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contents

APRIL 2009

FEATURES 48 Snake Bitten Sometimes called snake plants and other times mother-inlaw's tongue, sansevierias are bulletproof— ideal for beginning gardeners and top-drawer designers alike, at home in the garden or indoors in planters. BY JENNY ANDREWS

56 California Dreamin' When his client moved from the East Coast to San Rafael, California, and fell in love with an Eichler house, Davis Dalbok created the ultimate companion garden for it — complete with boldly colored and shaped plants, defined outdoor rooms and a midcentury spirit. BY MEGAN PADILLA

66 A Pool by Jungle & Sea The cascading jungle of Rio's hills are a dramatic backdrop to a contemporary pool garden designed by Sao Paulobased architect and landscape designer Paulo Pratti for this Brazilian getaway. BY PAULA DE LA CRUZ 74

Holding Court

ON THE COVER

Made Wijaya's glorious garden at Villa Kirana realizes a family's wish list for their fantasy of a Balinese landscape: a lush water garden, a dramatic classical Balinese garden

Designed by Eric Groft of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, this Southampton garden is not only stylish, it's sustainable.

and lots of interesting elements. BY JOANNA FORTNAM

Story on page 45. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD FELBER.

GARDEN DESIGN

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Kalamazoo has been bringing gourmet lifestyles outdoors for more than 100 years. Today we offer everything you need t o build the ultimate outdoor cooking and entertaining retreat.

Hybrid grills that cook with charcoal, wood and gas. Outdoor refrigerators, wine chillers, ice makers and keg tappers. Pizza ovens, wok cooktops and lobster boilers. Weather-tight kitchen cabinets. Even design support from our outdoor kitchen experts.

You and your garden deserve a custom outdoor kitchen from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.

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contents

DEPARTMENTS 8

36

SWATCH WATCH Textiles in elegant hues emanate a relaxing vibe in a garden room cast as a spalike sanctuary.

38

GARDEN GOURMET Is your garden space little more than a glorified patio? No matter. Your fully outfitted outdoor kitchen awaits.

FROM THE EDITORS

13

CONTRIBUTORS

15

FRESH Flora Grubb's living wall; (enny Andrews loves Drimiopsis; One to Watch: Courtney McRickard; Philadelphia parks, nurseries and more.

24

PLANT PALETTE Now seen in glowing new colors, calla lilies surely belong in the garden — and in vases and containers.

32

STYLE All these small things have big impact: spacesaving designs for the garden that pack a lot of punch.

45

LIVING GREEN A four-season, low-maintenance garden in the Hamptons showcases the signature style of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates.

GROUNDBREAKER As a cross between New York City's industrial past and a synthesis of landscape architecture, ecology and art. James Corner's High Line will be a garden in the sky.

86

LANDSCAPE Garden curator and "vision keeper" Sadafumi Uchiyama is defining the integrity of the Pordand Japanese Garden while bringing a new level of public engagement.

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SOURCEBOOK A listing of the products and services mentioned and shown in our pages.

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ON DESIGN Julie Moir Messervy's new book, Home Outside, lays out her design theory. The long and short of it? She finds ways to create a sense of comfort in the garden — for playing, eating, frolicking. "You can event tryst there," she says.

For more, go to gardendesign.com.

POSTAL I N F O R M A T I O N Garden Design, Number 158 (ISSN 0733-4923). Published 7 times per year Uanuary/February, March, April. May. July/August, September/October. November/December) by Bonnier Corporation, P.O. Box 8500, Winter Park, FL 32790. ©Copyright 2009, all rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without consent of the copyright owner. Periodicals postage paid at Winter Park, FL. and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S.: S23.95 for one year, S39.95 for two years. Canadian subscribers add S8.00 per year, foreign subscribers add S21.00 per year. For subscription information, please call 800-513-0848. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Garden Design, P.O. Box 421145, Palm Coast, FL 32142-1145. For faster service, please enclose your current subscription label. Occasionally, we make portions of our subscriber list available t o carefully screened companies that offer products and services we think may be of interest to you. If you do not want to receive these offers, please advise us at 1-800-513-0846. EDITORIAL: Send correspondence to Editorial Department, Garden Design, P.O. Box 8500, winter Park, FL 32790; E-mail: gardendesign@bonniercorp.com. We welcome all editorial submissions, but assume no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited materiaL ADVERTISING: Send advertising materials to RR Donnelley 8 Sons Company, Lancaster Premedia Center, Attn: Garden Design Ad Management Module, 216 Greenfield Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Phone: 717-4812851. Retail sales discounts available; contact Circulation Department. Following are trademarks of Garden Design and Bonnier Corporation, and their use by others is strictly prohibited: Fresh; Growing; Style; Sage Advice; On Design.

6 GARDEN DESIGN

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IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS OF COURSE SIZE MATTERS. A LARGE space should be planned one way — a small space another. Small spaces (small gardens, that is) d e m a n d perfection in their makeu p because they are so intimate. Their every element is under the microsope, and one false move easily overwhelms the eye. A tiny courtyard s u r r o u n d i n g a h i d e o us fountain is a complete failure even if the plants and hardscape are gorgeous. Place that same water feature in the heart of an estate garden, and its impact is lessened by the many other views.

In our feature California Dreamin', p. 56, Davis Dalbok, who designed an immaculately detailed outdoor-living garden for his friend and client, carved up the San Rafael yard into distinct rooms, each with its own use. When moving through the garden, you experience a series of moods and activities that you might not expect in such a small area.

We discover in Lauren Grymes' Garden Gourmet column, p. 38, that even the smallest of outdoor spaces has room for kitchen additions. The electric condo grill and the sleek serving cart both bring fullservice style to a tiny patio or balcony.

Columnist Damaris Colhoun culled t h r o u g h h e r findings from shows on both sides of the Atlantic to present a short list of t h e coolest space-saving pieces for o u t d o o r s in t h is m o n t h ' s Style department, p. 32. A dual-purpose

dividing wall serves as a plant display, and a modular coffee table opens up to become a dining table — these are two innovations that match function with elegance.

Look for more great ideas along these lines in our feature Snake Bitten, p. 48, with its plethora of container concepts for indoors and out. Also, Flora Grubb's living wall, p. 15, proves once and for all that sometimes the best things come in small packages.

SARAH KINBAR/EDITOR

ON THE WEB

Architectural Products www.hanoverpavers.com 800.426.4242

One of Garden Design's most exciting new ventures is the launch of our editor's blog, found at gardendesign.com. Here, I've been posting everything from short book reviews t o highlights of upcoming events that appeal to garden enthusiasts (the Venice Garden & Home Tour will be a bastion of gorgeous gardens that offer the same kinds of

pithy design nuggets this issue does). My favorite feature on the blog is the "Hot New Project" Q S A's. where I do a brief interview with a designer whose recent work has caught my eye. Lately, I've interviewed Calvin Abe, Heather Lenkin and Raymond Jungles, and there are many more Q S A's to come. I post several times a week, so keep checking back!

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contributors ALL THE SMALL THINGS

We asked our contributors: What is the best spacesaving idea you've seen ortried in a small garden?

■< Megan Padilla, senior editor and writer, Fresh and California Dreamin', pp. 15 and 56: "The Davis Dalbok garden featured in this issue is not large at all. I love how he placed a massive mirror against the fence behind layers of plantings and the edge of the basalt patio. The mirror goes mostly unnoticed but creates the illusion of an extended part of the garden that isn't there at all."

> Shawn Bean, writer. Fresh, p. 15: "When I lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side, I discovered this amazing garden while walking to Central Park. Built into the slim gap between two high-rises, the garden had roses, wildflowers, ornamental grasses and trellises with bougainvillea. For an island that has made room for 8 million people, this was the city's best use of a tiny space."

< Rob Cardillo, photographer. Plant Palette, p. 24: "Small gardens, including mine, tend to be overcrowded. We keep shoehorning new plants into densely populated beds and allow established plantings too much freedom. I'm slowly learning that good gardeners prune ruthlessly, thin vigorously and chuck out underperformers. The art is always in the edit."

Beautiful Outdoor Spaces, and find out how you can spend more time outdoors, g o t o www.outdoorspaces.com

► Tovah Martin, writer, Plant Palette and Landscape, pp. 24 and 86: "When I achieve the plant version of perpetual motion, that's when I feel that space is utilized to the max.

Efficiency at its finest is threading spring bulbs between Callicarpa shrubs before they leaf out, then turning the action over to hardy geraniums and phlox bedded beneath before chasing it with heirloom purple cabbage when the Callicarpa is in berry."

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We're passionate about beautiful landscapes, and we know you are too. That's why we are working with some of our favorite organizations to unearth volunteer opportunities that go a long way toward preserving and beautifying some of America's most-loved gardens.

Garden Desi

GIVESBACK

This spring, help us support The Garden Conservancy by becoming a hands-on advocate at designated gardens that host volunteer days. Here is a sampling of sites near you; you'll find a complete list of the organization's volunteer opportunities at gardendesign.com.

Longue Vue House and Gardens #7 Bamboo Road New Orleans, LA 70124 >• Every Thursday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Light refreshments provided A. Graham, 504-669-4105 agraham@longuevue.com longuevue.com

Alcatraz Historic Gardens Project Alcatraz Island San Francisco, СА94123 >■ Wednesday and Friday mornings Preregistration required Shelagh Fritz, 415-561 -4900 slritz@gardenconservancy.org nps.gov/alcatraz

John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden Mill Neck, (Long Island) New York >• Ongoing volunteer opportunities Mary С Schmutz, 516-676-4486 strollgardenl @verizon.net humesjapanesestrollgarden.org

The Ruth Bancroft Garden 1552 Bancroft Road Walnut Creek, СА 94598 >■ Plant Propagation Facility: 1st and 3rd Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. >• Garden Maintenance: Ongoing opportunities 925-944-9352 ruthbancroftgarden.org

IMAGE ABOVE: A view of the West Side Gardens below the cell house on Alcatraz Island, maintained by the Alcatraz Historic Gardens Project.

GREEN-WALL DESIGNERS

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ONE TO WATCH: COURTNEY MCRICKARD

vertical solutions

What options do you have when faced with a garden not much larger than a closet?

If you are San Francisco garden designer Flora Grubb, you tile it in slate and add a planting bed, an outdoor bathtub and a vertical garden. Says Grubb: "It sounds like way too much, doesn't it? And yet when it was done, I think we accomplished more with this space than most gardens 10 times the size. It is interesting, peaceful and endlessly fun to look at."

I LOVE THIS PLANT

WHEN IN PHILADELPHIA

The concept for the focal point of Grabb's garden was hatched at her San Francisco nursery and showroom Flora Grubb Gardens.

"The concept of vertical gardening has been creating a huge buzz around my store. The more that people see images of Patrick Blanc's work [the French inventor of Le Mur Vegetal, as it is known Drought-tolerant Sempervivum takes well to the vertical planter. In the bed below, the foxtail asparagus fern was used to soften the look and give it movement, while the succulents mixed in pick up colors from the wall garden.

GARDEN

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15

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in France], the more excited they get. We can't keep books on the subject in stock, and our customers have been asking us to do this type of installation for them. This was a perfect opportunity to try it out."

Perfect because in this case, Grubb and her fiance, Kevin Smith, who is also a builder, were the clients. Working with their best friend, architect Seth Boor, the trio transformed a tiny cottage — that for more than 50 years was Betty May's School of Tap — behind their home in the Mission District of San Francisco into cozy living quarters with about a 40-square-foot garden.

Grubb found that weight posed the largest challenge to building a vertical garden. Their solution was to customize a wall to provide both strength to hang the planting structure on as well as to hide an irrigation system that is piped into the back of the piece. The water then drips down into the planting bed below.

As for the garden itself, Grubb chose succulents for their hardiness and for their jewel-box look. "Putting a frame around the plants and hanging them on the wall like a work of art makes you think differently about them. You see them in this unexpected context and it makes them even more fascinating. It reminds me of a mandala [a geometric design representing the universe and used as a spiritual aid in meditation]. It draws you in."

When it comes to her small-space garden, Grubb says: "The lesson is that less is more only when more is too much. Let your small garden spaces live large." floragrubb.com — MEGAN PADILLA 16 G A R D E N D E S I G N

APRIL 09

GREEN-WALL DESIGNERS >■ Jane Hansen of Lango Hansen Landscape Architects led her team in repurposing the exterior of an outdated Portland, Oregon, Days Inn Hotel into the oh-so-relevant Hotel Modera. The focal point is a green-wall system comprised of l-foot-by-l-foot planted cells — each containing only one species of plant — arranged in a grid pattern. Next up? A green wall for an interior lobby space that will call upon a palette of tropical plants, langohansen.com >■ When faced with designing plantings for an 800-square-foot, year-rounduse rooftop garden on a Manhattan brownstone, Michael Madarash of KokoBo Plantscapes added a 14-foot-tall vertical garden comprised entirely of sedums. His firm has been experimenting at its garden center for about two years and has a half-dozen vertical gardens soon t o be installed. Says Madarash, "While cost may be prohibitive in certain situations, everyone is interested!" kokobo.com >- Boston's third-generation floral designer Winston Flowers has launched a new branch of the business: custom garden design and installation. On their hot list? Green walls. Winston made a splash in certain circles with a temporary wall created for the 2008 charity event, Dining by Design, last year in Boston. Though the installation was created out of cut materials, the design firm has all its suppliers tagged to provide the real thing, winstonflowers.com

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COURTNEY MCRICKARD

Outdoor Living

COLORS OF HAWAII When San Diego interior designer and colorist Kathleen Roarty wanted to create a livable outdoor room, she searched in vain for designer pillows that could work under "real life" situations. The result was the launch last summer of Mint Pillows, three lines of indoor-outdoor pillows each inspired by her family's worldwide travels. Roarty recently fell in love with Hawaii, discovering its aloha, or spirit, and its connecting themes of lush flora, ocean, volcanic soil and rich culture. These elements translated into the Aloha line (pictured). "The colors I chose represent the overlying green of Hawaii and the blue-violet tone captured at both sunrise and sunset. Both colors complement the turquoise ocean and the sand," says Roarty. The flora on each honors the ubiquitous state flower, the hibiscus, and the Monstera leaf. Each pillow is silk-screened and sewn by hand, and a portion of the proceeds is donated to various charitable and environmental organizations — the aloha spirit indeed. $96 each, mintpillows.com — MP

18 GARDEN DESIGN

APRIL 09

Courtney McRickard (above) of Three Sixty Design used water in an urban Denver residence (right) to unify the space and drown out distracting noise. In another project (below), she used her client's love of art to create a focal point outdoors.

Courtney McRickard is talking — and talking and talking — about different species of bamboo, eco-friendly concrete and recycled glass.

Sustainable design is McRickard's passion as well as the focus of her Denver, Colorado, landscape-design firm. Three Sixty Design.

While the 35-year-old is juggling several projects in and around the Rockies, she's most excited about volunteering for PlatteForum, a community art center in Denver where innercity kids create artwork and assist master artists with their installations. Her contribution, a 1,300-square-foot urban garden fashioned mainly from sustainable materials, will be completed this fall. — SHAWN C. BEAN

Q: What landscape designs have inspired you?

A: I love Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C, and any of Virginia's James River plantations, including Evelynton Plantation, Shirley and Westover.

Q What are the trademarks of a Courtney McRickard design ?

A: I analyze a site, understand its parameters and let the land reveal its own design. As designers, we're taught to instill our creativity on a space. But the best way is to let the space continue on through the years and to recognize and respect what it wants and needs.

Qj Tell me about your work with PlatteForum.

A: With the help of the local kids and two senior horticulturalists from the Denver Botanic Gardens, I'm creating an urban garden with sustainable materials. There are steel gabion walls that we're filling with urban refuse — colorful glass bottles, felled limbs from winter storms — to demonstrate how urban waste can be reused in an artful way.

Q Why has sustainable design been such a large part of PlatteForum ?

A: The museum's design team wanted to raise awareness about the urban environment and how recycled materials from that same environment can be used in creative ways. Plus, sustainable design is an essential part of any landscape architect's education.

Cutting Edge

CHRYSANTHEMUM, MEET LE CORBUSIER Every day after school, Karla Dascal's mother took her to a floral market in Little Havana, Miami, where the sunflowers, gerbera daisies and bird-of-paradise listed in their water-filled buckets. This experience ignited Dascal's passion for fresh flowers. Or as her company's mission statement puts it: "Florals are Karla's soul transformed into a million-dollar art form." After studying art, architecture and design in Boston, Dascal returned to Miami and began selling roses imported from Ecuador. "They were these sensational, salmoncolored roses that would last ю days," Dascal recalls. That budding enterprise has since bloomed into — deep breath — Karla Conceptual Event Experiences, a full-service event-planning firm in Miami's Wynwood Art District that handles invitation design, event decor,

lighting and of course sculptural floral design, Dascal's trademark.

"Whenever you see one of my floral designs, you know it's from me," she says. "When I began, people were still doing these big European arrangements. We streamlined things and made them more architectural." The Mix (pictured here) is a perfect example. Every arrangement starts with freshly imported flowers, in this case, South American chrysanthemums, Dutch tulips and New Zealand flax leaves. "This arrangement alone represents three continents," notes Dascal. Add some traditional architectural materials — steel wire and glass — then reshape the flax leaves into Japanese calligraphic brushstrokes, and "you have art," Dascal says proudly. "Fresh, design-driven art." karlaevents.com — SCB APRIL

09

GARDEN

DESIGN

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fresh I Love This Plant

DRIMIOPSIS It is an electric moment to be shaken from musing over the usual offerings at a local garden center by a plant I've never heard of before. It's like hiking in familiar woods and having the compass needle go haywire.

In this case, the plant tag combined the words "succulent," "African" and "hosta" — I had to have it.

Though neither a succulent nor a hosta but a scilla relative from South Africa, Drimiopsis maculata has become one of the treasures of my little plant collection. Its subtle charm, quirky schedule and simple needs have endeared it to m e over that past few years, tucked in a low pot by the front porch.

Forming a clump about a foot wide and tall, the spoon-shaped, fleshy leaves are speckled with brown spots when new, changing to green in summer, and a little forest of 6- to 12-inch-tall, white-flowered spikes appear in late winter/early spring (one common name is little white soldiers).

Hardy to Zone 9, it's a nice size for a container, so it can be grown as a houseplant or greenhouse plant farther north. It has proved

quite durable in my Florida garden, helped by its natural winter dormancy, though I move it indoors if the weather gets close to freezing, just to be safe. Partial to light shade, it can tolerate a range of light situations, and laughs at heat, humidity and drought.

My first thought when I brought it home was "fussy collector's plant, maybe it will be a good learning experience." But it has proved itself a risk worth taking. — JHNNY ANDRPI'S

Sculpture

STEEL CACTUS We've all heard of drought-tolerant plants, but Eric Carroll and Richard Turner of Desert Steel Co. have done nature one better. They've created stunning steel succulents that require no water or maintenance and are impervious to bugs, birds and disease. "We wanted our pieces to be stylized interpretations, but to have enough detail to convey the complexity of the real thing," Carroll says. After cutting out patterns using a computerized plasma metal-cutting machine, the Kansas artisans hand-fold, hand-roll and weld the works of art — towering saguaros, squat barrel cactuses, paddle-shaped prickly pears, serpentine agaves — which now "grow" in 36 states and 11 countries. The surprisingly lifelike pieces are available in verdigris, rust and stainless finishes, and may be customized with extra arms and/or blooms. They also can be rigged with lights that shine long into the night or be equipped with misters for withering summer days. Prices range from $250 to $5,900. desertsteel.net — EMILY YOUNG

20 G A R D E N D E S I G N

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RAIN DANCE

In 1981, Fred Hayward and his family worked in every corner of their Southern California home cutting swatches from skifFsails and hammering out brass fittings. He was trying to replicate the eye-catching umbrellas he'd seen at the openair markets along the Mediterranean. Nearly 30 years later, after founding Santa Barbara Designs, Hayward hasn't ran out of ideas. His colorful, multilayered and weather-resistant creations resemble everything from dragon scales to wedding cakes. Hayward's latest is the Mirasol Flamenco. While it is haute couture for the courtyard, the Mirasol is high performance and low maintenance. The cover employs Regatta acrylic fabric, making it ideal for wet and humid climates. $2,600 for the umbrella, $425 for the base, sbumbrella.com — SCB GARDEN

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Clockwise from top left: Take tea at the gardens at Shofuso in Fairmount Park; get your gardening green on at City Planter in the hip hood, Northern Liberties; visit Bartram's Garden, America's first botanical garden.

horsechestnuts and bottlebrush buckeyes, bloom in profusion this month, along with native flame azaleas. Then check into the 15room Revolutionary-period Morris House Hotel (onetime home of Robert Morris, one of the Declaration of Independence signers), where guests can relax in the flower-filled flagstone courtyard, and breakfast is served in the library and afternoon tea in front of a fireplace (morrishousehotel.com).

Secret Gardens

WHEN IN PHILADELPHIA The greening of Philadelphia goes back to 1683, when founder William Penn modeled its five parklike squares (still there!, though one is now a circle) on those of Europe's "green countrie townes."

The whole Greater Philadelphia region is a temperate-zone Eden, with fabled public gardens like Longwood and Chanticleer. But you don't need to stray far from the brick and cobblestone streets of Center City, abloom in April with pear and cherry blossoms, to grasp the city's threecentury-old garden obsession and see how it's playing out in the hip Philly of today. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; CARA GREENBERG

TIME TRAVEL Step into the 18th century on the corner of 4th and Walnut, where a Colonial-style formal garden is artfully re-created next door to Dolley Payne Todd Madison's former abode. It's a tidy little gem, with boxwood parterres, a miniature orchard and a handsome vine-covered pergola. Drive some 15 minutes south of Center City to stroll the riverfront grounds of Bartram's Garden, home of early botanists John Bartram and his son William, and often called America's first botanical garden (bartramsgarden.org). Heirloom daffs and rare "broken" tulips, scattered among silverbell trees, 22 GARDEN DESIGN

APRIL 09

PHILLY'S "LEFT BANK" West of the Schuylkill River, Fairmount Park erupts in a fantasia of pink from late March through mid-April when hundreds of cherry trees, planted in the last decade by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, bloom. In May, take tea among traditional Japanese plants such as bamboo and pine, a koi-filled pond, perfectly placed rocks and a stone pagoda at Shofuso, the authentic Japanese house and garden built in 1953 in Nagoya, Japan, then reassembled at the current site in 1958 (shofuso.com).

From March 30-April 18, see abstract sculpture take shape at the 92acre Morris Arboretum, where renowned artist Patrick Dougherty, working with hundreds of locally gathered sticks, saplings and no preconceptions, will weave a large-scale, site-specific creation likely to resemble a fairy-tale dwelling (morrisarboretum.org).

MODERN PHILLY The city's rep for vanguard culture is growing.Tour the growing houses at Greensgrow, an urban farm and nursery in the up-and-coming Kensington section; pick up some unusual container plants and hard-to-find heirloom vegetable seedlings while you're there (greensgrow.org). In the liberhip Northern Liberties neighborhood, choose from hundreds of containers and planters, some of which are made from antique molds at City Planter (cityplanter.com). Indulge in chocolate-chip pancakes, a local favorite, at the Morning Glory Diner in Bella Vista, just south of Center City, and be wowed by the most eyepopping window boxes in town (215-413-3999).

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plant palette COOL CALLAS Jewel-colored calla lilies are hot additions to vases, pots and gardens STORY BY TOVAH MARTIN ■ PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROB CARDILLO

T H E S E D U C T I O N OF CALLA LILIES IS inescapable, and the list of calla conquests includes everyone from Georgia O'Keeffe to Diego Rivera.

Coquettish and cloaked in sensuality, these South African bewitchers are graceful, suggestive and delectably obtainable — but they're not really lilies. Like Jack-in-the-pulpit, Zantedeschia is in the Araceae with an inflorescence of many flowers sharing a long, slender spadix caped discretely by a wraparound spathe. And callas are as easy to cultivate as their kindred philodendrons, with a lot more reward — there's nothing unrequited about callas. Formerly, their domain was domestic, holding the florist trade captive. And once upon a time, that symbol of pearly white purity, Z. aethiopica, was the only game in town. With the spate of new spathe colors on the horizon — think mango, cinnamon, ember, molten, vermilion, sunset, flaxen, canary, fire engine or smeared lipstick — callas show no sign of slowing tempo as cut flowers. But now, you can also ignite your garden with their sensuous color range. Since 1985, the new siren call is that callas are slipping into garden beds and containers. The new generation of tuberous callas can be coaxed to blossom eight weeks after planting, according to Paul van Leeuwen of Wageningen UR/Applied Plant Research in the Netherlands. But flower thrills are not a calla's only gig. To keep you baited while flowers unfurl (and after they've faded), there's a crop of arrow-shaped foliage to speed your heart further. These callas were photographed at worldclass breeder Kapiteyn (Captain) in Callas and at Keukenhof in Lisse, both in the Netherlands.

SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION. PAGE 88

< 'TREASURE' When callas were first gaining their vibrancy 25 years ago, Treasure' was one of the groundbreakers going for the gold. Achieving headline status for its fiery moltenlava shades bleeding into saffron in a graceful sheath, it began the trend for color-soaked callas, with morerecent newsworthy cultivars drawing out the drum roll with lingering blossoms and increased bud count.

24

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plant palette

CAPTAIN SAFARI® With 'Treasure' as the benchmark, hybridizers continue to strive for finer oranges, Captain Safari" being the latest contender for the throne. What makes it fab, according to its creator — Kapiteyn in the Netherlands — is the perfectly spiraling round spathe shape and its high production count of riveting flowers on long, strong stems. A buxom beauty, it was developed for cut flowers or large urns. And mutability is one of its charms — during a blossoms' lifespan, the spathe turns from raging gold to apricot to parrot green.

A CAPTAIN AMIGO® Yellows are big, but punch it up by tossing a hint of apricot into that sunny shade, and you've got something truly seductive. Plus, Captain Amigo® presents its blossoms proudly above the broad, speckled, lance-shaped leaves, infinitely expanding its pot-worthiness — and that's the direction in which callas are headed. Not just cuts anymore, they're moving outdoors.

MOZART® Since beauty is an individual perception, it's understandable that each calla breeder has his own Everest. And the mixed messages of bicolor spathes are the trait responsible for sending a thrill through the hybridizers at Sande B.V. of the Netherlands. In Mozart®, not only does a black eye accent the depths of the salmon-pink spathes, but the cloak-and-dagger package includes a graceful, wavy sheath like a sail billowing in the breezes, culminating in a long, green flourish at the tip.

26 G A R D E N

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Plants that Work® I n the Shade™ has the answers for your shade garden applications - texture, color, seasonality, and exciting, new varieties. For outdoor living, in the shade or sun, find our premium, solution-based programs of annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees at fine, locally-owned garden centers. Learn more and where to buy at www.plantsthatwork.com.

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A PICASSO® In 2001, when Sande B.V. hit the scene with several bicolor breakthroughs the likes of which the world hadn't previously seen, Picasso15 was a superstar among those prima donnas. Large flowering and pointed in its form, the throat of each thick, creamy vase is suffused in rosy purple, giving the goblet depth. Developed for both containers and cut flowers, the blossoms stand head and shoulders above the shorter, heavily dappled leaves.

A ASCARI® Also pushing the envelope pigmentwise is Ascari®, with shimmering gold spathes so heavily drenched with deep, dark purple that the color isn't confined to the inner circle; it seeps outside the challis. Suitable for cutting as well as garden culture, the leaves are slightly lobed rather than being strictly arrow-shaped, extending the intrigue before and after blooming. < ODESSA® Hinting of marvels to come, Odessa® is a glimmer of future trends, hot off the press and just released. So dark burgundy that it's classified as black, the flowers crown long, luxuriant but also sturdy stems. And the bulbs make for fast forcing with superabundant blossoms. What does plentiful mean for a calla? In this case, it translates into as many as 15 sensuous flowers per bulb.

28 GARDEN DESIGN

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A CAPTAIN RENO® The ideal for a calla is a cloak drawn closely around the inflorescence, which describes Captain Reno® perfectly. With copious flowers tucked within the white splashed leaves, the thick spathes are so heavily pigmented pink that they blush nearly red. An added incentive is that suggestive green spur on the tip, serving as a flourish. < CAPTAIN ROMANCE® Going full circle is what the new callas strive to do as far as flower structure is concerned, and Captain Romance® does the perfect pirouette. The flagship of the Kapiteyn collection, this calla's credentials include candy-pink blossoms overlaid with syrupy vermillion. But really, the process of unveiling each elongated cup is what holds us spellbound. And the beauty of this hybrid is that it blossoms over the long haul. In this instance, romance is recurring.

NATURE, NURTURE Care: Care will be simplicity incarnate if you erase everything you know about Z aethiopica, because its colorful cousins are a whole different animal. Semi-aquatic Z. aethiopica rhizomes thirst for watering holes, but the more-colorful hybrids stem from Z albomaculata, Z elliotiana, Z rehmannii and others, which hail from higher ground, form tubers and don't share the drinking habit. Drainage is what they demand. Any time between February and June (but after danger of frost is past) bury them 3 to 4 inches deep in porous soil directly in the garden or in containers.

Give them water when the soil is slightly

30 G A R D E N

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dry (but don't overdose — the new callas dislike soggy soil), and they're good to go.

Eight weeks after planting, flower stalks begin shooting up, and you'll be regaled by blossoms for the next couple of months.

Before frost threatens in autumn or early winter, whisk them indoors to rest the tubers after their labors. If callas are planted directly in beds, dig the tubers from the garden or store them in their pots in a dry 55°F environment, withholding water for eight weeks or longer before jump-starting the cycle again with light and water. Zones: Although Z aethiopica has been known to soldier on in Zones 8-10,

its colorful relatives are more comfortable in Zones 9 and warmer. Or treat them as tender perennials in colder climates.

Exposure: Callas bask in anything from full sun to partial shade — bright, indirect light being ideal. Dense shade might put a damper on bud count, and scorching midday summer sun can prove equally challenging. Soil: The new color-soaked hybrids prefer a well-drained, porous soil. Sandy soils are simpatico if you add fertilizer; clay soils can be tricky. Excessive nitrogen will encourage a bounty of leaves and long stems, squelching bud production.

In a fertile soil, no further food is needed.

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CLEVER & COMPACT This spring, tidy up your garden with space-saving designs STORY BY DAMARIS COLHOUN > SPLIT YOUR SPACE With Dedon's powder-coated aluminum Green Wall you can divvy up small spaces without closing them off. Available in horizontal and vertical versions that come with or without ceramic pots, the Green Wall also doubles as a display case for potted plants and a screen to hide unsightly tools, outlets or views of the neighbors. $2,816 with ceramic pots. JANUS et Cie. 800-245-2687, janusetcie.com

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校 MULTITASK When it comes to nifty multipurpose designs, Europe has always been ahead of the curve. Case in point is the Duo Modular Table from the KAMA collection, by EGO Paris. The Duo packs a two-for-one punch: At rest, it's an unimposing coffee table, but lift and spread its mobile top like a pair of wings, and the Duo is transformed into a dining table with built-in service trays. From $3,980. Sipure Design, Dania Beach, FL 954-924-2258; or EGO Paris, France, 011-33-474 65 0854, egoparis.com

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32 GARDEN DESIGN

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(STYLE NOTES) "If possible, create seating areas that feel completely different from one another. This will create a journey through your garden, adding a greater sense of perceived space." — Lauren Hall-Behrens, Lilyvilla Gardens, Portland, OR "Less is always more for a small space. Avoid the clutter of lots of small pots. Get a big bang out of fewer really interesting plants and special containers." — Chris Meyers, Just Terraces, NYC "The small terrace or rooftop can feel visually enlarged by remembering that the view from the terrace looking back into your living space is just as important as the one looking out." — Mark Gomes and John Broere, Box Design Build, Toronto, Canada

LIFTOFF (TOP LEFT) Viteo's Wallfire gives you the drama of fire without taking up ground space. Austere and minimalistic, the Wallfire's concrete design serves as both a decorative element (like an overscaled sconce) and a gathering point for cocktail sippers. $1,042.

Luminaire, Miami, FL. 305-576-5788, viteo.at

FOLD IT (ABOVE) With its LEGO-like looks, Kikkerland's EZ Folding Step Stool is a bright addition to the tool shed. Don't let its cheerful looks fool you: This compact wonder supports up to 300 pounds and folds up neatly for easy storage. Available in two sizes in black, orange or gray. S21, in orange for $28. Kikkerland, NYC. 212-678-2250 or 800-716-4199, spoonsisters.com

DOUBLE TIME (LEFT CENTER) Artecnica's Kaktus stool, by Enrico Bressan, takes its name from the spiny, intricate formations of the staghorn cholla cactus. In a nod, perhaps, to the adaptability of its namesake, this cast-aluminum stool flips over to moonlight as a handy storage basket. $320. Artecnica, Los Angeles, CA. 323-655-6551, artecnicainc.com

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE (LEFT) Ross Lovegrove's Supernatural chair collection unites 21stcentury industrial design with organic shapes that play with light. The newest addition to Lovegrove's Supernatural collection is this round table. Made from glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene, the table's slim, unimposing silhouette slips easily into tight corners and small patios. $666. Moroso, NYC. 212-334-7222 or 800-705-6863, morosousa.com 34 GARDEN D E S I G NlAPRIL 09

Chicago 312 755 1414 / Florida 239 947 4005 / Montreal 1 877 527 3468 / Switzerland New Breeze collection by Cane-line www.jardindeville.com

swatch watch ZEN SALON

Create a sanctuary with these serene outdoor fabrics

STORY BY MEGAN PADILLA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JON WHITTLE

room has to be about connecting with others. Why not create one just for yourself? The cushion for this oversize chaise by Lloyd Flanders, designed exclusively for Robb & Stucky, comes stocked in Sunbrella's Reel fabric and is accented with a pillow in Sunbrella's Zen. Or, customize your own look with one of the above spalike fabrics. No matter how you shape this space, it is the dreamy and decadent drape from Perennials Outdoor Fabrics â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the innovator of outdoor solution-dyed acrylic sheers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that really unifies the look. Says Perennials President Ann Sutherland, "Evocative of washed linen, the gauzy, crinkled quality of Scrunch provides a reprieve from the outside world." So what are you waiting for? Create your retreat now. SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 88 Opposite: Chaise cushion and pillow: Lloyd Flanders Chaise cushion comes stocked by Robb S Stucky in Sunbrella Reel (style 420340000) in Slate; or, purchase it by the yard at Joann Fabrics. $74.99 per yard. The pillow is also a stocked item at Robb & Stucky and comes in Sunbrella Zen (style 46003) in Spa; or, purchase the fabric by the yard at Calico Comers. $62.99 per yard. 336-221-2211, sunbrella.com. Drape: Perennials luxurious outdoor textile Scrunch (style 294-84) in Smoke provides 80 percent UV blockage and resists fading and mildew for three years. To the trade. 888-322-4773, perennialsfabrics.com. Above from left: (1) This 100-percent olefin woven indoor/outdoor fabric from Duralee features a small-scale cheetah design (style 14257) in Teal. To the trade. 800-2753872, duralee.com. (2) Perennials Bubbles (style 193-163) and (3) Ripples (style 194-162) are both designed by Galbraith 8 Paul and combine the spirit of hand-block-printed textiles with modern production techniques. Each comes in six colorways. To the trade.

888-322-4773. (4) Mar vista (style 755) features embroidered sky-blue flowers on a deep-chocolate background. The Italian import is 100-percent woven acrylic, by Brown Jordan. $132 per yard. 800-743-4252, brownjordan.com.

APRIL 09 G A R D E N

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37

arden gourmet SQUEEZE There's always room to entertain outdoors STORY BY LAUREN GRYMES A wide expanse of stone or brick makes a solid, elegant base for an outdoor kitchen. But what if you are limited for space? Balconies, decks and patios attached to apartments, condos and townhouses are often so cramped that it's hard to fit a dining table alongside the grill, let alone an entire kitchen. But just because your balcony is built for two doesn't mean you can't amusebouche with major style.

-< SPACE AGE Who needs the mansion and butler? Roll out dinner on FTF Design Studio's smooth Cart Blanc.

The future of swank, at-home table service has arrived. Made of Corian, in snow with a matte finish. $7,995. 212-925-0847, ftfdesignstudio.com

A PETIT FIVE Torre & Tagus Designs' smart CIRC five-piece serving assemblage does up geometry with class.

The white ceramic plates and dark-brown wooden base are perfect for tapas and small treats. $50.

917-557-7557, katiewongnyc.com

>â&#x20AC;˘ SOPHISTICATED HEIGHTS Elevate outdoor entertaining to the penthouse level. Not only will you be charmed by the urbane attitude of GE Monogram's 30-inch Outdoor Cooking Center, but also by its diminutive frame, which belies its hidden strength: 25,000-BTU stainlesssteel burners and a ceramic-infrared rotisserie burner. Heavy-duty stainless steel gives the appliance more than a glint of professionalism, and integrated red LED lights above the knob controls and interior halogen lighting only add to its sex appeal. Powered by natural gas or liquid propane. $4,899. 800-444-1845 or monogram.com 38 GARDEN DESIGN

APRIL 09

See garden displays by the best designers in Southern California Shop at the Marketplace for one-of-a-kind plants and garden elements Learn from garden experts and authors in lectures and demonstrations Be entertained all weekend long with activities kids, music and food

For more information, go to www.arboretum.org or call 626.821.3243 We thank our participating partners:

MONROVIA

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garden gourmet 校 NICE MACHINE The Portable Ice Maker allows you to set up the bar outdoors. In other words, its continuous ice-forming action keeps you from missing any of the party action. Simply add water and plug in. Stainless steel, with an ice compartment that stores up to 2 Vi pounds of cubes. $399.

888-263-9850, frontgate.com

A WATTS FOR DINNER Apartment and condo residents already squeezed for outdoor space are often also contained by safety rules that don't allow for wood-, charcoalor even gas-burning grills. Enter the Electric Condo Grill. With its compact size, contemporary design and nonstick aluminum cooking surface that heats up to 425 degrees, even the dweller of the smallest balcony can be proud to play grill master. $199. 888-263-9850, frontgate.com

V PRESS-ON FUN The pretty Pressed Vinyl Dot Tablemats by Chilewich will instantly brighten a surface, from picnic table to buffet. Available in black, citron, grass, hot pink, smoke and white. $7 for the 14-by-19-inch tablemat; $28 for the 14-by-72-inch runner. 212-679-9204, chilewich.com

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION

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T H E G A R D E N CONSERVANCY'S

O P E N DAYS

—Visit America's Private Gardens

Maybe it's because it is an opportunity for me to indulge my passion for gardening, to learn and be inspired. Maybe it's because I'm just old-fashioned and that beautiful gardens remind me of my duty not to make anything ugly or shabby. Or maybe, it is just a guilty pleasure, a chance to peek into a stranger's backyard to see the taste and connoisseurship of others. Whatever the reason, each year I eagerly await the selection and visitation schedules for the Garden Conservancy's Open Days, when hundreds of private gardens across America open their gates to the public.

Since 1995, the Garden Conservancy's Open Days program has provided behind-the-scenes access to some of this country's finest private gardens, offering visitors the rare opportunity to spend time in beautiful spaces that are rarely available for public viewing.

This year's program begins this month. Details

By Sam Yanes about the gardens are available on the web or in the Open Days Directory. The Directory is my favorite way to learn about these gardens. This reference book will lead you to examples of contemporary ideas, taste and best practices that can translate to your own garden, and automatically become a treasured addition to your bookshelf.

Open Days director Laura Palmer attributes the program's success over the years to a belief that the best way to learn about gardens and to appreciate them is to simply spend more time in them. "The program started when extraordinary gardeners Page Dickey and Penelope Maynard came to the Garden Conservancy with 110 private gardens in hand, including theirs, that would open the first year.

Now in 2009, more than 320 private gardens in twentythree states, almost half of them new to the program, will open for a very limited time. Visitors can explore and learn from some of the best," Palmer says.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL SECTION

Anticipation Grows The experts who recruited this year's gardens have selected some of the most captivating and creative in America. Here are four that are not to be missed in 2009.

The Graeme Hardie Garden in Nutley, N e w Jersey transports the visitor to a world far from what most might imagine as a typical New Jersey Garden. His forty-by-sixty-foot walled contemporary garden designed by Richard Hartlage is richly planted in perennials and tropicals. It is a mix that works to great effect. Visit his garden on September 19th.

At the Markus Collection and Garden in Highland Park, Illinois, Brent Markus began landscaping his family's garden when he was just a teenager. At first it was dwarf conifers and Japanese maples in the mail, then entire truckloads of them. There is now a collection of 200 dwarf conifers and fifty Japanese maple cultivars that provide an ever-changing collage of sometimes unpredictable colors. The Markus Collection and Garden will open to the public on June 28th.

Visitors tour Fordhook Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, home to national presenting sponsor, W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Fordhook Farm will host five Open Days in bucolic Bucks County. These Open Days will feature guest speakers, garden tours, and Burpee's popular plant sales featuring the Heronswood collection.

W h e n the property around the Lillie Garden in Atherton, California was purchased just over twenty years ago, there were only a few mature oaks and remnants of the original Thomas Church design. The owner's subtle use of distinctive Japanese rhythms and harmonies

Opening to the public for the first time through Open Days, "The Burke's Jardin del Sol" in Las Vegas, Nevada is a lush, colorful, yet drought-tolerant, xeriscape garden designed by family members with recreation and social gatherings in mind. Approximately fifty percent of the gardens each year are new to the program. Visit this garden on April 18th. Photo: Andrew Cattoir, courtesy of Southern Nevada Water Authority.

transformed this garden into a series of rich, multilayered experiences that include vistas combined with intimate moments. Judicious and thoughtful use of stone and sculpture enhance exquisite plantings composed of a remarkable collection of Japanese maples, conifers and unusual perennials.

The Lillie Garden will be open to the public on April 18th.

Twenty years ago Louise and John Wrinkle moved into the house built by her parents in 1938 and where she grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.

Her horticultural interests began with natives but realization of Asian counterparts has enriched the plantings, which include family collections of hollies, azaleas, and ranunculus. Through the years the trees have grown to enormous size and new projects have unfolded, the latest of which are a pond in the lower corner and a pit greenhouse at the rear of the cutting garden. The Louise 6k John Wrinkle Garden will be open on June 13th.

To find a partial list of Open Days gardens near you and scheduling information, visit the Open Days web site at www.opendaysprogram.org. For a complete listing of 2009 Open Days gardens, locations and dates, as well as listings of public gardens in every state, order the new Open Days Directory or join the Garden Conservancy and receive a free copy of this 300-page reference guide.

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^ k

2009 P a r t i c i p a t i n g O p e n D a y s S c h e d u l e Alabama • Birmingham: April 18, June 13 California • Altadena: April 26 • Los Angeles: May 9 • Marin County: May 17 • San Francisco Peninsula: April 18, May 2

District of Columbia: June 13 Florida • Vero Beach: April 4

North Carolina • Raleigh: September 19 & 20

Connecticut • Fairfield County: April 26, May 31, June 7.

July 12 • Hartford County: May 23; June 6 & 28; July 11 & 19; September 13 • Litchfield County: May 31; June 14, 27 & 28; July 19 • New Haven County: May 24, June 6, July 12 • New London County: June 21, July 18

Illinois • Chicago's North Shore: June 28, July 26 • North Barrington: June 27 • West Chicago: August 2 Kentucky • Louisville: May 16 Maine • Blue Hill/Sedgwick: July 26 • York: July 19 Maryland • Annapolis Area: May 30 • Potomac: June 6 • Bethesda:June 13 Massachusetts • Berkshires: June 28, July 18 • Boston Area: September 26 • Nantucket: June 25 • Worcester: June 6 Nevada • Las Vegas: April 18 New Jersey • Bergen County: May 9, June 6 & 20, July 11 • Essex County: April 18, September 19 • Hunterdon County: September 12 • Monmouth County: June 6

Get a copy of t h e only directory t h a t invites you into America's finest privat e g a r d e n s

• Morris County: May 16, August 8 • Somerset County: May 16 & 30, September 12 New York • Columbia County: May 31, June 13, July 19 • Dutchess County: May 16, June 13, July 18, September 13, October 3 • Greene County: July 11 • Nassau County: May 16 • Onondaga County: July 12 • Orange County: August 15 • Oswego: June 14 • Putnam County: April 26 • Suffolk County: May 2, 3 & 16; June 20; July 11, 12 & 15; September 12 • Tompkins County: June 13, July 11 • Ulster County: June 6, July 11, October 17 • Westchester County: April 26; May 3, 9, 17, 23 & 31; June 6, 7 & 14; July 19; September 13; November 1

Colorado • Denver: September 12

At the "Dan Johnson Garden" in Denver, Colorado, an average city lot supports an eclectic garden that is anything but average. The result of a mad collector with an artistic bent, carefully planted and placed containers, sculptural elements and found objects enhance the sense of surprise. Visit this garden on September 12th.

Photo: Dan Johnson.

Oregon • Eugene:June 6 • Portland: June 13 Pennsylvania • Bucks County: April 3 & 4; May 8 & 9; May 30 & 31; July 10 & 11; August 21 & 22; September 25 & 26 • North Coast/Erie County: May 24 • Philadelphia: September 20 Rhode Island • Newport: June 20 Tennessee • Knoxville: May 16 & 17 Texas • Dallas: October 24 • El Paso: May 16 • Fort Worth: October 11 Vermont • Manchester: June 27 Virginia • Fairfax County: June 6 Washington • Bainbridge Island: July 19 • Olympia: August 15 • Seattle: June 7

Yours FREE w h e n you join th Garden Conservancy

The Garden Conservancy's Open Days Directory: The 2009 Guide to Visiting Americas Gardens—$21.95 (includes shipping and handling)

Order online at www. gardenconservancy.org/opendays or call toll-free 1-(888)-842-2442.

Opendaysprogram.org The Open Days program web site provides instant access to the most up to date garden tour information, and last minute additions and changes to our schedule.

Open Days E-mails Sign up for e-mail reminders to receive information about upcoming Open Days as well as invitations to Garden Conservancy events in your area. They also serve as a great reminder to put down your pruners and go explore outstanding gardens growing right in your own neighborhood.

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THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY

Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden in Bishopville, SC is one of sixteen preservation projects of the Garden Conservancy, www.fryarstopiaries.com

T H E G A R D E N CONSERVANCY

Jpen Uays is a program of the Oarden Conservancy, established in 1989 by the distinguished American gardener, Frank Cabot. In the twenty years since its founding, the organization has done more than any other national institution to save and preserve America's exceptional gardens for the education and enjoyment of the public.

In partnership with individual garden owners as well as public and private organizations, the Conservancy provides the horticultural, technical, management, and financial expertise needed to sustain these fragile environments and ensure longterm stewardship of natural assets so essential to the aesthetic and cultural life of our communities.

"America's exceptional gardens most often begin as private affairs, the life's work of passionate, dedicated and remarkably talented gardeners," says Bill Noble, director of preservation projects for the Garden Conservancy. "A select number of these gardens are capable of lasting for generations and need to become public gardens to facilitate their preservation and public visitation."

The Garden Conservancy takes a leadership role in this transition for the American gardens in its diverse portfolio. It assists in the structuring of legal strategies and conservation easements to protect these resources from development, develops master plans for preservation, interpretation, horticultural management and public access, and helps establish sound fiscal and organizational foundations for each property.

www.gardenconservancy.org

National Headquarters: P.O. Box 219, Cold Spring, New York 10516 | T: (845) 265-2029 | F: (845) 265-9620 West Coast Office: 38 Keyes, Avenue, Suite 116, The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129 | T: (415) 441-4300 | F: (415) 441-4343

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W. Atlee Burpee & Co. is the National Presenting Sponsor of the Open Days Program www.burpee.com www.heronswood.com www.cooksgarden.com

GARDEN

D E S I G N

Garden Design magazine is the National Media Sponsor of the Open Days Program www.gardendesign.com

.iving green LONG ISLAND LUSHNESS A four-season garden showcases the signature style of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates STORY BY JENNY ANDREWS â&#x2013; PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICHARD FELBER

A butterfly's paradise of Sedum 'Matrons', Agasrache 'Blue Fortune' and Kalimeris mongolica billows along the walkway at this home in Southampton. Designed by principal Eric Groft, the garden has a controlled wildness that suits the luxe location while recalling the natural look of the client's former home in Maine.

WHEN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WOLFGANG OEHME and James van Sweden joined forces in 1977, sustainability was not part of the vernacular among their colleagues, or even among gardeners. But for the two men, it was an innate philosophy of eco-conscious principles that drew them together. Since then their style has even been assigned its own name, the New American Garden. "They were green before anyone else," says Eric Groft, a principal with Oehme, van Sweden & Associates. "You could call them the grandfathers of green."

Though the Washington, D.C., based firm has been at it for more than 30 years, their work is still cutting edge, from public spaces to perfect-fit surrounds for architecture ranging from modern to classical, the translatable quality perhaps due to the blend of order and wildness, the perennial border meets the American prairie. It was this combination that drew a Southampton client to the firm in 2001. A friend of van Sweden's, she wanted a wildlife-friendly garden

that recalled the natural landscape she had enjoyed near her previous home in Maine. This meant bucking the traditional approach to gardening in the Hamptons, where a drive in any direction presents block after block of meticulously clipped hedges and manicured lawns â&#x20AC;&#x201D; green only in a color sense. In this affluent part of Long Island, the sound of hedge trimmers and mowers generates a constant hum during high season.

The designer on the project was Groft, a then 15-year veteran with the firm and well versed in the mantra of "reduce, reuse, recycle," which for OvS comes into play with every design. To start with, the ubiquitous Hamptons lawn was in this case tailored to allow just enough play area for grandkids and dogs, covering only about 15 percent of the 2-acre site. As Groft explains, a standard lawn creates nearly the same runoff surface for rainwater as asphalt or other hardscaping, and OvS has long been on a mission to minimize turf APRIL 0 9 G A R D E N

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living green

on all its projects, while balancing this with client needs.

The tactic for OvS is to pack as much perennial plant material into a location as possible, which is water absorbing. Says Groft, "The entire garden essentially becomes a rain garden," collecting both rainwater and runoff from hard surfaces, and forestalling erosion and water wasting. The OvS rule of thumb, according to Groft, is that a lawn should be limited to "whatever the homeowners have time to mow with a push mower on a Saturday afternoon." And a modest lawn becomes simply another design element, a foil for the OvS signature borders and beds voluminous with perennials like black-eyed Susan, ornamental grasses, anise hyssop, sedum and fleece flower.

The perennial material for the garden â&#x20AC;&#x201D; comprised of water-wise, low-maintenance, butterfly- and bird-magnet plants, including a high percentage of natives â&#x20AC;&#x201D; was selected not only for toughness but also for year-round interest (the homeowner even enjoys the "freeze-dried" look of her winter garden). The less cutting back and seasonal changing out of plants the better, since such routines require a lot of input (not only labor, but fertilizer and water) and result in a whole heap of garden waste, some of it too twiggy to compost easily. Once a year, in late winter or early spring, the Southampton garden gets a single serious haircut before new growth on perennials and grasses gets up and going. But the piles of trimmings don't wind up by the side of the road. They're shredded and composted for use as mulch later.

Woody plants too were chosen for their easy care, including 'Tardiva' hydrangea, Viburnum x pragense and Nandina, which are not 46 G A R D E N

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in the heavy-pruning, meatball-shrubbery category, and trees such as Styphnolobiumjaponicum (formerly Sophora), ginkgo and natives like flowering dogwood and Magnolia virginiana. A buddleia planted just outside a kitchen window offers a butterfly- and hummingbirdviewing portal, with a stained-glass effect when backlit by the sun. It took some convincing, but the client also agreed to let the prerequisite privet hedge go undipped. It still forms a privacy screen from the neighbors, but instead of being tightly sheared, it has a natural look. And left unpruned, it flowers, attracting the notice of fellow Hamptonites who have never seen their hedges in bloom.

As a ground-up project, with house and garden designed in tandem, Groft had the opportunity to work closely with architect Robert Lemmen of Lemmen Paul Associates to site constructed elements.

For hardscaping, Groft kept it local and recycled, choosing New York bluestone for paving and crushed concrete rather than quarried gravel for pathways. Landscape architect and architect agreed to locate the garage separate from the house (the homeowner insisted that she didn't need an attached-garage "bat cave"), and the area between the two structures forms a cozy microhabitat near the kitchen â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the perfect location for Groft to create an edibles garden of raised beds, which harmonized herbs, Swiss chard, peppers, and cherry and grape tomatoes with cutting flowers.

To bring the element of water onto the site (the ocean being one of the obvious reasons people move to the Hamptons, though this property isn't ocean adjacent), Groft designed a small pool of aquatic plants

CAREFREE ATTITUDE From left to right: Looking toward the car turnaround, crushed concrete offers a permeable, recycled surface for paths, here flanked by garlic chives and fountain grass. When not disturbed by splashing children and grandchildren, the swimming pool's still surface reflects exuberant plantings of Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail', a Styphnolobium japonicum tree, Rudbeckia, Pennisetum alopecuroides, Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' and Panicum virgatum 'North wind'. A small pool on the terrace hosts aquatic plants and is oriented so that summer's setting sun lights up the living room.

just off the terrace outside the living room. Sited just so, the late-afternoon sun reflects off the water, casting a warm glow into the house. A swimming pool beyond, behind the garage (which doubles as a pool house), has a lap-pool area as well as a shallow wading pool for little ones. Groft designed the pool to fit easily into the landscape, surrounding it with lush plantings that are reflected picture-perfect in the water, at least when the grandchildren aren't splashing about. With the ocean only 6 0 0 feet away beyond the hedge and within easy earshot, sitting in a deck chair by the pool, the homeowner can feel like she's at the beach, enjoying the life of a Hamptonite, but with a natural twist, r

LET IT GROW Some gardeners have an itchy trigger finger on their pruners and hedge trimmers, fastidiously clipping shrubs and whacking at perennials as soon as anything starts to look less than perfect. But all this cutting produces waste, and the everythingmust-go approach deprives wildlife of food and cover. Consider keeping your pruners in the holster and letting nature take its course. With careful plant selection, the garden can strut its stuff in multiple seasons, and many perennials can be limited to a once-a-year buzz cut in late winter before new growth begins.

KEEP IT LOW The less maintenance a garden requires, the less effort and expense, and the lower the impact on the environment. Choose plants well suited to the location, with minimal water needs, multiseason interest and pest-free durability. Continue to do all those smart gardener things: Get the soil in good shape at the start, compost organic waste, and mulch beds to keep moisture in and weeds out. Who doesn't love the idea of less work?

DON'T MOW Lawns have their place, but it's no secret that big sweeps of perfect lawn are hogs about water, fertilizer and pesticides. Calculate how much lawn area you really need and stick to a minimum. Don't be a maniac about keeping it clipped into a flawless carpet; you can mow less frequently and the lawn can still look good.

Some gardeners even take a "mow what grows" approach and don't bother with seeding, sodding, overseeding, etc. There are also lawn alternatives such as sedges and types of grass that require less maintenance than others.

APRIL

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vieriaflH^lee i t they're also the "comfort foo lants, геггигяЩщпапу people of i ent on Grandma's porch. The mo immon v e r j i o ^ i s Sansevieria ifasdata, w i t h itsfamiliar dark am een stripes, here showing off w h y nmonly called snake plan"

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STORY BY JENNY ANDREWS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHELSEA STICKEL + JON WHITTLE

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Opposite: Sansevierias make ideal container plants, and here the contrast between goldedged 'Futura Simplex' and almost-black 'Nelsoni' makes for good patio companions.

Though the thick rhizomes have been known to break pots, sturdy examples like the Low Tahoe Planters from Campania International should be up to the challenge. Below: An unusual species with speckled foliage discovered in the Congo, Sansevieria masoniana, has extremely large leaves â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 8 to 10 inches wide and up to 4 feet tall. Right: Silvery 'Moonshine' reveals the adaptability of sansevierias to both in-ground and container culture.

lant snobbery has a strong allure, with a certain smug satisfaction to be gained by inspiring awe and envy among fellow gardeners with tales of growing some obscure, persnickety plant. But there is power in simplicity and undeniable appeal in something being easy. The poster child for trouble-free gardening would unquestionably be Sansevieria, but these plants are also a class act, exemplifying the commonplace gone chic. Their combination of utility and sleek stylishness makes them the botanical equivalent of the little black dress.

The most prevalent are Sansevieria trifasciata, commonly called snake plant, with horizontal bands of dark and light green, and its variety 'Laurentii', decked out with yellow edges. But these days there's no excuse in stopping there, with the assortment of short, tall, nearly black, thin-leaved, twisted, Luna-moth-green cultivars out there. When I heard that my friend and fellow writer Felder Rushing had an actual collection of sansevierias, I was intrigued, and my own little assemblage is growing. I'm now fighting the urge to become a fanatical collector. Apparently some of the more unusual forms are even bringing big bucks on eBay. The charm of sansevierias isn't lost on designers either. Twentyplus years ago, when Fort Lauderdale-based garden designer Luis Llenza began using them in his landscapes, there were only three types to work with. Now he has a much wider selection of varieties at his disposal, employing them as edging, groundcovers and anchors, en masse, in containers, for color, and as texture companions for agaves and grasses. He calls them "tough and edgy," favoring those with crisply defined coloring. Though 51

Though hardy outdoors to Zone 9, snake plants are familiar houseplants in much of the country, able to take low-light conditions and little water in stride. Below: The narrow verticality of many sansevierias makes them good choices for troughshaped pots, here 'Futura Simplex' in a Venetian Rectangle from Gainey Ceramics. Right: One of the hottest sansevierias on the market these days is S. cylindrica. Container from Target. Opposite: Recalling a time in midcentury, when sansevierias were the "it" plant of modernism, a Spindel planter from Greenform holds 'Silver Laurentii' encircled by 'Jade Dwarf Marginated', flanked by bright-orange chairs from West Elm.

familiar to him since childhood, Llenza's design inspiration came from iconic Brazilian landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, whose style translated perfectly to Llenza's native Puerto Rico. As Llenza says: "Marx showed what could be done with all these tropical plants, like sansevierias emerging from black Mexican beach pebbles. He really put them on the map."

A group of 6 0 or so described species originating primarily in Africa, sansevierias hit the European scene in the early 19th century. As one of the few plants able to survive dim lighting and laissez-faire maintenance, they were popular houseplants with the Victorians, becoming ubiquitous living fixtures, from overstuffed English parlors to villa patios along the Mediterranean.

In the mid-2oth-century, with the advent of modernism, they were remade, going from dust collectors to must-haves, deemed an ideal match for the trim, minimal style of contemporary architecture.

But they are so ridiculously effortless to grow (the only thing easier is a plastic plant), that their popularity midcentury was not limited to modernism aficionados. Everyone had snake plants (also cheekily called mother-in-law's tongue), and pieces of them were routinely cut off and shared with neighbors, making them a classic pass-along plant. Today many people still refer to them as a "grandmother plant," their early memories of sansevierias connected indelibly with visits to Grandma's house and seeing snake plants on her front porch or in a window, parked on a pie tin among those other tough characters pothos, Swedish ivy and wandering Jew. For me, Sansevieria was an early initiation into the wonderful world of green leafy things. As one of the plants my mother, like so many other people, grew well, it was a steady bit of potted greenery about the house, and I remember the first time it flowered. I was mesmerized by the line of ants marching up the flower stalk, each freesia-fragrant little bloom glistening with a drop of nectar. It was such a remarkable event that my mother (an artist) immortalized our humble snake plant by painting its portrait, which she still has hanging on a wall in her house.

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Fort Lauderdale landscape designer Luis Llenza puts sansevierias through their paces, using them for a wide range of landscape needs, from groundcovers to edging to focal points. Opposite: Low-growing 'Futura Simplex' around a contemporary fountain, backed by tall S. thfasciata. Below: Snake plants are also ideal textural foils for other plants, like the dramatic swords of laurentii Compacta' (sometimes called 'Black Gold Extreme1) woven among feathery muhly grass. Right: A heavily white-striped cultivar called 'Bantel's Sensation'.

There is even an International Sansevieria Society, with members from some 37 countries. Alan Butler, chairman of the society and a partner at Brookside Nursery, which specializes in sansevierias and other succulents, says the surge in sansevieria popularity is based on converging trends in architectural and succulent plants, and plants with low water needs, "which benefits the pocket as well as ecology." For Bill Boyd, owner of Boyd Nurseries in Loxahatchee, Florida, the big draw is their ease of culture, and he calls them a "guilt-free plant," citing that many gardeners feel like they've failed when a plant dies. The "sense of satisfaction and success" with sansevierias is essentially a given.

Though sansevierias are the most undemanding of plants, surviving isn't the same as thriving, and if you want them to be in their prime, there are a few factors to keep in mind. Good drainage is paramount â&#x20AC;&#x201D; these are plants that evolved in hot, dry locations. Butler says to water them very infrequently in winter and regularly in summer, but the drainage needs to be near perfect; overwatering is one of the only ways to kill a sansevieria (also, never watering it). And they don't like extended periods of cold, so in Zone 9 and warmer they can grow outdoors, but cooler than that and they're houseplants. While they can endure low-light conditions, they prefer bright, indirect light. Some can take full sun, with the risk that they can acquire a burned look.

And though seemingly content to be pot-bound, their thick rhizomes can eventually bust through a container; fortunately dividing them is as easy as growing them.

While their name is distinctly Old World (from Count Pietro Antonio Sanseverino, an 18th-century patron of horticulture in Naples), sansevierias are not only thoroughly modern, they're space age, having been named one of the best plants for cleansing indoor air of toxins in a NASA study â&#x20AC;&#x201D; you might even see them tucked into a corner on a space station some day. After 200 years of cultivation, their persistence has paid off, like the tortoise in Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare." Emerging from dark hallways and country porches, they've hit the catwalk, r SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 8 8

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Designer Davis Dalbok strived for a diverse plant palette paired with nearly monochromatic hardscaping. Opposite: Dalbok and his client celebrate the completion of the two-year ject of building the garden. nake the lemongrass marTaste caterers

JALI FIItNIA dreamin

DAVIS DALBOK AND AN EAST COAST TRANSPLANT RESPECT A CLASSIC EICHLER BUNGALOW AND COMPLETE THE VISION OF "LIVING IN THE GARDEN." NOW THAT'S WORTH CELEBRATING STORY BY M E G A N P A D I L L A

P H O T O G R A P H Y BY J A M E S

CARRIERE

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DAVIS DALBOK

is dressed in a pale lime-green suit, a lemongrass martini in one hand and gesturing with the other over a corner of this San Rafael, California, garden. "This area is all about stories in green with riots of color," says Dalbok. He's guiding his guests for their first look at the garden he recently completed for a dear friend. Dalbok's description could apply to himself: He's a passionate plantsman whose worldview embraces the colors of every continent. But here, the story he's set out to tell is one that is pure California. The setting: a midcentury Joseph Eichler house with the Lucas Valley foothills of Marin County in the background.

The client is an easterner who moved west to pursue her ideal of California living. Her vision wasn't about beaches or endless sunshine, but rather to own one of the 1,100-plus modernist homes built

by Eichler from 1949 until his death in 1974. "I wanted to live in the garden at every moment," she says, referring to the architect's signature seamless indoor-outdoor designs.

Says Dalbok, "My aim was to provide her an infrastructure of hardscaping and plants that would sustain that look, but also be exciting."

With a limited budget, it took Dalbok and the client two years to go from clods of dirt to cocktails and dishing with friends. Tonight they share the garden with friends for the first time.

As guests begin arriving at the home this August evening, the first thing they notice is the harmony of the lines between the Eichler roofline and the fence around the front courtyard — all Dalbok — that retains the modern vernacular of the architecture. "I'm a firm believer in not losing the front yard — valuable real estate here in California — to the

Left: The Lucas Valley foothills rise from behind the client's Joseph Eichler house; Dalbok's landscape design highlights its lines. A feathery Chinese windmill palm behind the courtyard fence softens linear elements.

Above: Steven Schwager of Living Green gets acquainted with Joyce Rietveld. Opposite: The tabletop is a ceramic mural by midcentury ceramicist Edith Heath, whose nearby Sausalito studio is still in operation. Anchored in opposite corners are a bromeliad, Vriesia imperialis, and a pygmy date palm.

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street." To that end, he planned an enclosed courtyard that extends nearly to the street to give the client another private living space. "The milky Plexiglas used for the fence gave us that retro look. But what I really like about the material is that when the light is changing and the interesting leaf patterns are cast against it, it acts like a scrim."

Dalbok and his client greet their guests from the front courtyard, where a ceramic mural-top table by Edith Heath â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the midcentury ceramics maven whose Sausalito studio posthumously produces her legacy of tableware and tiles â&#x20AC;&#x201D; takes center stage. The homeowner bought this, and one other mural that hangs on a fence in the rear garden, before she'd even found her Eichler house. "I knew they were key elements," she says. "Plus, my mother is an avid gardener and a ceramicist, and she encouraged me to come out here." Dalbok's exquisite tabletop decor of Chinese bonsai planters from his San Francisco showroom Living Green with succulents mixed in with brightly colored minerals and glass are arranged in containers chosen to reflect the colors in the mural, as are the table bases he selected: Chinese-made chocolate-gold colored terra-cotta glazed pots.

With drinks in hand, the party moves to the side garden at the rear of the house â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an L-shaped terrace in black-gray slate imported from Africa that wraps around Eichler's glass walls. "The first thing 1 said to my client was, 'Let's create a really big terrace that feels like an extended room off" the house,'" Dalbok explains as the waiter approaches with the first of three rounds of small plates. "I didn't want the patio to be too multicolored. This slate comes with some variation, but ultimately it provides a really nice background to set off the furniture, the plants and whoever is on the patio."

Opposite: The modular sectional from Henry Hall Designs matches the lines of the house.

Pictured at far right is Dat Pham of Living Green, who also worked on this project. Left: This grouping of containers anchors the L-shaped patio that wraps around the glass walls of the living spaces. Above: This chilled lobster salad was one of three courses, including a scallop carpaccio topped with Osetra caviar, created by Taste executive chef Chris Borges.

Dalbok's relationship with Taste goes back 30 years.

Well said, considering the artfully designed food coming out of the kitchen on black and orange lacquer trays from the San Francisco catering company, Taste Catering & Event Planning. The company's credo is fresh, local and sustainable — and of course, delicious. First out is a chilled lobster with creamy mozzarella-like burrata cheese (a current darling of the Bay Area food scene) and tomatoes from Baia Nicchia Farms.

Dalbok explains how his relationship with Taste goes back 30 years, when he first moved to the Bay Area and worked with Taste founder Timothy Maxson as an event designer. "I wanted to get creative with the food display, and 1 knew that Taste would be ready to play."

As the party gets into its groove, guests settle into a low modular sofa where they rest glasses and plates on the ceramic-top table. Says Dalbok: "I wanted unique and edgy furniture that would reflect the look of the property and the garden — and be comfortable. The choices reinforce the color story in the garden: There's a lot of orange. And elements like the teak in the arms of the chaise longue carry over to the teak dining table."

Upstage from the dining table — reserved for the evening's final act, dessert — is the other major design component. The slope directly off the back of the terrace combines herbaceous perennials and droughttolerant plants like the agaves and aloes. "That curvilicious bed acts as a counterpoint to the straight-line design of the patio," Dalbok says, attributing its shape to the ethos of Brazilian landscape-design legend Roberto Burle Marx.

When reviewing his plant palette, Dalbok explains that he didn't want to stick to one look from one region. "I wanted it to be diverse and to

Left: The giant mirror hung on the fence tricks the eye into thinking there's an entry into another garden room. Above: The works of Bay Area artists Marcia Donahue and Edith Heath accent the garden's colors and shapes. The Heath mural was purchased by the owner for this garden before she'd even found the house.

Donahue's Burmese Temple Offering Bamboo is made of high-fired ceramic pieces handstacked on rebar. Opposite: Dalbok attributes this "curvilicious border" to his design inspiration, luminary Roberto Burle Marx.

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use the kinds of plants I felt like using. It could feel Asian in some areas (pointing to the varieties of Japanese maples) and Southwestern in others (as he waves across the many succulents)." He used grasses to unify the components. "I turned to John Greenlee, the original grass man of California, as an adviser to the project. I knew he would be able to suggest varieties that would create the effect I was after." For instance, the No Mow fescue. "I love the way it lies down and is shiny and creates a lush limey interspace, so you don't see any dirt. It also reminds me of the seagrass you see between the corals."

As the party progresses, the guests move from the side garden, where the appetizers were served, to the rear of the L-shaped patio as executive pastry chef Yigit Рига begins crafting his artisanal spread on the dining table. He and Dalbok created a tableau of Cafe Brulot dark chocolate truffles interspersed with lime-green moss and various succulents on a contemporary mango wood sculpture by Dutch artist Carola Vooges.

Pointing to the round tray, Dalbok comments: "I love concentric design.

That's why I love palms and bromeliads."

To fight the Northern California evening chill, Dalbok asks the caterers to brew some tea, and he delights in serving it himself in jewel-toned glasses from a teapot he's just brought home from Marrakesh. ("It's the teapot I've been looking for all my life.") His image is reflected in a massive mirror he's hung on the fence to create the playful illusion of an entry to another part of the garden.

In this moment, his friends seated cozily in the oversize orange chairs and Dalbok playing host, it's impossible not to think just how good everyone and everything looks in this garden — just as he intended, r SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 88

Opposite: Individual shot glasses of strawberry-scented panna cotta with cantaloupe caviar line the dessert table, the final act of this garden's opening night. Left: The area of the garden that Dalbok refers to as "stories in green."

Gravel and grasses are used to fill all of the interspace and unify the elements. Above: Elements from the garden are incorporated into every detail of this party, including the arrangement of the chocolate truffles created by executive pastry chef Yigit Рига.

65

The jungle of Rio de Janeiro's hills practically cascades down into the magnificent pool and its pavilion. All of the fabrics in the open pavilions are blue and white. "It brings the ocean in," says designer Paulo Pratti.

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hen Sao Paulo-based architect and landscape designer Paulo Pratti was hired to design the garden of this condo in Laranjeiras, some two hours south of Rio de Janeiro, he was inspired by the gardens of Burle Marx, a great influence on his work, yet he also visualized the cascading jungle of Rio's hills as a dramatic backdrop straight out of a Margaret Mee painting. In the world of the great English botanical artist who explored the Amazon region in the late-ig5os and i g 6 o s , giant fuchsia blossoms erupt from tree branches in inky forests growing on river hollows. Mee, a great influence on Pratti, captures

the elusive spirit of the forest and makes us want to get lost in it, even without mosquito repellent. The design fuses Marx's gardens with Mee's essence of the Amazon and hybridizes it with a pinch of Indonesian simplicity.

After Pratti was hired to design the house and garden in 2 0 0 6 , his client asked him to look at the Four Seasons resorts in Bali for inspiration. The rooms in the home are built as open bungalows around an enormous g5,ioo-gallon swimming pool, which in turn cools the house in summer. This is not just a pool to be seen lounging beside wearing a tiny piece of stretchy material, without ever 69

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getting wet. It isn't only a pool where one glides like a swan and quickly comes out the other end. This is the kind of pool where Burt Lancaster would have thrived — think of Ned from The Swimmer — accompanied by many nymphets. Wooden bridges over the pool connect sleeping quarters with partying and lounging pavilions, making the estate "feel like a hotel or a club," as Pratti explains, "constantly filled with visitors." The latter part of this concept is most decidedly Brazilian.

The sparing use of walls creates an almost osmotic exchange between the outdoors and indoors. Even the few surrounding stone 70

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walls of the main lodge are planted with micro-orchids in between the stones, as if the entire structure were overrun by nature. Beyond the pavilions, the more than 32,000-square-foot garden is predominantly green year-round, with touches of yellows and reds from bromeliads, and pinks and purples from Laelia and Cattleya orchids growing on trees and over stone walls. Many of these plants, including some of the tall queen palms, arrived by boat or helicopter, since the condominium "doesn't really have good road access," Pratti explains. To achieve true genius-of-place status, he partnered with Jose Vila, an area nurseryman with more than 30 years of experience

An Indonesian daybed in the owner's private courtyard, also made of cumaru, with carvings in the legs.

The openings are shaded with rolling bamboo screens. Opposite: A view of the lawn where guests gather around the open bonfire after sunset.

"was a design challenge," says Pratti; its 95,100 gallons of water are filtered with a copper system, and no chemicals. Opposite: A predominantly blue palette in a sala for meditation or for listening to Bossa Nova music.

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growing regional plants, to plan the garden. Vila's passion for local flora is obvious, since 2,000 square feet of the garden is planted with species of Heliconia. Their hanging fire-red flowers also feed hundreds of hummingbirds and southern lapwings, which thrive in the pesticide-free garden. From the start of the project, Vila a n d Pratti's emphasis was on caring for the environment. The pool is free of chemicals, relying on a copper filter instead, and all lumber used in the house is repurposed cumaru, an alternative to mahogany.

The centerpiece of the garden is an old Dracaena arborea from the house where the original owner's mother lived. When his mother

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passed away, he brought it to his new home and placed it in a spot easily visible from the bungalows. But the most unexpected part of Vila and Pratti's design is a private garden with a daybed and magnificent pink bromeliads, set between the master bedroom and bathroom, which the owner alone can access.

Some 9 0 0 feet from the edge of the property sits a white sandy beach and the Atlantic Ocean, in case the pool is not enough. And if walking seems too stressful, the house comes with a golf cart to move around the property — powered by solar energy, because Rio is all about the sun. it SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 88 73

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signer маае Wijaya creates a romantic mini . pavilions around a dramatic water garden in Bali ORY BY JOANNA FORTNAM

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACQUELINE KOCH

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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ he worldwide fantasy of a tropical garden comes to Earth in Bali, a land of emerald-green rice terraces studded with water temples and ribboned with flowers. In fact, the country's reputation as "Island of the Gods" has made Bali a destination for dreamers from all over the world. Made Wijaya, an Australian landscape designer formerly known as Michael White, is one who stayed.

Wijaya describes himself as a "convert, a true believer," who has immersed himself in the culture of Bali and has traveled extensively throughout Indonesia for more than 30 years. Renowned for his richly decorated, lush gardens for many boutique hotels of Bali (The Oberoi, the Amandari), it was a natural next step for Wijaya to turn to the design of homes and gardens around the tropical world and for the international community in Bali. Villa Kirana brings together his strengths as a modern Western romantic and a local who understands the culture.

The story of his involvement with Villa Kirana began in 2 0 0 0 , when an Australian couple who had lived in Asia for 25 years commissioned Wijaya to design a second residence on a ridge overlooking the Ayung river valley and rice fields. The couple, Patrick and Clare Alexander, who are also parents of two boys, teenagers at the time, were already fans of Wijaya's work. Their wish list â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including a lush water garden, a dramatic classical Balinese garden and lots of

Opposite: Looking from the warm-toned Java-stone and timber interior of the house, the central walkway frames a single Javanese jar, which forms the focus of an outdoor reception room with views south to the adjacent parkland. Above, clockwise from top left: Glistening water droplets on lotus leaves; a corner of the Japanese-inspired living room; a stone art piece from Sumba Island, East Indonesia, part of a children's board game similar to checkers.

77

Above, clockwise from top left: Stones such as tuft tufa, limestone and slate were used in the garden. The steep slope was extensively terraced, so pebbles were used on many smaller garden landings to present a cleaner, drier surface in this muggy mountain clime; spidery green dwarf papyrus mingles with purple-leaved Hemigraphis alternate; poolside is a row of Balinese foo dogs by renowned sculptor I Wayan Cemul. Opposite: The patio lounge chairs are by architect Ed Tuttle for the Sukhothai Hotel in Bangkok. The colored poolside building is built in the style of stilt houses from Terengganu, Malaysia.

78

interesting garden elements â&#x20AC;&#x201D; drew on his strengths.

Wijaya had a starting point in mind: a project where he had created a garden for a striking h o m e . "I always liked architect Arne Hasselquist's work in the Caribbean, particularly the David Bowie house on Mustique, which I thought was one of the loveliest tropical houses I had ever worked on. So I was at last presented with an opportunity to do a version of Hasselquist's Bowie house with its dramatic central water garden, cascading down to a fabulous view."

An obvious template was the traditional Balinese mountain house with its ornately carved and decorated interiors and steep thatched roof. Says Wijaya, "Everyone loves the dryness of an elevated timber building and the privacy, as well as the coziness, of all the wood." But village homes not being suited to the needs of a contemporary Western family, he conceived the house as a mountain-style hybrid along lines recognizable from Balinese temples and palaces. Villa Kirana would feature many living-area pavilions around a central water garden with a wing for dining, a formal living and master suite, and a wing for the children and guests. The ultimate plan would flesh into a Pan-Asian-Indonesian-style mini-palace.

The biggest challenge was the lack of space for such a grand scheme.

Wijaya worked hard at selling the clients his strongest design move. "I had to convince them that when space is an issue, the answer is to have one big idea. My solution was the super-size water garden around which the house revolves. Clare thought it reduced rather than enhanced the 'lush garden' part of the project wish list."

For months the clients remained unsure about the size of the water feature, which cascades to meet a swimming-pool terrace. They feared it would dominate the design to the detriment of both house and garden.

But the elements slowly came together. And in answer to the space problem, halfway through the job they bought a neighboring plot. This was

seamlessly incorporated into the garden and also allowed Wijaya to create a small rustic pavilion to function as a focal point in the landscape.

Keeping the central water garden Chinese-style, focusing around water and stone, Wijaya gave the rest of the grounds a rainforest-jungle look. "1 didn't use only native plants, but restricted myself to mountaintropical palms and ferns and bamboos for the most part ... with plumerias and heliconias thrown in as accents," he says. This made the best backdrop for a collection of primitive art. Wijaya explains that it is the "placement of the artworks amidst a planting scheme that is romantic and poetic" that makes a garden Balinese.

In this respect, the Alexanders benefited from Wijaya's travels throughout Indonesia. He led them to a collection of mountain Balinese (Stone Age) statues and objects, and a collection of primitive stone statuary and windows and doors from Eastern Indonesia, Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

Besides being a beautiful setting for art and architecture, the house and garden are both used in an entirely contemporary manner. The garden has many breakout zones for al fresco entertaining; the cobbled arrival car court becomes a reception area for larger functions; the dining terrace off the main living room that overlooks the swimming pool is both cozy and generous, as it allows an almost grandstand view of the valley while still being a part of the close-compound nature of the Balinese-style garden.

After so long in his adopted country, adapting East for West comes naturally to Wijaya, who is a full-blooded romantic, in love with "the world's most-gorgeous cultures," and he would never sidestep the challenge they represent. So, if you hadn't thought of modern gardens as romantic places, come to Bali. As Wijaya himself puts it: "Get your ya-yas out for God, who loves color and movement, and all things bright and beautiful in the garden. Amen." #â&#x2013; SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION. PAGE 88

Opposite: View across the river valley from the entry porte cochere to a local Hindu temple set in rice fields and jungle with Villa Kirana's central water garden in the foreground. Above, clockwise from top left: A colorful lobster claw heliconia; poolside offers a grandstand view of the valley while still being a part of the tightly knit compound of the garden; bird sculptures from Sumba (pairs of birds are often found on important village and house sites on Timor and Sumba Islands, East Indonesia).

81

groundbreaker JAMES CORNER A closer look at the avant-garde urbanist's forthcoming High Line STORY BY DONNA DORIAN

IN THE FOREWORD TO JAMES CORNER AND ALEX MCLEAN'S 1997 award-winning book. Taking Measures Across the American Landscape, landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh found their ideas tantalizingly comparable in scope to Le Corbusier's call to design buildings as reflections of the machine age. Like Le Corbusier, Corner is a philosopher of change, who urges us "to take the measure" of "our collective inheritance" as we begin to design the post-industrial city, to take the past with us as we move into the future. Pushing aside landscape architecture's back-seat, anti-urban tendencies, Corner makes a firm case for a much more ambitious 82 G A R D E N

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agenda for the profession — one in which landscape architects, working with architects, urban planners and ecologists, lead the way in designing the city of the future.

It's a fascinating concept that the 47-year-old Corner — as the Chair of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and at the helm of his New York-based practice, Field Operations — is making real in a number of high-profile projects. This spring, the first major built example of his new agenda will debut: the High Line, an abandoned New York City railroad viaduct remade into a grand, public promenade. As a cross between New

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York's industrial past and a revolution- views of the Hudson River provide a place ary synthesis of landscape architecture, to stop and rest. A tunnellike passage will ecology, art and urbanism, the High Line double as an exhibition gallery. There's even will amount to nothing less than a gar- room at the park for small performances to den in the sky. take place. The combination creates a feelWhile Le Corbusier found inspiration ing that one is enmeshed in a landscape in the American grain elevator, Corner while simultaneously being part of the city finds his in the vast inventory of large surrounding it. abandoned sites, including old factoIf the High Line is New York's mostries, closed landfills, deserted ports and innovative park since Central Park, Corner's waterfronts, former airfields, and for- program for transforming the Fresh Kills gotten n e i g h b o r h o o d s . Although the landfill on Staten Island into a huge recchallenges of transforming these places reational park is widely considered one are enormous — so far about 1 mile of of the most-forward-looking public-works the High Line's concrete bed has had to projects in the global arena. When combe removed so repairs and waterproofing pleted in 2031, it will also stand as the could be done to the structure — Corner's incarnation of what Corner calls "landscape post-industrial aesthetic is based on the urbanism" — a term that has become the reality that big urban projects require battle cry for avant-garde landscape archiinfusions of billions of dollars over ю tects everywhere. Corner explains it "as a or 15 years. In his eyes, this leads to the way of viewing the urban fabric as if it is necessity of a flexible methodology able a landscape. It's not just the green stuff in to go with the punches as things change between — it's what happen s when you and projects evolve over time. Unlike think of it as everything." architects, who tend to think in terms of And there is a lot of everything at Fresh designed objects, landscape architects, like gardeners, capitalize on change to Kills. At 2,200 acres and 3.4 square miles successfully grow and can therefore take — almost three times the size of Central on a complex range of issues and bring Park — it was formerly one of the largest a lot to projects. He isn't interested in landfills in the world. Then as now, Fresh imposing a static image on a garden, Kills, which derived its n a m e from the park or cityscape. Instead he wants to Middle Dutch word kille, or riverbed, is part grow them "to engineer a site as a self- of one of the largest tidal wetland ecosystems in the region. Even after it was transformed sustaining ecosystem." into a landfill in 1948,55 percent of its area remained populated with creeks, wetlands Corner's approach will become clear and dry lowlands. enough to the millions who will soon start walking the High Line on Manhattan's The problems associated with the bereft West Side. A tight, linear, on-the-average site are common to landfills in general: low30-foot-wide, 1.5-mile-long promenade, fertility soil; lack of ecological diversity; it features a primary walking path only leachate (a kind of "garbage juice," which 8 feet in width. Unlike the Promenade must be extracted from the trash mound s Plantee in Paris — a much-heralded, ear- and sent through a system of pipes and lier example of a viaduct translated into p u m p s to a cleansing plant); the complex an urban park — the High Line makes infrastructure of the mound s that can't be n o effort to repeat a traditional conver- altered; and the release and management sation between planting beds, pergolas of methane gases. It takes some 30 years to and such. Instead, choreographed by ensure a safe and clean environment. While Field Operations in collaboration with some firms that entered the City of New the Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf, the York's International Design Competition High Line will become home to a grass- in 2001 were stumped by the challenges, land matrix inspired by what had grown Corner fingered them as a means of releasup through the cracks after the High Line ing the site's extraordinary potential. closed to traffic in 1980. And while the In his "Lifescape" p r o p o s a l . C o r n e r Promenade Plantee masks Paris behind made no apologies for the trash mounds. thickets of foliage, the skinny footprint of the High Line flaunts an ever-chang- In fact, he looked at them as all-important ing view of the back side of the city. In a dramatic features in the landscape and an sundeck area of the park, chaises open essential aspect of the history of the site.

To date, three of the six mounds have been

THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY'S

O P E N DAYS &

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. PRESENT

Open Days Awakening of the Garden Celebration Friday & Saturday, April 3 & 4 A tour of Fordhook Farm's exquisite gardens in early spring. Participate in a seed sowing workshop, plant sale, guided tours, and talks by Simon Crawford and George Ball.

capped and their methane gas harvested to fuel 25,000 homes. Also integral to the new park is the natural water system, including the salt marsh once polluted with 150 million tons of waste. Now cleaned and readied for kayaking and canoeing, the salt marsh and the winding network of creeks stand out against the wide horizon views of the huge, hill-like capped mounds of trash, taking on a stark, captivating beauty of what seems like an otherworldly moonscape.

Today, the site is d o m i n a t e d primarily by two plant species — Iva frutescens, a multi-stemmed shrub found in marshes, and Phragmites australis, common reed, a 6- to 12-foot-tall grass that has taken over wetlands. To address the problem, small communities of native flora will be planted that will steal enough sunlight to naturally eradicate the invasive species, becoming one of the many ways Field Operations will engage and direct natural processes.

Plugs, whips and trees also will be planted to enrich the seed bank.

With no perfect m o m e n t p l a n n e d in its evolution, the park will become everchanging as meadows, grasslands, woodlands, designed landscapes and creeks become interspersed with event spaces — docks, ball parks, bike paths, bird towers and horse trails. Sanitation buildings

Above: A modular pathway system of tapered concrete planks allows plants to push up at the edges, blurring the boundaries between hard, paved and soft, planted surfaces.

will be rejigged into performance theaters.

Barges that once brought in garbage will be transformed into floating gardens. And an earthwork, built from World Trade Center towers debris, will be formed into the shape of the towers resting on their sides in a wildflower field. The whole will offer a huge open space found nowhere else in New York City. Look for it soon: North Park, the first of five phases, is projected to open in just a year and half. Who knows, though, what will follow on the heels of the current fiscal crisis? Already some parts of the original plans have been scrapped due to complexity and cost.

For all t h e u n a v o i d a b l e d i s c o u r s e and wow power that promises to emanate from the High Line and Fresh Kills, Corner is not particularly interested in putting forth yet another design aesthetic for the ages.

Rather, his eagle eye stays focused on developing new methods and strategies to enhance dynamic relationships between the historical past, the ecological future and us — out of which will grow the green and smart landscapes of the post-industrial age. r

Root Camp Friday & Saturday, May 8 & 9 Workshops, lectures, and seed sales during the event will assist gardeners in constructing their own ornamental and edible gardens at home. Graham Rice and Rosalind Creasy featured.

Midsummer Garden Party Friday & Saturday, July 10 & 11 Hydrangeas will be the focus of the event during guided garden tours and a lecture by internationally acclaimed plant researcher Dr. Mike Dirr.

Burpee's Harvest Festival Friday & Saturday, August 2 1 & 22 A tomato tasting, lecture, guided tours, and a sneak peek at 2010 Burpee varieties. Gardener and cookbook author Laura Schcnone is featured.

Autumn Garden Tour Friday & Saturday, Sept. 25 & 26 Enjoy "summer's second number" with guided tours, a fall bulb/plant sale, a garden workshop, and lectures. T h e featured speakers for this event are Rill Miller and Jerry Fritz.

All events are 1 0 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Location: Fordhook Farm 105 New Britain Road Doylestown, PA

www.heronswood.com www.opendaysprogram.org

landscape NOW AND ZEN The Portland Japanese Garden continues its visionary path STORY BY TOVAH MARTIN ■ PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHELSEA STICKEL

SOME SEEK OUT THE PORTLAND JAPANESE GARDEN AS an oasis, it's true. For sure, Portland residents slip into the garden's deep-green embrace to escape earthly cares. And absolutely, the layering of deftly sculpted form and texture — of noble stone juxtaposed against curvaceously sculpted branches — is meant to draw you away from the mundane and material onto a higher plane. But retreat isn't all this place is about.

The Portland Japanese Garden doesn't take the passive approach.

Instead, active and present is how the garden hopes to interact with its public. Most notably, its newly appointed garden curator, Sadafumi Uchiyama, adopts an invigoratingly engaged stance. The creation of the garden curator position and Uchiyama's appointment in October 2008 was part ofthe process by the Portland Japanese Garden to fulfill a cohesive vision for the garden. "Another name for my position," Uchiyama likes to say, "is 'the vision keeper.'"

Part of what Uchiyama does is to define the garden and make certain that its integrity remains intact. But it goes deeper than that. Uchiyama, who has interacted with the garden since he moved to Portland in 1995, strives to hone how the garden speaks to its public. And he's hoping that the garden can communicate on a very down-to-earth level.

So, rather than the typical intangibles connected with a Zen sort of space, Uchiyama talks in truisms. Though spirituality drips from every 86 G A R D E N

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The Portland Japanese Garden offers visitors a range of venues to delve into its meticulous craftsmanship, from the Strolling Pond Garden with its Moon Bridge (above left), to the Flat Garden and its raked-sand "seascape" surrounded by plantings that highlight the four seasons (above right).

bough in this 5.5-acre venue, discovering it is best done without too much prompting. Thus Uchiyama doesn't dive deeply into the garden's spiritual message when he speaks to visitors, and he skips suggestions of how you should react to the five meticulously manicured spaces that compose this landscape not far from Portland's more-concrete persona.

Instead, he shares informed and insightful observations of how nature and plants interplay, and chronicles the duties of those who maintain the garden, challenging visitors to be attentive to the surroundings.

Then he weaves that into the greater confluence of Japanese tradition before letting you loose to explore the landscape personally. And before you know it, you've found your own way to seeing the waves of the ocean carved in a black pine and the promise of eternal life in the trip of water over stone.

When he discusses the garden, Sada Uchiyama often begins with the bears that were once a part of the zoo originally housed there, and explains how their former den is now a part of the waterfall in the Strolling Pond Garden. Which seems like a valid starting point to

chronicle the land's transformation through stewardship and craftsmanship to its current plateau of perfection. Originally, the garden was inspired by the Sister City program (Portland became the sister city of Sapporo, Japan, in 1959) and was the vision of the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon and professor Takuma Tono, who graduated from Cornell and then taught in Tokyo before returning to the United States, and was commissioned in 1963 to design and landscape the garden. The plan for the garden started taking shape in the early 1960s before construction began in 1965 and continued without pause until its full completion in 1990. What set the Portland Japanese Garden apart was its methodical installation. Other gardens were built fast and furious in a year, maybe two. But it took nearly 30 years to construct Portland's garden. During that time, a series of craftsmen journeyed from Japan and accomplished the gradual, systematic design. "The garden was so well integrated with a sense of the place and its natural environment," Uchiyama points out, "that no major grading was necessary."

Continuity was critical, which is why the gardener craftsmen came for spans of two to four years and labored with head gardeners who remained for 30 years to oversee the overall vision. Throughout its lifespan, the garden has gradually knit together, always changing, but always answering to its founding principles. As Uchiyama likes to say, "a garden evolves, but its concept and design stay."

As for the design, the Pordand garden is composed of the traditional elements typical of Japanese style and features five areas: a strolling garden with its characteristic zigzag bridge to deflect evil, a humility-reinforcing tea garden with a tea house in which the ritual tea ceremony is performed, a flat garden of meditative raked sand, as well as a sand and stone garden mirroring those found in Zen monasteries, and a natural garden which — unlike the other compositions — is meant to be experienced and perceived physically rather than beheld from a distance. Each transports you, but the broader lesson throughout is the interrelatedness of all forms in life. "It's a feeling of connection that we're trying to convey, and the garden is the means," Uchiyama explains.

If the Pordand Japanese Garden's newest curator seems so comfortable with his craft that he expounds truths about existence, gardening and where those two concepts intercept while nonchalandy cradling pruners, that's because he was raised among gardeners. In Japan,

Uchiyama's family has served the land as professional gardeners since 1909, and his own intensive field training began at age 10. As a result, he doesn't know the meaning of a summer break. But he also has an inherent knowledge of the meaning and associations behind the rhythms and customs of Eastern gardening. For a time, he rebelled, joining the Peace Corps just to get away. "I escaped the family tradition," he admits, but eventually returned to the fold, with a redefined approach. He likes to say that he's redrawn his understanding. In 1988, after studying Eastern landscape architecture in Japan, he attended school in this country — earning a bachelor's and master's in landscape architecture from the University of Illinois — to learn the tenets of Western landscape architecture. From there, he was instrumental in the restoration of the 3-acre Japanese garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens in 2002. As a result of a lifelong closeness with landscapes, Uchiyama is infinitely copasetic with the Portland garden and its maintenance, but never casual.

Horticultural skill is paramount in this canvas of intricately juxtaposed lines and curves, the ambiance the result of rhododendrons pruned into sleek mounds that seem to be one continuous surface and pines painstakingly plucked of excess needles one by one at precisely a certain time. In Japanese gardens, the goal is "to distill the essence of each element into its natural form," and even stones and bamboo edging are treated as individuals. "Instead of standing like soldiers, wood pegs used to retain the edge of the pond are uneven, of different sizes and given different orientations." Uchiyama insists that a Japanese garden isn't only about techniques: "It's the unified vision."

By h e i g h t e n i n g a w a r e n e s s of all the Portland Japanese Gardens' inner workings and by explaining its processes and roots, Uchiyama hopes to reach out to all who maneuver the steppingstones in its pathways and brush against the venerable sheared conifers. And time is a critical element here, as "the garden is enriched by the passage of time," according to Uchiyama. Although the Portland garden is m a t u r e by JapaneseAmerican s t a n d a r d s , it's merely in its adolescence in the greater s c h e m e of Japanese gardens. "One hundred years is the Japanese standard for maturity," Uchiyama explains. "We're still giving the garden its flavor." As for Sada Uchiyama, he's in it for the long haul. "I know that things would and should change," says Uchiyama. "We're just beginning a long journey." /r

Endless I S u m m e r * COLLECTION

sourcebook FRESH 1 LOVE THIS PLANT (p. 20) DWM/OPSISMACULATA 1 bought my Drimiopsis at Lowe's, surprisingly, so it pays to keep your eyes open when shopping at local garden centers and nurseries, but mail-order sources are also a good option. — JA Arid Lands Greenhouses aridlands.com B 8 T World Seeds b-and-t-world-seeds.com Glasshouse Works 740-662-2142 glasshouseworks.com Yucca Do Nursery 979-542-8811 yuccado.com PLANT PALETTE CALLA LILIES (p. 24) Calla lilies, both as tubers and cut flowers, can be found at a variety of local sources, but below are a few mail-order sources.

American Meadows 877-309-7333 americanmeadows.com

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Blooming Bulb 800-648-2852 bloomingbu lb.com Brent and Becky's Bulbs 877-661-2852 brentandbeckysbulbs.com Flowerbud (callas as cut flowers) 877-524-5400 flowerbud.com Holland Bulb Farms 800-689-2852 hollandbulbfarms.com Oregon Coastal Flowers 503-815-3762 flowersbutos.com Pacific Callas (callas as cut flowers and plants) 800-533-8573 callalilyshop.pacificcallas.com Park Seed 800-213-0076 parkseed.com Van Bourgondien 800-622-9997 dutchbulbs.com SWATCH WATCH (p. 36) FURNITURE RobbSStucky Double Adjustable Chaise by Lloyd Flanders for Robb S Stucky with Sunbrella cushion in Reel, S2.599.

Lumbar cushion stocked by Robb & Stucky in Sunbrella Zen, $119.

Garden Mosaic side table by Classic Elements, $799. robbstucky.com

For your FREE eMagazine with the latest how-to gardening tips and to find a retailer visit:

EndlessSummerBlooms.com/GD

CONTAINER Apenberry's Ceramic glaze container, $289 Orlando, FL 407-841-3088 apenberrys.com DESIGN CONSULTANT Leigh Ann Murtha Robb & Stucky Interiors Orlando, FL 407-352-2333 leighann.murtha@robbstucky.net LOCATION Residence by Irvin Construction Company Inc. Lake Mary, FL 321-832-1305 irvinconstruction.com SNAKE BITTEN (p. 48) GARDEN DESIGNER Luis Llenza Garden Designs Inc. Wilton Manors. FL luisllenza.com CONTAINERS Campania International (Wholesale only. Website has a retail locator. Retail price varies according to store.) p. 50, Low Tahoe planters campaniainternational.com Gainey Ceramics (Wholesale only.) p. 52, Venetian Rectangle planter 800-451-8155 gaineyceramics.com Greenform p. 53, Spindel planter 310-663-3995 green-form.com Jane Hamley Wells (To the trade.) p. 4. Euro3plast Reverse Vessel (click on "Collections" on website) 773-227-4988 janehamleywells.com Target (Container available in stores only.) p. 52 target.com FURNITURE Richard Schultz Design p. 55,1966 dining table and chair 215-679-2222 richardschultz.com West Elm p. 53, Overlapping-squares chairs 888-922-4119 westelm.com PLANTS Sansevierias can be found at local garden centers, but below are a few mail-order sources.

Asiatica Nursery asiatica@nni.com asiaticanursery.com Bob Smoley's Gardenworld 352-465-8254 bobsmoleys.com

Boyd Nurseries (Wholesale only.)

561-795-7773 boydnursery.com Glasshouse Works 740-662-2142 glasshouseworks.com Sansevieria Thai info@sansevieria-thai.com sansevieria-thai.com Stokes Tropicals 866-478-2502 stokestropicals.com OTHER International Sansevieria Society sansevieria-international.org CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (p. 56) GARDEN DESIGNER Davis Dalbok Living Green San Francisco. CA 415-864-2251 livinggreen.com FOOD Taste Catering 8 Event Planning San Francisco, CA 415-550-6464 tastecatering.com FURNISHINGS Dunkirk San Francisco, CA 415-863-7183 dunkirksf.com Henry Hall Designs p. 59, Natalia sofa comes with a two-seat and three-seat sectional with movable backrests, $14,400.

(Accent pillows by Sunbrella not included.) Natalia ceramic-top coffee table, $2,900. p. 60, Flexy chaise with Batyline mesh seat, $3.800. p. 63, Fusion Collection teak and marine-grade stainless steel. Dining table shown is 70 '/г inches, $4,800 (also available in 87 inches). Fusion Light chairs are stackable and come in three colors of Batyline mesh. $1.900. henryhalldesigns.com Grupo Kettal, of Barcelona p. 61. Maia Collection lounge chairs and ottoman, by Patricia Urquiola. Three pieces shown are $6.076.

A POOL BY THE JUNGLE 8 SEA (p. 66) GARDEN DESIGNER Paulo Pratti Sao Paulo, Brazil HOLDING COURT (p. 74) GARDEN DESIGNER Made Wijaya Bali, Indonesia ptwijaya.com strangerinparadise.com LIVING GREEN (p. 45) GARDEN DESIGNER Eric Graft Oehme, van Sweden 8 Associates Washington, D.C. 202-546-7575 ovsla.com

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ADVERTISER DIRECTORY leader in providing site furnishings including statuary and fountains in cast stone, lead and bronze, weathervanes, sundials and park benches.

FREE Product Info Learn more about the products 8 services featured in GARDEN DESIGN. Simply fill out the attached card and return it to us. We'll handle the rest! f-or faster service, fax toll-free to 888847-6035 or visit www.gardendesign. com/readerservice.

12. Hanover Architectural Products.

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Millstones.com. Millstones and Syrup Kettles. Authentic, Genuine, Old. 100 plus inventory in range of sizes for 20" to 60" in diameter.

Manufacturers of concrete unit pavers for architectural, commercial and residential ongrade and roof applications.

7.

StoneForest.Functionalsculpture for the garden and bath, handcrafted in stone, copper and bronze.

13. oldcastle. Oldcastle is leading the way in new architectural landscaping products.

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Creative. Inspired.

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Birth of Venus. Contemporary cast stone sculptures for home, office, and garden.

David Harber. David Harber's handcrafted and personalized sundials, sculptures and water features have worked their magic on fine homes and gardens around the world.

CONSERVATORIES/STRUCTURES 901

Gardensia Archipelago Designs.

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Hand-carved stone pots, old basins, lanterns, Balinese statues, Buddha statues, recycled teak, bronze, architectural items and artifacts from South-East Asia.

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Kenneth Lynch & Sons. An Industry

Tuscan Imports Inc. Importer of handmade Italian terracotta and lightweight poly planters.

Oak Leaf Conservatories. Bespoke

hardwood Conservatories, Orangeries and Garden Rooms

by Oak Leaf Conservatories are developed with classic proportions, empathy with existing architecture and attention to detailing.

HOME FURNISHINGS 904 14. Summer Classics. A manufacturer

of fine garden furnishings that was founded on the principle of truly classic design.

15. Sunbrella.Sunbrella® fabrics offer beautiful styling and legendary fade and stain resistance, making them ideal for awnings and outdoor furniture.

construction, and maintenance for residential and commercial properties worldwide.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN/BBQ 906 17. Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.

Designers and manufacturers of professional grade stainless steel gourmet grills and kitchens for outdoor living.

PLANT 8 GARDEN PRODUCTS 907 18. Bartlett Tree Expert. For allyourtree and shrub care needs, call the experts.

19. Endless Summer® Collection.

These remarkable hydrangeas will make your garden come alive with lasting color that blooms all summer long.Blooms on both new and old growth every year. Look for the blue pots at a garden center near you.

DECKING/PAVERS/TILE 902

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20. Gardener's Confidence® Collection.

The Gardener's Confidence© Collection... Welcome to a garden you can count on.® New for 2009, the Heaven Scent(TM) Gardenia.

10. Belgard. Belgard© Hardscapes distinctive pavers for unique patio, walkway, driveway and retaining wall designs.

16. ZEN Associates, Inc. Award-winning design and build firm providing comprehensive landscape architecture, interior design,

21. Proven Winners® ColorChoice®.

Proven Winners ColorChoice introduces the first true dwarf buddliea, Lo & Behold Blue Chip.

Haddonstone USA. Cast Stone,

architectural cast stone and cast stone garden ornaments including balustrading, columns, porticos, door surrounds, steps...

11. Eldorado Stone. Eldorado Stone is dedicated to creating The Most Believable Architectural Stone veneer in the World'".

GARDEI N PREMIER RETAIL PARTNER LISTING ALABAMA Preasts Petals & Pottery (Fairhope) PH: 251-928-6073 The Green House Retail Nursery & Landscaping (Loxley) PH: 251-9(34-5644 www.thegreenhouseretailnursery.com CALIFORNIA Artefact Design & Salvage, Inc (Sonoma) PH: 707-933-0660 www.artefactdesignsalvage.com Big Red Sun (Venice) PH: 512-480-0688 - www.bigredsun.com Burkard Nurseries, Inc. (Pasadena) PH- 626-796-4355 www.burkardnurseries.com Gardenology (Encinitas) PH: 760-753-5500 - www.garden-ology.com Grounded Garden Shop (Encinitas) PH: 760-230-1563 www.shopgrounded.com Intn'l Garden & Floral Design Center (ElSegundo) PH: 310-615-0353 - www.igarcencenter.com Marina del Rey Garden Center (Marina del Rey) PH: 310-823-5956 www.marinagardencenrer.com PlantPlay Nursery (Carlsbad) PH: 760-730-0012 v',\V',vpl:r.:il:iyr Jiseiycoir

Richard Gervais Collection (San Francisco) PH: 415-255-4579 www.rchardgervaiscollection.com CONNECTICUT Oliver Nurseries (Fairfield) PH: 203-259-5609 www.oIivemurseries.com ILLINOIS Steel Heart, Ltd. (Harvard) PH: 815-943-3465 www.steelheartlimited.com MICHIGAN Detroit Garden Works (Sylvan Lake) PH: 248-335-8089 www.detroitgardenworks.com MINNESOTA Tangletown Gardens (Minneapolis) PH: 612-822-4769 www.tangletowngardens.com NEW YORK Dimitri's Garden Center (New York) PH: 718-292-3338 www.dimitrisgaraencenter.com Dodds and Eder (Oyster Bay) PH: 516-922-4412 www.doddsandeder.com Evan Peters & Co. (Long Island City) PH: 718-349-7545 www.evanpeters.com Martin Viette Nurseries (East Norwich) PH: 516-922-5530 www.martinviette.com

Muxworthy's Outdoor Furniture (Rochester) WASHINGTON PH: 585-266-5590 Bamford & Bamford Pottery (Tacoma) www.muxworthys.com PH: 253-272-7244 www.bambampots.com Plaisirs du Jardin (Port Jervis) WISCONSIN PH: 845-856-6330 The Wreath Factory (Plymouth) plaisirsdujardin@frontiemet.net PH: 920-893-8700 OHIO www.wreathfactoryonline.com Mohican Wind Harps (Loudonville) INTERNATIONAL PH: 419-368-3415 Atlas Pots (North Vancouver, www.mohcanwindharps.com British Columbia) Windmill Farm Market (Springboro) PH: 604-960-0556 PH: 937-885-3965 ЛУЛУ tiUaspo;s.( он: www.wincmillfarmmarket.com Cameleon Vert (Montreal, Quebec) PENNSYLVANIA PH: 514-937-2481 Athena Garden (Delmont) www.cameleorvert.com PH: 724-468-0063 Garden Architecture and Design vvvvw athena garden.com (Saskatchewan) www.diffordfrecericks.com PH: 306-651-2828 Mostardi Nursery (Newton Square) wwwgaroenarchitectureca PH: 610-356-8035 - www.mostardi.com Kingsbrae Horticultural Garden TENNESSEE (St. Andrews, New Brunswick) Urban Patio (Nashville) PH: 506-529-3335 PH: 615-730-9764 - www.urbanpatio.com vvvwv kingsbraegarden.com TEXAS Le Marche Vert Inc. (St. Saveur, Quebec) Big Grass Bamboo (San Antonio) PH: 450-227-2775 PH: 210-735-7999 peterboxer@bellnet.ca www.biggrass-bamboo.com Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park Nelson Water Gardens & Nursery Inc (Katy) (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) PH: 281-391-4769 PH: 345-947-9462 - www.botanic-park.ky www.nelsonwatergardens.com Windergarden (Toronto, Ontario) The Arbor Gate (Tomball) PH: 416-766-1960 PH: 281-351-8851 www.windergarcen.com www.arborEate.com

Call t o d a y t o f i n d o u t h o w t o b e c o m e a GARDEN DESIGN retailer a n d be included in t h i s list o f exclusive retailers. T h e GARDEN DESIGN Retail Program off e r s y o u magazines f o r resale in your s t o r e and exposure f o r your s h o p in every issue o f GARDEN DESIGN a n d on t h e w e b - s i t e f o r one low a n n u a l c o s t .

For d e t a i l s c a l l M a l a t o d a y a t 8 8 8 - 2 5 9 - 6 7 5 3 E x t 4 9 3 3 To find o u t more a b o u t our f e a t u r e d retailers visit w w w . g a r d e n d e s i g n . c o m / n e w s s t a n d s . j s p

Vixen Hill Cedar Pergolas Vixen Hill has developed an extraordinary selection of pre-engineered cedar products. Modular cedar pergolas make ideal meeting points for public and private use. Available in custom sizes with an arbor or barrel roof. Order factory direct.

800-423-2766 www.vixenhill.com

Schreiner's Iris Gardens Our family has been growing and breeding award-winning Iris since 1925.

These hardy easy-to-grow perennials are available in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Find gardening inspiration in our new full-color Mini-Catalog... order now or visit us on-line. Located at 3625 Quinaby Road NE, Dept 70, Salem, OR, 97303.

Santa Rosa Garden Santa Rosa Gardens is a family-owned mail-order nursery located along the beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida. We specialize in Ornamental Grasses, but also provide a wide range of Perennial Plants, Ferns, Hostas, Daylilies, Flowering Bulbs, Tropical Palms, Aquatic Plants, Gardening Tools and Gardening Essentials, as well as Gifts for Gardeners. We invite you to browse our online catalog and sign up to receive our monthly gardener's newsletter.

866-681-0856 www.santarosagardens.com sales@santarosagardens.com

800-525-2367 Ext. 70 www.schreinersgardens.com

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Tuscan Garden Works Changing ordinary to extraordinary.

GAZEBOS, ARCHES, BRIDGES, OUTDOOR FURNITURE, SWINGS, WINDOW TREATMENTS Authentic Old World custom designs to your specifications, using forging ovens, etc. All iron is powder coated, requiring minimal maintenance. Visit our website to view our catalog.

800-698-0535 www.tuscangardenworks.com

Witherspoon Rose Culture Witherspoon Rose Culture offers a carefully selected choice of premium rose bushes. Choose roses for hardiness, disease resistance, delicious fragrance, breathtaking beauty and novelty colors.

Experienced in selling roses and caring for outstanding gardens since 1951, we are the experts.

Floating Millstone in Syrup Kettle Fountain The 24" millstone is from Baxley, Appling County, Georgia; the 48" diameter unmarked Syrup Kettle is from Covington, Newton County, Georgia. Here two agrarian relics of the past are combined, both used at the harvest, a theme that gardeners love. At www.millstones.com, see over 80 genuine millstones and 50 original syrup kettles complete with provenance, dimensions, pictures and pricing. Start with the landscaping ideas (the photo album), and then move to the online catalog.

800-643-0315 www.witherspoonrose.com

404-310-6490 www.millstones.com rnlllstonM.com

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"Everything But The Water" Pondbiz is a family operated business dedicated to providing the very best pond and water garden products at competitive prices. For all your needs, check out our huge selection of pumps, filters and aquatic plants at our website or Southern California retail store.

866-766-3249 www.pondbiz.com sales@pondbiz.com

Walpole Woodworkers® High style. Low maintenance. No liner.

Crafted in advanced cellular vinyl, an attractive wood alternative our window boxes are offered in many styles and sizes. Call for a free Selections catalog or see more than 300 outdoor products on our website!

HSP Garden Buildings Ltd Design, manufacture and install of high quality garden structures. Whether it be from our standard range or purpose built, each is designed to the highest standards. From Seating Arbours to Summerhouses each has been given the same careful consideration - drawing inspiration from classic design, and combining it with modern materials.

800-343-6948 walpolewoodworkers.com/windowl 2

Garden Accents (PA) 610-825-5525 Whitmore Gardens (NY) 631-267-3182 Matterhorn Nursery (NY) 845-354-5986 HSP California (CA) 888-477-4470 Shoogie Boogies (FL) 941-951-5437 info@hspgardenbuildings.com www.hspgardenbuildings.com

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Hooks & Lattice Hooks S Lattice designs and creates some of the most beautiful, well crafted planters, window boxes and shutters available. Whether you are looking to add some "curb appeal", create a beautiful container garden or give the perfect gift, let Hooks 8 Lattice be your resource. Please call or visit our website!

800-896-0978 www.hooksandlattice.com

Foxgloves Protection perfected! Just in time for our Tenth Anniversary! Presenting the exciting NEW FOXGLOVES GAUNTLET! Comfort, dexterity and superb performance define this Gauntlet. Perfect for all those thorny and abrasive garden tasks. Come to our website to see all the NEW FOXGLOVES!

ASG Glass Tumbled Landscaping Nuggets 100% recycled glass tumbled landscaping nuggets are a vibrant and colorful accent to any garden design. Made with US-sourced recycled glass, our array of colors add vibrance and panache to groundcover, water features, and fire pits. Mulch replacement with a weed barrier is our most popular maintenancefree application. Try our Caribbean Mix of light blue hues or our Sunshine Mix of oranges, reds, and yellows. We sell direct. Volume discounts are available.

Samples are available.

877-294-4222 www.asgglass.com info@asgglass.com

888-322-4450 www.foxglovesgardengloves.com

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Bamboo Fencing & More Established in 1880, family owned and operated for 5 generations. Stock, custom, tropical or Oriental fencing.

Bamboo poles, roof thatching and much more. Call us for free catalog or visit us on the web.

800-4-BAMBOO www.bambooandrattan.com su2bamboo@comcast.net

Protect & Beautify with Outdoor Lighting Affordable, custom outdoor lighting to enhance home security and safety.

Eco-friendly low voltage systems illuminate with soft, warm glows of golden light. Call for your Free Preview and see your home temporarily lit at dusk or visit our website for more information.

Transformation Butterfly Rachel Tribble's color infused paintings are a reflection of color, shape, and movement in nature. Her work is sought after by private collectors, Fortune 500 corporations and fine retailers throughout the United States. Limited Edition Prints, Tiles, Outdoor Canvas Prints, Original Paintings and Commissions available.

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772-708-8400 www.racheltribble.com

800-447-1112 www.outdoorlights.com

Oakes Daylilies Your Trusted Source for America's Perfect Perennial! Choose from over 400 varieties of hardy, easy-to-grow hybrid daylilies in a rainbow of colors, shapes and sizes. We send huge, freshly dug plants that are big enough to bloom the first year. Free full color catalogs are available.

800-532-9545 www.oakesdaylilies.com

Archadeck Custom Outdoor Living Spaces White Flower Farm - The Hummingbird Annual Collection

Love the home you're in. Start living outdoors - with custom outdoor living spaces from Archadeck. We're proud to be the world's favorite deck and outdoor structures builder for nearly three decades.

Plenty of pink, coral, and red shades in this customer favorite catch the attention of hummingbirds and draw them to Fuchsia 'Billy Green' for a sweet reward.

We also include long-blooming Begonia Dragon WingIM Pink, Coleus 'Sedona' and 'Strawberry Drop', plus Ornamental Sweet Potato 'Margarita'. Visit our Web site to watch "How to plant the Hummingbird Annual Collection." Order item S87119,6 plants for S43.95 plus shipping. Please mention Source Code 9S932.

Decks • Screened Porches • Outdoor Living Rooms • Sunrooms • Pergolas Call for your Free Design Consultation 888-OUR DECK www.archadeck.com

800-503-9624 www.whiteflowerfarm.com

White Flower farm Wl

3 2009 Archadeck

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Duracraft Planters Over 15 years of manufacturing fiberglass planters has shaped a product that combines design with ultimate durability. Our finishes are a gel-coat and unlike paint won't flake, peel or fade and contain genuine metal. All-weather construction and commercial-grade material ensures years of enjoyment.

Classic, contemporary and custom designs available.

800-790-8709 www.myduracraft.com

LatticeStix LatticeStix designs and builds intriguing lattice in 100+ patterns. Standard panels come in 12 sizes for fencing and landscape projects. Patterned lattice products include gates, framed screens, borders, trellis, arbors, and accents.

LatticeStix' cedar lattice is built to last in the craftsman tradition using all wood joinery. Lattice reinvented.

A Career in Garden Design Our unique, intensive, part-time Diploma Course in Garden Design teaches all of the key skills needed to become a professional garden designer. This nine-month course is led by award-winning, practising designers from the USA and UK who have over 50 years teaching experience. Starting in August 2009, Garden Design School opens its doors to the US. To join us for our Taster Day, May 29th 2009, at our Massachusetts training center (Tower Hill Botanic Garden), please contact John DeVore, Course Director, or visit our website and click on USA Diploma na Course. course.

888-528-7849 www.latticestix.com

513-867-0437 www.gardendesignschool.com

Musser Forest, Inc. Over 80 years of growing quality nursery stock including seedlings, transplants, and potted liners.

Specializing in native plant material for reforestation, erosion control and wetland rehabilitation. Start your own Christmas tree farm with our northern grown, hardy trees! UPS delivery.

800-643-8319 www.musserforests.com info@musserforests.com

Maine Millstones Add a real sense of history to your landscape. Perfect for fountains, patios, tables, pathways, doorsteps and focal points. These granite millstones are available in sizes from 16 inches to 6 feet and are delivered directly to you.

Check out our Website for other great garden art.

Courtyard Collection Delightful casting of Boy in Bronze. Charming at the edge of a pond or as a wall mount. Bronze cast of 16C French Church Spire as garden sculpture or inverted hanging from a tree. Stone casting of antique palm stump as side table or umbrella stand. Classic antique Regence Tray Table cast in stainless steel or bronze (close-up view). See measurements and other decorative items from this "Courtyard Collection" on our website which features in addition, furniture, prints and antique French Oil Jars.

207-633-6091 www.mainemiUstones.com

858-456-8723 www.montecitodesign.com sales@montecitodesign.com

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Archie's Island Furniture --V

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Premium outdoor rocking chairs, Adirondack furniture and benches made with environmentally harvested Malaysian mahogany. All our furniture is finished with highest quality marine enamel paints and is available in 28 stand-out colors. Custom commemorative plaques for all occasions. Call for details and a catalog.

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New 19" cut, 750-watt ' model is great for ' larger lawns up to 1/3 acre.

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800-486-1183 www.archiesisland.com

4 8 lb. model is half t h e -weight of most gas mowers

Moss...

Lush - Vibrant - Soothing

Neuton® Battery-Powered Lawn Mowers

Shipped dlrrrt

No gas! No oil! Neuton® Battery-Powered Mowers give you a beautiful, clean cut just like gas mowers do, but without all the hassle. They run clean and quiet, and start instantly with a gentle squeeze of the handlebar. So why continue to deal with messy, noisy, hard-to-start lawn mowers? Discover the joy of a battery-powered mower today: it's easier on you and the environment.

Contact us toll-free for a FREE DVD and Catalog with complete details.

888-213-2140 www.neutonmowers.com

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Moss Acres The tranquil beauty of Moss... now a reality in your garden. We ship four varieties of live moss. Moss has fast become an increasingly desirable and low-maintenance alternative to grass lawns and conventional shade gardening. With Moss Acres, growing moss has never been easier!

866-GET-MOSS www.mossacres.com

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Trellis Structures Trellis Structures designs and manufactures innovative custom solutions for pergolas, arbors, trellises and gates. A full complement of garden structures, made of the highest quality western red cedar, is also available in our catalog. Trellis Structures is known for it's exquisite, finely detailed products. Shown here: A 16-foot patio pergola.

800-649-6920 www.trellisstructures.com sales@trellisstructures.com

New England Architectural Center GelPro8 Anti-Fatigue Floor Mats

"Timeless Beauty" of an era gone by.

Harvested from New England streets, these vintage cobblestone and brick are hand crafted and one of a kind. Time worn, they lend themselves to a number of architectural applications. Driveways, walkways, the possibilities are indeed endless; the supply is not. Please visit our website for additional information.

As seen on HGTV, Food Network and Fine Living, GelPro№ Mats are filled with a soft gel that makes standing on hard flooring comfortable. Available in designer colors, exotic textures and multiple sizes. Great for any cook, especially those with back pain or arthritis. Order today online or by phone.

866-GEL-MATS (435-6287) www.gelpro.com

401-732-1363 www.piecesofhistory.net peterghill02840@yahoo.net

GelPro 0*t«-|||*d A n l i - F * t i * u * Floor M « U

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Bamboo Fencer, Inc. Transform your back yard or garden into a calming oasis. Think bamboo!

The ultimate "green" fence material.

The Bamboo Good Neighbor Fence (made in USA), offers the best overall value in strength, durability, versatility and privacy. Visit us at our website for more information.

888-381-3892 www.bamboofencer.com

Endless Pools, Swim at Home John Scheepers Beauty from Bulbs

Swim or exercise in place against a smooth current adjustable to any speed or ability. Installed indoors or out the Endless Pool is perfect for swimming, exercise, therapy and family fun.

Already own a pool? Ask us about the Fastlane速. Now add a swim current to any backyard pool! Request a free DVD and brochure today.

Bring the special beauty of bulbs to your family's garden from over 800 of the best fall-planting Dutch flower bulbs and herbacious peonies at the best prices. For larger quantities, contact Van Engelen (860-567-8734 or www. vanengelen.com), and for gourmet vegetable, herb and flower seeds, contact Kitchen Garden Seeds (860-567-6086 or www.kitchengardenseeds.com).

Request your free catalogs today! Ad code: GD21.

860-567-0838 customerservice@johnscheepers.com www.johnscheepers.com

John Scheepers

800-233-0741 Ext. 6487 www.endlesspools.com/6487

Sturdi-built Greenhouse Mfg We've been making beautiful Redwood and Glass greenhouse kits in Portland Oregon for over 50 years. Each is customized with features and equipment to meet your unique gardening needs.

Our greenhouses are shipped all over the U.S. Many greenhouse photos, information, and color catalog on web site, or call us.

800-334-4115 www.sturdi-built.com sturdi@sturdi-built.com

Premium Elephant Ears Banana Plants & Crinum Too!

Large-Scale Precast Concrete Pavers

Get great quality tropical bulbs and plants for every garden this year.

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on desi JULIE MOIR MESSERVY

Form follows feeling in gardens designed to feed the soul

A PROLIFIC DESIGNER OF BOTH PRIVATE and public landscapes (including the Toronto Music Garden), Julie Moir Messervy also loves to write and lecture about design. It's one way she wresties with concepts and coaxes them into shape. Her new book, Home Outside (The Taunton Press, 2009), presents design theory as well as practical advice.

— VIRGINIA SMALL

Q; How did you come to take an unabashedly emotional approach to designing landscapes?

A: As a child, I spent a lot of time playing outside, building forts and making special places in mossy beds or under trees. I'd bury my nose in peonies and I studied trilliums in the forest. Being outdoors was all about feeling good. As a designer, I want each of my landscapes to feel just as special for my clients. For me, form doesn't follow function; form follows feeling.

Qj Whafs your concept of "home outside"?

A: Home is not just the house where you live, but also the entire landscape around the house.

Basically, all the same things can happen outside a home as happen inside — you can play, eat, frolic — you can even tryst there!

Qj So where do you start?

Julie Moir Messervy (right) designed the Toronto Music Garden (top) as an interpretation of a seven-part musical suite by Johann Sebastian Bach. She collaborated with cellist Yo-Yo Ma on the project.

Above: She traces her love of landscapes to childhood explorations, discovering trilliums in the forest.

96 GARDEN DESIGN

APRIL 09

A: I begin by analyzing the actual site and learning as much as I can about what the client's "ideal site" would be. Then I figure out one or more big moves that give me an organizing strategy for the design. Then I look for the desired level of comfort in specific outdoor spaces. For example, the front yard should ideally be a welcoming zone. If it does not feel welcoming, I look for ways to create a sense of comfort there.

Qj What other types of spaces promote a sense of comfort?

A: People like places to gather with family and friends, and these are often best close to the house.

We also like getaway spaces, such as for a hammock, which can be farther from the house.

Qj HOW does your training in architecture influence your sense of design?

A: The same design principles apply to both buildings and landscapes. I take cues from the architecture and connect the lines or materials of a house with those around it. I create open-air rooms with some type of frame, but they don't always need to be symmetrical.

Then I think about wayfinding and how to make it all feel part of a continuous, flowing whole.

NOT JUST ANY PLANTS ARE PROVEN WINNERS

Buifdliea «'Blue Chip' ppaf, cbraf • LO & BEHOLD" Mature Height: 24-30" Mature Width: 30" USDA Zones 5-9 Best in Full Sun.

While other plant brands may just repackage older varieties. Proven Winners® ColorChoice® plants are distinctive new varieties that make beautiful gardens easier. The professional horticulturists at Proven Winners carefully evaluate plants for qualities such as long-lasting color and easy care. We look for environmentallyfriendly plants, too - varieties that don't need a lot of spraying or special care to look great year after year.

With its long bloom time and low-growing dwarf habit, Lo & Behold'" Blue Chip easily met our criteria. This dwarf buddleia blooms from mid-summer to frost without any deadheading or pruning. It's an environmentally friendly, non-invasive hybrid that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. And since it's just 24-30" tall, even gardeners with tiny plots or container gardens can enjoy it.

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PROVEN WINNERS

Choosing the right plants is our job. Enjoying them is yours.

Find out more about Lo & Behold'" Blue Chip, including where to buy it, at www.provenwinners.com

Easy to Grow, Incredibly Colorful

Look for Proven Winners in the white containers.

Stone. The Foundation for Memorable Spaces.

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