intricately cut leaf edgesmake an interesting counterpoint toplain-edged neighbors.[6] ‘WINE AND LIME’ Attainsthe size of a small shrub if fed andwatered liberally, either in the openground or in a roomy container.Combine it with green- and purple-leaved coleus and other plants, orfeature it as a bold mass or singlespecimen. Shoots with solid-colorleaves often appear, adding interest.Prefers bright light.
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designing with coleus With their wide variety of
heights and leaf colors, sizesand shapes there is a coleus forevery planting scheme; evenan entire bed of just coleus has plenty of visual interest.
Pair nearly-black coleus withbright colors like chartreuse-leaved or pink-flowered plantsfor drama. Use light coloredcoleus among darker plants as a highlight and focal point.
Perfect “bridge” plants, coleusprovide continuous color in theborder as annuals, perennials andshrubs go in and out of bloom.
Unbeatable in containers,coleus can connect plants of different colors in mixed combi-nations.Taller varieties giveheight while shorter types trailgracefully over the pot’s edge.
Mounding varieties makegood ground covers, particularlyin the shade, and can hide fading bulb foliage and fill gapsas spring bloomers take a break in the summer heat.
Rainbow of coleus,from top to bot-tom: ‘Ava’, ‘DarkStar’ mixed with‘Purple Emperor’,‘Tabasco’, ‘Inky Fin-gers’ and ‘Lifelime’.
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26 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
F U N C T I O N : To convert wasted space atthe rear of a chic Manhattan townhouseinto a conservatory.S T Y L E : Avant-garde: trying out somethingnew. Given the collection of tropical plants,and the drip watering system, which runsup the walls like aerial feeder roots, theconservatory has the aura of a tropical rainforest.To help promote the idea, Smithused recycled black rubber mulch for theflooring, which gives one the feeling ofwalking on a cushy forest floor.F O R M : Vertical garden.F U R N I S H I N G S : Selecting a mirrored cof-fee table by Jacques Adnet and a glass-topdining table by Maria Pergay, Smith workedwith interior designer Michele Andrews todecorate the tropical rain forest with a Frenchmodern look. Mimicking a clapboard effect,they applied strips of mirror along one wallto reflect the plantings on the other, which
also helped the room look larger than its 9feet by 24 feet.The antler chandeliers makethe ceiling seem part of the garden.P L A N T S : Smith called in Don Sussman ofthe design firm Town and Gardens, whobrought in bunches of plants, and togetherthey picked more than 50 to hang on thewalls in plant rings. Some were what theycalled permanents—foliage plants such asphilodendrons and staghorn ferns that echoedthe shape of the antler chandeliers.The oth-ers were flowering plants—bromeliads, or-chids and anthuriums—that are regularlychanged to maintain color and interest.B O N U S : It transports you somewhereelse.—DONNA DORIAN
For more information, call Ken Smith,212-791-3595;Town and Gardens, 212-685-6566; for more on rubber mulch, see Dirtstarting on page 10.
A garden is a complex of aesthetic and plastic purposes—R O B E R T O B U R L E M A R X
decorC R E A T I V E I D E A S I N E X T E R I O R D E C O R A T I N G
SIXYEARS AGO,THE EDGY NEWYORK LANDSCAPE
architect Ken Smith tried his hand at a verti-cal garden. Commissioned to design an in-stallation for the now-defunct interiors mag-azine Nest, he strung artificial flowers fromthe walls and silk calla lilies from the ceiling.(Remember:This is the guy who, when askedby the Museum of Modern Art to design alow-maintenance garden, responded by“planting” only artificial materials—plastic,fiberglass, crushed glass and the like.)
Smith’s most recent venture into verti-cal gardening took place inside a Manhat-tan conservatory. “I wanted this garden tofeel tropical and exotic—to be complete-ly the opposite of New York City,” saysSmith, who this time relied on a palette ofreal tropical plants. “For me, the verticalgarden is rooted in the pot gardens ofGranada and southern Spain, in which flow-erpots placed into metal rings are hung onthe walls. It is something that has been donefor a long time,” he says. “And I have alwaysthought they were very beautiful.”
NewYork landscape architect Ken Smith designs a vertical garden inside a Manhattan conservatoryGreenhouse Effect
Ken Smith in aManhattan conser-vatory with plantsrunning up thewalls and rubbermulch underfoot.
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Expect the Unexpected:Garden Design’s black & white
garden at the 2005 ChicagoFlower & Garden Show
GARDEN DESIGN
Over 150,000 consumers had an opportunity to view our boldand contemporary black-and-white-themed garden titled “Expectthe Unexpected,” which was showcased at the annual ChicagoFlower & Garden at the Navy Pier.Through the integration of thequality products of our Garden Design Live! partners, we wereable to create a luxurious outdoor living space that incorporatesmodern lifestyle elements with good design. Garden Design speakswith Marc Mazzarelli about the Garden Design Live! experience.
GD: What inspired the creation of “Expect the Unexpected”? MAZZARELLI: The show’s theme was “An Eye for Color,” and Iimagined a garden that limited the color palette to allow a morecool and sophisticated look, and that was our starting point. Byusing black and white as key colors, we created a provocative andmemorable space that demonstrates a range of possibilities for
LIVE!
—S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N—
creating outdoor rooms in small and challenging urban spaces.GD: Obviously the choice of plant material plays a crucial role.How did you choose your plants?MAZZARELLI: As a starting point, it was essential to provide horti-cultural specimens that were cold-hardy to the Midwest area.These included a broad spectrum of native white flowering treesand pines indigenous to the Chicago area. For special interest weincluded recently introduced cultivars—now available throughMonrovia—to the region, such as white-flowering, cold-hardycamellias, white flowering amelanchiers and select hollies.The BlackMondo Grass provided by Monrovia was an important element inthe garden and was a crowd favorite.The effect of the mondograss accentuated the contemporary feel and perfectly offset thewhite flowering plantings as well as the contrasting crushed stoneused in the surface striping.
Photography by Linda Oyama Bryan
In spring 2005 Garden Design partnered with Boston-based landscape architect Marc Mazzarelli of Marc Mazzarelli Associates to
present Garden Design Live!, our annual idea garden exhibition.
GD: You were able to incorporate so many elements of out-door living. How did you make it all come together?MAZZARELLI: One challenge of residential landscape designtoday is not only creating an aesthetically pleasing environment,but also integrating outdoor living elements, such as decks, grillsand spas. As more and more people use their outdoor spacesfor entertaining and recreation, the hardscaping becomes thebackbone of the design and holds the overall garden together.In this design, I was striving for a simplicity that could easily beincorporated into an individual consumer’s garden. By displayingEpoch’s Evergrain composite decking, we highlighted a durableand ecologically friendly hard-surface alternative material thatrequires almost no maintenance after installation. FromEvergrain’s spectrum of available colors we chose Cape CodGrey, which fit nicely into our color concept range.GD: What other special outdoor living elements were incorpo-rated into the design?MAZZARELLI: We included a spa, built-in grill unit and deck-mounted umbrella that helped enhance the luxurious feel ofthe outdoor living experience. Sundance Spa’s high-qualityproduct was an easy fit as it was a non-built-in element andallowed flexibility and ease of installation.The outdoor kitchenand grill were built by our exhibit contractor,The Barn Nurseryand Landscaping of Cary, Illinois, and utilized a rock-faced fin-ished cut stone to create a custom base for Jade’s DynastyOutdoor Grill System.The stainless-steel Shadescapes Umbrellasystem offered both durability and dynamic looks for many dif-ferent uses; for example, it can be rotated and adjusted in mul-tiple configurations to provide solar coverage and privacy.
GD: What was your approach to furnishingthe outdoor room?MAZZARELLI: I wanted to incorporate modern trendsin the design, and the sleek styling of Gloster’s Lunaline created a sophisticated dining area, especiallywhen set by Not Neutral’s dishware designs.Thecasual seating area utilized a combination of theRichard Shultz’s 1966 and Petal collections for theiriconic modernist presence. For our container plant-ings, we selected Inner Garden’s excellent BlackChippendale boxes for dramatic entryway elements.Also, the clean lines of Inner Garden’s WhiteConcrete Containers helped create a focal point forthe unique arrangement of traditional white tulipspaired with Monrovia’s black mondo grass.GD: In closing, do you have anything else to add?
What else was special or important about the display, for example?MAZZARELLI: Recently, incredible advances have been made in outdoor fabrics, and I wanted to highlight the improved versatility of this material inour design. Industry leader Sunbrella provided the quality fabrics thatallowed us to use practical and decorative elements in the exhibit, such asthe outdoor drapery and customized ottomans. Lastly, the stunninglybeautiful centerpiece floral arrangements by Hiroko Takeshita (www.hirokodesigns.com) provided a nice finishing touch in both seating areas.
[1] The versatile Islaumbrella by ShadescapesUSA makes a dramaticfocal point from the entry of the garden.[2] Monrovia’s BlackMondo grass makes adramatic impact whenpaired with white tulips in Inner Garden’s con-crete containers.
—S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N—
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[3] Jade’s Dynasty Outdoor Grill. Component is designed into a custom-built stone base with black granite countertop. [4] Inner Garden’s Chippendale Aluminum Box planters grace the garden entryways and showcasing Monrovia’sWhite Rhododendron. [5] Evergrain “Cape Cod Grey” composite decking acts as the stage for Richard Shultz casualseating area.The Sundance Spa provides a luxurious retreat while customized draperies and ottoman made fromSunbrella fabric, add whimsy and just a touch of color. [6] Gloster’s Luna line, in aluminum teak and black mesh is set with Not Neutral dishware and accessories. Hiroko Takeshita’s citrus floral arrangement acts as a centerpiece.
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—S P E C I A L A DV E RT I S I N G S E C T I O N—
INNER GARDENS
ThanksTO O U R 2 0 0 5 D E S I G N PA RT N E R S
The Garden Design Live! garden featuredproducts from the following sponsors:
www.monrovia.com800/999-9321
www.evergrain.com800/405-0546
www.gloster.com435/575-1003
www.richardschultz.com215/679-2222
www.sunbrella.com336/586-1169
617/227-2312
www.shadescapes.com970/527-7070
www.sundancespas.com909/606-7733
www.barnnursery.com423/698-2276
www.jadeappliances.com866/820-9401
www.innergardens.com310/838-8378
Stunning Styles…Innovative Designers…
Don’t miss the 4th Annual
Garden Design Live!at the San Francisco
Flower & Garden Show.
March 15–19, 2006San Francisco
Flower & Garden ShowAt the Historic Cow Palace
THE MAGAZINE OF EXTERIOR DESIGN
WWW.GARDENDESIGN.COM
Mark yourCalendar!
Always design a thing by considering it in its next larger purpose—E L I E L S A A R I N E N 33G A R D E N D E S I G N33
style B Y D O N N A D O R I A N
THIS PAST FALL, MUCH OF THE REAL EXCITEMENT AT THE CHICAGO
Merchandise Mart’s International Casual Furniture and AccessoriesMarket—where outdoor furnishings and accessories manufactur-ers debut their new lines each year—came from watching newplayers warming up on the field.Three new young lines repre-sented by Chicago-based distributor and marketer Jane HamleyWells—Kenkoon fromThailand, Freeline from Holland and LCCfrom Italy—were major showstoppers. Sifas, a longtime player in
the European market, also made itsNorthAmerican debut.TheAmericanfirm Ameximports, a distributor ofLatin American outdoor furnishings,and Lister, a 100-year-old English firmwith a habit of drawing on Danish de-signers for inspiration, both importedstriking pieces that reflect the currentpassion for revisiting modernism.
Of course, many of the hall offamers in the outdoor furniture in-dustry—Brown Jordan, BarlowTyrie,Laneventure, Gloster—showed clas-sic form with innovative ideas attunedto the marketplace.The message fromthis year’s show was that outdoor fur-niture makers are doing their verybest to rev up for the growing Amer-ican passion for outdoor living.
[1] ANTENNA COLLECTION:
This new stainless steel collectionfrom the Bangkok-based Kenkoonreminds that the return to mod-ernism is a step forward. From JaneHamley Wells: easy chair, $840(cushion, $188); ottoman, $560(cushion, $188); dining chair, $800(cushion, $160). Call 773-227-4988or see www.janehamleywells.com.[2] BROOMSTIK: From the newand edgy Dutch firm Freeline, this10-foot bench made from pre-agedhardwood pine is an eye-catcher
with a purpose: Use it to provideinterest against a long wall, as aseating border to a flower bed orto accommodate your friends alongyour favorite table. From Jane Ham-ley Wells: $810. Call 773-227-4988or see www.janehamleywells.com.[3] ARMADA: The traditionalCaribbean styling on this teakdaybed belies its innovation and versatility.What appears to be astraightforward design easilymoves from sofa to chaise to flatbed. From Brown Jordan: $8,900.Call 800-743-4252 or see www.brownjordan.com.
Let’s Get CasualOutdoor furniture newbies
go through their paces in Chicago
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Put yourself on view.This brings your talents to light—B A L T A S A R G R A C I A N34 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
[4] EQUINOX HIGH DINING
RANGE: This bar table ensemble—which easily doubles as a diningtable for two—won the Design Ex-cellence Award for tubular materialsat the show. Combining stainlesssteel and plantation-grown teak, itsdimensions are perfect for balconiesor anyplace that might benefit froman unobstructed view. From BarlowTyrie: Equinox arm chair, $749; sidechair, $649; table, $749 (27 inch),$1,249 (39 inch). Call 800-451-7467or see www.teak.com.[5] KODIAK DINNER CHAIR:
Made from leftover tree-root seg-ments too small to use for largerpieces of furniture, this chair has astory as interesting as its looks.With a back crafted to its properpitch, the piece is designed for natu-ral postured comfort, too. FromGroovystuff: $399. Call 214-956-0536 or see www.groovystuff.com.[6] BELMONT LOUNGE: There’sno doubt about it:The modular sofais back.This time, it’s trimmer, more
versatile, and made from Hularofiber for longtime outdoor use.From Jardin de Ville: sofa, $2,409(cushion, $499); love seat, $1,603(cushion, $409); long footstool,$699 (cushion, $149); coffee table,$507. Call 514-342-8128 or seewww. jardindeville.com.[7] PALMS LOUNGER: Designedby Dutchman Frans Schrofer, thislounger harks back to the ’50s asmuch as it looks to the future. Madefrom laminated weatherproof teakand stainless steel.Very cool—andvery comfortable. From Lister:$2,065. Call 856-751-5800 or seewww.listerteak.com.[8] KYOTO: Designed by RichardFrinier, one of the brightest lights inoutdoor furniture design, this chairand the 12-piece collection fromwhich it hails were inspired by tradi-tional Japanese architecture, whilethe finish suggests the rich, agedappearance of raku pottery. FromCentury: $1,955 in fabric shown.Call 800-852-5552 or see www.centuryfurniture.com.
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Whatever you are by nature, keep to it; never desert your line of talent—S Y D N E Y S M I T H 35G A R D E N D E S I G N
[9] KARE FREE: The North Amer-ican debut of a long-respectedbrand in European outdoor furni-ture, Sifas promises to quickly makea name for itself in the States withits Kare Free Collection.With achair larger and deeper than usualand a table sized between a normaldining and a coffee table, here thechic is in the scale. In aluminum withpolyester fabric. From Sifas: loungechair, $590; table, $610. Call 305-573-0848 or see www.sifas.fr.[10] MONTECITO LOUNGE
CHAIR: Drawing upon the distinctivelook of wicker, this roomy new loungechair made from Hularo is construct-ed to withstand the harshest ele-ments. Pair it with the Polka Dot Plaidfabric to complete the look. FromVeneman:$1,999.Call 877-654-7001or see www.venemanfurniture.com.[11] THE IBIZA LOUNGE: Thissleek mixed-media chaise combinesthe durability of stainless steel, tex-taline and teak with cutting-edge de-sign. Part of a state-of-the-art collec-tion designed by Andrew Gower, it
is joined by two dining ta-bles, an occasional table, andlounge chair and ottoman,
all just as good looking. From Kings-ley-Bate: $990. Call 703-361-7000 orsee www.kingsley-bate.com.[12] ISTANBUL CHAIR: This oh-so-contemporary chair by Amexim-port originates in the traditionalBrazilian farmhouse bench, madewith high armrests, no backrests andwoven leather seats.While the tradi-tional bench always relied on cush-ions for comfort, this deep, almostsquare seat was designed ergonomi-cally and works just as is. FromHauser’s Patio & Rattan: $1,199.Call 888-275-5499 or seewww.hauserfurniture.com.
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Name
Address
Phone
Fax
All materials become property of World Publications LLC, may be used in print and electronicformats in perpetuity and will not be returned. Photographers will not necessarily be creditedupon publication and will not necessarily receive remuneration. By your entering this contest,World Publications assumes you have rights to all provided images and have granted GardenDesign magazine all rights to publish said images at the magazine’s discretion.
ENTRY FORM DEADLINE JUNE 1, 2006 Please complete and mail withentry materials to Garden Design, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park, FL 32789
To enter: For the Golden Trowel Awards (open to
amateurs and professional landscape designers and contrac-
tors), please fill out the form below and return it, along with
your completed entry, by June 1, 2006 to Garden Design, at-
tention Golden Trowel, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Win-
ter Park, FL 32789.Your entry should include the following:
Your story: Send us a written account. Include
your inspiration, the planning and what you started with,
the planting, the achievements and the setbacks of your
garden. Be as specific and creative as you can. Submissions
must be typewritten on white 8 1⁄2 - by 11-inch paper only.
Handwritten submissions or those sent via e-mail, disk or
CD will not be read.
Garden plan: Send us a drawing of the layout of
your garden, indicating major beds, trees, walkways, lawn,
hardscapes, structures and other features.We’ll accept any-
thing from a professionally rendered drawing to a home-
grown sketch. Be as detailed as reasonably possible, but
keep the plan simple to interpret. Include a list of key plants
by common or Latin name.
Photography: Submit enough prints to explain the
garden, including overall scenes, plant beds, structures, furni-
ture, outdoor kitchen or living areas, etc. Label these prints
with corresponding details. (Hint: Copy and enlarge actual
snapshots on a color copier, or photograph the images with a
digital camera and print them out on a color printer to
allow more room for labeling.) Submissions on disk, CD or e-
mail will not be viewed.Also include slides of your garden
and its features for publication in Garden Design magazine if
you win. Images for possible publication must be high-quality
color 35-mm slides or larger transparencies only. No dupes.
Open to all home gardeners and do-it-yourselfdesigners as well as professional garden designers,landscape contractors and architects. Landscapearchitects can also enter the ASLA/Garden Design
Residential Design program (see page 46).
Monrovia will award a $1,OOO GIFT CERTIFICATEto the amateur whose garden
demonstrates the most creative use of plants.
S P O N S O R E D B Y
H O R T I C U L T U R A L C R A F T S M E N ® S I N C E 1 9 2 6
A N N O U N C I N G G A R D E N D E S I G N ’ S
2 O O 6G O L D E N T ROW E L
AWA R D S
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Interior DialogueNOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO STAVE OFF THE WINTER BLAHS BY COMBINING BOLD
accoutrements with drop-dead-gorgeous plants. For a suitable horticultur-al housemate, do some searching beyond what your local garden center hasto offer. It’s fair play to enlist outdoorsy plants like moss and ferns, extenda warm welcome to succulents and tropicals normally banished to the green-house, or showcase the unusual and reinvent the humdrum. For this 19th-century NewYork apartment, we used stone and marble containers withweathered patinas and worn shapes fromAniAntreasyan’s collection atAniAncient Stone and combined them with strong architectural plants withinteresting textures. Anything to make winter more bearable.
B Y T O V A H M A R T I N P H O T O G R A P H S B Y T O M M C W I L L I A M S T Y L E D B Y A N I A N T R E A S YA N
Bring the garden indoors and use plants as decorative elements that harmonize with your home
Succulents are the absentee gardener’s dream come true.
Given sun, they’ll thrive with scantwater, hot or cold temperaturesand virtually no pest problems.
Good drainage, however, is critical,so add coarse sand to the potting
mix. Pachyphytum ‘Blue Horizon’(left) has swollen blushing blue
leaves but shy flowers. Echeverias(right) are prone to send floweringspikes jutting from their bluish-gray
rosettes. Italian marble mortarand rectangular marble dish.
inside
ORANGE CRUSHWho can resist the shock-and-awe
appeal of growing citrus indoors?Poncirus trifoliata (on table), the
hardy bitter orange, is one of themore accommodating citrus for
inside—the fruit isn’t edible, but itlooks the part.The artillery of
barbs on the branches has visualinterest (although perhaps not ifyou have young children) even in
deep winter when it defoliates.Bright light is essential and will
coax forth fragrant white flowerson the leafless branches in spring.
Painted wooden container (one of pair) found at Brimfield
Antique Show, Massachusetts.
SEE THE LIGHTGot sun? With a southern exposure,flowers and fragrance can be yours.Of course, kalanchoes can be en-countered at the supermarket. Butveer for a version with colorful,bluish-gray succulent leaves, as wellas the potential for lilac-colored,midwinter blossoms, namely, Kalan-choe pumila (left). Better to watersparsely and fertilize lightly in win-ter. Similar benign neglect works forCyanotis somaliensis (on stand),which is furry-leaved, tactile andclosely akin to tradescantias.Watercoleus (red leaves) slightly moregenerously. Similarly, don’t neglectregular watering of peppermint-scented geranium (right), whichprovides not only a nice touch, butfragrant foliage to boot. Turkishhandcarved marble container; Italianstone artifact; 19th-century woodenplant stand; Italian tulip-shaped vase;French architectural stone element.
THE GREAT WALLColeus of all stripes make the leapfrom the garden to the windowsillindoors with the greatest of ease.The compact ‘India Frills’ tucksneatly just about anywhere, packingmaximum color into a small space.For exposure, anywhere but a dimlylit north-facing location will do.Frequent pruning encouragesbranching, and nipping off the lackluster little flower spikes alsokeeps a coleus tidy. Italian mar-ble vase.Wooden bracket (one of apair) from Judith and James Milne:American Country and GardenAntiques; see www.milneantiques.com.
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inside
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“Don’t think of houseplants as the booby prize.Approach them as an opportunity to bring the
garden indoors, complete with a jigsaw puzzle of focal points, balanced textures and harmonizing forms”
40
IN THE MOMENTFeel free to shuffle at will and
create vignettes that might not bepermanent but will provide pleasurewhen you need a dose of tantalizing
texture.The succulent leaves of agasteria (middle) might need
brighter light (and less water) than afluffy nephrolepis (right) over the
long run, but they can certainlycoexist for a brief “flower show.”
Meanwhile, the rhizomatous begonia(left) can go either way: Give it
brighter light, and it becomes com-pact; in a darker position, it will
stretch. Italian marble container;two Turkish marble mortars.
inside
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TALK,TALK,TALKSupreme among conversationpieces, an amorphophallus, orvoodoo plant (left), requires anacute sense of humor and a bluntsense of smell. Growing fromtubers, the voodoo plant begins its growth cycle with a huge, Jack-in-the-pulpit-type, malodorousflower the color of dried blood.Fortunately, it’s a brief stint (a cou-ple of days), then the flower disap-pears while fascinating foliageemerges.An east, west or southernexposure is fine for the amor-phophallus, whereas potted moss(right) will bask in most any light—just add water. French limestonearchitectural element; marble dish.
INTO THE WILDWhen woodlands aren’t accessible,you can buy mosses reminiscent ofthe mood. Not only do they sendyour mind’s eye straight to enchant-ed forests, but also the journey isvirtually hassle-free—as long asyou’re prone to wielding a wateringcan upon demand. Mosses soak upwater but don’t require much light.They’re the perfect adornment foran old wooden dough board in anorth-facing window that can’t hostmuch more than ivies and ferns.
Buddha from Anthony GardenAntiques; call 212-737-3303.
SHOUT IT OUTFlowers have boast appeal, but thefoliage makes a stronger statementover the long haul. Of course, bed-fellows must be compatible (no bul-lies allowed), as well as share lightpreferences.This rhizomatous be-gonia and coleus play well togetherin an east- or west-facing window.To keep order (and balance), beprepared to prune the coleus.
Belgian enameled tin wall spout.
STAGE PRESENCEIndoors, everything is a superstar.An east, west or southern expo-sure can host a bevy of dramaticfoliage plants that might merge intothe background outdoors. In fact,unless you had a sheltered spot,begonia ‘Bunchii’ (left, on stand)probably shouldn’t venture out-side—its brittle leaves are too easi-ly battered. But Centaurea rutifolia(middle, on pedestal) can go eitherway; ditto for Colocasia esculenta‘Black Magic’ (right)—as long asyou give it ample water. Concretefaux bois plant stand; wooden Arts &Crafts porch support used as stand.Turkish copper containers; Italianmarble deco planter on floor.
inside
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houseplant hor izonsTerra-cotta pots are great,
but they’re not the only gamein town. Explore alternatives,get creative. Drainage is anissue—if you can’t drill a hole,line the bottom with pebblesand charcoal.
Cornices, pedestals, suitcas-es or whatever—almost any-thing can support a houseplant(unless it spews heat—func-tional radiators won’t work).Stray as far as you like fromtraditional plant stands.
Search beyond the super-market or your local nurseryfor fodder—go to specialtyshows and join plant societiesto collect oddities.
Squirrel away starts of newplants. Bring divisions of hardyplants indoors from the gar-den—heucheras, tiarellas, pul-monarias, primroses and manyother perennials fare wellinside during the winter.
The beauty of houseplants is that they’re mobile; takeadvantage and juggle themaround. No harm in movinga sun-lover next to a shadycharacter temporarily.
Make your own rules.Whosays moss isn’t a houseplant?
Stretch your imagination.Work with the architectureand mood in your home topersonalize your houseplants.
Let each plant reach itspotential. If the poncirus looksgreat as a standard, prune itup. If the cyanotis wants todangle, let it hang down.
Treat them well. Stress-freehouseplants tend to be healthy.And don’t push their limits.
sources: All containers courtesy of Ani Antreasyan at Ani Ancient Stone.
See www.aniancientstone.com.
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom—M A R C E L P R O U S T44 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
groundbreakerI N N O V A T I V E M I N D S I N G A R D E N D E S I G N
JEAN-PAUL PIGEAT, WHO DIED RECENTLY AT
age 59, will be remembered as the ener-getic visionary and driving force behind theInternational Garden Festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire.The title of the 2003 book Rein-venting the Garden:Chaumont—Global Inspi-rations from the Loire (by Louisa Jones,Thames & Hudson, $45), about the Inter-national Garden Festival’s exhilarating di-versity, could stand as the summation ofJean-Paul Pigeat’s extraordinary work andinfluence internationally.
From its inception in 1992, Chaumont,which shares its name and site with a his-toric Loire Valley chateau, was viewed asa pioneer outpost in garden design: It washere that international dialogues betweengarden design and the higher arts were ini-tiated. Conceptual garden design met dirtgardening; elitist cultural activities min-
gled with those of more mass appeal.Pigeat came to his position at Chau-
mont after a long tenure as director ofprogramming for French PublicTelevision(ORTF) and later as curator for some 30exhibitions at Paris’ Pompidou Centre. In1989, the then Minister of Culture JacquesLang asked Pigeat to design a master planfor landscape architecture throughoutFrance. Chaumont, sited near Lang’s LoireValley hometown of Blois, was but one ofnumerous projects that evolved. Pigeat’stime there was supposed to be tempo-
rary—but he organ-ized his last festivalin 2005, with thetheme “The Gardenof Memory.”
The noted Belgianformalist landscapearchitect JacquesWirtz designed theground plan of the
festival. An aerial view shows 30 plots,each sized at 299 square feet, which looklike leaves from a tulip tree that are con-nected to branchlike paths. While theroute from one garden to another is sug-gested, it is not imposed, so visitors arefree to make their own choices or theymay use available guides.
To prevent stagnation, each year Pigeatinvited a new set of designers to the tableand envisioned a new theme for the festi-val. The changing and always-evocativethemes helped invigorate the conversa-tion: Pleasure; Imagination during Re-cession; Acclimatizations; Curiosity; IsTechnology Poetically Correct?;Water,Water Everywhere; Ricochet; Nothing butPotagers!; Liberty; Mosaiculture and Co.;Eroticism in the Garden; and finally TheGarden of Memory.
The roll call of international designershas been most impressive: Australia,Vladimir Sitta; Spain, Fernando Caruncho;
United Kingdom, Tony Heywood andCharles Jencks; United States, Pamela Bur-ton, Cao & Jerome, Lynden B. Miller, Pe-ter Walker and Robert Wilson; Australia,Vladimir Sitta; the Netherlands,West 8;Germany, Peter Latz + Partner, Schültzeand Müller & Stellwag.Yet, just as the greatnames of landscape architecture have par-ticipated at Chaumont, creative unknownsconstantly bring in new blood.
The conceptual and rarefied ap-proaches to garden design at Chaumonthad a noticeable trickle-down effect intothe mainstream. Patrick Blanc’s experi-ments with vertical gardens jump-start-ed their innovation throughout Europeand America. Experiments in willowweaving brought new life and sophistica-tion to the ancient art form. As far backas 1992, French landscape architect Ar-naud Mauriéres’ experiments with annu-als, necessitated by the temporary spacesat Chaumont, helped usher in a new ap-
Above: Jean-Paul Pigeat.Left: “ChambreInterieur” was createdfor last year’s gardenfestival at Chaumonton the theme of “TheGarden of Memory.”
The Director’s CutJean-Paul Pigeat: In Commemoration (1946-2005)
proach—and a wealth of nonnative plantmaterial—to annual plantings.
In due course, Chaumont has becomethe grand-pere of numerous internationalgarden festivals: Berlin, Gothenburg,Metis near Montreal and Westonbirt Ar-boretum outside of Tetbury in the U.K.
“I had always thought that gardenswere primarily about plants,” recalls ChrisHougie, founder of Cornerstone, the Cal-ifornia-based experimental garden festi-val inspired by Chaumont. “But the un-traditional use of materials at Chaumontopened the possibilities for me of what agarden can be. A gabion wall, with rocksheld inside a wire mesh, was transportedfrom its usual post alongside riverbedsfor use as a garden wall. Pathways werecovered in recycled rubber; an aquariumwas suspended in the air, which left fishflying 3 feet off the ground.”
At Chaumont, there were no designlimitations and no clients, just free reinfor creativity in the garden. In the wordsof Arnaud Mauriéres, “It was Chaumontthat first established the right to freedomin garden design.”
Gilles Clément, one of the leading garden designers in France, expressesbeautifully the Chaumont philosophy,“Every piece of earth is a piece of TheEarth, every gar-den is a fragmentof a much largergarden,The EntirePlanet.”
Jean-Paul Pigeatwas a true vision-ary, who creativelyelevated the gameof garden art and craft for all of us, anda driving inspiration internationally forthe cause of contemporary garden design.—GORDON TAYLOR & GUY COOPER
GordonTaylor and Guy Cooper are London-based garden and landscape designers who haveworked extensively throughout Europe.Activewriters, together they have also written 13 booksand created television series for the BBC.
fyi Chaumont Festival isopen April 29 throughOctober 15, 2006. Formore information, seewww.chaumont-jardin.com(note: web site is in French).
ASLA/Garden Design Residential Design Awards: Open to landscape architects. Return this form and entry fee of $250for ASLA members, $500 for nonmembers (payable to ASLA Fund), by February 10, 2006.A binder to contain your completedentry and directions for filling it out will be mailed to you; deadline for returning completed binders is February 24, 2006. Fordetails on entries and eligibility, see www.asla.org.You may also enter the program following instructions on the ASLA Web site.
Disclaimer: All materials become property of World Publications LLC, may be used in print and electronic formats in perpe-tuity, and will not be returned. Photographers will not necessarily be credited upon publication and will not necessarily receiveremuneration. By your entering this contest,World Publications assumes you have rights to all provided images and have grantedGarden Design magazine all rights to publish said images at the magazine's discretion.
ENTRY FORM: Please complete and mail by February 10, 2006, to Garden
Design Magazine, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park, FL 32789.
Name
Address
Phone
Fax
CO-SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND
Garden Design magazine, this program puts a spotlight on today’s mostoutstanding designs and designers of home gardens. It is open to res-idential gardens designed by landscape architects. (Other profession-al designers, as well as amateurs, are invited to enter Garden Design’sGoldenTrowel program; see page 36 in this issue.)
Winning gardens will be presented in the pages of Garden Designmagazine and special publications and on the Garden DesignWeb site,as well as in Landscape Architecture magazine and on the ASLAWeb site.
RULESTo enter the ASLA/Garden
Design Residential Awards program:Please fill out the form below andreturn it by February 10, 2006, toGarden Design, 460 N. Orlando Ave.,Suite 200,Winter Park, FL 32789.Abinder to contain your completedentry and directions for filling it outwill be mailed to you. For a moredetailed entry form and eligibilityrequirements, see the ASLA Website, www.asla.org.You may alsoenter the program followinginstructions on the ASLA Web site.
Eligibility: Individuals, firm own-ers or other entities are eligible aslong as the creative team includes atleast one landscape architect, agraduate of a landscape architectureprogram or a faculty member of alandscape architecture program.
Types of projects: This catego-ry recognizes built, site-specificworks of landscape architecture forresidential use. Entries are encour-aged in all scales of design fromsmall gardens to estates, includingfeatures such as family activityareas, sustainable landscape applica-tions, native landscapes, affordablelandscape concepts and rooftopgardens. Entries will be judged onquality of the design, its implemen-tation and its innovative "lessonvalue" to the profession and home-owners; context or relationship toits surroundings; and environmentalsensitivity and sustainability.
Fees and deadline: Return theattached form and a fee of $250 forASLA members, $500 for nonmem-bers (fee includes one-year member-ship to ASLA), payable to ASLAFund. Deadline for entry form isFebruary 10, 2006.You will be mail-ed an entry binder and instructionsfor completing it; your completeentry is due February 24, 2006.
More details: Please see theWeb site of the American Society ofLandscape Architects, www.asla.org.
2 O O 6R E S I D E N T I A L
D E S I G NAWA R D S
C A L L F O R E N T R I E S
T H E A S L A / G A R D E N D E S I G N
2OO6WINNERS
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TAKE A LOOK AT OUR ANNUAL GARDEN DESIGN AWARDS, BEGINNING ON THE NEXT PAGE-–MORE PAGES (34) AND MORE
gardens (20) than ever.We also venture to say that the winners represent our most wide-ranging sites andstyles ever—from a NewYork rooftop to an Oregon bluff top, from a Portland artist-couple’s “skinnyurban garden” alongside a warehouse to a magnificent 8-acre former Louisiana cotton field. We owe muchof this upsurge to our new relationship with the American Society of Landscape Architects. Garden Design
has joined with ASLA to co-sponsor the Residential Design Category in the long-standing awards programof this leading professional design organization.Together we have access to America’s most groundbreak-ing, idea-filled gardens. Our annual Golden Trowel program, a fixture since the launch of Garden Design,also continues to attract talented amateurs as well as professionals. A word to amateurs: Don’t let the major-league professionals scare you off.We encourage you to enter this year’s Golden Trowel program, andwe offer a special prize to amateurs.This year two amateur gardeners won special prizes from Milorganiteand Monrovia (see pages 76 and 77).All Golden Trowel winners received certificates and a gift package oftools and gloves from Fiskars, OXO International and Bionic Glove. —BILL MARKEN , EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Thanks to all who entered our programs. See pages 36 and 46 about this coming year’s competitions.We look forward to your entry.
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARDS OF HONOR
GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDS
B Y D O N N A D O R I A N
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y C H I P P E R H AT T E R
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Far left:A contemporaryfountain offsets the historic Creole-styledhouse. Left:A view of theformal parterre entrygarden. Below:The reha-bilitation of the bog gar-den has encouraged thereturn of native wildlife.
The spirit and precedents of the past inspired this residential landscape on an old
cotton field along Louisiana’s Cane River
RIVERDANCE
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONOR NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA // JEFFREY K. CARBO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
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RARELY IS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT CHARGED WITH MAKING A
garden of greater importance than its house, but that was theopportunity handed to Jeffrey Carbo, based in Alexandria,Louisiana. He even had a hand in selecting the architect, AlJones, for the Natchitoches home. Both fluent in local archi-tectural and land-use traditions, they made a good team.
Reflecting on the rich cultural history of Natchitoches,the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchaseterritory, Jones designed a house in the Creole/West Indiesstyle, with a characteristic central hall and deep front andrear galleries. Meanwhile, Carbo drew from the land-usepatterns laid down by the Creoles in the late-18th and ear-ly-19th centuries for the landscape.
In all regards, the homeowner’s list of must-havesamounted to an ambitious plan, and at first Carbo was con-cerned about fulfilling it all: outdoor entertaining spaces;perennial, rose and camellia gardens; orchards; workingvegetable plots; a formal entry drive; a circle garden, agreenhouse and numerous outbuildings designed in the in-digenous Creole style that would lend a sense of time andhistory to the place.The master plan was achieved by es-tablishing what Carbo calls “exterior garden rooms,” whichallow easy circulation from one garden to another.
The site itself also aided the solution. As a landed family,the homeowners had their pick of any number of locations.Asflat and treeless as this particular 8-acre plot appeared that firstautumn, having just harvested its last cotton crop, the CaneRiver also wended its way along two-thirds of the property.Not only did its natural beauty permeate the landscape, but in
Opposite, from top:Theperennial garden. Brickterraces inspired byMiddleton Place.Apigeonnaire adds architec-tural interest along theoak allée. Below:A plant-ing of dwarf mondo grassgives a contemporarylook to the terrace.
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The pool is the primarymeans of arrival to thehouse from the river.From the beginning, theidea was to keep itsdesign minimal so it could complement, notdistract from, the river.
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The pool replicates the stillness of Cane River just as it reflects patterns
of vegetation and sky
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Natchitoches, the river also remains an enjoyable means oftransportation and getting together. On Saturday afternoons,families hop on their boats and visit their friends along the riv-er, their children sometimes skiing behind them as they go.
“Whatever we did, we knew we had to blend with the river.The river is the deal,” Carbo said recently. His dramatic solution,set at the back of the house in the midst of a terrace some 15 feetabove the riverbank, was a negative-edge pool whose calm wa-ters seem to merge into the dreamy atmosphere of the river thatruns behind it.Wanting to take further advantage of the com-manding views, he built a boathouse close by, where family andfriends can watch the river and enjoy the nearby native bog gar-den, which he enhanced with varieties of ferns and iris.
In the 1990s, Congress declared the whole of the region theCane River National Heritage Area. Following the suggestionsdeveloped to preserve the region’s agricultural and architecturalhistory was a pleasurable priority for both homeowner and land-scape architect. But just as they were devoted to respecting the
Right: Hydrangeas, hostasand daylilies are part of the camellia garden nextto the house. Below:Mayhaws, part of a largerorchard of pecans, peach-es and pears, create abuffer around the house.
ENTRYGARDEN
DRIVEWAY
HOUSE
COOKHOUSE
COURTYARD
BOGGARDEN
CIRCLEGARDEN
MAYHAWORCHARD
FRUITORCHARD
PIGEONNAIRE
TERRACEGARDEN
ROSEGARDEN
CAMELLIAGARDEN
RIVER
POOL
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ROOFTOPROOMSHigh above busy streets in a historic section of Minneapolis, land-scape architect Tom Oslund has created an improbable garden ofserene, useful and environmentally sensitive outdoor rooms.
Views from inside the penthouse frame the 1,725-square-footgarden’s meditation pavilion, dining terrace and lawn/badmintoncourt.The minimalist design reflects the owner’s taste in contem-porary art, and sturdy materials such as Cor-Ten steel, stone andconcrete stand up to Minnesota winters, as well as complementthe art collection and the history of the site—the building was an
abandoned warehouse built in 1914.The lawn has a hidden irrigation
system, which makes use of rainfallcollected and stored.The garden alsogets high environmental marks forrecycling the dramatic and historicrooftop site. —BILL MARKEN
oslund.and.associates,Minneapolis, MN. Call 612-359-9144 or see www.oaala.com.
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONORMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA // OSLUND.AND.ASSOCIATES
past, they also wanted to refresh some of the lessons that tookhold long ago. So instead of the traditional straight oak allée lead-ing to the house, for example, they devised a winding drivewhich, through screen plantings and subtle changes in elevation,slowly reveals the house in the distance.And while the tradi-tional Creole homestead would have been adjacent to a palingfence that enclosed a garden and small farm animals, Carbo re-stated the tradition with contemporary, high-style intentions —an entry edged with a fence made from recycled wood.
Carbo calls the homeowners true gardeners and ardentamateur environmentalists. “While aesthetics always camefirst for us, how to make the landscape sustainable was al-ways the very next question,” he explained.An intricate storm-drainage system directs runoff into the bog garden, facilitat-ing the overflow of water into the river. Throughout thegarden they relied on recycled, historic building materials,including native aggregates and lumber and old bricks, whichthey used for paving material, fencing, the construction ofoutbuildings and the like. Likewise, native plants and treeswere integrated into the extensive gardens, which the home-owners regularly tend, along with ornamental vegetable plots.
Out of respect for the rich agricultural past and the an-cient patterns of land usage in the region, the homeownersdevoted much of their land to orchards of pecan, peach, pearand mayhaw (an edible hawthorn), the latter being a newhabit among Southern gardeners and small businesses whodedicate the grape-size fruit to the making of mayhaw syrupand jellies.Then they extended their reach, purchasing an ad-ditional 2 acres to expand the orchards, all of which they har-vest themselves, using some fruit and giving the rest away.
The landscape is more than a joy to its owners. Recognizedas a model within the National Cane River Heritage Area, itslessons in sustainability, preservation and sheer natural beau-ty are shared with the community in garden symposia andworkshops, which, as it should be, continue to stir up newenthusiasm for the much-loved heritage of the region.
Jeffrey K. Carbo Landscape Architects, Alexandria, LA. Forinformation, call 318-442-6576 or see www.jeffreycarbo.com.
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FANTASYISLAND
Key West serves as the setting for this compact but powerful design.
Beautiful effects with architecture,color, water and plants create a perfect
union of indoor and outdoor living
B Y J O A N N A F O R T N A M
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y L A N N Y P R O V O
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ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONOR KEY WEST, FLORIDA / / RAYMOND JUNGLES INCORPORATED
trian and vehicular); and established apalette of plants, landscape materialsand colors to produce a fluid, inter-connected series of spaces.
Certain Jungles trademarks cometo the fore. His use of native plantsaround the perimeter creates a strong sense of place:As well asbeing appropriate to the natural scenery of KeyWest and pro-viding habitat, the wall of green anchors the house. It also hasan illusionist effect—the boundaries of the garden disappear togive a “forest-clearing” feeling. For the hardscape, Jungles chosestone, black river pebbles and walls of concrete colored withlime-based paint.This distinctive yet limited palette allows a
Left:An aluminum trellisover the carport andentrance gate makes astatement as the entryway to the house.Above:The acid-green fountainwall conceals storagespace; black river pebblesdelineate the pool edge.
THE NEWYORK FAMILY WHO OWN THIS PROPERTY WANTED A VERY
livable, garden-oriented vacation house—and they wanted itin double-quick time. Enter Miami-based landscape archi-tect Raymond Jungles. He came recommended by their lo-cal realtor and architect, both of whom were familiar withhis gift for reinventing nondescript architecture and clunkylots into a seamless indoor/outdoor tropical paradise.
The house, on a 10,000-square-foot corner lot in a popularisland resort community, was to be extensively renovated, soJungles had an opportunity to suggest better indoor/outdoorviews and new spatial relationships to bring the garden insideand extend interiors outward. He created pocket gardens offrooms in the house; rethought the property’s circulation (pedes-
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crisp, highly finished look—a great foil for the lush planting.But the real genius of the design lies in the sense of trans-
parency between inside and out.When the sliding doors onboth sides of the house are open, the indoors and outdoors be-come a single space, allowing movement from kitchen to pool,living room to water garden.All-natural and man-made ele-ments coexist: Pools of water are analogous to area rugs, plantsrelate to furniture, gravel areas merge with stone floors, andbirds inhabit the garden as books punctuate the rooms.
This breaking down of boundaries is an example of whatJungles describes as “design working as theater,” i.e., choreo-graphing movement through space.The use of “floating” stoneslabs across the water garden, winding paths that lead alter-nately through lush foliage and sunny clearings, planes of purecolor to rest the eye—all these work to evoke the serene trop-ical retreat we’d like a place such as KeyWest to be.
Raymond Jungles Incorporated, Miami, FL. For more informa-tion, call 305-858-6777 or see www.raymondjungles.com.
From left, clockwise:Views beyond the bound-ary are borrowed to lenda sense of space; a diningspace next to the poolflows through to theother side of the proper-ty; fully opened doorsallow spaces to integrate.
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THE STONES THAT GENERATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND FARMERS
cursed and Robert Frost wrote about (“Something there isthat doesn’t love a wall”) get put to beautiful use in this min-imally designed landscape on Martha’sVineyard. It would behard to find another garden where nature has been so light-ly disrupted yet everything looks so organized.
Honoring and enhancing nature’s gifts to the site is theunderlying theme and purpose of the garden, called StoneMeadow. Landscape architect Stephen Stimson of Falmouth,Massachusetts, kept views of the ocean and framed themwith trees. Meadows also were preserved—and new oneswere created with native grasses and wildflowers.
With such a minimalist approach, the human-made ob-jects assume the quality of sculpture, making you keenlyaware of their craftsmanship and the detailing.The gates inthe garden are made of granite, oak and fir with bronze hard-ware.The retaining walls and pool coping make use of oldgranite salvaged from the original house on the property.
Hedgerows and walls divide the property into parcels.Trees like tupelo, eastern red cedar and black locust providescreening. And paths mowedthrough the meadow guidepeople around the property, areminder of how gently thedesigner’s hand has touchedthe land.—BILL MARKEN
Stephen Stimson Associates,Falmouth, MA. For informationsee www.stephenstimson.com.
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ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE MARTHA’S VINEYARD, MASSACHUSETTS / / STEPHEN STIMSON ASSOCIATES
SHEERPOETRY
Left, above right:Walls andhedges divide and screenthe property.Above:Asecret stair slices throughprivet screening the pool.Right:An expansive view ofthe meadow is preservedby minimal landscaping—lawn, steps and a low wall.
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TO COMPLEMENT THE LOW, SLEEK STRUCTURE OF THE RANCHER’S
house at Reyrosa Ranch in north central Texas, with its sub-tle references to agrarian architecture,William Tary Arter-burn of MESA Design Group in Dallas brought the informaltexture of the blackland prairie close, re-establishing naturalvegetation by overseeding with wildflowers and native grasses.The only “manicured” part of the landscape is a lawn createdas a play area for the grandchildren, but even that is made ofversatile native buffalo grass.Two concrete troughs that spillover into shallow pools are another nod to rural life, but theyalso function as simple sculptures and focal points.
Even the parking area has been constructed with subtletyand sensitivity using a soil-stabilization system overplanted withbuffalo grass, its only demarcation a row of rusted bollards thatlead visitors to the front door.An elevated boardwalk, com-plete with a drawbridge, extends from the guest quarters to abird-watching platform, allowing visitors a means of intimate-ly experiencing the naturalTexas landscape.—JENNY ANDREWS
MESA Design Group, Dallas,TX. For more information, call214-871-0568 or see www.mesadesigngroup.com.
SENSITIVESANCTUARY
Top left and above: Fromthe guest quarters at Rey-rosa Ranch, a boardwalkleads to a bird-watchingplatform; bollards definethe parking area. Below:In this Oregon landscapea grove of Russian olivesis gently sculpted.
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONOR ELLIS COUNTY, TEXAS // MESA DESIGN GROUP
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONORROWENA, OREGON / / KOCH LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
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VIRGINIA SLIMThe client involved in this project asked Gregg Bleam LandscapeArchitects for a minimalist interpretation of an Italian terracedgarden.The end result, a garden of quiet formality, came to lifeas a response to influences from both Japan and Italy; the wholeis an exercise in economy and proportion. Freestanding walls ofTennessee sandstone flank the entry. Bronze gates, reminiscentof Japanese shoji screens, lead to a black-slate terrace definedon one side by a reflecting pool edged in naval brass and on theother by a bronze frame supporting grape vines.
A step up to the left gains entry to a bocce grass court,enclosed by stucco walls with a long cedar bench under thegrapes where spectators can sit and watch a game in the dap-pled shade.To the right, slate stepping stones across the stillwater lead to a grove of amelanchier trees planted in a quin-cunx pattern, an echo of the traditional Tuscan olive grove and
disguise for a secret garden beyondwhere the client has been known toenjoy a glass of wine in solitude.
As the ASLA judges said, in its linesand choice of materials this gardenexemplifies the “very familiar vocabu-lary of midcentury modernism” butthe end result is “much richer.”—JF
Gregg Bleam Landscape Architects,Charlottesville,VA. For information call434-977-3232 or see www.gbla.net.
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONOR RICHMOND, VIRGINIA / / GREGG BLEAM LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
WHEN A COUPLE FROM SEATTLE SETTLED ON THIS 3-ACRE SITE
overlooking the scenic Columbia River, they felt strongly thatthey wanted to honor the native landscape rather than imposeupon it and so opted for a low-energy, sustainable approach.
Landscape architect Steven Koch had a complex task. Do-ing nothing was not an option, since he had to tackle the prob-lem of invasive plants, such as grasses, already on-site. Sandysoils overlying bedrock made these areas prone to waterlog-ging or drought, which, combined with the hot, dry summersand frigid winters, restricted planting options to local natives.
Koch’s strategy included selective removal of invasives andreplanting with native species. His design highlights the localbedrock outcrops, and this, along with subtle planting, informaltrails and terraces, and sculpted transitions from the domesticto the wider landscape, won the judges’ admiration.—JF
Koch Landscape Architecture, Portland, OR. For more infor-mation, call 503-286-7175 or see www.kochla.com.
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ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONOR JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING / / VERDONE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
THE CHALLENGE FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT JIM VERDONE WAS
to create a proper setting for a stylish mountain retreat—an“island in the forest”—while protecting the vulnerable nat-ural landscape in the valley floor of Jackson Hole,Wyoming.For hundreds of years the Snake River routinely overflowedits banks, creating a rich riparian environment.While a se-ries of flood-controlling levees had made the area more hab-itable, they also disrupted natural processes.
Though the entire site is 23 acres, the building envelope wasless than an acre, situated between remnant river channels in a
stand of mature cottonwoodtrees and surrounded by pro-tected wetlands. To establishnew wetlands, the old riverchannels were lined to main-tain a consistent water level,backfilled and planted with ap-propriate species such asbeaked and Nebraska sedges.
The water features are atthe heart of the project. Near
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the house, water drawn from natural sources enters a seriesof streams, canals and pools, then flows back into the land-scape in a naturally recirculating system.
Roadways leading to the house were built with retainingwalls, and bridges were given a low profile, reducing the im-pact on the wetlands and making the road virtually disappear.This allows an uninterrrupted view of the landscape from thesite and a more scenic approach to the house.
The materials used are rustic and simple: terraces andsteps of flagstones fromWyoming and retaining walls of tim-bers reclaimed from a railroad trestle over Great Salt Lake.A canal is lined with rusted Cor-Ten steel as a reminder of aprevious logging operation and the valley’s human past.Theedges of the stone, steel and wood elements are softened bygrasses and other textural plants, and a limited palette of col-or blends the designed landscape with the natural.
From each side of the property there is a different view intothe dramatic scenic surroundings and reflectionsin the necklace of water that gives this mountainhome its context. —JENNY ANDREWS
Verdone Landscape Architects, Jackson,WY. Formore information, call 307-733-3062.
SKY LIGHT
ASLA/GARDEN DESIGN RESIDENTIAL AWARD OF HONORSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA / / ANDREA COCHRAN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
The renovation of an old warehouse onIvy Street in San Francisco created spacefor a 1,250-square-foot roof gardenattached to the penthouse. Landscapearchitect Andrea Cochran, a previous ASLAwinner, came up with an elegant technicalsolution that addressed the typical roof-garden issues of wind, weight and firecodes; the originality and finesse of thedesign also impressed the judges.
A screen fence of sanded Plexiglas panelsset at different angles provides privacy butallows the wind to pass through. Height-var-ied aluminum planters contain quiltlike bedsof succulents—low-maintenance plants thatthrive in lightweight soil.Their diverse formsin subtle tones of soft blue gray, pink, andgreen help soften the industrial architecture.At night a fiber-optic line glows under a nar-row acrylic channel “conceptually expandingout from the interior toward the city sky-line,” Cochran explains. For hot afternoons, acantilevered Plexiglas canopy (seen on right)provides a cooler shade area where theowner likes to read. —JOANNA FORTNAM
Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture,San Francisco, CA. For more information call415-503-0060 or see www.acochran.com.
Above left: Eveningreflections of a mountainretreat. Below left toright: Canal bordered byCor-Ten steel; strawber-ries and thyme tuckedbetween flagstones; steel,stone and timbers createa stair-step waterfall.
This page: Rob Steinermaximized space in theLacy backyard with a mul-tifunctional living roomfeaturing a poured-con-crete fireplace, gravelfloor and wall of ficus.Center:A precast con-crete path leads to a sun-ning patio behind thegarage. Right: Dramaticcolors, graphic hardscapeand striking plants set thestage in the front yard.
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The Los Angeles ’burbs are a creativecanvas for landscape architect Rob SteinerB Y E M I LY Y O U N G P H O T O G R A P H S B Y S T E V E G U N T H E R A N D L I S A R O M E R E I N
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GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDROB STEINER / / PROFESSIONAL / / LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
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Above:A sofa with stor-age underneath was builtinto the deck by carpen-ter Kyle Tracy, extendingthe family room outside.Center:A circular fountainnestled amid ornamentalgrasses serves as a focalpoint. Right: Steiner plant-ed woolly thyme betweenpavers, taking advantageof the smallest spaces.
WHEN ROSS AND MONICA LACY MOVED TO THEIR NEW HOUSE
in Pacific Palisades, they wanted everything they had at theirold house: a fountain, a barbecue, an outdoor fireplace, lawnfor their kids to play on and comfortable places to dine andentertain.There was just one problem: the Lilliputian lot.
“When I saw how long and narrow it was,” says RobSteiner, who had designed the Lacys’ last garden, “I felt therewasn’t enough space to accommodate everything.” But Stein-er, who has spent the past 20 years creating smart, sophis-ticated Southern California gardens, is a master illusionist.He’s able to take the smallest patch of earth, pack it withpractical style, and make it look and feel bigger.
Steiner designs his share of English, desert, woodland,tropical and Zen landscapes, but it was his modern sensi-bility that dovetailed with the Lacys’ taste for contempo-rary design. “They like to cook and do a lot of entertaining,and the inside of their home is completely pared-down,” hesays. “My goal was a garden that reflected that.”
Like the ancient Chinese landscape painters he studiedin school, Steiner employed the principles of contrast, rep-etition and voids to transform the drab into the dramatic.He changed the pale blue exterior to a bold two-tone-greenpaint scheme. He installed light-diffusing fences of blue andwhite acrylic panels.And he saw-cut the concrete drivewayinto a grid that hints at the graphic paths of pavers out back.
Steiner, also a jazz fan, drew on the musical concepts of themeand variation to plant a harmonious mix of colorful California,Mediterranean, SouthAfrican,Australian and New Zealand fa-vorites. He combined reds such as Caribbean copper tree(Euphorbia cotinifolia) and ‘Guardsman’ phormium with blues,
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What’s the point of a pretty garden if you’re just looking at it? Living in it is
so much more satisfying
Four more Steiner gar-dens, from left to right: Inthe Eglee-Dalton garden,agaves and aloes are usedas living sculpture. InRustic Canyon, variegatedplants serve as footlightsin heavy shade. For theProkop garden, the curvesof an old pool contrastwith the straight lines of anew redwood deck. Inthe Dewitt garden, a frontyard pool has the feel ofa landscaped pond.
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Define and “privatize”
spaces. Use walls, hedges
and roofs (real or implied,
such as an arbor or tree
canopy) to distinguish
one area from another
and to provide the critical
sense of enclosure.
Create a hierarchy of
spaces. Ensure that the
principal area is large
enough for the desired
functions before chopping
up the garden into too
many smaller areas.
Don’t miniaturize. Keep
steps, paths and patios
graciously proportioned
to avoid a garden that
feels cramped.
including oat grass, fescues and Muhlenbergia lindheimeri.Thesehe played against lime-green Pittosporum crassifolium ‘Nana’,‘Morning Light’ westringia, orange New Zealand sedge (Carextestacea) and ‘California Gold’ bougainvillea.
While the front yard was left open to the neighborhood,Steiner made efficient use of enclosed space everywhere else.“With such a huge two-story house on a cramped lot,” he says,“I wanted to get things into balance.” He pruned a giant ficushedge to eliminate shadows and maintain privacy, then fo-cused on several distinct but interlocking areas. Adding akitchen door provided access to a new grill alongside the house.A built-in sofa turned the existing deck into a comfortableplace to linger.And two paths that intersect at a splashing foun-tain linked a central dining patio and a hidden sunning patio.
All of which goes to show how much you can do withlimited space and plenty of imagination. Says Steiner, “What’sthe point of a pretty garden if you’re just looking at it? Liv-ing in it is so much more satisfying.”
Rob Steiner, Los Angeles, CA. For more information, call 323-931-4425 or see www.robsteinergardens.com.
make ever y inch count Rob Steiner has
these tips for maximizing the potential of a small area:
Think multipurpose.
Make garden elements
perform double or even
triple duty. A wall can
also be a seat, a side table
or a planter.
Limit or lose the lawn.
Instead of grass, install
paved areas with attrac-
tive planting beds and
comfortable furnishings.
Refine, refine, refine.
Always err on the side of
simplicity of line, color,
materials and plants.
Japanese maples and con-ifers form the backdropfor the pond. Opposite,clockwise from top:Sally Reynolds tendingdaylilies; arborvitaes flankstone steps; roses andwhite Salvia greggii gracea millstone fountain.
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GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDSALLY REYNOLDS // PROFESS IONAL // BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEE
rounded by a natural cedar picket fence—a Tennessee touch.Reynolds is very much a hands-on designer, working in the
garden, living with it daily and watching its development.Thegarden has served as a playground for trying new plants and alaboratory for her landscape business. “It’s been a wonderfulclassroom for me and the thousands of people who have visit-ed my garden over the years,” she says. —JENNY ANDREWS
GardenScapes Landscape Consulting & Design, Brentwood,TN. For more information, call 615-661-0007.
NESTLED IN THE HILLS OF TENNESSEE NEAR NASHVILLE IS MILLE
Fleurs, the property of landscape designer Sally Reynolds,who bought it 16 years ago primarily for a horse barn andpasture. She quickly recognized the landscape potential andbegan carving out garden space on the steep slope.Taking ad-vantage of the incline, Reynolds first built a meandering 45-foot stream, which begins as a natural-looking “spring” neara sugar maple and empties downhill into a deep koi pond offthe back deck.To create context, the water features are setoff by specimen conifers and Japanese maples.
Once the stream and pond were in place, the garden grewto surround the house, creating a series of nine rooms.A cus-tom arbor with a gate near a millstone fountain at the frontcorner of the house serves as the starting point. Part ofReynolds’ philosophy is that a garden should have interest 12months of the year—evergreens mix with long-seasonbloomers and fall-color plants.Along one side of the proper-ty is a massive 200-foot border of perennials, annuals, rosesand shrubs (including a collection of Hydrangea macrophylla andH. serrata cultivars), anchored by a garden house at its upperreach that draws the eye and invites exploration.Above this isa vegetable and herb garden backed by dwarf fruit trees, sur-
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GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDHEATHER LENKIN // PROFESS IONAL // PASADENA, CALIFORNIA
EVER WONDER WHAT A GARDEN MIGHT LOOK LIKE IF THE LAND-scape architect and the client were one and the same? If thedesigner were free to accomplish with her own property whatall her years of training and instinct allowed?This is the storyof landscape architect Heather Lenkin’s home, a 1923 Italianateproperty in the sun-drenched hills of Pasadena, California.
For 16 years, Lenkin, also an architect and interior de-signer, has renovated, restored and reinvented her 4,200-square-foot Webber, Staunton & Spaulding-designed homeand surrounding acre of garden. Originally conceived by no-table 1920s Southern California garden designer A.E. Han-son, the hillside landscape effervesces with thousands of dif-ferent plants and bulbs, multiple outdoor seating and livingareas, structural elements, hardscapes and statuary.
While fresh and edgy moments pepper the premises, Lenkinhas carefully considered the historical context of the originaldesign. Formality, order and balance relative to the overall clas-sic lines of the estate provide the framework, but everywhereare reminders of Lenkin’s romantic side.Themed areas, each ascharismatic as their names—Angel’s Flight,The Infirmary, Flo-ra’sWater Park—ebb and flow naturally from one to the next.
A statue of Hebe, the Greek goddess of youth,invites visitors through the Kissing Arbor;TheMahogany Beds is a tactile garden whereplants nudge passersby to give them a scratchunder the chin; and Heaven, the highest ele-vation on the property—complete with stair-case—is a meditation garden and Lenkin’spersonal sanctuary.—JASON UPRIGHT
Lenkin Design,Pasadena,CA,626-441-6655.See www.lenkindesign.com. On April 30 the gar-den opens for the Garden Conservancy, see www.gardenconservancy.org. On June 4 the PasadenaMuseum of History gala‘An Affair in the Garden’honors Lenkin’s work.See www.pasadenahistory.org.
HISTORY &HERSTORY
Above: A 100-foot riseand limited access in thehillside gardens plaguedthe installation of a re-taining wall. Right: Rosepetals in an antiqueRoman fountain makea single color accent in the Italian garden.
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White ‘Iceberg’ rosesenvelope a lone femalestatue in this formal entrygarden representing ideo-logical purity.Top left:Griffins, Lenkin’s familycrest, and lions, her com-pany logo, adorn seatingin the Dry Garden.
RARELY DO AMATEUR GARDEN DESIGNERS ENJOY THE LUXURY OF
creating a home and garden from a blank slate. But that’sessentially what longtime friends Barry Spindler and AmyTancig did to a secluded urban property in the heart ofmile-high Denver to create this synergistic garden-centric
home and thriving landscape.Barry broke ground on the project with a
four-year hands-on complete remodel of hisred-brick bungalow. Every design change an-ticipated the surrounding landscape to come:Inside the home, vantages were carefully craft-ed to view important outside garden mo-ments; privacy was built in to separate upstairsand downstairs living quarters; and transitionalspaces with paths and hardscapes were creat-ed to lead to the various outdoor living areasthe two would design into the garden later.
Following the renovation, the garden tookshape in an agreeable blend of contrastingstyles specific to the taste of each resident.Barry prefers structured design, so his ener-gies focused on the architectural integrity ofthe plants in relation to their surroundingframework.Worn steel trellises designed to
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GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDBARRY SP INDLER & AMY TANCIG // AMATEURS // DENVER, COLORADO
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weather naturally, a water feature and brick wallswere installed to deepen the layers of hardscape andbolster his preferred style. Chunks of flagstone in apath in the front yard seem to float atop a lazy riv-er of woolly, elfin, lemon and common thymes.
Amy (shown at left) says she ventures into thegarden as early as February, planning and designingher container gardens full of bulbs, tubers and del-icate tropicals. In love with the abundance of vines through-out the property, she says she catches herself spending in-ordinate time nurturing the Dutchman’s pipe, Virginiacreeper, morning glories, thunbergia, hyacinth bean and var-ious grape varieties. On warmer days, she likes to read inher favorite of the garden’s seating areas, a couple of rusticantique chairs on the downstairs patio. Nearby, a table andchairs reminisce about the last time Amy and Barry hadfriends over for a little casual outdoor dining, and a futondares passersby to try to lie down for just a moment with-out falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.
For their garden’s extraordinary use of color, Milorganiteawarded Amy and Barry a painting of their garden by a well-known artist (to be announced). —JASON UPRIGHT
Above: Like tiny islandsamid a sea of color andtexture, stepping stonesbob their way to theentrance of the upstairsunit. Left top: Façade ofthe Washington Parkhome. Below left: Com-panions in containers.
Most of Manhattan’s garden set look tothe occasional Central Park drive-by toquench their thirst for green. Not so forMay Miculis and her husband, artist CraigMcPherson.Their 40- by 50-foot containergarden atop the roof of a loft building nearGramercy Park splashes the cityscape viewwith vivid color.The couple’s affinity forblooming plants includes balloon flowers,Russian sage, moonflowers, morningglories, coreopsis, coneflowers and gaura.This rooftop garden won a $1,000 gift cer-tificate from Monrovia for demonstrating“the most creative use of plants.”—JU
WELCOMING STYLEBIRGITTE MANN PIERCE & JON PIERCE //
AMATEURS // VENICE, CALIFORNIA
Deciding to transform the front yard ofher 1923 California bungalow from utilitari-an-plain to Garrett Eckbo-inspired open and inviting seemed a simple solution toBirgitte Mann Pierce’s stark landscape.Culling her initial plant palette in half tokeep from overwhelming the tiny space wasanything but. Birgitte managed to pare downto a modest list that includes euphorbia,artemisia, pittosporum and silver dimondia.Children wandering down her garden path,says Birgitte, is a sign that her open-armedlandscape is a resounding success.—JU
SKYBOUND COLORMAY MICULIS & CRAIG MCPHERSON //
AMATEURS // NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
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GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDMIA LEHRER + ASSOCIATES / / PROFESSIONAL / / BRENTWOOD, CALIFORNIA
THE HOMEOWNER INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT HAD LIVED ON THE
site for many years in what is now the guesthouse beforebuilding a new house of Douglas fir, concrete pavers, glassand steel. Like many new homeowners, she had allowed onlya limited budget for the landscape and remained very attachedto the existing trees and wide expanse of open lawn.
Landscape architects Mia Lehrer + Associates found thatthe client particularly liked traditional Japanese gardens anddid not want flowering plants.With this in mind, and mak-ing it a priority to maintain a connection between the archi-tecture and the landscape, they set about creating around thehouse a series of minimal terraces of varying characters butcut from the same basic materials: low retaining walls of con-crete or Cor-Ten steel and pathways and patios constructed
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ELEVATED GREENMIMI STOCKWELL / / AMATEUR / /
WOLCOTT, COLORADO
In a lemons-to-lemonade scenario, MimiStockwell turned a stifling layer of Dakotasandstone just below the topsoil of hermountaintop garden in Colorado into majorlandscape elements. Mimi recycled tons ofthe rock into a courtyard, a berm, a retain-ing wall and even a freestanding garage.Integral to the sustainable design, drought-and cold-tolerant plants were used in thehigh alpine location, including Eriogonumumbellatum, Salvia x sylvestris ‘May Night’ andJuniperus horizontalis.—JU
URBAN HEIRLOOMSJOHN HERBST / / AMATEUR / /
INDIANAPOLIS , INDIANA
John Herbst lives for the past.When notpreserving history as president of theIndiana State Museum and Historic Sites,John tends to 1/8 acre of lush heirloom-studded garden surrounding his 116-year-oldVictorian home in downtown Indy.A greentribute to his family’s background and per-sonal interests, the space archives the pastwith scores of personally significant plantslike grape varieties, which also are grown inhis family’s vineyards in Germany, and beautybush original to the property.—JU
on a grid of 30- by 30-inch concrete pavers. Asubtle, Japanese-inspired planting palette of bam-boos, grasses and evergreen foliage was usedthroughout for a restful, harmonious effect.
Each terrace has its own simple but elegantambience:The west terrace, off the living room,has a water feature; the dining terrace is a busy social hubnext to the kitchen; the lower terraces, at a distance fromthe house, are more private, surrounded by shrubbery andmature trees.The end result, as Lehrer says, is “reserved yetinnovative,” with architecture and landscape connected byviews, materials and geometry.—JOANNA FORTNAM
Mia Lehrer + Associates, Los Angeles, CA. For more informa-tion, call 213-384-3844 or see www.mlagreen. com.
From top left, clockwise:Gehry silver furnitureunder an olive tree; stepsto lower terrace; gianttimber bamboo providesgreen screening from theneighbors; the office andlibrary opens to a terracewith low wall seating.
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LIVE OUTDOORS IN AN OAK FOREST. SOUNDS PRET-ty nice, and it was the goal—and accom-plishment—of this Marin County landscape.
The main challenge was the property’s steepsite. Schwartz and Associates has a reputationfor environmental sensitivity and so disturbedthe hillside as little as possible.They createdcozy and expansive outdoor rooms at different levels—for aspa, a pool, a fireplace and an outdoor kitchen built into a stonewall, complete with smoke oven for the fisherman-owner.
A creek runs through the property to set the tone, and a swim-ming pool mimics the creek’s meandering form. Improvementsto the creek included removal of debris and restoration of stream-edge plantings like white alder (Alnus rhombifolia) and commonrush (Juncus patens). Plantings are kept simple; deer-resistantnatives such as vine maple (Acer circinatum), ceanothus and west-ern redbud (Cercis occidentalis) get priority. —BILL MARKEN
Schwartz and Associates Landscape Architecture, MillValley,CA. Call 415-388-5263 or see wwwschwartzandassociates.com.
Above: Do-everythingbrownstone wall includesfireplace, fountain, grilland smoker. Patio surfaceis Colorado sandstone.Left below:Arizona flag-stone walk leads pastpotted araucaria. Left top:David and Isis Schwartz.
GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDSCHWARTZ AND ASSOCIATES / / PROFESSIONAL / / MILL VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
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ART ACCENTS/ANTIQUES 900
01 Eye of the DayThe most complete inventory of classicpottery statuary and fountains fromaround the world.
02 Gary Price Studios Inc.Sculpture that creates a focal point,enhancing nature’s glory
03 H. PotterDistinctive home and garden accents withcontinual trend setting items that do notgo unnoticed.
04 Tuscan Imports Inc.Frost proof Italian terra cotta
05 Allison’s GardenGarden Art Work and Design
06 Stone ForestFunctional sculpture for the garden andbath, hand-crafted in stone, copper andbronze.
07 Counter Balance PotteryMagnificent focal points for gardens, decksand outdoor living spaces. Hand thrownstarting at 33 inches.
08 Haddonstone USACast stone, architectural cast stone andcast stone garden ornaments includingbalustrading, columns, porticos, door sur-rounds, steps…
09 Kenneth Lynch & SonsAn industry leader in providing site fur-nishings including statuary and fountains incast stone, lead and bronze, weathervanes,sundials, park benches and topiary.
10 Olivia Smith DesignsFeaturing fine art and outdoor sculptures
CONSERVATORIES/STRUCTURES 901
11 New England ArborsFree Catalog of timeless elegant gardenarbors made from premium vinyl thatlooks like wood.
12 Private Garden GreenhouseA leading designer, importer, and gardenbuilder of Garden Centers, GrowingRanges,Victorian Glasshouses,WoodConservatories, Orangaries, andPalmhouses.
HOME FURNISHINGS 904
13 EMU Americas LLCFurniture that is designed to providecomfort and relaxation, enhancing theambiance of your patio
14 Summer Classics A manufacturer of fine garden furnishingsand fireside accessories, which wasfounded on the principle of truly classicdesign.
15 Escort Lighting Finely crafted garden lighting to accentyour garden pond or landscape. Solidcopper construction for years of maintenance-free enjoyment.
16 Archie’s Island FurnitureBrightly painted, premium furniture for theoutdoors.
PLANT & GARDEN PRODUCTS 906
17 MonroviaMonrovia Style… Setting trends and cre-ating distinctive gardens one plant at atime.
18 Bluestone PerennialsSpecialists in growing and shipping fineperennials for over 34 years.
19 Bartlett Tree Expert Co.For all your tree and shrub care needs, callthe experts.
20 Tecnu Extreme®Poison Ivy Scrub removes urushiol andtreats your poison oak or ivy rash.
21 Wayside GardensOur Catalog is filled with magnificent trea-
sures – many offered exclusively throughWayside.
22 Benner’s Gardens Inc.Virtually invisible deer fencing systems
23 David Austin RosesAn entirely new breed of roses whichblend the opulent, romantic beauty of theOld Roses with the disease resistance andrepeat flowering of Modern Roses.
24 Heronswood NurseryRare and unique perennial pants…Shopfrom 2000 varieties.
26 Paradise Water GardeningIf it grows in water…we have it! Send fora 90 page free catalog and guide to WaterGardening.
27 Witherspoon Rose CultureThe Witherspoon Rose Catalog collectionis carefully selected to give you variety,hardiness and increased disease resistance.We guarantee each plant.We are theexperts.
28 White Flower FarmSince 1950 we have been providing awide range of ornamental and edibleplants, plus tools, supplies, and gardeningadvice, to gardeners throughout theUnited States.
29 Oakes DayliliesDepend on us for something special…You’ll be amazed at the range of colors,sizes and shapes available.
30 Kelly NurseriesEnhance your outdoor living pleasure withbeautiful, hardy landscape trees and plants;a wide selection of quality nursery stockincludes many popular varieties.
31 Cricket Hill GardenWe love peonies, especially Chinese treepeonies. Let our experience guide you tothe best fragrance, forms, and colors forzones 4-9.
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GARDEN DESIGN GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDMATT PROCTOR AND AIXÉ DJELAL / / AMATEURS / / PORTLAND, OREGON
SUBLIMELYSKINNYTHIN IS IN FOR THE ARTISTS-TURNED-CREATIVE-GARDEN-DESIGNERS
Matt Proctor and Aixé Djelal.Their 10- by 60-foot “skinnyurban garden,” as they fondly refer to it, started life as a hard-packed clay driveway soaked with oil on the east side of anold Portland warehouse that the couple calls home.
Matt and Aixé—he a sculptor and proprietor of melt-down.com and she a designer of fine handbags—opted to gowith their passions and incorporate their artistic sensibilitiesinto the landscape.“Our design principals,” says Matt, “in-clude the integration of art into the yard as opposed to usingthe garden as a formal pedestal for statuary.”
Nestled among the heavily evergreen palette of plants, dis-crete spaces, drop-offs, nooks, crannies and some “out-there”art pieces reveal themselves along a meandering path of squarepavers that the two repaint in a new bright, multicoloredcheckerboard pattern every year.
“We are our happiest,” says Matt,“sitting in the cozy rocket ship/phonebooth, our knees bumping, listeningto the patter of rain and smelling thenew black earth that has slowly re-placed the gravel and clay of our olddriveway.”—JASON UPRIGHT
Left top: Practice makesperfect.The couple canrepaint this walkway ofhappy pavers in 15 min-utes. Below:A tin roofatop wire-mesh wallsmakes for cozy sitting onhomemade chairs. Leftbelow: Matt and Aixé.
Annie’s Manhattan Beach Nursery & FloristManhattan Beach, CA • PH: 310-376-0567www.anniesfloristonline.com
Barlow Flower FarmSea Girt, NJ • PH: 732-449-9189www.barlowflowerfarm.com
Bath Garden CenterFt. Collins, CO • PH: 970-484-5022www.bathgardencenter.com
Big Red SunAustin, TX • PH: 512-480-0688www.bigredsun.com
Boxwoods Gardens & GiftsAtlanta, GA • PH: [email protected]
Burkard Nurseries, Inc.Pasadena, CA • PH: 626-796-4355 www.burkardnurseries.com
Campo de’ FioriSheffield, MA • PH: 413-528-1857www.campodefiori.com
City FloralDenver, CO • PH: 303-399-1177www.floralgreenhouse.com
Condurso’s Garden CenterMontville, NJ • PH: 973-263-8814www.condursos.com
DidriksCambridge, MA • PH: 617-354-5700www.didriks.com
Dimitri’s Garden CenterNew York, NY • PH: 212-876-3996www.dimitrisgardencenter.com
Dodds & EderOyster Bay, NY • PH: 516-922-4412www.doddsandeder.com
DuBrow’sLivingston, NJ • PH: 973-992-0598www.dubrows.com
Eye of the DayCarpinteria, CA • PH: 805-566-0778www.eyeofthedaygdc.com
Fort Pond Native PlantsMontauk, NY • PH: 631-668-6452www.nativeplants.net
Funke’s Greenhouses, Inc.Cincinnati, OH • PH: 513-541-8170www.funkes.com
GardenologyEncinitas, CA • PH: 760-753-5500www.garden-ology.com
GardensAustin, TX • PH: 512-451-5490www.gardens-austin.com
Green Hill GrowersCharles City, VA • PH: 804-829-6313www.greenhillgrowers.com
Grounded Garden ShopEncinitas, CA • PH: [email protected]
Hursthouse, Inc.Bolingbrook, IL • PH: 630-759-3500 www.hursthouse.com
International Garden CenterEl Segundo, CA • PH: 310-615-0353www.intlgardencenter.com
J & M Home & GardenMadison, NJ • PH: 800-533-5112www.jmhg.com
Joie de “Vie”Glen Ellyn, IL • PH: [email protected]
Kimball & Bean Architecturaland Garden AntiquesWoodstock, IL • PH: 815-444-9000www.kimballandbean.com
Kolo CollectionAtlanta, GA • PH: 404-355-1717www.kolocollection.com
Litchfield Horticultural CenterLitchfield, CT • PH: [email protected]
Lovely Manors GardenDesign CenterPhoenix, MD • PH: 410-667-1390www.lovelymanors.org
Marina del ReyGarden CenterMarina del Rey, CA • PH: 310-823-5956www.marinagardencenter.com
Mostardi NurseryNewtown Square, PA • PH: 610-356-8035www.mostardi.com
North Haven GardensDallas, TX • PH: 214-363-5316www.nhg.com
Organized Jungle, Inc.Winter Park, FL • PH: 407-599-9880 www.organizedjungle.com
Patios, Walks & WallsGrove City, OH • PH: 614-539-8100www.patioswalksandwalls.com
Plaza Design Eureka, CA • PH: 707-441-1380www.plazad.com
Pleasant Pools & PatioChester, NJ • PH: 908-879-7747www.pleasantpoolsandpatio.com
Riverside Nursery& Garden CenterCollinsville, CT • PH: [email protected]
Savannah HardscapesLevy, SC • PH: 843-784-6060www.savannahhardscapes.com
Smith’s AcresNiantic, CT • PH: 860-691-0528www.smithsacres.com
Southwest GardenerPhoenix, AZ • PH: 602-279-9510www.southwestgardener.com
Swanson’s NurserySeattle, WA • PH: 206-782-2543 www.swansonsnursery.com
The Bronze Frog GalleryOakville, ONT • PH: 905-849-6338www.bronzefroggallery.com
The Dow GardensMidland, MI • PH: 800-362-4874www.dowgardens.org
The Garden MarketCarpinteria, CA • PH: 805-745-5505www.thegardenmarkets.com
The Treehouse Garden CollectionDunedin, FL • PH: 727-734-7113www.treehousegardencollection.com
Tropic Aire Patio GalleryWest Columbia, SC • PH: 803-796-3237www.tropicaire.com
Whiting NurserySt. Helena, CA • PH: 707-963-5358www.whitingnursery.com
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P R E M I E R R E T A I L P A R T N E R
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QThe soil in my yard is clay, rock-hard insummer and tough to dig even when wet.Thelandscapers I hired made a bed for shrubs byexcavating a shallow pit and filling it withcompost before planting.The plants are grow-ing well, and I’d like to make more beds, butisn’t there an easier way to plant in clay?—RICK TOOMEY, ENCINITAS, CA
A On level land, you could make amounded bed (berm) of a 50-50 mix ofcompost and soil right on top of the groundwithout excavating the clay or digging atall.The drawbacks to raised berms like thisare that they will dry out faster than in-ground beds, and during heavy rains someof the compost will wash off.The propor-tions of the berm are important; the heightand width should be in a 1-to-3 ratio.
On a slope it’s probably best to dig outat least a little clay to help hold the compostin place. Move soil from the uphill side tothe downhill edge.The soil should be moist(though not wet) when you dig, so plan thiswork for the rainy season. For a vegetablegarden or a formal design using herbs or an-nual flowers, you could enclose raised bedsin wooden frames set on top of the ground;these, too, will keep the compost fromwashing onto your lawn, paths or paving.
You might also visit local parks, naturepreserves and specialist nurseries to learnwhat trees and shrubs are adapted to grow-ing directly in your native soil. After youfind some plants you like, planting smallspecimens in clay won’t be that difficult.
QThere’s a stony area in my yard that I’d liketo develop into a rock garden, but there’s a lotof poison ivy. Since it is dormant now,wouldn’tthis be the best time to dig out the poison ivy?—MARY STEELE, LYNCHBURG, VA
Rise Above
A If you can be sure you’ve identified thevines correctly and the ground is workable,it’s fine to dig out poison ivy while theplants are leafless. But the roots and stemsare loaded with poison, so you still need tobe very careful when working around it.Your primary tool should be a heavy forkand perhaps a pick to loosen the stones.First try to lift the plants from below, dam-aging the bark on the stems as little as pos-sible.When the time comes to grab thestems or roots, first put your gloved handinto a plastic bag to keep the toxin fromcontaminating your gloves.
Carefully set the stems and roots to theside until you are finished, then dispose ofthem in a trash bag or on a brush pile in anout-of-the-way place. (Allow a least a year
for them to decompose undisturbed.) Don’tburn any leaves or stems because the poisoncan be transmitted in the smoke.
Poison ivy produces numerous subter-ranean rhizomes, as well as deep-rangingroots. In a rocky soil you may find it very dif-ficult to remove every last piece of root, sokeep an eye out in spring and summer for newshoots, and treat them with a nonselectiveherbicide like Roundup when the first leaveshave expanded fully.This will require somecare if you have already begun setting out yourrock-garden plants. Fall is also a good time forapplication since translocation will take theherbicide farther down into the plant, butspray while the leaves are still active.
Above: Raised bedscreate better drainage,particularly if nativesoils are clay. Right:Colorado blue spruce.
sage adviceA H O W- T O G U I D E F O R G R O W I N G A N D O U T D O O R L I V I N G
H O R T Q & A W I T H J A C K R U T T L E
Q I love Colorado blue spruce trees and wouldlike to grow my own from seed. Is it difficult?— WILLIAM CASAGRANDE, MUNCIE, IN
A No, it’s pretty easy. But as I am sure youunderstand, it will take a few years beforeyou have much to look at: Even after threeyears, seedlings will be only 6 to 10 inchestall. However, once the trees get going, theycan easily average between 1 and 2 feet ofnew growth per year.After 10 years or so,you will be able to cut some handsomeChristmas trees. And 20 years after youstart, you’ll have some impressive 25-foot-ers to show for your efforts.
Another issue is color. Colorado spruceseedlings will come up in a range of colors—dark green, dull green, gray green or steelyblue.The blues will be in the minority.Theexceptionally brilliant blues you sometimessee in your travels are rare, and those treesare almost certainly clones that have eitherbeen grafted or grown from cuttings.
For an idea of what colors to expectfrom seed, visit a Christmas-tree farm thatoffers blue spruce. If you like what yousee on average (often about a third aregray to blue), it’s a simple matter to plantextra seed and then during the first fewseasons of growth weed out all that aretoo green for you. But if the brilliant blueis what you want, you are better off start-
ing with small plants of named varieties.The mechanics of growing Colorado
spruce from seed are simple.Mid- to late win-ter is an ideal time to start. Sow the seed incommercial seed-starting mix. Containersat least 4 inches deep are good for trees. Usepots that are 4 inches wide or so, and sowhalf a dozen seeds per pot. Cover the seedslightly with damp soil, and set the contain-ers in an unheated garage or outside (sink-ing the pots below ground level is best).Cover them with screening or planks to ex-clude mice or squirrels.When temperaturesstart to warm up, uncover the containersand move them to a sunny spot to sprout.
After the seedlings emerge, in early sum-mer transplant them either to individualpots or even better to a nursery row in thegarden in full sun. After three or four yearsin the nursery, the trees will be ready totransplant to their permanent spots.To en-courage faster growth, mulch the trees bothwhen they are in the nursery and after youset them into their permanent home.
Q I want to order some roses this year,and I’mwondering, how early can I safely transplantthem?—ELLEN GRIMM, DENVER, CO
A Order the roses you want immediate-ly because nurseries often run out of vari-eties that are either very popular or veryrare. Don’t worry about delivery time; thenurseries know when to ship to you.
If roses are fully dormant—that is, thebuds at the base of the plant have not start-ed to swell—you can safely transplant themjust as soon as you can dig the ground in yourgarden in late winter or early spring.That’sgood advice for moving roses around yourgarden, but mail-order roses are different—they’ll generally arrive later in the season.
Mail-order nurseries sell plants that weredug in late autumn and held bare-root in coolstorage. Plants are shipped near the time ofyour average last frost date, determined byzip code.Why so late? Rose roots are muchless hardy than the buds, and bare-root plantsmight spend several nights in an unheatedtruck en route to your garden.The nurserycan’t take a chance that cold will damage theroots. So, when mail-order plants arrive, getthem into the ground immediately.
87G A R D E N D E S I G NTo me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug—H E L E N K E L L E R
L A N D S C A P E S O L U T I O N S
Of Stone and LawnTHE INTEGRATION OF PAVING AND LAWN USU-ally begins as a utilitarian solution—to cre-ate a surface on which to walk, for exam-ple, like a path or stepping stones. “But thedesign combination,” says Atlanta gardendesigner Jeremy Smearman, “can createrhythm, patterns, forms or artistic quali-ties that span from one space to another.”
In fact, Smearman has come to rely onsmall doses of stone, block and gravel forbig-impact relief to his horticulturally in-tensive and diverse garden designs.Amonghis favorite materials are bluestone, withits varying shades of blues to purple; peagravel for its versatility and permeability;and Belgian block, which, he says, is “greatfor delineating spaces.”—JASON UPRIGHT
Jeremy Smearman, Planters, Inc. For moreinformation, call 404-261-6002.[1] Large slabs of crab-
orchard stone, withAtlanta-friendly mazus inthe joints, mirrors thescale of the pavilion.[2] Smearman’s bedroomoverlooks this dog runbuilt originally for aLabrador retriever.A con-duit of succulents runsthrough swirls of Belgianblock to the base of afountain in tribute to thewater-loving canine breed.[3] A contemporarycheckerboard design ofcrab-orchard pavers andfescue grass frames a dec-orative limestone sphereand smoothes the transi-tion between a rusticwoodland space and astylish parterre garden.
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We are not to imagine or suppose, but to discover, what nature does or may be made to do—F R A N C I S B A C O N88 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT THE SKILLFULLY OR-chestrated cascade of texture, color andcontrasting forms that is the front gardenof Hans and Tina Mandt in Seattle is onlyjust over three years old.The 1930s houseonce presented a conformist face to theworld—a steep concrete path leading upfrom street level through an arid groundcover of juniper—but designer RichardHartlage, of Tacoma-based landscape ar-chitects Dietz/Hartlage, was called in tomake sweeping changes.The Mandts need-ed level space, a wider drive, a more wel-coming pedestrian entrance, and (Hans-the-plant-collector’s agenda) a setting for massesof interesting and unusual plants.
Hartlage used simple, decisive geome-try to transform the awkward slope into a
Step Right Upseries of well-proportioned, level terracestraversed by a comfortable staircase. He po-sitioned these on the diagonal because, asthe longest line across a rectilinear form, itmade maximum use of the space. A senseof theater was also at the fore: A dramaticox-blood red was chosen for the retainingwalls, and Hartlage placed a trickling wallfountain at the first landing on the staircase.These bold elements hold their own amidthe typically lush Northwestern plantingthat even engulfs the parking strip.
Climbing the stairs to the top terrace,visitors are rewarded with an intimate pavedseating area of low walls under an old cher-ry tree. Surrounded by pots of foliage plantssuch as heucheras, phormiums, fancy-leavedgeraniums and coleus, and with a square
raised pond bubbling to one side,sometimes guests forget to ring thefront doorbell, leaving it to theMandts to come and find them. Inplace of lawn, Hartlage added agravel garden next to the terrace;it contributes to the open space,but also makes a great environmentfor plants.—JOANNA FORTNAM
For Dietz/Hartlage, call 253-284-0290 or see www.dietzhartlage.com. Stonework by Michael VanScharnberg; call 206-941-6347.
A LEVEL APPROACHThe fluid turns of a bluestonestaircase, with much to enjoyen route, make easy work ofthe steep slope from road-side to front door.Top left:View of a wall fountain onthe first landing. Left and be-low: Strong geometry framesthe lush planting. On the topterrace enough space wascreated for a raised pond and gravel planting area.
SPOTLIGHT PLANTS Hartlage selected structuralplants for year-round inter-est, such as Cornus controversa‘Variegata’ (left of house),European weeping larch(center back) and Cedrus deo-dara ‘Pendula’ (left, over wall).
RETAINING ORDER Strong architecture tamedthe slope and helped preventthe plant collection fromlooking formless. Bluestonepaving matched existingmaterials, and stucco-plas-tered concrete walls coloredeither dark gray or warmrusset match the house trim.
DRIVE-BY COLORThe luxuriant parking stripextends the garden. Grassessuch as Miscanthus sinensis‘Morning Light’ and Helictotri-chon sempervirens (blue oatgrass) are interspersed withthe purple globes of Alliumcristophii and mounds ofSpanish lavender.
SEASONAL EVENTSTones of maroon are pickedup in the cut-leaved Japanesemaple (center) and a lowbarberry hedge (centerback). Ephemeral interestis created with bulbs and tubers—Arum creticum,snowdrops, hepatica andspecies lilies are all favorites.
Working in the garden…gives me a profound sense of inner peace—R U T H S T O U T 89G A R D E N D E S I G N
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PARADISE WATER GARDENS
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Request a free catalog from America's mosttrusted source for gorgeous and dependablehybrid daylilies. Their full-color catalog features148 varieties in a rainbow of colors, and you'llbe thrilled with their extra-large plants. Call800-532-9545 or visit www.oakesdaylilies.com.Oakes Daylilies,PO Box 268,Corryton,TN 37721.
KELLY NURSERIESEnhance your outdoor living pleasure with beauti-ful, hardy landscape trees and plants from KellyNurseries. Kelly’s wide selection of quality nurserystock includes many popular varieties.
Call 507-337-1623Online www.KellyNurseries.com
CRICKET HILL GARDEN
We love peonies, especially Chinese tree peonies. Letour experience guide you to the best fragrance, forms,and colors for zones 4 - 9. Behold these magnificentflowers in bloom and understand why these woodyshrubs have been prized in China for 1400 years.Onlineat www.treepeony.com or call for our free 24-pagecolor catalog, 1-860-283-1042. Cricket Hill Garden, 670Walnut Hill Rd.,Thomaston, Connecticut 06787
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1. Publication Title: Garden Design; 2. Publication No.0733-4923; 3. Filing Date: 9/9/05; 4. Issue Frequency:Feb/Mar, Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec, ; 5. No.of Issues Published Annually: 6; 6. Annual SubscriptionPrice: $23.95; 7. Complete Mailing Address of KnownOffice of Publication: World Publications, LLC, 460 N.Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, Orange County,Florida 32789; 8. Complete Mailing Address ofHeadquarters or General Business Office of Publisher:World Publications, LLC, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park, Orange County, Florida 32789; 9. Full Namesand Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, andManaging Editor: Publisher: Diane Turner, P.O. Box 8500,Orange County, Winter Park, FL 32790; Editor: BillMarken, P.O. Box 8500, Orange County, Winter Park, FL32790; Managing Editor: Jenny Andrews, P. O. Box 8500,Orange County,Winter Park, Fl 32790. 10. Owner:WorldPublications, LLC, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,WinterPark, Orange County, Florida 32789, Terry L. Snow, P.O.Box 8500, Winter Park, Orange County, Florida 32790-9953; 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and OtherSecurities: None; 12. Tax Status (for completion by non-profit organizations authorized to mail at nonprofit rates):Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months; 13.Publication Title: Garden Design; 14. Issue Date forCirculation Data Below: Sep/Oct 2005; 15a.Total Numberof Copies: 338,016 (Sep/Oct 2005: 336,266); b. Paid and/orRequested Circulation: (1) Paid/Requested Outside-CountyMail Subscriptions: 237,009 (Sep/Oct 2005: 236,602); (3)Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, andCounter Sales, and Other Non-USPS Paid Distribution:26,294 (Sep/Oct 2005: 22,790), c. Total Paid and/orRequested Circulation: 263,303 (Sep/Oct 2005: 259,392);d. Free Distribution by Mail: 3,539 (Sep/Oct 2005: 3,470);e. Free Distribution Outside the Mail: 1,111 (Sep/Oct2005: 4,250); f. Total Free Distribution: 4,650 (Sep/Oct2005: 7,720); g.Total Distribution: 267,953 (Sep/Oct 2005:267,112); h. Copies not Distributed: 70,063 (Sep/Oct2005: 69,154); i.Total: 338,016 (Sep/Oct 2005: 336,266); j.Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 98.26%(Sep/Oct 2005: 97.11%).
WITHERSPOON ROSE
The Witherspoon Rose Catalog collection is carefully selected to give you variety, fragrance,hardiness and increased disease resistance. Weguarantee each plant. We are the experts — since 1951. Our 2006 catalog features over200 colorful varieties of bareroot roses.Request your free copy today! 800-643-0315.www.witherspoonrose.com
WILLHITE SEED INC.
Superior Quality Seed. Over 400 varieties including
watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, bean, corn, okra,
peas, squash, etc. Wide selection of unusual Indian
vegetable seed. Beautiful color catalog free on request.
P.O. Box 23 Poolville, TX 76487 817-599-8656
www.willhiteseed.com
WHITE FLOWER FARM
Shop whiteflowerfarm.com for a completeselection of top-quality perennials, shrubs, bulbs,annuals, and gift plants.This Spring’s cataloguefeatures glorious photos, detailed descriptions,and exceptional values on more than 200 newplants and all the classic garden favorites.Request a catalogue at whiteflowerfarm.com orcall 800-475-0148. Mention source code 61053.
Winter is the time of promise—S T A N L E Y C R A W F O R D96 J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6
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WindowDressingIn late winter and earlyspring, a sunny windowsillin the house has the po-tential to become a re-volving display of forcedbulbs and stems, all bat-tling for space with rootedcuttings and overwinter-ing tender plants. Here,divisions of young ‘BronzeBaby’ New Zealand flaxhave been potted up underthe drooping leaves of acalla lily.After last frostthey will be ready to beplanted out in the gardenor given away to garden-ing friends. For a wealthof ideas on easy plantpropagation and forcing,see KatherineWhiteside’sclassic book Forcing, etc. :The Indoor Gardener’s Guideto Bringing Bulbs, Branchesand Houseplants into Bloom (Smith & Hawken,1999, $24.95).—JF
