Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Vertical Gardening

Every garden must have at least 1 cone shaped evergreen. Draw eyes to the sky. More about this Italian garden, above, here.
Gertrude Jekyll, famous landscape designer, said, "The first thing I consider is what to put on the house." At zero point in college or symposia has anyone said this to me. Took this pic in France, a private garden. In addition to vines on a house, I like espaliered woody flowering shrubs, they need no trellis or wire.
Vertical gardening on a tiny subdivision lot, above, canopy & understory trees with climbing roses. If Monet could have a climbing rose thru his understory trees, so can I. That's my garden, above. The window? It's where I'm typing this post.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
.
Quite selfish leading with the pic I took in Italy. A garden brimming with epiphanies. While I was in it and after.
.
3 Vertical Gardening concepts, get started.
.
Garden Designers Round Table: MORE Vertical Gardening Posts !!
.

Garden Up!When you hear the phrase “vertical gardening,” what comes to mind? You might think about roses scrambling up a trellis, or an overhead arbor dripping with wisteria. Those with a contemporary aesthetic may envision a mosaic of succulents hung on an outdoor wall, while edible gardeners see a riotous mix of creative containers, with tomatoes and peas reaching for the sun.

Vertical gardening is all those things and more. To celebrate the publication of Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces by roundtable members Susan Morrison and Rebecca Sweet, this month our designers share their own unique perspectives on this exciting garden trend.

Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK
Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX »
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In the Garden : Los Altos, CA »
Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT »
Susan Morrison : Blue Planet Garden Blog : East Bay, CA »
Tara Dillard : Vanishing Threshold : Atlanta, GA »

10 comments:

  1. HMMMMM. Spring is sort of here and I am thinking about my garden/s. I would like something more vertical. I will think about this; we do have that chest from which peas grow. And an old and tall wood ladder which I have been meaning to get some plants to grow up around. Yesterday's snow is mostly gone; maybe a walk in the yard is warranted for inspiration today. I had better hurry as it is supposed to snow again tonight. But these Spring snow storms soon disappear from the ground and I have heard are good for our gardens!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Now I'm filled with a strange desire to visit Italy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have an extremely ancient and very tall cypress in our back yard that we just love. The shape adds a completely different focal point amongst all of the other large and old trees back there. Sadly, a storm really damaged it several years ago and it's hasn't been able to 'heal' itself very well. If we have to remove it, we're going to definitely replace it with another of the same, plus, the raccoons would miss it as they love pulling the branches down to scrath the tops of their heads!

    Love your images...and thanks so much for the follow! I LOVED meeting another George fan (your comment cracked me up!).

    xo Jessica

    ReplyDelete
  4. How have I never heard of this fantastic quote "The first thing I consider is what to put on the house"??? Thank you SO much for sharing that with me, and for your beautiful photos. I've been to Italy twice, and share your love of that magical place. And lucky, lucky you to write in such a beautiful home with such a beautiful view!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tara, I love the quote from Gertrude Jekyll! I had not heard it before, but it does emphasize the idea that the design should emanate from the house - the dominant vertical planes on almost any site. Thanks for sharing your ideas here!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very good ideas, though in the desert SW, most of our buildings are low-slung and often don't work in their context with culumnar or fastiagate trees.

    That said, I admit all the 1960's neighborhoods in the foothills look great the way their huge Cupressus sempervirens and C. sempervirens 'Stricta' accent the skies and distant views downhill, to the west. You have me thinking again, P. Barbuda...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dreaming again of Italy thanks to you! Tall spires of evergreen reaching upward, upward, upward. That is indeed vertical gardening!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tara,

    Inspirational as always! I have always loved the vertical drama of the Cypress, but alas not hardy here. Our native Juniper does however mimic in certain cultivars, but finding the right garden space in New England is a challenge.

    Best,

    Scott

    ReplyDelete
  9. Frank Lloyd Wright did say you can fix any architecture with vines):-

    I came of age when the evergreens availiable in SoCal were so overgrown or prone to disease... I'm just now "over" having divorced the few we had when we moved in. Am starting to research what will work here.

    Thank you for the inspriation.

    ReplyDelete