Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
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Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
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Many compulstions to have in a garden. The best compulsion? Simplicity.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
Showing posts with label Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Design. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Garden Design: Design in the Silence
Garden Room, below, designed around the Grace of silence, speaking volumes.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
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Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
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Many compulstions to have in a garden. The best compulsion? Simplicity.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Many compulstions to have in a garden. The best compulsion? Simplicity.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
Monday, November 7, 2016
Reducing Electric Bill Summer/Winter: Trees
"The loss of trees in the planet's water cycle is critical to the advancement of climate change. their removal exposes land to the drying effects of the sun. Trees also play an important role in absorbing greenhouse gases." NASA
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Trees are pollinator hosts, and feeders. How much of our beneficial gut biome is dependent upon bacterias dependent upon trees further up their life stream? Watershed management from trees in incalculable.
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This isn't about climate change, here, trees are about money.
.
Early in Obama's tenure, he said in a speach I saw, not something I read, Americans should be paying more, a lot more, for energy. Almost double. He got my attention. That fall, I planted 2 more deciduous trees, deftly targeted, and not small, they arrived in their 35 gallon pots, about 8' tall. Years earlier trees were planted to shade my home from the afternoon thru setting sun, deciduous, once leaves fall bright sunshine helped heating.
.
Once the threshold of 'affordable' energy was threatened, I was more than willing to shade my beloved mid-morning sun.
.
In our new house, ca. 1900 American farmhouse, it is a classic of energy use for its era. Coal. We have 4 coal fireplaces, none working. More, it's a central hall design, 9' wide X 50' long, 11' ceilings. Rooms along each side 'had' a door leading into another room. Odd, yes? Each door into the central hall has its original thick, tight fitting door threshold at bottom. Not something I wondered about, until living through our first winter. Flash, epiphany. Our home was designed for all the central hall doors to remain closed in winter, the central hall was not heated. Passing from room to room, via their interior doors.
.
In summer, the central hall, aka dogtrot, pulled the breeze, cooling the house. Several century old pecan trees remain, none properly sited for cooling in summer. An evergreen magnolia was planted at a western flank within the past 2 decades. Oh no. Plenty of blocking against summer sun, alas, blocking the winter sun too. How we wish that magnolia were an oak. Money in the bank if it was.
.
Trees. It's really all about trees. How trees aid water in the forest vs. suburbs, here. Including how trees remove toxins & metals too. I know you're busy, save to read the link later, it's that interesting.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Gingko tree, above, commonly lose their leaves in a day. And that day has the fragrance of cooking sugar.
Pic, above, here.
.
Jekyll Island, Driftwood Beach, above. Have never been to Jekyll Island and not seen a bride/groom/photographer coming/going from Driftwood Beach. Finally, walked Driftwood Beach this year, 1st time. Only one word comes to mind, to describe being on Driftwood Beach, Sacred.
.
Trees.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Trees are pollinator hosts, and feeders. How much of our beneficial gut biome is dependent upon bacterias dependent upon trees further up their life stream? Watershed management from trees in incalculable.
.
This isn't about climate change, here, trees are about money.
.
Early in Obama's tenure, he said in a speach I saw, not something I read, Americans should be paying more, a lot more, for energy. Almost double. He got my attention. That fall, I planted 2 more deciduous trees, deftly targeted, and not small, they arrived in their 35 gallon pots, about 8' tall. Years earlier trees were planted to shade my home from the afternoon thru setting sun, deciduous, once leaves fall bright sunshine helped heating.
.
Once the threshold of 'affordable' energy was threatened, I was more than willing to shade my beloved mid-morning sun.
.
In our new house, ca. 1900 American farmhouse, it is a classic of energy use for its era. Coal. We have 4 coal fireplaces, none working. More, it's a central hall design, 9' wide X 50' long, 11' ceilings. Rooms along each side 'had' a door leading into another room. Odd, yes? Each door into the central hall has its original thick, tight fitting door threshold at bottom. Not something I wondered about, until living through our first winter. Flash, epiphany. Our home was designed for all the central hall doors to remain closed in winter, the central hall was not heated. Passing from room to room, via their interior doors.
.
In summer, the central hall, aka dogtrot, pulled the breeze, cooling the house. Several century old pecan trees remain, none properly sited for cooling in summer. An evergreen magnolia was planted at a western flank within the past 2 decades. Oh no. Plenty of blocking against summer sun, alas, blocking the winter sun too. How we wish that magnolia were an oak. Money in the bank if it was.
.
Trees. It's really all about trees. How trees aid water in the forest vs. suburbs, here. Including how trees remove toxins & metals too. I know you're busy, save to read the link later, it's that interesting.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Gingko tree, above, commonly lose their leaves in a day. And that day has the fragrance of cooking sugar.
Pic, above, here.
.
Jekyll Island, Driftwood Beach, above. Have never been to Jekyll Island and not seen a bride/groom/photographer coming/going from Driftwood Beach. Finally, walked Driftwood Beach this year, 1st time. Only one word comes to mind, to describe being on Driftwood Beach, Sacred.
.
Trees.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Monty Don: Innocence Has Been Sold
Garden tours in Atlanta became dicey about the 90's. Not that gardens chosen were bad, inferior, worthy of complaint. Yet, Garden Whisperers 'knew'. Something new had arrived, alas, something of the old had disappeared.
In the mid-90's touring an Atlanta, GA technically correct and considered lovely garden set in a street of McMansions I saw a friend who was on the Garden Tour committee. Telling her of all the gardens already seen and my favorite parts, I looked around at the garden we were in and said, "These people are cold, I don't want to know them.", she said, "Oh, you've met them.". Never met them, was sad to see their personalities writ large in their garden. My friend said they were the most difficult homeowners to work with putting the garden tour together. She said their garden would not be a 'repeat', ever.
.
Why was their garden 'cold'?
.
Reading Monty Don, A French Garden Journey: the Road to Le Tholonet, in bed last night, Don described my experience in the 'cold' garden many years before, and why, "They are still lovely and essentially unspoilt. but there is a kind of self-knowing quality to them that was not there forty years ago. The innocence has been sold....."
.
Exactly, the 'cold' garden was totally paid for, not an ounce of 'magic', there was 'a sleekness and order that only money can buy'. "It was like a fine-set face made puffy and bloated with years of ease."
.
That last sentence had me laughing out loud, go Monty go. Especially, 'years of ease'. I have many clients with weekly lawn care and I always tell them they must take care of a certain area, by themselves, zero help. How else to be connected to their garden? Most things that I can do in my garden, I do. Knowing, hiring out work I can do would become habit, and remove one of life's chief pleasures, and honor. Working in my garden is, Washing of the servants feet. Honoring, Nature.
Pics, above, The Gardens of Chateau Val Joanis.
.
Garden, above, is not a 'cold' personal garden. Yet, it had once been a richly warm residential garden, now, a commercial garden. Don used this garden, above, in the chapters where I took his quotes, above, from.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
.
Kayaking, 1st time ever, this summer in the salt water marsh of Saint Simons Island, we reached a sand bar our guide wanted us to park at, and walk a bit. Docking my kayak on the steeply sloped beach, the guide was quickly placing his hands on my arms, making sure I didn't fall awkwardly getting out of the kayak. A very quick, "No, thank you." He continued trying to help me, "No really, step away, thank you." In the end, he did not step away, and kept both arms spread as if we were about to begin a ballroom waltz. Ugh. Nope. Hope I'm well into my 90's still getting out of a kayak on a steep beach, by myself. It has begun, I saw it with Rosemary Very during her 2 visits to Atlanta, many years apart, the transition from physical power to feminine power. Great topic, Feminine Power, no time to go further now.
In the mid-90's touring an Atlanta, GA technically correct and considered lovely garden set in a street of McMansions I saw a friend who was on the Garden Tour committee. Telling her of all the gardens already seen and my favorite parts, I looked around at the garden we were in and said, "These people are cold, I don't want to know them.", she said, "Oh, you've met them.". Never met them, was sad to see their personalities writ large in their garden. My friend said they were the most difficult homeowners to work with putting the garden tour together. She said their garden would not be a 'repeat', ever.
.
Why was their garden 'cold'?
.
Reading Monty Don, A French Garden Journey: the Road to Le Tholonet, in bed last night, Don described my experience in the 'cold' garden many years before, and why, "They are still lovely and essentially unspoilt. but there is a kind of self-knowing quality to them that was not there forty years ago. The innocence has been sold....."
.
Exactly, the 'cold' garden was totally paid for, not an ounce of 'magic', there was 'a sleekness and order that only money can buy'. "It was like a fine-set face made puffy and bloated with years of ease."
.
That last sentence had me laughing out loud, go Monty go. Especially, 'years of ease'. I have many clients with weekly lawn care and I always tell them they must take care of a certain area, by themselves, zero help. How else to be connected to their garden? Most things that I can do in my garden, I do. Knowing, hiring out work I can do would become habit, and remove one of life's chief pleasures, and honor. Working in my garden is, Washing of the servants feet. Honoring, Nature.
Pics, above, The Gardens of Chateau Val Joanis.
.
Garden, above, is not a 'cold' personal garden. Yet, it had once been a richly warm residential garden, now, a commercial garden. Don used this garden, above, in the chapters where I took his quotes, above, from.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
.
Kayaking, 1st time ever, this summer in the salt water marsh of Saint Simons Island, we reached a sand bar our guide wanted us to park at, and walk a bit. Docking my kayak on the steeply sloped beach, the guide was quickly placing his hands on my arms, making sure I didn't fall awkwardly getting out of the kayak. A very quick, "No, thank you." He continued trying to help me, "No really, step away, thank you." In the end, he did not step away, and kept both arms spread as if we were about to begin a ballroom waltz. Ugh. Nope. Hope I'm well into my 90's still getting out of a kayak on a steep beach, by myself. It has begun, I saw it with Rosemary Very during her 2 visits to Atlanta, many years apart, the transition from physical power to feminine power. Great topic, Feminine Power, no time to go further now.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Simplicity of Narrative
Last question, finishing a Garden Design, What can I take out and it holds together?
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There is so little here, below. Yet overwhelmed in layers of narrative. I see a story/stories, below, you must, too.
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Not, simple-gardens-are-the-best, it is simple gardens including narratives of classic aesthetics across the ages, tied to the life of their home's interior, and owner, with an ease of maintenance, those are the gardens lasting centuries.
Pic, above, here.
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Front door, above, reminds me of a story I was told by a friend, decades ago, in Savannah, GA. The story teller lived in the historic district. The story told happened ca. 1950'ish. An elderly widow lived in elegant deep decay in a large historic mansion. Her handy-man, an African-American, took care of her, the house, garden, and it was well known he brought her food from one of the best restaurants, he waited tables there several nights a week.
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More, they lived outwardly their proscribed rolls. Yet, within her home they were lovers, in a committed relationship. Further, the city knew, yet lived the lie. Protecting both, beloved members of their community.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
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The lady in the story, born 19th century, lived the story in 20th century, I'm telling you in the 21st century. Her home still standing.
.
There is so little here, below. Yet overwhelmed in layers of narrative. I see a story/stories, below, you must, too.
.
Not, simple-gardens-are-the-best, it is simple gardens including narratives of classic aesthetics across the ages, tied to the life of their home's interior, and owner, with an ease of maintenance, those are the gardens lasting centuries.
Pic, above, here.
.
Front door, above, reminds me of a story I was told by a friend, decades ago, in Savannah, GA. The story teller lived in the historic district. The story told happened ca. 1950'ish. An elderly widow lived in elegant deep decay in a large historic mansion. Her handy-man, an African-American, took care of her, the house, garden, and it was well known he brought her food from one of the best restaurants, he waited tables there several nights a week.
.
More, they lived outwardly their proscribed rolls. Yet, within her home they were lovers, in a committed relationship. Further, the city knew, yet lived the lie. Protecting both, beloved members of their community.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
The lady in the story, born 19th century, lived the story in 20th century, I'm telling you in the 21st century. Her home still standing.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Deer & Armadillo Fencing
Two members of the Garden Design team, for my space at our ca. 1900 American farmhouse, control many choices at the front end. Third member of the team is wildly controlling too.
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None of this overlooks a fourth controlling component, aging in place, me.
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For decades I've had the honor of older women, into their 70's plus, hiring me. Their landscapes must be beautiful, and fully turn key. Tough plants, easily maintained with minimal unskilled labor. Check.
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Back to those original members helping design my new garden, deer, armadillo and the weather: brutal heat, humidity, drought, rains, occasional 0 f, strong winds throughout every season, and, the worst, a freeze in April after weeks of warm days. Check.
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Oddly, with all the constraints, above, (after achieving acceptance) it's easier to create a Garden Design. Fewer choices.
.
Southern Indica azaleas will be many of my hedges. Sun/shade, deer resistant, drought tolerant. Better, their height & growth habit, below.
Pic, above, here.
Deer don't bother much with what they cannot see, they keep on walking. Outside my garden, deer will see this, below. Delightfully, more than solving a deer issue the azalea hedging will block views of the street/cars, and create garden rooms, walls.
Pic, above, here.
If deer were the only problem, azalea hedging would be deterrent enough. Armadillo dig for worms/insects with their clawed feet and tapered snout. Around since the dinosaurs, armadillo are not smart in expected ways. Simple wire fencing at ground level guides them away, they won't dig under.
.
I fully expect to be the first human to experience the first self aware male armadillo, who tunnels under my wire fencing, releases his pheromones to Pluto, and his harem arrives, delivering their typical 4 identical offspring with each pregnancy.
.
Wire fencing, below, will be built, azalea foliage to grow thru, and obfuscate its presence, and armadillo.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Had to include this pic, above, the pruning is amazing. Foliage/blossoms from top to bottom, achieved with pruning tapered, wider at bottom than top. Then, the subtle change in height from left to right, as the Garden Design dictates need.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
None of this overlooks a fourth controlling component, aging in place, me.
.
For decades I've had the honor of older women, into their 70's plus, hiring me. Their landscapes must be beautiful, and fully turn key. Tough plants, easily maintained with minimal unskilled labor. Check.
.
Back to those original members helping design my new garden, deer, armadillo and the weather: brutal heat, humidity, drought, rains, occasional 0 f, strong winds throughout every season, and, the worst, a freeze in April after weeks of warm days. Check.
.
Oddly, with all the constraints, above, (after achieving acceptance) it's easier to create a Garden Design. Fewer choices.
.
Southern Indica azaleas will be many of my hedges. Sun/shade, deer resistant, drought tolerant. Better, their height & growth habit, below.
Pic, above, here.
Deer don't bother much with what they cannot see, they keep on walking. Outside my garden, deer will see this, below. Delightfully, more than solving a deer issue the azalea hedging will block views of the street/cars, and create garden rooms, walls.
Pic, above, here.
If deer were the only problem, azalea hedging would be deterrent enough. Armadillo dig for worms/insects with their clawed feet and tapered snout. Around since the dinosaurs, armadillo are not smart in expected ways. Simple wire fencing at ground level guides them away, they won't dig under.
.
I fully expect to be the first human to experience the first self aware male armadillo, who tunnels under my wire fencing, releases his pheromones to Pluto, and his harem arrives, delivering their typical 4 identical offspring with each pregnancy.
.
Wire fencing, below, will be built, azalea foliage to grow thru, and obfuscate its presence, and armadillo.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Had to include this pic, above, the pruning is amazing. Foliage/blossoms from top to bottom, achieved with pruning tapered, wider at bottom than top. Then, the subtle change in height from left to right, as the Garden Design dictates need.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Friday, October 21, 2016
Hardest Question Asked
Designing the garden below, is it apparent at 1st glance once half the garden is designed, all the garden is designed?
Pic, above, here.
Beginning a Garden Design on paper, a typical subdivision home/lot, once a quarter of the drawing is done, the plantings design is essentially completed for 100% of the drawing,
.
Great example, below. Once an allee of rectangular evergreen meatloafs were chosen half the space is complete. I especially like their existing canopy trees, below, left in place no matter their asymmetry. Creating a park-like walking avenue, with great geometry, yet sprinkling of Nature. Good fortune being able to keep existing mature plantings, they age a new Garden Design.
.
Notice the gravel, below, lapping at the base of the canopy trees? Perhaps the greatest of their design choices. Why? Allows the axis of the avenue, from the house, to flow. Boxing the trees, at their base with a square of cobblestones is poor punctuation, no longer a flowing avenue.
Pic, above, here.
.
I don't think of plants first when beginning a Garden Design, I think of axis, flow, shapes, color, focal points, materials, finally, heights, layers and specific plants.
.
Plants are the last thing I choose in a Garden Design.
.
So. When I find myself in a situation, socially, at someone's home I don't know, (which I try to avoid) they discover what I do for a living, they obviously truly don't care about Garden Design but wish to be polite making small talk about their landscape, and get a little free advice about a plant in the throes of death, arrives the DREADED question, after much build up, ta-da, they ask, "What plant should I put here?"
.
I smile, nostrils flaired from earlobe to earlobe, feeling rather like a donkey with someone putting a heavy load on my back, and all I wanna do (thank you Sheryl Crowe) is buck their question to the moon (thank you Honeymooners).
.
Honestly, "What plant goes here?", begins to cover what my eyes/mind/heart see?
.
How do I say, "You'll need to move these, gesticulating gracefully with hand/arm upon half their realm, put in a flagstone path, 8' wide, on axis from that window, leading to a focal point at least 4' tall, on cross axis from........ another path beginning there.........leading to a roundabout........and there is your double axis to the subsidiary focal point....., after we decide your exterior color trinity......see into those windows upstairs and the 2 over there downstairs we need to change the interior design so it's gorgeous from the garden view and not showing.........the fence must be stained 2-3 tones darker than one of those trinity colors...........the windows there, & those too, must become French doors.....your deck is already old, great timing I'm here you would have probably rebuilt a similar deck, it needs to come off, with stone steps from the new French doors onto a new stone terrace extended beyond the end of where the deck was...........now it's obvious your patio furniture must all be replaced.......notice the myriad pots you have sprinkled about they need to be replaced with larger pots and a style/color chosen, I have 2 great resources at the merchandise mart you'll love them.....light fixtures on the house must be changed, you'll adore Laura Lee lighting they're online, flowing with the theme of your garden......oh, forgot to mention you must pick a theme for your garden and then overdose on your theme, of course all of this must flow from the front of your home........so, back to your question, we don't need a plant PUT HERE."
.
Continuing my donkey grin, I typically say, Take the plant out when it dies, and let the other plantings grow to fill in. And they are well confirmed that Garden Design is a ridiculous profession.
.
Pic, above, here.
Question?
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
.
Pic, above, here.
.
How many dinners, during childhood, did we sit down to the table, and dad had the Honeymooners on? He loved to hear, Jackie Gleason say, "How sweet it is." If we were talking, he would hold up a hand for silence, once Jackie Gleason was about to say ....
.
Beloved played golf in high school. He attended a major pro-golf tournament sponsored by Jackie Gleason, and has all the golf greats, of that era, autographs in the playbook. Finally, close enough to ask for Jackie Gleason's autograph, it was not happening. Jackie Gleason was wildly, happily, drunk, being driven to the clubhouse in a golf cart..
.
All of the, above, happening at someone's home, on a tight budget, they obviously are newly thrilled with gardening, what fun !! They get the, use- mostly- what- you- have-, hunt/gather, DIY, Garden Design and the entire evening has flown by, and they've ignored all their other guests ! No donkey.
.
Yes, I see gardens intact, completed. Designing them is taking dictation from Muse. More, the dictation is at myriad price points, from no budget restraints, to total budget restraints. No budget, love the pun. My peers do the same, how we love our time together. Conversation in our own shorthand language. Time ceases to exist. We've dipped into that joyful realm of eternity- on- Earth Joseph Campbell mentions.
Pic, above, here.
Beginning a Garden Design on paper, a typical subdivision home/lot, once a quarter of the drawing is done, the plantings design is essentially completed for 100% of the drawing,
.
Great example, below. Once an allee of rectangular evergreen meatloafs were chosen half the space is complete. I especially like their existing canopy trees, below, left in place no matter their asymmetry. Creating a park-like walking avenue, with great geometry, yet sprinkling of Nature. Good fortune being able to keep existing mature plantings, they age a new Garden Design.
.
Notice the gravel, below, lapping at the base of the canopy trees? Perhaps the greatest of their design choices. Why? Allows the axis of the avenue, from the house, to flow. Boxing the trees, at their base with a square of cobblestones is poor punctuation, no longer a flowing avenue.
Pic, above, here.
.
I don't think of plants first when beginning a Garden Design, I think of axis, flow, shapes, color, focal points, materials, finally, heights, layers and specific plants.
.
Plants are the last thing I choose in a Garden Design.
.
So. When I find myself in a situation, socially, at someone's home I don't know, (which I try to avoid) they discover what I do for a living, they obviously truly don't care about Garden Design but wish to be polite making small talk about their landscape, and get a little free advice about a plant in the throes of death, arrives the DREADED question, after much build up, ta-da, they ask, "What plant should I put here?"
.
I smile, nostrils flaired from earlobe to earlobe, feeling rather like a donkey with someone putting a heavy load on my back, and all I wanna do (thank you Sheryl Crowe) is buck their question to the moon (thank you Honeymooners).
.
Honestly, "What plant goes here?", begins to cover what my eyes/mind/heart see?
.
How do I say, "You'll need to move these, gesticulating gracefully with hand/arm upon half their realm, put in a flagstone path, 8' wide, on axis from that window, leading to a focal point at least 4' tall, on cross axis from........ another path beginning there.........leading to a roundabout........and there is your double axis to the subsidiary focal point....., after we decide your exterior color trinity......see into those windows upstairs and the 2 over there downstairs we need to change the interior design so it's gorgeous from the garden view and not showing.........the fence must be stained 2-3 tones darker than one of those trinity colors...........the windows there, & those too, must become French doors.....your deck is already old, great timing I'm here you would have probably rebuilt a similar deck, it needs to come off, with stone steps from the new French doors onto a new stone terrace extended beyond the end of where the deck was...........now it's obvious your patio furniture must all be replaced.......notice the myriad pots you have sprinkled about they need to be replaced with larger pots and a style/color chosen, I have 2 great resources at the merchandise mart you'll love them.....light fixtures on the house must be changed, you'll adore Laura Lee lighting they're online, flowing with the theme of your garden......oh, forgot to mention you must pick a theme for your garden and then overdose on your theme, of course all of this must flow from the front of your home........so, back to your question, we don't need a plant PUT HERE."
.
Continuing my donkey grin, I typically say, Take the plant out when it dies, and let the other plantings grow to fill in. And they are well confirmed that Garden Design is a ridiculous profession.
.
Pic, above, here.
Question?
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
.
Pic, above, here.
.
How many dinners, during childhood, did we sit down to the table, and dad had the Honeymooners on? He loved to hear, Jackie Gleason say, "How sweet it is." If we were talking, he would hold up a hand for silence, once Jackie Gleason was about to say ....
.
Beloved played golf in high school. He attended a major pro-golf tournament sponsored by Jackie Gleason, and has all the golf greats, of that era, autographs in the playbook. Finally, close enough to ask for Jackie Gleason's autograph, it was not happening. Jackie Gleason was wildly, happily, drunk, being driven to the clubhouse in a golf cart..
.
All of the, above, happening at someone's home, on a tight budget, they obviously are newly thrilled with gardening, what fun !! They get the, use- mostly- what- you- have-, hunt/gather, DIY, Garden Design and the entire evening has flown by, and they've ignored all their other guests ! No donkey.
.
Yes, I see gardens intact, completed. Designing them is taking dictation from Muse. More, the dictation is at myriad price points, from no budget restraints, to total budget restraints. No budget, love the pun. My peers do the same, how we love our time together. Conversation in our own shorthand language. Time ceases to exist. We've dipped into that joyful realm of eternity- on- Earth Joseph Campbell mentions.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Modern Garden Design
Modern Garden Design, below.
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Where are you on the pendulum, liking/disliking, this modern style Garden Design, below?
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Garden Design has not changed since well before, oodles of centuries, Christ's era.
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In my 20's I abhorred this style of Garden Design, below. Too smart for that boredom. A brain full of horticultural knowledge.
.
Fully living, without awareness, thereby proving yet again in a new era, "Men come to build stately, sooner than to garden finely as if gardening were the greater perfection." (The works of Alexander Pope, esq., with notes and illustrations, by ...
Pic, above, here.
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Heijlo, 1789, Archief Alkmaar, above.
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The simpler a Garden Design, the greater its Wisdom.
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No ragrets the time nor money getting me to this simplicity, above. Find it amusing, still, memories of strongly disliking Garden Designs, above.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Midnight on a too recent Saturday, sitting with a friend in a hospital emergency room, watching, We are the Millers, keeping reality at bay, while tests were being run, iv's inserted, shots given, pain endured. Laughing yet again at everything, even laughing ahead of favorite scenes about to show. News, not good, needed an ambulance to carry my friend to another hospital. Greatly appreciative of that laughter, time in denial of reality.
.
Where are you on the pendulum, liking/disliking, this modern style Garden Design, below?
.
Garden Design has not changed since well before, oodles of centuries, Christ's era.
.
In my 20's I abhorred this style of Garden Design, below. Too smart for that boredom. A brain full of horticultural knowledge.
.
Fully living, without awareness, thereby proving yet again in a new era, "Men come to build stately, sooner than to garden finely as if gardening were the greater perfection." (The works of Alexander Pope, esq., with notes and illustrations, by ...
https://books.google.com/books?id=shcrAQAAIAAJ
Alexander Pope, William Roscoe - 1847 - Literary Criticism
Alexander Pope, William Roscoe. becomes on the instant, from a ... For the honour of this art," Lord Bacon says, " a man shall ever see, that when ages grow to civility and elegancy, men come to buildstately, sooner than to garden finely ; as if gardening were the greater perfection." — Warton. The taste in gardening, like all ...)Pic, above, here.
.
Heijlo, 1789, Archief Alkmaar, above.
.
The simpler a Garden Design, the greater its Wisdom.
.
No ragrets the time nor money getting me to this simplicity, above. Find it amusing, still, memories of strongly disliking Garden Designs, above.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Midnight on a too recent Saturday, sitting with a friend in a hospital emergency room, watching, We are the Millers, keeping reality at bay, while tests were being run, iv's inserted, shots given, pain endured. Laughing yet again at everything, even laughing ahead of favorite scenes about to show. News, not good, needed an ambulance to carry my friend to another hospital. Greatly appreciative of that laughter, time in denial of reality.
We're the Millers Featurette - No Ragrets (2013) - Jennifer Aniston ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjkLKKgOMRY
Aug 9, 2013 - Uploaded by Movieclips Coming Soon
We're the Millers Featurette - No Ragrets (2013) - Jennifer Aniston Movie HD A veteran pot dealer creates a ...Monday, October 17, 2016
3 Gardens: What Changes Would You Make?
Three Garden Design 'changes', below. Each gorgeous home/garden, snagged the attention of Muse at first glance, below.
.
Scroll thru, below, does your Garden Design 'eye' see instant changes to be made? Never meant to bash a Garden Design, simply to make living better, or accentuate architecture with Garden Design as the tipping point.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Top pic, above, beautiful home wildly close to the road. Remove foundation plantings, add steps to open up front porch. Plant an evergreen hedge at the sidewalk, growing to 4', and add a simple gate, matching the style of the home, at the front walk. Greater privacy, a sense of greater space, better views from the house, and buffering from the toxins of passing cars.
.
Middle pic, above, incredible quality, gate, pierced brick wall, plantings, urns. Site urns a bit wider, their scale demands more space, once moved the gate/columns appear more generous, not so tight.
.
Bottom pic, above, a tightly packed neighborhood, yet the porch is mostly private. Go team. To add the illusion of a larger garden, stain the fence 2 tones darker than the kaki from the porch floor. I would also espalier sasanqua next to the fence.
.
What did you see? What changes did your eye want to make?
.
Changes mentioned were merely the basics. Making further changes I must know the owners, and see inside their homes. Excepting the middle pic, it would be 'done'. Did you notice the urns in the middle pic? Reminds me of a recent client, her husband started pressure washing in their garden, and she caught him, and stopped him, before he removed the patina off every focal point. Funny story now, only because everyone knows it was not funny in the moment, poor husband.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Scroll thru, below, does your Garden Design 'eye' see instant changes to be made? Never meant to bash a Garden Design, simply to make living better, or accentuate architecture with Garden Design as the tipping point.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Top pic, above, beautiful home wildly close to the road. Remove foundation plantings, add steps to open up front porch. Plant an evergreen hedge at the sidewalk, growing to 4', and add a simple gate, matching the style of the home, at the front walk. Greater privacy, a sense of greater space, better views from the house, and buffering from the toxins of passing cars.
.
Middle pic, above, incredible quality, gate, pierced brick wall, plantings, urns. Site urns a bit wider, their scale demands more space, once moved the gate/columns appear more generous, not so tight.
.
Bottom pic, above, a tightly packed neighborhood, yet the porch is mostly private. Go team. To add the illusion of a larger garden, stain the fence 2 tones darker than the kaki from the porch floor. I would also espalier sasanqua next to the fence.
.
What did you see? What changes did your eye want to make?
.
Changes mentioned were merely the basics. Making further changes I must know the owners, and see inside their homes. Excepting the middle pic, it would be 'done'. Did you notice the urns in the middle pic? Reminds me of a recent client, her husband started pressure washing in their garden, and she caught him, and stopped him, before he removed the patina off every focal point. Funny story now, only because everyone knows it was not funny in the moment, poor husband.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Furniture in the Garden: Choosing to Make it Recede
A trinity of furniture-in-the-garden pics, below, chosen for style, and to recede. Beyond melding into the backdrop, these choices make each of the garden spaces feel/live larger.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Putting together your garden is not the flippancy of oh-I-like-that, it's waking up, choosing to move forward, turning the page to a new chapter, accepting the historic layers of wiser minds, they're there to work with you, their Muse waiting for your epiphany, it's all for you too, sure, you'll have myriad headwinds, you aren't special in that, everyone does, some things will have to go materially/metaphorically, enjoy the light some bridges are best burned, warning you'll lose some people in your life, but you'll understand, in Truth, the deeper you go inward the more you outwardly connect to the people you've always needed in your life, perhaps deepest of all, if you are brave enough to truly create the garden in your heart the epiphany will arrive, you will understand, why G*d Almighty first created a garden.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Putting together your garden is not the flippancy of oh-I-like-that, it's waking up, choosing to move forward, turning the page to a new chapter, accepting the historic layers of wiser minds, they're there to work with you, their Muse waiting for your epiphany, it's all for you too, sure, you'll have myriad headwinds, you aren't special in that, everyone does, some things will have to go materially/metaphorically, enjoy the light some bridges are best burned, warning you'll lose some people in your life, but you'll understand, in Truth, the deeper you go inward the more you outwardly connect to the people you've always needed in your life, perhaps deepest of all, if you are brave enough to truly create the garden in your heart the epiphany will arrive, you will understand, why G*d Almighty first created a garden.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Hidden Layer of Design in Plain View
In plain view all pics, below, the Garden Design affecting each photo. A layer I've never read about in a Garden Design book nor heard spoken of in a Garden Design lecture, not mentioned in a garden show on TV. I have written of it in past postings maybe 1-2 times.
.
Designing my previous garden I had no awareness I was creating this 'unknown' layer of Garden Design seen in all of the pics, below.
.
Living in my previous garden 30 years, beginning with bare Earth, this 'unknown' layer had to grow, perhaps 20 years worth. Once arrived, I knew immediately it had been there much longer than my date of awareness.
.
Do you see this unspoken layer of Garden Design, below? Do you have it in your home?
.
Enjoy the pics, below. I'm a firm believer in epiphanies. If you don't know this layer of Garden Design I'm focusing upon, below, hopefully you will see it with your eyes/heart and be able to give it a name.
All pics, above, via Cote de Texas.
.
The garden, above pics, paints the light inside the home.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
.
Designing my previous garden I had no awareness I was creating this 'unknown' layer of Garden Design seen in all of the pics, below.
.
Living in my previous garden 30 years, beginning with bare Earth, this 'unknown' layer had to grow, perhaps 20 years worth. Once arrived, I knew immediately it had been there much longer than my date of awareness.
.
Do you see this unspoken layer of Garden Design, below? Do you have it in your home?
.
Enjoy the pics, below. I'm a firm believer in epiphanies. If you don't know this layer of Garden Design I'm focusing upon, below, hopefully you will see it with your eyes/heart and be able to give it a name.
All pics, above, via Cote de Texas.
.
The garden, above pics, paints the light inside the home.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Pot Cluster Double Axis
Moving backward thru these blog pages you'll discover several posts dedicated to the Pot Cluster. Studying historic gardens across Europe for decades, this American was smitten by the Pot Cluster. Often at a front door, often at a back door, often sprinkled somewhere in the garden. Pot Cluster, I got the memo.
.
There is a common thread with Pot Clusters, they are classic or interesting pots, with a choice array of plantings. Occasionally the Pot Cluster is on a plinth, aka table.
.
Whether studying in a historic garden attached to a modest cottage or 2nd3rd5th10th... home/castle of a monarch, there you'll find the Pot Cluster.
.
What else to call it? What would you name it? Me? The Pot Cluster.
.
Last weekend, Cote de Texas sent me a personalized post, seemed that way anyway. Within, she posted a double axis with a Pot Cluster, and didn't even know it.
.
I adore a Garden Design class in a single photo. Pot Cluster Garden Design class, below. More, the home, below, is huge-historic, and the garden space, minuscule. More than a Pot Cluster Garden Design Class you are also taking a lesson in creating a lush garden in a small amount of space. How many layers do you see, creating a lush garden in a tiny realm? Name those layers, describe them in winter.
.
If you take a garden tour in Europe always pay extra for the tea/scones. Most often, served inside. A Garden Design study is nothing without seeing inside the house, discovering the axis into the garden, site lines, usage for interior, and exterior. Flow must be entirely around a garden, and from house to garden, and garden to house. Effortless, beautiful, seamless, no matter the necessities of hvac, water/hoses, etc....
.
Enough, let's go inside.
Notice the lamp inside, above? Same lamp, below.
Different time of day, below, and the lamp staged differently.
Prepared for a dinner party, below, sofa removed and table on axis with French doors into garden.
Interior & exterior of this home are a Garden Design class of Vanishing Threshold.
.
No matter your price point, this is your Garden Design class.
.
A friend I met at church lived in a welfare apartment. She is a gardener. 98% found plants/pots/furnishings on her 2nd story balcony. I had a blast designing her balcony with what she had, using every Garden Design layer used in the home, above. Rearranged a few things inside too.
.
That's the thing with me, I don't except the excuse, 'I don't have the money......'. My story is backwards in postings, if you know a bit you know I did it without money.
.
Excuse the vulgarity, mentioning money. Perhaps it's because I remember well, in the 80's after college when my gardening began, and the Smith/Hawken garden catalogs arrived in the mailbox, I assumed those beautiful gardens were not for the likes of me, they were shot in gorgeous estates blah-blah how ridiculous those thoughts. They slowed me down, and I don't want anyone else to be slowed by that, I've proven the money thing to be wrong.
.
There's another thing the garden does for the house, above. Will show it in next post. Do you already know what it is, and in shock I've been able to refrain from putting it in this post?
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Why are there so few good gardens? Why is it so difficult to create our own beautiful garden, at the front end? Several layers, at the beginning. Ignorance, we don't have the knowledge. After beginning with ignorance we enter the phase of ineptitude. Knowledge gained but applied incorrectly, typically using a fragment to expound the whole, with a strong bias towards understanding the map but not the territory.
.
There is a common thread with Pot Clusters, they are classic or interesting pots, with a choice array of plantings. Occasionally the Pot Cluster is on a plinth, aka table.
.
Whether studying in a historic garden attached to a modest cottage or 2nd3rd5th10th... home/castle of a monarch, there you'll find the Pot Cluster.
.
What else to call it? What would you name it? Me? The Pot Cluster.
.
Last weekend, Cote de Texas sent me a personalized post, seemed that way anyway. Within, she posted a double axis with a Pot Cluster, and didn't even know it.
.
I adore a Garden Design class in a single photo. Pot Cluster Garden Design class, below. More, the home, below, is huge-historic, and the garden space, minuscule. More than a Pot Cluster Garden Design Class you are also taking a lesson in creating a lush garden in a small amount of space. How many layers do you see, creating a lush garden in a tiny realm? Name those layers, describe them in winter.
.
If you take a garden tour in Europe always pay extra for the tea/scones. Most often, served inside. A Garden Design study is nothing without seeing inside the house, discovering the axis into the garden, site lines, usage for interior, and exterior. Flow must be entirely around a garden, and from house to garden, and garden to house. Effortless, beautiful, seamless, no matter the necessities of hvac, water/hoses, etc....
.
Enough, let's go inside.
Notice the lamp inside, above? Same lamp, below.
Different time of day, below, and the lamp staged differently.
Prepared for a dinner party, below, sofa removed and table on axis with French doors into garden.
Interior & exterior of this home are a Garden Design class of Vanishing Threshold.
.
No matter your price point, this is your Garden Design class.
.
A friend I met at church lived in a welfare apartment. She is a gardener. 98% found plants/pots/furnishings on her 2nd story balcony. I had a blast designing her balcony with what she had, using every Garden Design layer used in the home, above. Rearranged a few things inside too.
.
That's the thing with me, I don't except the excuse, 'I don't have the money......'. My story is backwards in postings, if you know a bit you know I did it without money.
.
Excuse the vulgarity, mentioning money. Perhaps it's because I remember well, in the 80's after college when my gardening began, and the Smith/Hawken garden catalogs arrived in the mailbox, I assumed those beautiful gardens were not for the likes of me, they were shot in gorgeous estates blah-blah how ridiculous those thoughts. They slowed me down, and I don't want anyone else to be slowed by that, I've proven the money thing to be wrong.
.
There's another thing the garden does for the house, above. Will show it in next post. Do you already know what it is, and in shock I've been able to refrain from putting it in this post?
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Why are there so few good gardens? Why is it so difficult to create our own beautiful garden, at the front end? Several layers, at the beginning. Ignorance, we don't have the knowledge. After beginning with ignorance we enter the phase of ineptitude. Knowledge gained but applied incorrectly, typically using a fragment to expound the whole, with a strong bias towards understanding the map but not the territory.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
New Layer for Fall & Winter
Time to begin hunting/gathering for winter gardening.
.
Incredible silhouettes, below, and packing a punch with a strand of lights.
![[2006.jpg] ... excellent landscape design (check out the web link):](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/61/17/f7/6117f77f95f0f192c4928c5a899ccc77.jpg)
In my garden shed are several balled strands of white lights, extension cords, urns, and in our woods, plenty of sticks/branches/greenery.
.
Mechanics & ingredients accounted for. Now, pure pleasure vision questing where to place them.
.
Yes, will leave the lights on all nite.
.
This is your heads-up. If you enjoy the anticipation of a new garden layer, as much as I do, a new layer has arrived, just now, sublime.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Would be fun seeing how many ships sail from this port. Better, their structural mechanics.
.
Pics Deborah Silver.
.
Incredible silhouettes, below, and packing a punch with a strand of lights.
In my garden shed are several balled strands of white lights, extension cords, urns, and in our woods, plenty of sticks/branches/greenery.
.
Mechanics & ingredients accounted for. Now, pure pleasure vision questing where to place them.
.
Yes, will leave the lights on all nite.
.
This is your heads-up. If you enjoy the anticipation of a new garden layer, as much as I do, a new layer has arrived, just now, sublime.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Would be fun seeing how many ships sail from this port. Better, their structural mechanics.
.
Pics Deborah Silver.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Design: Changing Narrative
A 'simple' Garden Design, below, all the layers dramatically in place. Starting at the top of the picture, now, in your mind, label each layer of the Garden Design, below.
.
If you've come to Garden Design, age 50 up, this type of Garden Design holds significant charms vs. coming to Garden Design in your 20's.
.
But I'm getting ahead of my story, most of us come to gardening, if we do come to gardening, as the song noted, 'In a heated rush'. And, 'Seeing what you wanted to see'.
.
Until Seth Godin a few days ago I taught garden design for beginners at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and local college, knowing my students needed to unlearn most of what they already knew about Garden Design, as beginners.
.
Garden Design appears easy, we try it, and the results prove Garden Design has a lot of elements not readily apparent, though beautifully designed gardens hide nothing. Excepting. how can you 'see' the process of designing a good garden, how can you 'see' what was left out of the beautiful Garden Design? Time to switch the narrative from what you thought you knew about Garden Design, as rank novice, to learning the nuts/bolts of real Garden Design.
.
Garden Design is not voodoo or feelings about what will work, it is science and art, a historical process, unchanged, since well before the birth of Christ.
Pic, above, here.
.
Exactly, the narrative we have as beginning gardeners, total novices, is our own narrative. Limiting our possibilities, doesn't move us forward, literally makes our lives smaller.
.
Every historic layer of Garden Design, thousands of years worth, is, above. Though it appears quite modern. Bless good Garden Design for that. It allows playfulness with abandon.
.
Thank you Seth Godin, now I know it's not the unlearning of our beginning Garden Design ideas we need to do, it's literally changing the narrative. When we change the narrative, we change our lives.
.
Live a smaller life, never move forward, limit possibilities? What's not to like about changing the narrative?
.
More than gaining a new narrative and ability to create an extraordinary Garden Design, the garden once built/planted will continually renew itself, with abandon. What does that mean? Once you've put the effort into building a beautiful Garden Design, the garden rewards you, no effort on your part, with a larger life, forward momentum, and limitless possibility. And with some brownie points included, again without effort, raised property value, lower heating/cooling expense, easier maintenance & lifestyle. Not bad, for changing your narrative about Garden Design.
.
So, have you named all the layers of the Garden Design, above? Sky-ceiling, tall trees-canopy, small trees-understory, pruned hedge-walls, low meadow-floor, urn-focal point. A garden room. Plant it and you'll have a moat of grace around your home. And life.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
If you've come to Garden Design, age 50 up, this type of Garden Design holds significant charms vs. coming to Garden Design in your 20's.
.
But I'm getting ahead of my story, most of us come to gardening, if we do come to gardening, as the song noted, 'In a heated rush'. And, 'Seeing what you wanted to see'.
.
Until Seth Godin a few days ago I taught garden design for beginners at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and local college, knowing my students needed to unlearn most of what they already knew about Garden Design, as beginners.
.
Garden Design appears easy, we try it, and the results prove Garden Design has a lot of elements not readily apparent, though beautifully designed gardens hide nothing. Excepting. how can you 'see' the process of designing a good garden, how can you 'see' what was left out of the beautiful Garden Design? Time to switch the narrative from what you thought you knew about Garden Design, as rank novice, to learning the nuts/bolts of real Garden Design.
.
Garden Design is not voodoo or feelings about what will work, it is science and art, a historical process, unchanged, since well before the birth of Christ.
Pic, above, here.
.
"Narrating our lives, the little play-by-play we can't help carrying around, that's a survival mechanism. But it also hotwires our feelings, changes our posture, limits our possibilities.
The narrative is useful as long as it's useful, helping you solve problems and move forward. But when it reinforces bad habits or makes things smaller, we can drop it and merely be present, right here, right now." Seth Godin
.Exactly, the narrative we have as beginning gardeners, total novices, is our own narrative. Limiting our possibilities, doesn't move us forward, literally makes our lives smaller.
.
Every historic layer of Garden Design, thousands of years worth, is, above. Though it appears quite modern. Bless good Garden Design for that. It allows playfulness with abandon.
.
Thank you Seth Godin, now I know it's not the unlearning of our beginning Garden Design ideas we need to do, it's literally changing the narrative. When we change the narrative, we change our lives.
.
Live a smaller life, never move forward, limit possibilities? What's not to like about changing the narrative?
.
More than gaining a new narrative and ability to create an extraordinary Garden Design, the garden once built/planted will continually renew itself, with abandon. What does that mean? Once you've put the effort into building a beautiful Garden Design, the garden rewards you, no effort on your part, with a larger life, forward momentum, and limitless possibility. And with some brownie points included, again without effort, raised property value, lower heating/cooling expense, easier maintenance & lifestyle. Not bad, for changing your narrative about Garden Design.
.
So, have you named all the layers of the Garden Design, above? Sky-ceiling, tall trees-canopy, small trees-understory, pruned hedge-walls, low meadow-floor, urn-focal point. A garden room. Plant it and you'll have a moat of grace around your home. And life.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Still Life: Put it in Your Mission Statement
Lecturing in Greensboro, NC many years ago, I had the privilege of touring a private garden. In the audience, after the lecture, a woman chatted with me and I knew, I must see her garden. Don't know if she invited me to her garden, or I invited myself. With facts this bare, we know, I invited myself.
.
High summer in Greensboro, NC is not for the faint of heart, heat/humidity rule. Walking our small group into her home, she casually asked if we'd like lemonade. You know we did, pure drama and story line, We- had- a- tart- glass- of- lemonade- before- walking- her- garden.
.
Blessedly we wanted the drama of the lemonade. After bringing out her pitcher/glasses, and pouring a round, she set the pitcher onto a small table in her kitchen.
.
Poof. A new element to my personal Garden Mission Statement. Can you guess what it is? Alas, this garden visit was well before cell phones or even the desk top large computers. No photo of this fateful moment.
.
My life, inside my home, and in my garden, must look like a still life, not fake, but a life lived, and in the living, the calm of still life views, reign.
.
A small moment, below. Still life.
Pic, above, here.
Vanishing threshold, below, with still life views.
Pic, above, here.
Antiquing with a friend in Florida last week during vacation, she surprised me with this wire egg holder, below. She knows my chics aren't producing a lot, but this was home 2 days, and 2 eggs, snapped the pic and sent it to her. Table/chairs ready still life props.
.
Moving beyond the still life mission statement, is what I've learned, living this way. My surroundings leverage my life. Friends for lunch? More than easy. I can ask, Do you want to eat on the front porch, in the dining room or kitchen, maybe in the garden near the chicken coop? Living here only 14 months, more destinations are on the list. Not just for guests, but still life spaces for everyday, me alone. Lunch arrives with the question, Where do I want to eat? Seasons dictate, work dictates, many lunches in my office, and within my office there are several places to sit with still life views, and eat.
.
Keeping boredom at bay with static still life views, I change the details, T R Boote , ca. 1880 'Summer Time' tureen on the table, below, will soon go into the china closet, a fall tureen replacing it. The table topper changes at least 6x/year, so far. Working at my first retail garden center, in the mid-80's, we changed displays seasonally, pure luxury with so many flowering plants plus the seasonal merchandise, and it made me aware, the seasonal displays, each, a gift of thanks. Thank you for being alive another season, another Valentines, another Easter, another Memorial Day, Christmas. Exactly how I feel in the garden when the akebia blooms, the oakleaf hydrangea, the azaleas, tea olive, thank you, alive another year, taking in the scent of daphne....
.
Sure, all of this seems small, unimportant, but how can the days of anyone's life be unimportant? After touring the Greensboro, NC garden we came inside to her 'garden room', 3 walls entirely windows, French doors to the garden, her library, desk, and seating area were here. On the desk, a book, Living A Beautiful Life, by Alexandra Stoddard. Thumbed thru it, and ordered it when I came home. Have since given it as a gift many times.
.
To this day, that Greensboro, NC garden is one of the best I've ever walked in. I learned more of its story, later, from a friend of hers. Diagnosed with severe Lupus, she had hired a garden designer, then, before her husband would leave for work, she had him carry her into the garden and set her down in a spot to work. His office not far away he would come home to move her in the garden several times a day. That was the start of her garden.
.
I came into her story after she had worked for many years in her garden across good days and painful days. The day we toured her garden, zero sign of Lupus. What a victory for her, deep, soul satisfying.
Pic, above, in our kitchen last nite.
It's amazing the dichotomy of still life spaces. Once filled with your life, alone or with friends, inside or in the garden, you'll long remember the voices, laughter, conversations, how they made you feel. Rich.
Pic, above, here.
Without knowing, adding still life spaces to my mission statement brought me to, below.
Pic, above, here.
Receiving the 'more' is both material and metaphorical. Significantly weighted, in deep grace, to metaphorical.
.
Designing beautiful gardens for clients is a joy as their plantings mature, better, are the phone calls, notes, or texts, clients letting me know of the metaphorical riches, aka stories from their lives, their gardens are bringing them, their family/friends. So, more than adding still life to my personal mission statement, it seamlessly slipped into my professional mission statement.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
.
High summer in Greensboro, NC is not for the faint of heart, heat/humidity rule. Walking our small group into her home, she casually asked if we'd like lemonade. You know we did, pure drama and story line, We- had- a- tart- glass- of- lemonade- before- walking- her- garden.
.
Blessedly we wanted the drama of the lemonade. After bringing out her pitcher/glasses, and pouring a round, she set the pitcher onto a small table in her kitchen.
.
Poof. A new element to my personal Garden Mission Statement. Can you guess what it is? Alas, this garden visit was well before cell phones or even the desk top large computers. No photo of this fateful moment.
.
My life, inside my home, and in my garden, must look like a still life, not fake, but a life lived, and in the living, the calm of still life views, reign.
.
A small moment, below. Still life.
Pic, above, here.
Vanishing threshold, below, with still life views.
Pic, above, here.
Antiquing with a friend in Florida last week during vacation, she surprised me with this wire egg holder, below. She knows my chics aren't producing a lot, but this was home 2 days, and 2 eggs, snapped the pic and sent it to her. Table/chairs ready still life props.
.
Moving beyond the still life mission statement, is what I've learned, living this way. My surroundings leverage my life. Friends for lunch? More than easy. I can ask, Do you want to eat on the front porch, in the dining room or kitchen, maybe in the garden near the chicken coop? Living here only 14 months, more destinations are on the list. Not just for guests, but still life spaces for everyday, me alone. Lunch arrives with the question, Where do I want to eat? Seasons dictate, work dictates, many lunches in my office, and within my office there are several places to sit with still life views, and eat.
.
Keeping boredom at bay with static still life views, I change the details, T R Boote , ca. 1880 'Summer Time' tureen on the table, below, will soon go into the china closet, a fall tureen replacing it. The table topper changes at least 6x/year, so far. Working at my first retail garden center, in the mid-80's, we changed displays seasonally, pure luxury with so many flowering plants plus the seasonal merchandise, and it made me aware, the seasonal displays, each, a gift of thanks. Thank you for being alive another season, another Valentines, another Easter, another Memorial Day, Christmas. Exactly how I feel in the garden when the akebia blooms, the oakleaf hydrangea, the azaleas, tea olive, thank you, alive another year, taking in the scent of daphne....
.
Sure, all of this seems small, unimportant, but how can the days of anyone's life be unimportant? After touring the Greensboro, NC garden we came inside to her 'garden room', 3 walls entirely windows, French doors to the garden, her library, desk, and seating area were here. On the desk, a book, Living A Beautiful Life, by Alexandra Stoddard. Thumbed thru it, and ordered it when I came home. Have since given it as a gift many times.
.
To this day, that Greensboro, NC garden is one of the best I've ever walked in. I learned more of its story, later, from a friend of hers. Diagnosed with severe Lupus, she had hired a garden designer, then, before her husband would leave for work, she had him carry her into the garden and set her down in a spot to work. His office not far away he would come home to move her in the garden several times a day. That was the start of her garden.
.
I came into her story after she had worked for many years in her garden across good days and painful days. The day we toured her garden, zero sign of Lupus. What a victory for her, deep, soul satisfying.
Pic, above, in our kitchen last nite.
It's amazing the dichotomy of still life spaces. Once filled with your life, alone or with friends, inside or in the garden, you'll long remember the voices, laughter, conversations, how they made you feel. Rich.
Pic, above, here.
Without knowing, adding still life spaces to my mission statement brought me to, below.
Pic, above, here.
Receiving the 'more' is both material and metaphorical. Significantly weighted, in deep grace, to metaphorical.
.
Designing beautiful gardens for clients is a joy as their plantings mature, better, are the phone calls, notes, or texts, clients letting me know of the metaphorical riches, aka stories from their lives, their gardens are bringing them, their family/friends. So, more than adding still life to my personal mission statement, it seamlessly slipped into my professional mission statement.
.
Garden & Be Well, XOT
Monday, September 26, 2016
Contrast Makes Your Garden Pop
Contrast is the basic ingredient of Garden design. Both pics, below, use the same type of contrast. Can you label it?
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I grew up, as most Americans, without a vocabulary for gardens. Worse, after receiving a horticulture degree, I still had no proper, historic, of the ages, vocabulary for Garden Design. Garden Design and horticulture are 2 different professions. Toss in Agriculture, and you have 3 professions.
.
That's another rabbit hole of conversation, so, back to labeling the contrast technique used in the pics, below.
.
I've taught horticulture and Garden Design for over 20 years at a local college, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. One of my favorite teaching tools is adding proper vocabulary to Garden Design photos. Name it to claim it. Never more be moved by beautiful garden photos, yet unaware how to describe them in detail.
.
Of course there is an entire TV industry of garden shows thriving on viewers lack of knowledge. Most often the ambush garden show, with fast before/after, are comedies of the wrong sort, dark comedy. If you know horticulture, aka plant care/culture/habit, you know how quickly the 'after' garden will fail. Discussing merit of those Garden Designs, mostly what I learned in college, incurves and outcurves, planting beds, drifts, accent plants, landscaping, all well represented. If you want any of that stuff, don't hire me. I won't do it. Historic, of the ages, that's my venue.
.
Beyond beautiful, below, it's historic Garden Design, and the plantings show deep knowledge of planting materials, aka horticulture. What is the contrast, below? The main contrast is spikey with rounded, followed with contrasting color of foliage, and contrasting foliage sizes, and contrasting layers of height. Four more elements, huge, below. You know horticulture well if you have already labeled the last 4 elements.
.
Drought tolerant plantings, below. Deer proof plantings, below. Disease resistant plantings, below. Insect resistant plantings, below. The last asset, below? All year interest, plenty of structure left for winter interest.
.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Same Garden Design conceit, above, but the plantings, aka horticulture, could be either fabulous or problematic depending upon your location/zone/elevation. Peonies & foxglove, classic spike/round combination.
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In the deep south peonies can do well, but not the lush abundance of northern climates, and a dry, hot, southern spring/summer, will invite spider mites to the foxglove, and irrigation will be needed. Also, above, this section of the garden will be bare, empty, with so many herbaceous plantings during winter.
.
A lot to consider, above, about Garden Design, and personal choices of what you wish to look at in winter. And, excellent examples of using spike/round contrast.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
I grew up, as most Americans, without a vocabulary for gardens. Worse, after receiving a horticulture degree, I still had no proper, historic, of the ages, vocabulary for Garden Design. Garden Design and horticulture are 2 different professions. Toss in Agriculture, and you have 3 professions.
.
That's another rabbit hole of conversation, so, back to labeling the contrast technique used in the pics, below.
.
I've taught horticulture and Garden Design for over 20 years at a local college, and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. One of my favorite teaching tools is adding proper vocabulary to Garden Design photos. Name it to claim it. Never more be moved by beautiful garden photos, yet unaware how to describe them in detail.
.
Of course there is an entire TV industry of garden shows thriving on viewers lack of knowledge. Most often the ambush garden show, with fast before/after, are comedies of the wrong sort, dark comedy. If you know horticulture, aka plant care/culture/habit, you know how quickly the 'after' garden will fail. Discussing merit of those Garden Designs, mostly what I learned in college, incurves and outcurves, planting beds, drifts, accent plants, landscaping, all well represented. If you want any of that stuff, don't hire me. I won't do it. Historic, of the ages, that's my venue.
.
Beyond beautiful, below, it's historic Garden Design, and the plantings show deep knowledge of planting materials, aka horticulture. What is the contrast, below? The main contrast is spikey with rounded, followed with contrasting color of foliage, and contrasting foliage sizes, and contrasting layers of height. Four more elements, huge, below. You know horticulture well if you have already labeled the last 4 elements.
.
Drought tolerant plantings, below. Deer proof plantings, below. Disease resistant plantings, below. Insect resistant plantings, below. The last asset, below? All year interest, plenty of structure left for winter interest.
.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Same Garden Design conceit, above, but the plantings, aka horticulture, could be either fabulous or problematic depending upon your location/zone/elevation. Peonies & foxglove, classic spike/round combination.
.
In the deep south peonies can do well, but not the lush abundance of northern climates, and a dry, hot, southern spring/summer, will invite spider mites to the foxglove, and irrigation will be needed. Also, above, this section of the garden will be bare, empty, with so many herbaceous plantings during winter.
.
A lot to consider, above, about Garden Design, and personal choices of what you wish to look at in winter. And, excellent examples of using spike/round contrast.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Garden Design Class in a Pair of Pics
Attracted to the marvelous sliding doors, below, the wood stoop and small planters had me send this fabulous home & garden to my Pinterest Changes board. Lastly, a 3rd issue from garden to kitchen for the Changes board. Especially a home with young'ish children and these gorgeous interior wood floors.
.
A mini Garden Design course in 2 photos.
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Do you see all 3 changes immediately?
.
I'll give you a moment to look at both pics carefully. There is an easy inexpensive solution for the stoop, and a better, not inexpensive solution for the stoop. At the open sliding door threshold is a minor 4th issue. See the easy fix for issue 4?
.
Classic mistakes, below. Human nature ! At the front end, before getting a Horticulture degree, then traipsing Europe for 2+ decades studying historic gardens I made the same mistakes too. Once you know what the Garden Design mistakes are, your eye is trained to see them, correct them, easily, every time.
.
Of course there may be zero mistakes, below, solutions could already be designed, just not installed. A likely scenario if you take a tour of the interior, here.
.
Look at the pair of pics, below, again. Got your Garden Design solutions?
Pics, above, here.
.
Change #4, the door mats inside & outside should match. The tight space will enlarge, flow, and become more of a 'foyer' between inside/outside instead of the current abrupt divide. My choice would be a pair of door mats, large, similar in looks to the existing mat inside the home already.
.
Change #3, transition from beautiful stone terrace to gravel to wood stoop to interior of home. This change makes me smile, I made the same mistake as a garden designer in my 20's. Matching stone from the terrace should be installed into the gravel transitioning to the wood stoop. Why? Significantly reduces amount of gravel stuck in shoes, or paws, to be tracked inside, and gouging/scratching that beautiful wood floor.
.
Change #2, Dinky is Stinky, need much larger pots at those sliding doors, and wider apart, setting them left/right off the wood stoop. Remove 2 bushes at right of wood stoop, replace their planting bed with more gravel.
.
Change #1, will start with cheap/easy do it today. Stain the wood stoop same color as sliding doors. The house is much too elegant for this wood stoop left over from the set of F Troop. A more expensive change to the wood stoop, replace it with a single slab of stone, custom cut the same or a bit deeper. Wood stoop vs. stone landing. Already the verbage is a nicer story.
.
Again, seeing the interior of this home, I think the 'Change' layers I've mentioned are already on their to-do list. Their attention to detail quite wonderful.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Put that green extension cord under the gravel. I know you already thought that. A funny thing about gardening, the small victories. Just getting the cord buried is a big deal, having the door mats match.....
.
A mini Garden Design course in 2 photos.
.
Do you see all 3 changes immediately?
.
I'll give you a moment to look at both pics carefully. There is an easy inexpensive solution for the stoop, and a better, not inexpensive solution for the stoop. At the open sliding door threshold is a minor 4th issue. See the easy fix for issue 4?
.
Classic mistakes, below. Human nature ! At the front end, before getting a Horticulture degree, then traipsing Europe for 2+ decades studying historic gardens I made the same mistakes too. Once you know what the Garden Design mistakes are, your eye is trained to see them, correct them, easily, every time.
.
Of course there may be zero mistakes, below, solutions could already be designed, just not installed. A likely scenario if you take a tour of the interior, here.
.
Look at the pair of pics, below, again. Got your Garden Design solutions?
Pics, above, here.
.
Change #4, the door mats inside & outside should match. The tight space will enlarge, flow, and become more of a 'foyer' between inside/outside instead of the current abrupt divide. My choice would be a pair of door mats, large, similar in looks to the existing mat inside the home already.
.
Change #3, transition from beautiful stone terrace to gravel to wood stoop to interior of home. This change makes me smile, I made the same mistake as a garden designer in my 20's. Matching stone from the terrace should be installed into the gravel transitioning to the wood stoop. Why? Significantly reduces amount of gravel stuck in shoes, or paws, to be tracked inside, and gouging/scratching that beautiful wood floor.
.
Change #2, Dinky is Stinky, need much larger pots at those sliding doors, and wider apart, setting them left/right off the wood stoop. Remove 2 bushes at right of wood stoop, replace their planting bed with more gravel.
.
Change #1, will start with cheap/easy do it today. Stain the wood stoop same color as sliding doors. The house is much too elegant for this wood stoop left over from the set of F Troop. A more expensive change to the wood stoop, replace it with a single slab of stone, custom cut the same or a bit deeper. Wood stoop vs. stone landing. Already the verbage is a nicer story.
.
Again, seeing the interior of this home, I think the 'Change' layers I've mentioned are already on their to-do list. Their attention to detail quite wonderful.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Put that green extension cord under the gravel. I know you already thought that. A funny thing about gardening, the small victories. Just getting the cord buried is a big deal, having the door mats match.....
Monday, September 5, 2016
Choose the Classics: Add Your Character
This would be a fun Garden Show template, below. All entrees must use a day bed, 2 wicker chairs, wicker coffee table, wicker end table, the same amount of space, but after that, no rules. Color, cushions, accessories, free to choose.
.
The classics with infinite variety.
Pic, above, here.
.
Next to, above, I would like to see the entry belonging to modern cutting edge techno masculine.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
No budget for , above? Hunt/gather furniture basics, paint all the same color, you're on your way.
.
The classics with infinite variety.
Pic, above, here.
.
Next to, above, I would like to see the entry belonging to modern cutting edge techno masculine.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
No budget for , above? Hunt/gather furniture basics, paint all the same color, you're on your way.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Detail & Restraint
Monday, August 29, 2016
Good Looking Green Meatballs
This exception, below, was too many years arriving. Good looking, year round interest, not too much maintenance.
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What's the exception? These are green meatballs that look great, have an intellect, and finally proved me wrong about how horrible green meatballs are.
.
Most often green meatballs evolve in default. Perhaps you have some now, maybe you can look at them thru this prism, below. Poof, voila, create good green meatballs from bad.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Who knew even ugly green meatballs could have new life chapters?
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
What's the exception? These are green meatballs that look great, have an intellect, and finally proved me wrong about how horrible green meatballs are.
.
Most often green meatballs evolve in default. Perhaps you have some now, maybe you can look at them thru this prism, below. Poof, voila, create good green meatballs from bad.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
.
Who knew even ugly green meatballs could have new life chapters?
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
Friday, August 26, 2016
A Garden of the Mind: Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe
Immediately made me smile, the pun, below. Then, more closely, I marveled at the contouring. Please tell me you see the pun too.
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It's in the filled space vs. open space, the stone bridge. Wicked good. What a devious mind.
.
Back to the contouring. Who knows what this site began with. I do know the equipment & men to create it. I know the sound of the caterpillar, men's voices, shovels. Time. Finally, I know the sound of shovels stopping when I arrive, all those men's eyes, totally on my body language. My job is the finished garden, their job is getting it there. My boss is the client, their boss is Beloved. Even Beloved does that little 'freeze' thing, focused on my seeing the nearly completed project. The men know up front, it takes Beloved a bit longer, when I speak, I mean it. "The front right corner needs to be raised 3", and what's going on with the mid section of the upper rill to the left, didn't you pull a string on that, good job on the wonky tree, but why did you place the entire rill/pond/waterfall further up, I told you earlier the upper waterfall would need faux geometry..... ?", for starters. Each concern has a detailed answer. Sometimes Nature cannot be manipulated, I give in, other times a new solution must be found, while looking the same, other times, I am adamant. My job, at this critical juncture, is to be fierce. The men love the theatrics of this phase. Beloved with his 30 years experience, me with my 30 years experience, in discussions. Beloved's boss is the cash register. Tick-tock with men, equipment, materials, ring-ring goes the cash register. Hundreds of dollars/hour, every hour, just to be on site. Once all of the, above, has occurred there is another sound, men & shovels & caterpillar back to work, sweet. Sweeter still, a completed garden.
Pic, above, here.
.
Another bite of humor, above, squares & straight lines. In college is was all the incurves/outcurves blah-ti-bla-ti-nightmare to the 29th power.
.
I liked this garden, above, so much I had to follow the links, hoping to discover the designer. Great answer, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. Alas, having met and been able to spend time with Christopher Lloyd & Rosemary Verey, Sir Geoffrey got past me. A friend, director of Atlanta History Center, many years ago, hired Sir Geoffrey to pull together a master plan/vision statement for the center. Didn't learn of the visit till well past the event. So close....so close.
.
Pic, above, and to order, here.
Great title, above, exactly what Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe's gardens do to me, get in my mind, and stick.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Expense for labor, travel, materials, regulations, insurance, layers of government Atlas Shrugged, make operations needle sharp. For decades if a client pulled men off our work in the bid to clear a patch of kudzu or haul away a pile of debris, not in the bid, we could absorb. Now, the men are only allowed work within the bid. What seems merely a few guys spending an hour on weeds, is now several hundred dollars plus, at times, pushing travel into rush hour traffic, adding hundreds more dollars, toss in rain, delaying a day. The amount of money 1 hour of work outside the bid adds is outrageous. Then, the ridiculous expense of adding a 'tree'. The extra tree has its own pricing without reductions for quantity , from the nursery from the original bid, delivery overhead, and voila, that extra tree, costs as much as several of the original trees. Wildly crazy, but true economics of today's business model. Now, it's a change order for that pile of debris or pulling out kudzu. Never thought my industry would become like this.
.
Some neighborhoods have a fee for using their roads. One client, a large job, told us a few days into the work he did not want us working past 5pm. The bid was priced on work from sunrise/sunset. We lost, aka, added 3 days time to the work. Not listed in our bid, we absorbed the loss. Yep, pricing from sunrise/sunset now in the bid, change quitting time to 5pm, not a problem, change order.
.
Early this summer we filed for a work permit in the city of Atlanta. At the front end of the process we saw a local newscast, the city of Atlanta had fired most of its building permitting office including the director, corruption. Cost us almost a month of waiting, and other jobs were on a timeline with signed contracts. It gets worse, but all is done now, 97% done, we are so close to fall, their fescue backyard should wait, then all is 100% complete. I think of these things as getting another MBA.
.
It's in the filled space vs. open space, the stone bridge. Wicked good. What a devious mind.
.
Back to the contouring. Who knows what this site began with. I do know the equipment & men to create it. I know the sound of the caterpillar, men's voices, shovels. Time. Finally, I know the sound of shovels stopping when I arrive, all those men's eyes, totally on my body language. My job is the finished garden, their job is getting it there. My boss is the client, their boss is Beloved. Even Beloved does that little 'freeze' thing, focused on my seeing the nearly completed project. The men know up front, it takes Beloved a bit longer, when I speak, I mean it. "The front right corner needs to be raised 3", and what's going on with the mid section of the upper rill to the left, didn't you pull a string on that, good job on the wonky tree, but why did you place the entire rill/pond/waterfall further up, I told you earlier the upper waterfall would need faux geometry..... ?", for starters. Each concern has a detailed answer. Sometimes Nature cannot be manipulated, I give in, other times a new solution must be found, while looking the same, other times, I am adamant. My job, at this critical juncture, is to be fierce. The men love the theatrics of this phase. Beloved with his 30 years experience, me with my 30 years experience, in discussions. Beloved's boss is the cash register. Tick-tock with men, equipment, materials, ring-ring goes the cash register. Hundreds of dollars/hour, every hour, just to be on site. Once all of the, above, has occurred there is another sound, men & shovels & caterpillar back to work, sweet. Sweeter still, a completed garden.
Pic, above, here.
.
Another bite of humor, above, squares & straight lines. In college is was all the incurves/outcurves blah-ti-bla-ti-nightmare to the 29th power.
.
I liked this garden, above, so much I had to follow the links, hoping to discover the designer. Great answer, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. Alas, having met and been able to spend time with Christopher Lloyd & Rosemary Verey, Sir Geoffrey got past me. A friend, director of Atlanta History Center, many years ago, hired Sir Geoffrey to pull together a master plan/vision statement for the center. Didn't learn of the visit till well past the event. So close....so close.
.
Pic, above, and to order, here.
Great title, above, exactly what Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe's gardens do to me, get in my mind, and stick.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO T
.
Expense for labor, travel, materials, regulations, insurance, layers of government Atlas Shrugged, make operations needle sharp. For decades if a client pulled men off our work in the bid to clear a patch of kudzu or haul away a pile of debris, not in the bid, we could absorb. Now, the men are only allowed work within the bid. What seems merely a few guys spending an hour on weeds, is now several hundred dollars plus, at times, pushing travel into rush hour traffic, adding hundreds more dollars, toss in rain, delaying a day. The amount of money 1 hour of work outside the bid adds is outrageous. Then, the ridiculous expense of adding a 'tree'. The extra tree has its own pricing without reductions for quantity , from the nursery from the original bid, delivery overhead, and voila, that extra tree, costs as much as several of the original trees. Wildly crazy, but true economics of today's business model. Now, it's a change order for that pile of debris or pulling out kudzu. Never thought my industry would become like this.
.
Some neighborhoods have a fee for using their roads. One client, a large job, told us a few days into the work he did not want us working past 5pm. The bid was priced on work from sunrise/sunset. We lost, aka, added 3 days time to the work. Not listed in our bid, we absorbed the loss. Yep, pricing from sunrise/sunset now in the bid, change quitting time to 5pm, not a problem, change order.
.
Early this summer we filed for a work permit in the city of Atlanta. At the front end of the process we saw a local newscast, the city of Atlanta had fired most of its building permitting office including the director, corruption. Cost us almost a month of waiting, and other jobs were on a timeline with signed contracts. It gets worse, but all is done now, 97% done, we are so close to fall, their fescue backyard should wait, then all is 100% complete. I think of these things as getting another MBA.
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