Rare people implement landscape design quickly. What is quick? One year is a blink of the eye in the landscape realm. Jeri Farmer, retired marketing guru, moved in a year ago. In retirement? She owns, Le Jardin Blanc, with Susanne Hudson.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
HEDGE ENTRY + ENFILADE
How's this, below, for a holly hedge? (Note, proper pruning, top slightly narrower than bottom.)Mystery, backdrop, entry, evergreen, drought tolerant, bug proof. Hitching posts are all antique. Now you see, below, what the hedge is embracing. Does it matter, anymore, the parking court is a mere 4' from the pool decking?
A fabulous ENFILADE, above.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
STREET VISIT WITH A CLIENT LANDSCAPE
SHIPMEN invited me to a picnic yesterday. Thought you would like a few street views of their landscape. Path & perennial border, below, led them to hire me. Years ago.Don't you love this hint of entry, below, luring you further? SHIPMEN purchased their neighbor's backyard and extended their garden beyond the entry, above. A few steps further, below, and you see their gate.
A few steps more, below, and you realize the entry is an ENFILADE.Entering the gate, above, but before arriving at the 2nd gate, welcoming urns of geraniums. Notice the lattice walls, below, painted black. Perfect.
Sneaking thru their garden, because I could, and I knew you would want to peak into their conservatory, below. A hint of one FETISH.
SHIPMEN adore antique chandeliers. They're shipped home from across the globe.SHIPMEN use their conservatory for dining & plant propagation. It's not for show.
Leaving thru the same gate, above. These were only street views. Tempted to see more?
Leaving thru the same gate, above. These were only street views. Tempted to see more?
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Saturday, July 18, 2009
GARDEN VIEWS FROM THE MUDROOM
Every window should have a garden view. Penny, below, has several good views.
Friday, July 17, 2009
LAVENDER HILL
AUNT is finally ensconced upon her 100+ acres. I helped design her previous landscape.
This landscape: sunny, dry, windy, large. AUNT, a busy woman, has a great eye & depth of feeling. Understanding the constraints? Design a landscape to inspire & feed the soul.
Low maintenance.
UNCLE is on the tractor, a crew weed-eats the edges. At lunch, below, mixed greens+roasted walnuts+goat cheese+strawberries+blueberries, and artisanal bread, I asked AUNT, What do you miss about your other garden?
It was on acreage too and included a small walled garden, vegetable garden and fruit orchard. She missed, Having a little place to take care of without help.
Reclaimed timbers in the living room, above. Seeing her furniture in a new home. Some of the pieces inherited from her mother, MISS LOUISE, and, aunt, AUNT TILLIE. Mentors to her, and me.
My own home & garden with things inherited from MISS LOUISE & AUNT TILLIE. Their gardens within us both. Their love too.
A guest bath, above. I recognized the mirror from AUNT's previous home.
A bedroom, above. With AUNT TILLIEs vanity & MISS LOUISE's mirror. Great light and views 180 degrees while laying in bed. Garden views. Wanting so much to get this landscape right.
Portions of the home are 1-room deep. Views of acreage spanning north-south.
A bank of 5 pair French doors, above. (My little camera couldn't shoot them all.)
AUNT's previous home had a stunning dining room window too.
Dining room, above, is not finished.
Clothes line, above, will be stained the trim color of the home. And French lavender planted. Screened porch, above, off the main rooms + kitchen. AUNT, a wonderful cook, wanting a tiny spot to charcoal grill & herb garden. AUNT wanting herbs in large pots. Of course, they'll go here nearest the kitchen.
On the way to AUNT's property, herd of decorator cows.
Trees + evergreen shrubs, the bones, are already placed. My job? Flowering, and fragrant, shrubs + trees sequenced to have something different coming into bloom every 2 weeks.
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Magic? All landscapes NEED magic. Don't you want your soul stirred? It's the shaking of our soul, at least mine, taking me into the garden.
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This site perfect, front to back, for lavender. Sunny & dry. Low maintenance. Fragrant. And those winds? They will scent the air with lavender even when not in bloom. The winds are strong enough to rub lavender leaves against each other.
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FRENCH LAVENDER. Will use a few Spanish lavender too. Spanish lavender blooms before the French, are darker purple, less fragrant, & look like butterfly wings.
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French Lavender is the magic of AUNT's garden.
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AUNT is already living at Lavender Hill. Thoughts of a garden are that strong.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Thursday, July 16, 2009
MISSIONS & PAINTS & OBITS
Faded green, color-matched from a House & Garden magazine picture circa 1990's. The home was in England, owned by a couturier to the Queen. My trim had been white. (Blinds, above, are always open but lowered to prevent birds smashing.)
Antique iron gates, Egyptian, late-Victorian, arrived rusted with hints of Robin's egg blue. It became the color for all the iron in my garden, above.
This chair, above, arrived, from Wal-Mart circa 1990's, already stained. Ick.
Original stain finally wore away and I stained, above, the chair Saturday. You knew, of course, I do these chores myself? Then, as it dried on the patio the rains came.
Choices had to be made, above, painting this iron gate with wood post. Stain the wood, as all the wood is stained, faded green, or go with Robin's egg blue? After that, choosing the bird's color was easy.
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Robin's Egg Blue: from Lowe's color matched, Olympic exterior oil gloss, base 4-73704, B57-3, Kingston Aqua exterior gloss oil, 101-24 102-28 103-3 Flat egg Sat s/g gloss. Note, they don't sell oil anymore.
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Faded Green: from Lowe's color matched, Olympic maximum, Deck Fence & Siding Stain. 100% acrylic Latex Formula, clear base, custom color, manual dispense 113-5Y40.5 115-2Y1.5 114-2Y47 102-1Y8.5
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Staining teak or an arbor aren't easy choices. My regret was waiting to make choices. The colors never bore. They are different in shade, sun, morning, evening, rain & etc.
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Painting & staining in the garden completed the interiors of my home.
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I live from the center of my home to the property line. Before, I only lived from the center of my home to its walls.
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A delightful obituary in the NYTimes Tuesday for Edward Durell Stone, Jr., landscape architect included, ...Most recent honor , the ASLA Landmark Award co-sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Presevation for PepsiCo's world headquarters in Purchase, NY was particularly gratifying. Designed over thirty years ago, PepsiCo's corporate campus was recognized for its excellence and inspiration to its people and their purpose.
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Why do anything less for yourself?
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A home & garden to inspire your daily life & your purpose in this world.
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Reminds me of something from Oprah magazine, What is your life the answer to?
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
GARDEN SHOPPING
Will stain lattice boxes, wall brackets, & white lantern green to match the rest of the wood in my garden. Chickenwire cloches will be painted Robin's egg blue to match other iron. Tiny blue/white pots, above, were only $1. Bought all they had, only 4.
Hope you already know about Marshall's & TJMaxx for your garden. Granite gravel, #89, along with other bulk materials is available from Stone Forest.
For plants, locally, try: Buck Jones, Land Arts, Wilkerson Mill, Piccadilly, Goodness Grows, Ashe-Simpson, Pikes, Hastings, Habersham Gardens, & the ubiquitous big boxes.
Good pots, don't buy any other kind, are a specialty at Four Seasons Pottery.
Garage sales & rescues are necessary to every good landscape. Scott Antique Market, 2nd weekend each month, helps you create magic in your garden.
Nursery, 4 pics above, I shot in England at an estate garden open to the public. A fantasy. Where we all want to shop for plants, service, accouterments. Instead, gardens come together via hunting & gathering. Much hunting & gathering.
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It's odd, gardening is a multi-billion/yr industry yet so difficult to shop for.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
PLINTH, TALL & BOLD
Tall plinths are uncommon in gardens. Even less common for purchase. Do you know what a plinth is? Pedastals are plinths. I shot these in a private garden in England. Plinth, above, is a repurposed column. What a fun day it was capping the column with its focal point. Wish I had been there for the excitement.
In comparison to the first pic, not tall, but this plinth is taller than the average plinth in America.
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No budget for a plinth? Stack stones or bricks and make your own.
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My eyes are forever scouring junk piles for treasures. I rescued a plinth once, regrettably not tall but it is late Victorian and quite heavy, made of iron.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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