Tiny Taxonomy

Elkin

tiny taxonomy t i n y

tiny taxonomy describes the practice of gardening

t a x o n o m y

and the implications of strict classification. It seems that as the world around us gains complexity and intricacy, our biological world is tending towards monotony. As our experiences become more and more uniform, our capacity to apprehend transformation and detail diminishes. Using the scale of the individual plant, smallness becomes a design opportunity while classification embraces the aliveness of plants.

Rosetta S. Elkin

Author, Graphic designer: Rosetta S. Elkin www.rse-landscape.com Graphics editor: Martin Pavlinic Copyeditor: Carolyn Wheeler Published by Actar Publishers, New York www.actar.com Distributed by Actar D Inc., New York 355 Lexington Avenue, 8th Floor. New York, NY 10017 T +1 212 966 2207 F +1 212 966 2214 salesnewyork@actar-d.com Barcelona Roca i Batlle 2 08023, Barcelona T +34 933 282 183 eurosales@actar-d.com Printed and bound in China ISBN 978-1-940291-83-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931208 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA. Copyright © 2016 Actar Publishers © 2016 Texts, Images, Graphics by the Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, altered, trimmed, laminated, mounted or combined with any text of image to produce any form of derivative work. Nor may any part of this book be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photographs, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission of the author.

International Garden Festival at Les Jardins de Métis, Grand-Métis, Québec, Canada Curated by Alexander Reford, in collaboration with François Leblanc, Carol St.Vincent, Patricia Gallant Photography Pages: Cover image, 10-11, 20-21, 24-25 Copyright © 2010, 2014 Louise Tanguay All other photographs Copyright © 2010, 2015 Rosetta S. Elkin The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Jordan Garden, Boston, MA Curated by Charles Waldheim, in collaboration with JoAnne Robinson Photography Pages: 48-49,50-51, 54-55, 66, 71 Copyright © 2013 George Bouret All other photographs Copyright © 2013 Rosetta S. Elkin Plant Nurseries and Support Harvey Wrightman, Wrightman Alpines Karen Perkins, Garden Vision Epimediums Noni Macon and Cayte Mcdonough, New England Wild Flower Society Elizabeth Kneiper, Lichenologist Chelsea Fringe Festival at Belgrave Square, London, UK Curated by Tim Richardson, with the support of Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive Cemetery Trust Photography Copyright © 2014 Rosetta S. Elkin Plants, Materials and Support Highgate Cemetery Adam Howe, Head Groundskeeper Stephanie Hsia, rse-landscape with special thanks to Ezra Lee, for everything.

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n grappling with the planetary, the megacity, the cycle, and the system, perhaps we have lost sight of what is right under our noses: plants.

Tiny Taxonomy counters this trend with a reminder to focus on the material, the biological and the experiential. As both personal and paradigmatic, Rosetta Elkin’s iterative installations unfold in the public realm, yet emerge from an artist’s individual sensibility to make, to discover, to dig, to plant. As a result, the work itself poses a direct challenge to broader disciplinary trends in the practice of landscape architecture.

Intentionally and not, across vast terrains, humans have replaced complex watershed ecosystems with monocultures of corn, soybean, and wheat to feed us, while “invasive” plants like Phragmites and Kudzu dominate our neglected or interstitial urban landscapes. Inside the profession, planted form has been taught for decades in the vein of modernism: spatial typologies of grove, allee, naturalistic clump and regimented bosque—namely, how to make spaces for us. But what about the plants themselves? In isolating species Rosetta forces us to individually confront their unique qualities, histories, vulnerabilities and textures. Perhaps it is this imaginative leap in perception of the intricate qualities and needs of vegetal life forms that may help stave off what has been coined the Sixth Extinction in plant and animal life.

Tiny Taxonomy forces not only a slackening of space, but also of time.

The picturesque tradition in landscape design emerged during the era of the horse carriage and leisurely stroll. In an era of driverless cars and jet fueled travel, what is the aesthetic of landscape today? Can we slow down for the spleenwort, make time for trillium? What goes for revolutionary in the landscapes of the future may be found in the idiosyncratic connection with the species right in front of us.

Kate Orff NYC, 2016

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n grappling with the planetary, the megacity, the cycle, and the system, perhaps we have lost sight of what is right under our noses: plants.

Tiny Taxonomy counters this trend with a reminder to focus on the material, the biological and the experiential. As both personal and paradigmatic, Rosetta Elkin’s iterative installations unfold in the public realm, yet emerge from an artist’s individual sensibility to make, to discover, to dig, to plant. As a result, the work itself poses a direct challenge to broader disciplinary trends in the practice of landscape architecture.

Intentionally and not, across vast terrains, humans have replaced complex watershed ecosystems with monocultures of corn, soybean, and wheat to feed us, while “invasive” plants like Phragmites and Kudzu dominate our neglected or interstitial urban landscapes. Inside the profession, planted form has been taught for decades in the vein of modernism: spatial typologies of grove, allee, naturalistic clump and regimented bosque—namely, how to make spaces for us. But what about the plants themselves? In isolating species Rosetta forces us to individually confront their unique qualities, histories, vulnerabilities and textures. Perhaps it is this imaginative leap in perception of the intricate qualities and needs of vegetal life forms that may help stave off what has been coined the Sixth Extinction in plant and animal life.

Tiny Taxonomy forces not only a slackening of space, but also of time.

The picturesque tradition in landscape design emerged during the era of the horse carriage and leisurely stroll. In an era of driverless cars and jet fueled travel, what is the aesthetic of landscape today? Can we slow down for the spleenwort, make time for trillium? What goes for revolutionary in the landscapes of the future may be found in the idiosyncratic connection with the species right in front of us.

Kate Orff NYC, 2016

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Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Les Jardins de MĂŠtis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A Perspective on Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Scale in Practice: The Role of Individual Plants . .

The Individualistic Concept of the Plant Association .

.

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

73 . 86

Belgrave Square. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

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Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Les Jardins de MĂŠtis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 A Perspective on Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Scale in Practice: The Role of Individual Plants . .

The Individualistic Concept of the Plant Association .

.

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

73 . 86

Belgrave Square. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

vi

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Fieldwork

F

<< Once established, these small Pincushion bluets become rugged plants that spread along edges, holding up four-petalled flowers on needle-like stems.

While they may apppear delicate or easily broken, plants recover or bounce back after a heavy rain or a light step. The name Bluet is often given to species that flower blue, while Houstonia commemorates the Scottish botanist and plant collector, W. Houstoun.

6

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ieldwork is commonly associated with quantifiable data collection, scientific observation, or site analysis. Traditionally, working “in the field” suggests that information gathered in situ must be transformed into knowledge, ex situ. As a project, Tiny Taxonomy proposes that first-hand experience is research, that transplanting is a project, and that displacement is a generative form of fieldwork. Each site offers a varied approach to deciphering the garden as a collection of interdependent plants, and as an exploration of the collaboration between plants and practices. At Les Jardins de Métis, the planting concept was motivated by the surroundings; the boreal forest experienced through the small plants of the forest floor, expressing their individual form and habit at eye level.

Les Jardins de Métis is a historic garden set along the St. Lawrence River, deep in the riches of the boreal forest. The shores of the river are not sandy or verdurous; rather, they reveal deep geologic varieties of endlessly striated granite. The deep curves of each bay seem wedged between swathes of thick evergreen forest and the heavy influence of tides. A variety of groundcover plants grow up in the understory of these dense forests, expanding and increasing under the humus-rich topsoil. Although minute, most groundcover plants are essential to the process of decomposition that builds the soil, the principal process of the lifecycle of the forest. The floor is also home to thousands of insects and animals that live amongst each species, which tend to have small leaves and inconspicuous flowers. Tiny Taxonomy places the plants of the boreal forest floor on display, bringing the tiniest specimens closer to eye level.

The original plan specified species such as Vaccinium boreale (Northern blueberry), Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry), Trillium grandiflorum (White Trillium) but commercially grown stock was difficult or impossible to trace with local plants so commonly found in profusion. Sweeps of groundcover species blanket the forest floor; coverage is so abundant that there is little demand to propagate for commercial use. Despite their ubiquity and accessibility in situ, it was challenging to source the plants or the mosses, lichens, and liverworts that are densely packed under each step. If the garden was to provide a mapping of local plant life—be it introduced or native—it became clear that the plants would have to be found and unearthed, not purchased.

The project resisted planning, so plants were gathered by scouring nearby woods, roadsides, and backyards. A design practice emerged from the simple gathering of specimens, and first-hand observation of their habit, which became a daily practice in fieldwork.

7

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Fieldwork

F

<< Once established, these small Pincushion bluets become rugged plants that spread along edges, holding up four-petalled flowers on needle-like stems.

While they may apppear delicate or easily broken, plants recover or bounce back after a heavy rain or a light step. The name Bluet is often given to species that flower blue, while Houstonia commemorates the Scottish botanist and plant collector, W. Houstoun.

6

Rosetta FINAL.indd 6-7

ieldwork is commonly associated with quantifiable data collection, scientific observation, or site analysis. Traditionally, working “in the field” suggests that information gathered in situ must be transformed into knowledge, ex situ. As a project, Tiny Taxonomy proposes that first-hand experience is research, that transplanting is a project, and that displacement is a generative form of fieldwork. Each site offers a varied approach to deciphering the garden as a collection of interdependent plants, and as an exploration of the collaboration between plants and practices. At Les Jardins de Métis, the planting concept was motivated by the surroundings; the boreal forest experienced through the small plants of the forest floor, expressing their individual form and habit at eye level.

Les Jardins de Métis is a historic garden set along the St. Lawrence River, deep in the riches of the boreal forest. The shores of the river are not sandy or verdurous; rather, they reveal deep geologic varieties of endlessly striated granite. The deep curves of each bay seem wedged between swathes of thick evergreen forest and the heavy influence of tides. A variety of groundcover plants grow up in the understory of these dense forests, expanding and increasing under the humus-rich topsoil. Although minute, most groundcover plants are essential to the process of decomposition that builds the soil, the principal process of the lifecycle of the forest. The floor is also home to thousands of insects and animals that live amongst each species, which tend to have small leaves and inconspicuous flowers. Tiny Taxonomy places the plants of the boreal forest floor on display, bringing the tiniest specimens closer to eye level.

The original plan specified species such as Vaccinium boreale (Northern blueberry), Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry), Trillium grandiflorum (White Trillium) but commercially grown stock was difficult or impossible to trace with local plants so commonly found in profusion. Sweeps of groundcover species blanket the forest floor; coverage is so abundant that there is little demand to propagate for commercial use. Despite their ubiquity and accessibility in situ, it was challenging to source the plants or the mosses, lichens, and liverworts that are densely packed under each step. If the garden was to provide a mapping of local plant life—be it introduced or native—it became clear that the plants would have to be found and unearthed, not purchased.

The project resisted planning, so plants were gathered by scouring nearby woods, roadsides, and backyards. A design practice emerged from the simple gathering of specimens, and first-hand observation of their habit, which became a daily practice in fieldwork.

7

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Les Jardins de Métis

20 Epimedium rubrum Red barrenwort 21 Phlox subulata ‘Rose’ Mountain phlox

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Vaccinium boreale Northern blueberry

22 Cypripedium acuale Pink lady’s slipper

2 Athyrium filix-femina Lady fern

23 Primula bulleesiana Candelabra Primrose

3 Cymbalaria pallida Toadflax

24 Cornus canadensis Bunchberry

4 Polygonatum biflorum Solomons seal

25 Waldsteinia fragarioides Barren strawberry

5

Maianthemum canadense Canada may flower

26

6

Dryopteris phegopteris Beech fern

7

Myosotis sylvatica Wood forget-me-not

8 Anenome multifida Poiret Dwarf windflower 9 Abies balsamea Balsam fir

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

10 Iris pumilla Dwarf iris 11 Convallaria majalis Lily of the valley

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

12 Houstonia caerulea Azure bluet 13 Scilla siberica Siberian squil

22

29

36

23

30

37

24

31

38

25

32

39

26

33

40

27

34

41

28

35

42

Sagina subulata Pearlwort

Athyrium filix-femina ‘Frizelliae’ Tatting fern

27 Claytonia virginica Fairy spuds 28 Leontopodium alpinus Edelweiss 29 Dianthus delt. ‘Flashing Light’ Maiden pink 30 Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Plumbago 31 Carex pensylvanica Common oak sedge 32 Aster alpinus ‘Albus’ Alpine aster 33 Primula vialii Poker primrose 34 Pilosella aurantiaca Devil’s paintbrush 35 Aruncus aethusifolius Dwarf goats beard

14 C arex spicata Spiked sedge

36 Armeria maritima ‘Laucheana’ Sea thrift

15 Sisyrinchium angustifolium Blue-eyed grass

37 Aquilegia flabellata ‘Ministar’ Fan columbine

16 Arenaria hookeri Sandwort

38 Fragaria x ‘ Shades of Pink’ Pink flowering strawberry

17 Primula florindae Cowslip

39 Campanula cochlearifolia Fairy thimble bellflower

18 Vaccinium vitis-idaea Lingonberry

40 Artemisia sp.

Western mugwort

19 Astilbe chinensis ‘Pumila’ Dwarf astilbe

41 Caltha palustris Marsh marigold 42 Saxifraga paniculata Livelong saxifrage

8

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Les Jardins de Métis

20 Epimedium rubrum Red barrenwort 21 Phlox subulata ‘Rose’ Mountain phlox

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Vaccinium boreale Northern blueberry

22 Cypripedium acuale Pink lady’s slipper

2 Athyrium filix-femina Lady fern

23 Primula bulleesiana Candelabra Primrose

3 Cymbalaria pallida Toadflax

24 Cornus canadensis Bunchberry

4 Polygonatum biflorum Solomons seal

25 Waldsteinia fragarioides Barren strawberry

5

Maianthemum canadense Canada may flower

26

6

Dryopteris phegopteris Beech fern

7

Myosotis sylvatica Wood forget-me-not

8 Anenome multifida Poiret Dwarf windflower 9 Abies balsamea Balsam fir

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

10 Iris pumilla Dwarf iris 11 Convallaria majalis Lily of the valley

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

12 Houstonia caerulea Azure bluet 13 Scilla siberica Siberian squil

22

29

36

23

30

37

24

31

38

25

32

39

26

33

40

27

34

41

28

35

42

Sagina subulata Pearlwort

Athyrium filix-femina ‘Frizelliae’ Tatting fern

27 Claytonia virginica Fairy spuds 28 Leontopodium alpinus Edelweiss 29 Dianthus delt. ‘Flashing Light’ Maiden pink 30 Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Plumbago 31 Carex pensylvanica Common oak sedge 32 Aster alpinus ‘Albus’ Alpine aster 33 Primula vialii Poker primrose 34 Pilosella aurantiaca Devil’s paintbrush 35 Aruncus aethusifolius Dwarf goats beard

14 C arex spicata Spiked sedge

36 Armeria maritima ‘Laucheana’ Sea thrift

15 Sisyrinchium angustifolium Blue-eyed grass

37 Aquilegia flabellata ‘Ministar’ Fan columbine

16 Arenaria hookeri Sandwort

38 Fragaria x ‘ Shades of Pink’ Pink flowering strawberry

17 Primula florindae Cowslip

39 Campanula cochlearifolia Fairy thimble bellflower

18 Vaccinium vitis-idaea Lingonberry

40 Artemisia sp.

Western mugwort

19 Astilbe chinensis ‘Pumila’ Dwarf astilbe

41 Caltha palustris Marsh marigold 42 Saxifraga paniculata Livelong saxifrage

8

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9

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Collection

1:1

Vaccinium macrocarpon Native cranberry

intention, content, audience, and the means by which the organizers enact their program. Given the sizeable dimensions of landscape architecture, its display is a task far from easy—a task made doubly challenging by the use of representations and surrogates to stand in for genuine places. Exhibitions, however, can be an effective means by which to inform, persuade and even delight a museum-going public.” 1 This inclination away from the artifact runs counter to the trend of garden installations, and reveals the prospect of returning to a scale of landscape-making that deals effectively with the living plant and its environment. A collection is always displaced through limiting circumstances, in order to stimulate further consideration. In other words, the act of displacement encourages reflection. Tiny Taxonomy displaces the plant within its environmental strata, displacing instead the larger context. Small plots of ground are extracted as habitats that demonstrate the remarkable formation of a plant, and more importantly its progress.

Repeat visits reward the museum-going public with the wonder of an inflorescence emerging from what had appeared weeks before as a simple stalk, as most of these plants share the adaptive trait of brightly colored, oversized flowers to attract pollinators. What may once have looked mundane or common would be transformed, cultivating an intimate acquaintance between subject and object.

Due to the range of habits represented by these tiny plants, each cylinder could barely describe a portion of its habitat, nevertheless the living plants settled into each miniature landscape, elucidating their individual adaptations. Plant structure is foregrounded over physical forces, so that a tendency for stems to proliferate could be observed by an abundance of such specimens. Plants that emerged opportunistically from crevices were carefully planted to explore their progress from beneath an unyielding rock.

Some plants, such as Daphne arbuscula, are rare in cultivation and are thought to be extinct in the wild. Therefore, the opportunity to present this miniature plant at eye level is equally an opportunity to observe its dense clusters and smell its fragrant pink flowers, not as a surrogate, but as a first hand encounter. At the same time, seemingly common plants like Vaccinium macrocarpon materialize as singular specimens, as this species of cranberry is the ancestor of the plants now hybridized for cultivation and planted in the bogs of Cape Cod and New Jersey. The distinction between common or rare becomes secondary to the remarkable adaption of evolving smallness.

1 Marc Treib, “Exhibiting Landscapes,” OASE 93 (2014) 40–51.

45

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Collection

1:1

Vaccinium macrocarpon Native cranberry

intention, content, audience, and the means by which the organizers enact their program. Given the sizeable dimensions of landscape architecture, its display is a task far from easy—a task made doubly challenging by the use of representations and surrogates to stand in for genuine places. Exhibitions, however, can be an effective means by which to inform, persuade and even delight a museum-going public.” 1 This inclination away from the artifact runs counter to the trend of garden installations, and reveals the prospect of returning to a scale of landscape-making that deals effectively with the living plant and its environment. A collection is always displaced through limiting circumstances, in order to stimulate further consideration. In other words, the act of displacement encourages reflection. Tiny Taxonomy displaces the plant within its environmental strata, displacing instead the larger context. Small plots of ground are extracted as habitats that demonstrate the remarkable formation of a plant, and more importantly its progress.

Repeat visits reward the museum-going public with the wonder of an inflorescence emerging from what had appeared weeks before as a simple stalk, as most of these plants share the adaptive trait of brightly colored, oversized flowers to attract pollinators. What may once have looked mundane or common would be transformed, cultivating an intimate acquaintance between subject and object.

Due to the range of habits represented by these tiny plants, each cylinder could barely describe a portion of its habitat, nevertheless the living plants settled into each miniature landscape, elucidating their individual adaptations. Plant structure is foregrounded over physical forces, so that a tendency for stems to proliferate could be observed by an abundance of such specimens. Plants that emerged opportunistically from crevices were carefully planted to explore their progress from beneath an unyielding rock.

Some plants, such as Daphne arbuscula, are rare in cultivation and are thought to be extinct in the wild. Therefore, the opportunity to present this miniature plant at eye level is equally an opportunity to observe its dense clusters and smell its fragrant pink flowers, not as a surrogate, but as a first hand encounter. At the same time, seemingly common plants like Vaccinium macrocarpon materialize as singular specimens, as this species of cranberry is the ancestor of the plants now hybridized for cultivation and planted in the bogs of Cape Cod and New Jersey. The distinction between common or rare becomes secondary to the remarkable adaption of evolving smallness.

1 Marc Treib, “Exhibiting Landscapes,” OASE 93 (2014) 40–51.

45

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1 6 11 16 21

2 7 12 17 22

3 8

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

13 18 23

4 9 14

1

rodium petraeum ssp.

E Crispum Alpine geranium

2

Primula auricula ‘Silverway’ Marginate primula

3

Epimedium x ‘Sunshowers’ Bishops hat

19 24

5 10 15 20 25

4 Linum elegans Toadflax

10 Lewesia x cotyledon Cliff maids

19 Epimedium sempervirens Bishop’s hat ‘Variegated #1’

11 Houstonia caerulea Azure bluet

20 Pelargonium endlicherianum Winterhardy pelargonium

12 Daphne arbuscula ‘Muran Castle’ Daphne

21 Campanula biebersteiniana Bellflower

Sarracenia purpurea Purple pitcher plant

13 Gautheria procumbens Eastern teaberry

22 Oxalis enneaphylla Scurvy-grass sorrel

6

Geranium sessiflorum v. nigricans Chocolate-leaf cranesbill

14 Draba bryoides Rough saxifrage

23 Sibbaldiopsis tridentata Shrubby fivefingers

15 Epimedium grandiflorum higoense Bishop’s hat ‘Bandit’

24 Vitaliana primuliflora v. cinerea Goldprimel

16 Ranunculus crenatus Crenate buttercup

25 Vaccinium macrocarpon Native cranberry

8 Androsace barbulata Rock jasmine

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18 Helianthemum apenninum White Rockrose

5

7 Epimedium x Omeiense ‘Akane’ Bishops hat

46

9 Vancouveria hexandra White inside-out flower

17 Sisyrinchium angustifolium Blue-eyed grass

47

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1 6 11 16 21

2 7 12 17 22

3 8

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

13 18 23

4 9 14

1

rodium petraeum ssp.

E Crispum Alpine geranium

2

Primula auricula ‘Silverway’ Marginate primula

3

Epimedium x ‘Sunshowers’ Bishops hat

19 24

5 10 15 20 25

4 Linum elegans Toadflax

10 Lewesia x cotyledon Cliff maids

19 Epimedium sempervirens Bishop’s hat ‘Variegated #1’

11 Houstonia caerulea Azure bluet

20 Pelargonium endlicherianum Winterhardy pelargonium

12 Daphne arbuscula ‘Muran Castle’ Daphne

21 Campanula biebersteiniana Bellflower

Sarracenia purpurea Purple pitcher plant

13 Gautheria procumbens Eastern teaberry

22 Oxalis enneaphylla Scurvy-grass sorrel

6

Geranium sessiflorum v. nigricans Chocolate-leaf cranesbill

14 Draba bryoides Rough saxifrage

23 Sibbaldiopsis tridentata Shrubby fivefingers

15 Epimedium grandiflorum higoense Bishop’s hat ‘Bandit’

24 Vitaliana primuliflora v. cinerea Goldprimel

16 Ranunculus crenatus Crenate buttercup

25 Vaccinium macrocarpon Native cranberry

8 Androsace barbulata Rock jasmine

Rosetta FINAL.indd 46-47

18 Helianthemum apenninum White Rockrose

5

7 Epimedium x Omeiense ‘Akane’ Bishops hat

46

9 Vancouveria hexandra White inside-out flower

17 Sisyrinchium angustifolium Blue-eyed grass

47

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Epimedium x Omeiense ‘Akane’ Bishop’s hat, Rowdy lamb herb, Barrenwort, Horny goat weed

54

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Epimedium x Omeiense ‘Akane’ Bishop’s hat, Rowdy lamb herb, Barrenwort, Horny goat weed

54

Rosetta FINAL.indd 54-55

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Rosetta FINAL.indd 104-105

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Author, Graphic designer: Rosetta S. Elkin www.rse-landscape.com Graphics editor: Martin Pavlinic Copyeditor: Carolyn Wheeler Published by Actar Publishers, New York www.actar.com Distributed by Actar D Inc., New York 355 Lexington Avenue, 8th Floor. New York, NY 10017 T +1 212 966 2207 F +1 212 966 2214 salesnewyork@actar-d.com Barcelona Roca i Batlle 2 08023, Barcelona T +34 933 282 183 eurosales@actar-d.com Printed and bound in China ISBN 978-1-940291-83-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931208 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA. Copyright © 2016 Actar Publishers © 2016 Texts, Images, Graphics by the Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, altered, trimmed, laminated, mounted or combined with any text of image to produce any form of derivative work. Nor may any part of this book be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photographs, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission of the author.

International Garden Festival at Les Jardins de Métis, Grand-Métis, Québec, Canada Curated by Alexander Reford, in collaboration with François Leblanc, Carol St.Vincent, Patricia Gallant Photography Pages: Cover image, 10-11, 20-21, 24-25 Copyright © 2010, 2014 Louise Tanguay All other photographs Copyright © 2010, 2015 Rosetta S. Elkin The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Jordan Garden, Boston, MA Curated by Charles Waldheim, in collaboration with JoAnne Robinson Photography Pages: 48-49,50-51, 54-55, 66, 71 Copyright © 2013 George Bouret All other photographs Copyright © 2013 Rosetta S. Elkin Plant Nurseries and Support Harvey Wrightman, Wrightman Alpines Karen Perkins, Garden Vision Epimediums Noni Macon and Cayte Mcdonough, New England Wild Flower Society Elizabeth Kneiper, Lichenologist Chelsea Fringe Festival at Belgrave Square, London, UK Curated by Tim Richardson, with the support of Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive Cemetery Trust Photography Copyright © 2014 Rosetta S. Elkin Plants, Materials and Support Highgate Cemetery Adam Howe, Head Groundskeeper Stephanie Hsia, rse-landscape with special thanks to Ezra Lee, for everything.

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Author, Graphic designer: Rosetta S. Elkin www.rse-landscape.com Graphics editor: Martin Pavlinic Copyeditor: Carolyn Wheeler Published by Actar Publishers, New York www.actar.com Distributed by Actar D Inc., New York 355 Lexington Avenue, 8th Floor. New York, NY 10017 T +1 212 966 2207 F +1 212 966 2214 salesnewyork@actar-d.com Barcelona Roca i Batlle 2 08023, Barcelona T +34 933 282 183 eurosales@actar-d.com Printed and bound in China ISBN 978-1-940291-83-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931208 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA. Copyright © 2016 Actar Publishers © 2016 Texts, Images, Graphics by the Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, altered, trimmed, laminated, mounted or combined with any text of image to produce any form of derivative work. Nor may any part of this book be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photographs, and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission of the author.

International Garden Festival at Les Jardins de Métis, Grand-Métis, Québec, Canada Curated by Alexander Reford, in collaboration with François Leblanc, Carol St.Vincent, Patricia Gallant Photography Pages: Cover image, 10-11, 20-21, 24-25 Copyright © 2010, 2014 Louise Tanguay All other photographs Copyright © 2010, 2015 Rosetta S. Elkin The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Jordan Garden, Boston, MA Curated by Charles Waldheim, in collaboration with JoAnne Robinson Photography Pages: 48-49,50-51, 54-55, 66, 71 Copyright © 2013 George Bouret All other photographs Copyright © 2013 Rosetta S. Elkin Plant Nurseries and Support Harvey Wrightman, Wrightman Alpines Karen Perkins, Garden Vision Epimediums Noni Macon and Cayte Mcdonough, New England Wild Flower Society Elizabeth Kneiper, Lichenologist Chelsea Fringe Festival at Belgrave Square, London, UK Curated by Tim Richardson, with the support of Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive Cemetery Trust Photography Copyright © 2014 Rosetta S. Elkin Plants, Materials and Support Highgate Cemetery Adam Howe, Head Groundskeeper Stephanie Hsia, rse-landscape with special thanks to Ezra Lee, for everything.

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Elkin

tiny taxonomy t i n y

tiny taxonomy describes the practice of gardening

t a x o n o m y

and the implications of strict classification. It seems that as the world around us gains complexity and intricacy, our biological world is tending towards monotony. As our experiences become more and more uniform, our capacity to apprehend transformation and detail diminishes. Using the scale of the individual plant, smallness becomes a design opportunity while classification embraces the aliveness of plants.

Rosetta S. Elkin