$5.9 9 / $6. 99 C AN.
Chocolate grass, black cannas, perfect container plants Coolest plants for 2006— brand new and breakouts
WAYHOT1OO
MARCH 2OO6
Garden Furniture for La Dolce Vita Take-Home Ideas from Paradise: Morocco’s Secret Gardens Spring-Fresh Outdoor Rooms in Atlanta, L.A., St. Barts
Monrovia Style: Presents THE BOUNDARY BREAKER Mark Rios, Landscape Architect and Architect. Mark crosses the lines between open and enclosed spaces, natural and geometric, hard and soft, using plant material to create memorable modern spaces.
“Whenever I visit my favorite local nursery to look for plants or ideas, I can immediately spot the Monrovia plants— fantastic specimens and a wide range of varieties. They always inspire me to try a new combination.” –Mark Rios
Monrovia Style™: Creating distinctive gardens ...
Ceanothus x 'Blue Sapphire' Blue Sapphire Ceanothus
one plant at a time. www.monrovia.com
contents
MARCH 2006
55
88
Features 55 Way
68
Hot 100
A sizzling collection of the best new plants for 2006 as discovered in private trial grounds and horticultural trade shows or recommended by our green-thumb designer friends. B Y J E N N Y A N D R E W S A N D R A Y R O G E R S
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L.A. Soul
Bohemian chic and an English sensibility come together to create this alluring and distinctive private retreat in Bel Air, California. B Y D O N N A D O R I A N
78
On the Cover Just one of our Way Hot 100, Carex ‘Milk Chocolate’ is a trendy chocolate-colored sedge (story begins on page 55). Photo by Tom McWilliam.
A gardener’s autumn begins in March, with the first faded snowdrop—K A R E L
Return to Paradise
A trip to the gardens of Morocco with landscape architect Topher Delaney was an inspiring education in an ancient design tradition for style editor Donna Dorian.
88 The
78 CAPEK
Green Room
An Atlanta plant collector’s passion for accumulating Japanese maples is balanced by his sophisticated eye for scale and detail. B Y D A V I D M C M U L L I N
GARDEN DESIGN
3
contents
11 Departments
24
11 Dirt The old world of terrariums is new again, outdoor rugs, self-help for plant addicts, a tulip museum, a favorite magnolia, letter from New Orleans.
28
Decor A luxurious adobe-style outdoor living space on St. Barts.
28
32 Style Hot Italian style for la dolce vita. 36 Growing The wild, wildWest—California native plants for a homegrown Mediterranean look.
32
46
Groundbreaker
Don Shadow of Tennessee, the man behind the plants we all know and love.
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36
50 Abroad English garden hotels that serve up luxury and horticultural delights. 96 Sage Advice Jack Ruttle’s seasonal advice, expert insight on the art of espalier, a cool front garden in Austin,Texas.
Details Paris in spring is a simple affair.
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For more, check out www.gardendesign.com.
POSTAL INFORMATION GARDEN DESIGN, NUMBER 136 (ISSN 0733-4923), is published 7 times per year (January/February, March,April, May, June/July, September/October, November/December) by World Publications, LLC, P.O. Box 8500,Winter Park, FL 32790. ©Copyright 2006, 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.: $23.95 for one year, $39.95 for 2 years. Canadian subscribers add $6.00 per year, foreign subscribers add $12.00 per year. For subscription information, please call 800/5130848. 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 to 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 1-800-513-0848. EDITORIAL: Send correspondence to Editorial Department, GARDEN DESIGN, P.O. Box 8500,Winter Park, FL 32789; E-mail: gardendesign@worldpub.net.We welcome all editorial submissions, but assume no responsibility for the loss or damage of unsolicited material. ADVERTISING: Send advertising materials to RR Donnelley & Sons Company, Lancaster Premedia Center,Attn: Garden Design Ad Management Module, 216 Greenfield Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Phone: 717-481-2851. Retail sales discounts available; contact Circulation Department. Following are trademarks of GARDEN DESIGN and World Publications, Inc., and their use by others is strictly prohibited:The Golden Trowel Awards; Dirt; Growing; Style; Sage Advice; Details.
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MARCH 2006
Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart—V I C T O R
HUGO
E D I TO R - I N - C H I E F Bill Marken Joanna Fortnam Michael Bessire S T Y L E E D I TO R Donna Dorian M A N AG I N G E D I TO R Jenny Andrews P H OTO E D I TO R Jason Upright C O P Y E D I TO R Nancy Ogburn O N L I N E E D I TO R / W E B P RO D U C E R Brent Schmierbach S E N I O R A DV I S E R Ken Druse H O RT I C U LT U R A L C O N S U LTA N T Jack Ruttle C O N S U LT I N G E D I TO R S Charles Birnbaum, Dr. Marc Cathey, Ruth Chivers, James David, Dick Dunmire, Amy Goldman, Richard Hartlage, Christy Hobart, Adam Levine, Michael MacCaskey, Deborah Madison, David McMullin, Denise Otis, Diane Dorrans Saeks, Ivette Soler, Alta Tingle, EmilyYoung E X E C U T I V E E D I TO R A RT D I R E C TO R
P U B L I S H E R Diane Turner, 407/571-4883 A DV E RT I S I N G S A L E S Lisa Lawn, 407/571-4916 Jason Champion, 321/806-9946 H O M E F U R N I S H I N G S & AC C E N T S M A N AG E R Jodi Bech, 407/571-4600 G R E E N G O O D S & P L A N T M AT E R I A L M A N AG E R Meshele Conley, 407/571-4797 S A L E S A S S T. / P RO J E C T M A N AG E R Laurie Sanders, 407/571-4541 N AT I O N A L S A L E S M A N AG E R HIGH-DESIGN TRADE
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from the editor
If these plants could talk IN CALIFORNIA’S SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, NOT FAR FROM where I grew up, there’s a mysterious, isolated ecosystem called Bonny Doon. I should add that this is near a locally famous tourist attraction in the redwoods called the Mystery Spot, where the “laws of physics and gravity cease to exist.” Is the proximity just a coincidence? I don’t know since I have been able to resist the Mystery Spot’s alluring bumper stickers and claims (“highest dielectric bicosmic radiation known anywhere in the world”) and have not visited the place. In the sandy hills of the Bonny Doon ecosystem you will find native flora that a bumper sticker might describe as “climate-defying” and “unique in the universe.” You will see wild plants that do not grow elsewhere— the Ben Lomond gnarly red-trunked manzanita or a dwarf, silver-leaf lupine, for instance.There also are ponderosa pines, the common tree of the Sierra Nevada Range, which is hundreds of miles away and thousands of feet higher in elevation, as well as heathers that normally grow at the beach.What are those plants doing here? Short version of a long, long story: It has something to do with an ancient seabed and other geological mysteries. I guess my point is: If plants could talk, they would have fascinating stories to tell. I asked Jenny Andrews, our managing editor and Queen of Hot Plants, about the stories behind the Way Hot 100 in this issue. She told me,“100 plants, 100 stories.” Maybe I should have asked when she wasn’t swamped putting together the story. Just a few plant stories from our Way Hot 100: Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’ was introduced by plantsman Don Shadow (profiled on page 46).The original tree, discovered growing along railroad tracks, was 60 feet tall and only 3 feet wide. Sad to say, it was cut down recently, probably by someone who doesn’t listen when plants talk. Kniphofia‘Green Jade’ has a circuitous story that goes back to 1707, when redhot pokers were first brought back from Africa to England, then kept in greenhouses until the 1840s, when they moved outdoors and a century later became a fixture of neglected California gardens.This lime-green form, introduced by Beth Chatto in 1968, originated as a seedling in an English garden.Today it’s a star in the catalog of Digging Dog Nursery,Albion, California. Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’, from ProvenWinners, was almost passed over in the breeding selection process in Germany, until someone noticed a hanging basket with an exceptional plant—covered with small airy flowers. Colocasia ‘Nancy’s Revenge’ must have an interesting story to tell. Or maybe it’s just an example of the talent of Plant Delights Nursery to create catchy names. Read about them, grow them, listen to them—check out all of 2006’s coolest plants, beginning on page 55.—B I L L M A R K E N , E D I TO R - I N - C H I E F c o r r e c t i o n TheWeb site address for Golden Trowel amateur winners Matt Proctor and Aixe Djelal’s company was incorrectly listed in the January/February issue.The artists’ work—elegantly edgy cast-aluminum objects for the home, garden and commercial spaces—can be viewed at www.meltmodern.com.
I had to go back to that house…to see if camellias were in bloom—L U C I N D A
WILLIAMS
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OUTDOOR RUGS
Garden designer Paula Hayes stirred interest in Manhattan fine-art circles with her duodenum-like glass vessels (handblown by Jeff Zimmerman).“I was attracted to the idea of taking care of a tiny world, like a dreamscape,” she explains.“A terrarium is art combined with science.” Biospheres cost $2,400 to $10,000, depending on size. From Salon 94 (646-6729212, www.salon94.com) or R 20th Century (212-3437979, www.r20thcentury.com). See wwwpaulahayes.com.
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RALPH MOORE
| TULIP MUSEUM
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AT H E N S S E L E C T
Terrarium Tales
Growing plants in a too-small container may sound eccentric, but the results are captivating LIKE AFROS AND DENIM FLARES, TERRARIUMS were big in the seventies. But who today under the age of 40 remembers the giant wine bottles with impossibly narrow necks that fanatical Terrarium People filled with plants and fashioned into table lamps with orange hessian shades? Or the brandy snifters displaying an African violet? History records that gardeners soon abandoned this demanding cult and turned back to hand-size tools and human-size plots. But legend has it that some of the most loyal Terrarium People held onto their tiny forks and tiny spoons lashed to chopsticks and
All good work is done the way ants do things: little by little—L E F C A D I O
HEARN
went on their way, into oblivion. Until now. In March 2005, as a first-time visitor to the Philadelphia Flower Show, I was surprised to see a gathering of terrariums.They had shed their lamp shades but were present in strength, some sporting single plants and others, whole ecosystems of small, humidity-loving plants like moss, ivy, ferns, miniature sinningias, pitcher plants (sarracenia) and flame violets (episcia). Although all sorts of plants can make a miniature world—for example an open terrarium of cacti and succulents makes a Lilliputian desert—the terrarium is tradition-
RICHARD FELBER
dirt
TERRARIUMS
GARDEN DESIGN
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dirt ally an enclosed environment. Victorian doctor Nathaniel Ward was the first to devise one—to transport specimens by sea from plant-collecting expeditions. He discovered that a sealed glass case could form a self-sustaining envifyi For the ronment for plants, since the Philadelphia water the plants transpired Flower Show, condensed inside the case and see www.the the terrarium, with hybrid was reused. Today, in homes flowershow.com. forms appearing in art galleries where air-conditioning and and florists’ shops.Wrestling heating systems can mean slow with ship-in-a-bottle tools is not a requiredeath for plants, the idea is still timely. ment—in fact, most terrariums at the show Charlene Marietti of Medford, New Jerhad wide mouths for easy access—but the sey, and Martha Miller of Newark, challenge is to find a good container. GoldDelaware, are both experienced terrarium gardeners. Marietti grows sinningias—a fish bowls and large pickle jars work well. relative of African violets,with delicate nod- Florists’ suppliers sometimes offer large ding flowers and rosettes of leaves that tend apothecary-style jars, to die back in too-dry environments. Miller and Smith & Hawken Below:The Terradome has found that carnivorous pitcher plants has Victorian-style Terrarium in clear are a perfect subject for terrariums (and terrariums on its Web acrylic is the modgive rise to such irresistible names as Lit- site. Marietti also recernist answer to the tle Bog of Horrors and the Terrarium of ommends browsing Victorian glass case. Terror). She recommends compact vari- flea markets, and if From Design Within eties such as ‘Dixie Lace’ and ‘Mardi Gras’. you’re a beginner the Reach, $108. See www. brandy Bad puns aside, the appeal of one per- seventies dwr.com. Above, right: fect plant or a lush tropical landscape en- snifter is not to be Atlanta-based florists capsulated in a bubble of glass is timeless sneezed at.—J O A N Pollen tweaked the and has sparked a popular resurgence for N A F O RT N A M terrarium into a bouquet alternative. Charming landscapes in a jar include bronze snails, eggs and other artifacts and make great table centerpieces. Call 404-2622296 or see www. pollenatlanta.com.
top terrarium tips Almost any clear container can be made into a terrarium, but it must be waterproof. To create a humid environment, the container should have either a small mouth or a cover to regulate the humidity. To encourage bushy plants, snip their growing tips but do not fertilize. If plants look undernourished use a liquid houseplant fertilizer at onefourth strength. Never place a closed terrarium in full sun or risk cooking the plants. Don’t allow leaves to rest up against the glass, and remove decayed leaves immediately. If algae forms on the glass, clean it with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. If the glass mists over or you see large water droplets forming, leave the lid off for a day. It should be possible to leave a terrarium unwatered for a month or longer. When the terrarium looks dry, lightly mist the plants to freshen them up. Never allow more than 1⁄4 inch of water to collect. For advice by Bonnie Monte on plants and terrarium care, see www.smithandhawken.com/html/ features/archives/2003/cs_under_glass/ cs_under_glass1.jhtml.
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MARCH 2006
There are no passengers on spaceship earth.We are all crew—M A R S H A L L
MCLUHAN
dirt furniture
ASYMMETRY Knoll, the design firm founded in 1938 that pioneered modernism in the workplace, recently announced the introduction of a lost American masterpiece, Harry Bertoia’s Asymmetric Chaise. Bertoia is widely known for In its shop, the Amsterdam Tulip Museum (above) sells all things tulip, including original artwork (left) and packaged bulbs poised for planting (below).
his iconic Diamond Chair, which in 1952 moved the history of furniture design a giant step forward through its use of industrial wire rods. Also born in the early 1950s, the Asymmetric Chaise was its sibling. But while the Diamond Chair is still virtually ubiquitous in modernist outdoor room settings and cafés, the chaise, thought to be prohibitively expensive to produce, has languished in prototype for the past five decades. Looks like Knoll might be up to something big.—D O N N A
places
Tiptoe thruTulipomania
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MARCH 2006
For more information, call 800-343-5665 or see www.knollspace.com.
rugged ancestors who wrestled enchanting flowers from Dutch sand. In addition to tulipemblazoned everything, the shop offers Colorblends’ bulbs (Tim Schipper’s U.S. company), approved for USDA import to fetch home a living souvenir such as ‘Mayday’, which is as close as you can come to the streaked tulips that provoked Holland’s 1630s version of the gold rush.—TOVA H M A RT I N
TO VA H M A RT I N ( 3 )
TULIPS ARE TIM SCHIPPER’S LIFE. DITTO FOR SJOerd van Eeden and Carlos van der Veek.That’s why, when a quaint little shop in Amsterdam just across the street (or canal, actually) from the Anne Frank House became available, the three friends immediately made the leap and created the AmsterdamTulip Museum. Exhibits cover tulipomania, the 17th-century frenzy during which Dutch investors gambled tens of thousands of dollars or more on a single bulb. But this intimate museum also chronicles tulip-farming heritage—displaying field tools and archival photos of those
DORIAN
Call 011 31-204210095, or see www.amsterdamtulipmuseum.com.
The tulip’s petals shine in dew, all beautiful, but none alike—J A M E S
M O N T G O M E RY
dirt plant people
Moore Miniatures
A TOUCH OF GLASS At two big public gardens this spring,Washington artist Dale Chihuly’s shapely glass sculptures take on even greater dimensions, mingling among tulips, banana trees and other leafy plants and blooming flowers en plein air. At Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida (Chihuly at Fairchild, through May 31), and Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis (Glass in the Garden,April 30October 31), set among natural terrain and indoor conservatories, the colorful glass is viewed in, well, a new light. At Fairchild, hundreds of handblown creations can be seen scattered throughout the property, as well as in the two conservatories, palmetum and arboretum.“We realized there was a synergy between art and the gardens. If you look at the histories of gardens, they are about promoting and initiating design. It’s a natural part of gardens’ natural heritage,” says Fairchild director Mike Maunder, who cites this as the first in a series of annual outdoor sculpture exhibitions at Fairchild. At Missouri Botanical Garden (above) sculptures are placed inside the Climatron conservatory amid tropical plants—cycads, a talipot palm, banyan and double coconut palms—while other pieces are outdoors, nestled among flowers and floating on pools. Both sites offer special nighttime displays on Thursdays—“Tropical Chihuly Nights” at Fairchild and “Chihuly Nights” at Missouri. Chihuly’s work has been shown in more than 300 locations worldwide, from the Bellagio in Las Vegas to Palais de Louvre in Paris.—K R I S T I N E H A N S E N For more information, visit www.fairchildgarden.org and www.mobot.org.
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garden. In high school he grew roses to sell and later worked at several nurseries. He even approached the great horticulturist Luther Burbank for a job, who said there were 20 other people in line first but he would be glad to meet the young man if he visited Santa Rosa. In 1927, Moore did meet Burbank, who discussed his research and gave Moore one of his own roses,‘Santa Rosa’. When Moore started his breeding work, only a handful of miniature roses existed. Then in 1933, a red miniature ‘Oakington Ruby’ was discovered in England and Moore obtained a plant. It became the foundation of his breeding program. Because miniatures were very difficult to breed (most were sterile), he used pollen from species roses, most notably Rosa Above: Ralph wichurana and Moore. Below an orange florileft:The Halo bunda. The series of miniacombination of ture roses. crosses, with subsequent backcrosses to parent plants three and four generations later, formed the basis for the miniature roses we enjoy today. Moore estimates that half of all modern miniatures are descended from ‘Oakington Ruby’. Moore’s mission has been to create excellent roses for the landscape, ones that are easy to grow and produce an abundance of flowers. His most recent creation is the Halo™ series—11 varieties with a characteristic pink, lavender or red eye (the “halo”), with petals in pink, yellow, pumpkin or russet. The Moore magic continues.—K A R E N DA R D I C K ™
There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence—R A L P H
WA L D O E M E R S O N
IRENE LINDSEY (1)
art
RALPH MOORE, REGARDED AS THE FATHER OF modern miniature roses, turned 99 in January 2006. Hailed by rose experts as a living legend, Moore began breeding roses over 75 years ago and estimates he has created 1,000 new varieties, with 150 patented. “I started early in my life and have lived a long time,” he says. “Rose breeding is a combination of science, art and luck, and I’ve just been very lucky.” Moore still owns and operates Sequoia Nursery in Visalia, California. Tom Carruth, a renowned rose breeder with Weeks Roses in Upland, California, freely credits Moore’s work.“Ralph Moore is the most influential living rose breeder we have,” he says.“We wouldn’t have striped roses today if it weren’t for Ralph Moore.” Moore’s fascination with roses started when at age 3 he gazed up at roses in his mother’s
books
ROAD TRIP Ruah Donnelly follows her first book on nurseries in New England with The Adventurous Gardener:Where to Buy the Best Plants in New York and New Jersey (The Horticultural Press, 2005, $25.95). It’s a good read for any plant lover even if you don’t live in the region, and some of the nurseries also have a mail-order business. Whatever the plant, it seems someone in New York or New Jersey is growing it, from heirlooms to the latest cultivars.There are plenty of sources for annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees, but also an astounding variety of specialty growers—orchids, water lilies, tree peonies, bonsai, iris, beach grass, gladiolus, roses, rare rhododendrons, fruit trees, wildflowers, and on and on. The treasure hunt will lead you to unique places run by remarkable people who have devoted their lives to their fascination (some would admit obsession) with plants. Though the book is an excellent travel guide for plantaholics, and includes maps, directions and other sites to see near each nursery, it is more than that. Each of the nurseries has a story to tell, from the seed company whose owner champions heavyweight pumpkin contests to a bird observatory that sells wildlife-friendly plants to a Dutch bulb supplier that has been in the same family for seven generations.—JA
fyi For other regional guides to plant sources, see The Northwest Gardeners’ Resource Directory, 9th Edition by Stephanie Feeney and Debra Prinzing (Sasquatch Books, 2002, $24.95) and In Search of Great Plants:The Insider’s Guide to the Best Sources in the Midwest by Betty Earl (Cool Springs Press, 2004, $19.99).
dirt shopping
SEEING RED
Mat is loomed from signature Rope yarn specifically crafted for outdoor use by the chic, up-and-coming Italian design firm Paolo Lenti.Available in a wide range of colors and twocolor fibers. From Paolo Lenti: $265 to $4,165, depending on size. Call 619-230-1083 or see www.paolalenti.com.
Lush Experience TEN YEARS AGO WHEN BILL HUDGINS SET UP Lush Life, his shop in the affluent Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, he was a pioneer, charting the new and relatively unknown territory between home and garden. A well-traveled nurseryman with a collector’s eye for plants and special wares, he felt Atlanta was ready for more than a garden center. He imagined a “store with a European feel, offering an eclectic mix of home and garden products.” Hudgins excels at combining sleek, contemporary pieces with rustic, organic ones, and his hunch has become a destination shop for style-conscious Atlantans. (See his own garden on page 88.) The tightly organized store offers a floral-design and container-planting service, a plant nursery with accessories for the garden, and a luxurious home shop that includes rock crystal, scented candles, Simon Pearce and Juliska glass and dinnerware, Pierre Frey table linens, pillows and throws. Hudgins always looks for “classic contemporary lines, good workmanship and, where possible, multiple-purpose items.” Outside container-grown plants (including choice varieties of Japanese maple, a house specialty) are massed to make avenues and rooms; decorative pots (from minimal zinc to glazed Asian) and salvaged architectural pieces provide the focal points and ornamentation. The effect is a kind of outdoor theatre of contrasts and textures. Hudgins truly teaches how to transform basic ingredients through the inspired Lush Life, 146 E. grouping and display of Andrews Dr., his collection.—J F
Atlanta, GA 30305; 404-841-9661.
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products
MUST-HAVE RUGS Energized by sophisticated designs and an innovative approach to materials, outdoor rugs are the next big thing
E V E N F L OW Sweeping Swirls Amber is made from Lamontage, an innovative fabric derived from the ancient art of felting. Color-dyed acrylic fibers of over 600 hues are hand-bended, needlepunched and saturated with natural latex for great durability. From Liora Manne: $200 to $2,135, depending on size. Call 212-965-0302 or see www.lioramanne.com. TO T H E M AT S
Natural Pebble on Mesh is composed of flat-topped Indonesian river stones set on a nylon mesh. Only one small step from the river itself.Available in eight colors, ranging from speckled to white, green and mixed. From Island Stone, available to the trade. Call 800-371-0001 or see www.islandstone.com. ROCK ON
Plynyl Shag Indoor/Outdoor Mats are ideal for snazzy use both indoors and out. Made from tufted vinyl with a vinyl backing, they are available in black, gunmetal and lime as either a doormat or a utility mat. From Chilewich: from $38, depending on size. Call 212-679-9204 or see www.chilewich.com.
Nothing is so beautiful as spring—when weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush—G E R A R D
MANLEY HOPKINS
dirt
letter from new orleans
THE QUIET AFTER THE STORM WITH HURRICANE KATRINA’S DESTRUCTION estimated at $75 billion, along with an uncountable toll of human suffering and displacement, most reports have justifiably focused on those hit the hardest. As I visited Louisiana this past winter, I was struck by the hurricane’s impact on so many people and places under the radar who also need our support. In my role as founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, I can’t help but worry about New Orleans’ magnificent historic gardens and the people who depend on them for their livelihood as well as inspiration. You may have already read about the monumental devastation and flooding at New Orleans’ famed City Park and the Ellen Biddle Shipman-designed masterwork Longue Vue, both of which received direct hits. But what about other places in the region? Is it politically incorrect to draw attention to these landmarks, trapped in the financial disaster facing the tourism economy that is unfolding throughout the Gulf Coast region? What about such famed plantations as Laura, Oak Alley and San Francisco, three of the six historic properties on Great River Road Plantation Parade (www.plantationparade.com)?This upbeat and evocative Web site notes, “For centuries, the subtropical air was filled with the sweet smells of sugarcane, as wagons rumbled from the fields to the docks.” In December what I sensed was a feeling of dormancy and isolation in the air. For Sand Marmillion, the proprietress and caretaker of the Creole plantation Laura, the future for this 14-acre historic homestead is uncertain.Visitation to Laura today is just a trickle, three or four folks a day instead of three or four hundred. Marmillion says that after Katrina she had to let her four gardeners go. “It was heartbreaking.When you work with someone to develop a living project, you bond, you plant your vegetables and harvest them together.”Where there was once a staff of 33,
today they rely on the helping hands of volunteers. At Oak Alley, one of the region’s most iconic plantations, the state of affairs is magnified. At this National Historic Landmark property, celebrated for its freestanding colonnade of 28 colossal Doric columns as well as its majestic double row of giant live oak trees, the only trace now of Katrina is a great hush and a sense of loneliness. Before the Above top: hurricane, Oak Oak Alley Alley averaged before Katrina. 736 visitors day. Bottom: After Post-Katrina, the the storm. average is 27, and the staff has been reduced from 75 to 21. Even with operating expenses kept to a bare minimum, Oak Alley will require more than $1 mil-
lion in financial assistance to stay open while awaiting the return of the tourists. These cultural landscapes are all intact and open, but how will they get the visitors that have been supporting them? Zeb Mayhew Jr., administrative director of the Oak Alley Foundation, noted, “It is an amazing situation to find yourself in, but
we will have to endure For more information, see the grieving period. www.lauraplantation.com, There is nothing that anywww.oakalleyplantation.com, one can do—only time www.sanfrancisco can make this better.” plantation.org and So while the dust setwww.longuevue.com. tles along the muddy Mississippi, an unfamiliar silence has replaced the normal hustle and bustle.The character-defining ancient live oaks stand as mute witnesses to an economic chill that has engulfed these beloved cultural landscapes. So what can we do? When that most aromatic of Louisiana spring perfumes—equal parts rain and soil—rises in the air, let us, too, take to the skies and make a pilgrimage to these special places so that they may seduce and inspire another generation of garden lovers.—C H A R L E S B I R N B AU M Charles Birnbaum is the founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation.
dirt exhibits
Behind the Chlorophyll plants, with startling results. At the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., through March 26. Call 202-225-8333 or visit www.usbg.gov. In Survive/Thrive/Alive at Wave Hill in the Bronx, New York, invasive plants overrun a stairwell, proteins look like Dutch still-life paintings, and the humble plants in Albrecht Durer’s 1503 masterpiece Der Grosse Rasenstuck (The Great Piece of Earth) are tracked across five centuries. Using mixed media, installations and painted works, eight artists chosen byWave Hill explore the survival mechanisms of plants and how they cope with the dynamic, often stormy relationship between the natural world and civilization. March 4 through May 29. Call 718-549-3200 or visit www.wavehill.org.—J E N N Y A N D R E W S
Pots with a Past “A Place to Take Root,” a traveling exhibit tracing the early days of flowerpots in American and Europe, makes its next stop at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show March 15-19. Most of the pots were crafted by artisan potters Guy Wolff in the U.S. (above) and Whichford Pottery in the U.K., using molds dating back over 100 years. Complementing the old-style pots is a display of contemporary containers planted by the Bay Area Gardens Network, a group of over 40 public gardens co-hosting the exhibit with Pacific Horticulture magazine. See www.aplacetotakeroot.org or www.gardenshow.com.—JA
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i love this plant
‘LANARTH’ MAGNOLIA One mild sunny spring our own ‘Lanarth’ put on a spectacular show, with the most perfect blooms I’ve ever seen. Magenta flowers, 10 inches wide, covered the 15-foot specimen. I was taking pictures March 10, and though I usually take only three or four shots and then move on to the next plant, the flowers were so enchanting I took 24 photos. My brother Eric asked,“Do you want to be alone?” To which I answered,“Yes.” You have to consider Magnolia campbellii ssp. mollicomata ‘Lanarth’ as top among beautiful deciduous magnolias. Scottish plant hunter George Forrest introduced this rare tree from seed he collected in Yunnan, China, in 1924 and named it for the Cornish estate where the seeds were planted. Though limited in the United States to the moderate climate on the West Coast from California to British Columbia (our nursery is in Oregon) and slow to reach blooming size (16 to 20 years), this choice plant enthralls everyone who sees it. Gooseegg-size flower buds covered with golden hairs wait in anticipation all winter, then between January and March explode into stunning pink blooms 8 to 10 inches across, splayed open decadently like water lilies. Trees can eventually reach 40 to 50 feet tall, making a spectacular show when in bloom. ‘Lanarth’ is a parent of several hybrids including Magnolia ‘Vulcan’, which is much more adaptable to heat and cold. If you live in areas where ‘Lanarth’ is adapted, try it and you, too, will have a love affair with a magnolia. —R O G E R G O S S L E R Roger Gossler is co-owner of Gossler Farms Nursery in Springfield, Oregon: 541-746-3922, www.gosslerfarms.com.
Who would look dangerously up at Planets that might safely look down at Plants—J O H N
GERARD
RO G E R G O S S L E R
WE’VE SHARED THE PLANET with them from the dawn of human existence, and we usually take them for granted—they are the parsley on the edge of the plate, the grass we dread mowing, the weeds in the sidewalk— Beaker of chlorthough we ophyll at sLowlife. need them Still Life with for the air Grapes by Survive, we breathe Thrive, Alive artist and the food Mia Brownell. we eat.Two exhibits explore the fascinating, often misunderstood, sometimes eerie world of plants. The brainchild of Roger Hangarter, a biologist at Indiana University in Bloomington, in collaboration with composer John Gibson and artist Dennis Dehart, sLowlife uses film, music and still and time-lapse photography to offer altered perspectives on the lives of
dirt
the cutting edge
“I LOOK AT DESERT PLANTS AS CUT FLOWERS. To me, they look like gems,” says Sandra De Ovando, the owner and floral designer of the GreenwichVillage-based eponymous Ovando. She admits to looking at her specialties—Mexican plants, cacti and succulents—with a decorative eye. It shows:The Tillandsia xerographica, for example, that she sported in her shop window as a cut flower—with no vase, no dirt, no water—was a showstopper. “I like to work with opposites,” she says. Follow her directions, and you can do the same.
RECIPE Large rectangular glass vase, 2 by 10 by 15 inches 10 stems of 1⁄4- to 1⁄2-inch-thick curly willow (roughly 10 inches long to be cut exactly to fit the length of the vase) 6 ladyslipper orchids as cut flowers (not as plants) 6 airplants (such as Tillandsia ionantha var. van-hyningii, T. karwinskyana,T. caputmedusae or T. recurvifolia) Cut the pieces of curly willow to the inside length of the vase, and then pile them on top of each other to the top of the vase in one row. Fill the vase close to the top with water. Because airplants don’t grow in water or soil, place their stems in the vase just above the water line.Then cut the stems of some of the ladyslippers to about 2 inches and others longer so some can be placed close to the lip of the vase and others will rise higher.When placing the orchids into the vase, be sure to cover the stems of the airplants with the orchid stems, and weave the orchid stems into the top layer of the curly willow.—D D For more information, call 212-9247848 or see www.ovandony.com.
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All a green willow, willow, all a green willow is my garland—J O H N
HEYWOOD
MICHAEL KRAUS
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
dirt
Intervention!
A 12-step program for plantaholics
plants
TAKING THE HEAT No one knows the implications of combining high heat and humidity better than the folks in Georgia—anything on two, four or even eight legs knows how to scramble for relief. But think of the plants, poor things, held firmly in place to face the brunt of Southern weather. The plantsmen at Athens Select™ took pity on these earthbound creatures and started a collection of varieties able to withstand high heat and humidity—from the hills of Georgia to the Midwest to Southern California. Each Athens Select™ variety has been tested at the University of Georgia Trial Gardens in Athens for multiple growing seasons and selected by renowned horticulturist, author and self-proclaimed “plant nut” Dr.Allan Armitage. The Athens Select™ collection numbers 25 varieties that outdo themselves in borders, baskets and container plantings under grueling conditions.While hardy only in warmer zones, they make outstanding annuals elsewhere.The metallic-purple and green Persian shield (Strobilanthes dyeriana) (Zones 10-11) is a popular variety. Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’ (Zones 7-11) is another cornerstone in the program. Watch for three new varieties this spring: Alternanthera ‘Red Threads’ (Zones 9-11) with grasslike, deep burgundy foliage; Alternanthera ‘Summer Flame’ (Zones 9-11) with pink, white and green variegation; and Begonia ‘Bonita Shea’ (Zones 10-11) with curled, reddish-green foliage, red undersides and delicate white blossoms.—E L L E N C . W E L L S For more information about Athens Select varieties or to find a retailer near you, visit www.athensselect.com.
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PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE HOW much fashion there is in gardening.We always want to be the first one on the block, in the town, state and region, to possess and grow a fancy plant. I am a collector and am attracted to whatever is the kinky, bizarre, never-before-offered and newest hot plant.There is the thrill of the hunt. First I track down a source, then finally acquire the plant; but no sooner do I plant it than I’m off to the next new thing that captures my fancy. It’s a sickness. Being attracted to the abnormal has led to missteps. Still, every year when the catalogs arrive, the kid-in-the-candy-store syndrome kicks in. Ultimately, I will be stopped by my credit card limit, but I will always buy more plants than I have room for. I might be able to cut back. But stop? Never.There should be a 12-step program for us plantaholics. [1] Three strikes and it’s out. If a plant fades in one spot, move it. If it still dies, figure out if the problem is the plant or you.Try it once more. Refrain from giving a plant more than three tries. [2] Decide where a plant will go before you buy it. Make notes, which are really helpful when all the plants arrive at once. [ 3 ] Read descriptions and labels, but learn
to see behind the hype and translate plant-purveyor-speak.Avoid “easy, spreads, instant,” which often mean invasive. [4] Reject some choices if their only attraction is novelty. [ 5 ] Fill out order forms but don’t send them all in. Writing down a plant’s name (and price) helps the selection process. [ 6 ] Buy from outlets that have sold you great, healthy plants in the past. But also test one new mail-order catalog, grower or garden center each year. [ 7 ] Consider what a plant will contribute to the overall design scheme—is the color right?Will the ultimate size fit the space? [ 8 ] Buy more than one of a chosen plant, and make a grouping so it might have a prayer of becoming a design enhancement and not an attention detractor. [9] Curb “zone denial,” and do not use your garden as a test site for wildly inappropriate (read “dead”) plants. [10] Order a few new versions of plants that have already succeeded, perhaps with more flowers or compact growth. [11] Set a budget in advance.Then redo it, and this time tell the truth. [ 12 ] Make a nursery holding bed to plug plants into when most of the above steps are ignored.—K E N D RU S E
art
The Iris Has It On the heels of our story in Dirt (Nov/Dec 2005) on the resurgence of interest in botanical illustration,Washington artist Jean Emmons edged quietly onto our radar. Jean is the watercolorist equivalent of an Oscar winner, having received a gold medal at the 2005 Royal Horticultural Society Exhibition in Birmingham, U.K., for her eight watercolors of Pacific Coast hybrid iris. Shown here is ‘Ununhum’. Pacific Coast iris, native to Oregon, Washington and parts of California, bloom between March and May. For more information, visit www.pacificcoastiris.org.—J F
If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?—S T E P H E N
WRIGHT
decor
C R E AT I V E I D E A S I N E X T E R I O R D E C O R AT I N G
IslandTime
THERE MAY BE MORE THAN 20 BEACHES TO roam on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, but for Kevyn deRegt there still is no better place to bask than in the calm of her own private mountainside terrace. Outdoor entertaining with lavish settings done up in every style from Moroccan to Tuscan to French Provençal is the theme of her first book, ATaste of Fantasy. Now, drawing on her firsthand experiences across the globe, An inviting door deRegt has brought a leads to a white touch of these diverse inadobe-style terrace ternational styles to her with built-in bar own white, adobe-style and sofa at this terrace, making it the cenSt. Barts hideaway. terpiece of her latest book on St. Barts style.
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Beautiful isle of the sea, smile on the brow of the waters—G E O R G E
COOPER
A N D R E B A R A N OW S K I ( 2 )
A hillside escape on St. Barts draws on an amalgam of global influences for a new take on French Caribbean style
Blue and white, the colors of the French Caribbean, bring unity to a wide range of cultural influences.
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F U N C T I O N : The outdoor space at this St. Barts home-away-from-home was designed for pure enjoyment—as a place to swim, sunbathe, have drinks, hold barbecues or take a quiet nap in the shade. F O R M : A seamless unity of architecture and furnishings is made possible by permanent built-ins ranging from bar, sofa and side tables to white adobe fencing. S T Y L E : French Caribbean. “The whitewashed adobe construction reminds me of the Southwest,” says deRegt,“but the spirit of the place is French Moroccan. St. Barts has been a French protectorate since the 19th cen-
tury, so the French influence is quite strong here, just as it is in Morocco.”Add to that a blue and white color scheme culled from Greece, and you can call the style “global.” F U R N I S H I N G S : The traditional blue and white scheme also holds the mélange together. Blue tiles accent the white flooring tiles, blue Caribbean frisés, or roof trim, outline the white bar, and blue coping punctuates the whitewashed fence. Blue decorative accessories add the finishing touches, and, as with all the rest, link the entire space to the blue waters below. P L A N T S : Because hurricanes have frequently denuded the island of vegetation, plants in great number tend to be imported. To help things along, deRegt’s gardener also collects seeds on his travels and plants them throughout the grounds. But the absence of hurricanes since 1999 has allowed the vegetation to reach unusual heights.The palm trees around the pool are 7 feet high and the yuccas almost as tall. Meanwhile, deRegt enjoys drawing on the flowers immediately at hand—yucca, bougainvillea, frangipani—for her own island-style floral arrangements. B O N U S : Quiet and relaxing, the patio is the perfect environment to take in the peace and tranquility of the fresh sea air. —D O N N A D O R I A N For more on Kevyn deRegt and her upcoming book on St. Barts, see www.atasteof fantasy.com or www.fantasysettings.com.
Paradise is our native country, and we in this world be as exiles and strangers—R I C H A R D
GREENHAM
A N D R E B A R A N OW S K I ( 4 )
decor
style
Marked with its signature look, the Italian fashion house Missoni debuted its outdoor line at i Saloni last May.
B Y M AV I S L I N N E M A N N
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Hot Italian With abundant sex appeal, humor and bravado, this is outdoor furniture for la dolce vita
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THE EXHILARATING MIX OF CUTTING-EDGE STYLE AND CLASSIC ELEGANCE, COMBINED with a fascination with new materials, has made Italy a playground for contemporary designers since the 1960s, and there are no signs of things slowing down anytime soon.That was the message of i Saloni, a group of 60 modern Italian design firms that made its first appearance last year during NewYork’s first-ever Design Week. Among them were companies that had a distinctive hand in outdoor furniture design, including the elegant Gervasoni, the edgy Serralunga and the fashion house Missoni.The latter entered the outdoor market this January on the heels of Armani. Isn’t it interesting that high fashion is chasing after the world of exteriors? In Italy, it seems an everyday kind of thing. Take a look at where the Italians are taking us now.
[1] R E L A X M AG L I E C H A I R The tightly knit weave of this hand-wrought iron chair was inspired by the chest plate from a piece of ancient armor. These days, it’s about peace, not war, the second you sit down. From Tuscan Hills: $4,693. Call 609-9219015 or see www.tuscan-hills.com. [2] I S L A N D S E AT I N G S E R I E S These seating modules by Francesco Rota for Paola Lenti come in a variety of shapes and sizes that can adjust from group sofa to daybed. In brushed stainless steel and synthetic fiber, the seats are water- and moldresistant, nontoxic and hypoallergenic. From Karkula: $1,685 to $4,840 per piece. Call 212-645-2216 or see www.karkula.com. [3] S C A R L E T T L I G H T Let it do its thing: lamp and sculpture.An elegant and weather-resistant statement designed by Christophe Pillet for Serralunga, it is made from a single piece of hollow, break-resistant polyethylene and stands nearly 6 feet tall. For covered outdoor areas only. From The Magazine: $464. Call 510-549-2282 or see www.themagazine.net.
An artist makes beautiful things without being aware of it—E D G A R
DEGAS
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DAY B E D Call it a dream boat: Armani’s new outdoor bed fashioned with a brushed-steel frame and nylon woven straps. Part of a three-piece collection, including table and chairs. From Armani Casa: $2,795. Call 212-3341271 or see www.armanicasa.com. [5] I N O U T 3 6 / 2 3 TA B L E A N D C H A I R S Could there be a betterlooking couple? The outdoor table with its ceramic pedestal (in three colors or with four legs) is topped with slatted teak. Dining chairs, in glossy brushed or coated aluminum, lacquered wood or teak. From Gervasoni: table, from $2,485; chairs, from $522, depending on size and finish. Call Imoderni 877-455-6350 or see www.gervasoni1882.com. [6] H AVA N A L A M P The modernism of this hip indoor/outdoor lamp by Foscarini made it a natural for the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.The fact that it is functional—and able to light large garden areas, pathways and drives—
6 is an essential part of its charm. Available as a hanging or floor lamp in white, cream or ice. From Modern Living: $325 to $620, depending on indoor/outdoor and floor/suspension adaptability. Call 310-657-8775 or see www.modernliving.com. [7] J O E S O FA This oversize-baseball-glove sofa, originally designed in leather in 1970, is being reissued in a luxurious polymer, adapted for outdoor use. The sofa is one hollow piece that comes in either marble gray or traditional tobacco brown. From Heller: $800. Call 212-6854200 or see www.helleronline.com. [8] T W I S T E R P OT This stylish fiberglass pot with its terra-cotta finish looks like it could have been recovered from an Etruscan tomb. Inspired by the pedestal of a table lamp, the twister comes in three sizes—perfect for showing off a wide variety of plants. From Capital Garden Products, Ltd.: $295 to $440. Call 415-864-2251.
By faithful study of the nobler arts,our nature’s softened, and more gentle grows—O V I D
growing California Gold
Native plants are one of the state’s treasures, wherever you live THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR REgionally appropriate plants and landscapes has long been answered by the native plants of California— the most diverse state flora in North America north of Mexico. Fortunately for the rest of the gardening world, many California natives also do well in other Mediterranean and even not-soMediterranean climates. As early as the 1830s, well before gold was discovered and California became a state, selections of its native flora were winning top awards at the Royal Horticultural Society in England. In late winter and early spring, California natives look their best, as these photographs attest. They were taken at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, a showplace for hundreds of Golden State species.—BART O’BRIEN Appeal: One compelling attraction, among many, is the Mediterranean quality that pervades the California native plant palette. Examples are: fragrant leaves and POINT REYES flowers; broad-leaved MEADOWFOAM In evergreens of olive large numbers, this tiny green, silver, blue, gray wildflower (Limnanthes and white; bold flower douglasii ssp. sulphurea) colors; drought tolerance; creates an impressionist a profusion of annuals; scene at Rancho Santa and finally the enigma of Ana. Easy and dependable summer dormancy, when to grow. In mild Meditermany of the plants shut ranean climates, sow down growth and wait seeds just before rainy to make a fresh start season. In the rest of the with the winter rains. country, plant seeds in spring once soil thaws. Zones: The majority of California’s most garden-
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In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous—A R I S T O T L E
WOOLLY BLUE
Evergreen subshrub (Trichostema lanatum), 3 to 5 feet tall and equally wide, is nearly ever-blooming but difficult to keep around for long. Native to sunny, warm, well-drained chaparral slopes. Let self-sown seedlings survive; they generally perform well.
CURLS
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y S T E V E G U N T H E R
To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower—W I L L I A M
BLAKE
GARDEN DESIGN
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growing
[1] C ARPENTERIA Known as bush anemone, this is one of California’s signature evergreen flowering shrubs, listed as a threatened species but widely grown around the world. Dark green foliage complements the terminal clusters of pure white, 2- to 4-inch blooms, which are exquisitely fragrant. [2] HEUCHERA MAXIMA Called island alumroot. Outstanding when massed beneath a deciduous tree, this evergreen, rosette-forming perennial prefers partial shade. Foliage mass may reach 8 to 12 inches tall and nearly 3 feet wide.An abundance of 2- to 3-foot-tall flower clusters emerges in spring. Numerous hybrids with red, pink or white flowers. [3] IRIS DOUGLASIAN A ‘CANYON SNOW’ Of the numerous cultivars of California native irises, this one is the easiest and most dependable in the garden. It flowers best when it receives maximum sunlight from late fall to early spring and partial shade during the heat of the summer. [4] ENCELIA C ALIFORNIC A California bush sunflower displays profuse 2- to 4-inch blooms in spring and fall.To prevent sprawling growth, cut back plant to 6- to 12-inch stubs in winter—after the first flush of fall blooms.Treated this way, the plant should remain a manageable 3 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide.
C ALIFORNIC A
worthy plants are best in Zones 9 to 11. However, many may be successfully grown in Zone 8 or in other areas where suitable microclimates can be created. Seasonal containers are always an option. Exposure: Most California native plants prefer full sun, though there are species suited to every kind of exposure imaginable.
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Soil: Well-drained soils are generally preferred. Most of the plants are adaptable to soils that range from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline. Care: While most California native plants are considered low-maintenance, they do need appropriate seasonal attention and grooming to stay at their best. Once established, some do their best with no
summer watering:You need to know individual requirements. Bart O’Brien is director of horticulture at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, California. He is co-author (with Carol Bornstein & David Fross) of California Native Plants for the Garden (Cachuma Press, 2005, $27.95).
To me the meanest flower that blows can give thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears—W I L L I A M
W O R D S W O RT H
growing
CHIRANTHOFREMONTIA X LENZII ‘GRIFF’S
A spectacular flowering shrub, this is an intergeneric hybrid between Chiranthodendron pentadactylon from southern Mexico and Guatemala and Fremontodendron ‘Pacific Sunset’. Ultimate size is unknown, but it should reach at least 20 feet tall and wide. Plants tolerate, and seem to prefer, moderate amounts of summer irrigation. All known specimens (except for the original plant) have tipped over because of a weak root system, yet they continue to thrive as crown-sprouting, multitrunked shrubs. Recommended as a large supported espalier.
WONDER’
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I am so absorbed in the wonder of earth and the life upon it that I cannot think of heaven and angels—P E A R L
S. BUCK
growing
[1] SHRUBBY MONKEY FLOWER
d e s i g n i n g w i t h n a t i ve s
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Group plants with similar ecological and irrigation requirements. Most plants that grow together in nature look good together in a garden. Use the summer and fall dormant form and color of these plants as an asset—waves of burnished rust from the common Eriogonum fasciculatum (California buckwheat) are brilliantly accented when combined with masses of any of the following: Artemisia californica, Hesperoyucca whipplei, Salvia apiana, Leymus condensatus ‘Canyon Prince’. Combine blue-flowered California natives (ceanothus, iris, lupine, penstemon, salvia, sisyrinchium) with bright, clear yellow flowers that have similar flowering times (fremontodendron, dendromecon, mahonia, coreopsis, encelia).
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With an astounding range of colors—pure reds, yellows, oranges, purples, whites, pinks and innumerable blends—California’s shrubby monkey flower (Mimulus hybrids) have long enamored native-plant enthusiasts. Plants prefer full sun to partial shade. Pinch young plants regularly, and cut them back by about one-fourth to onehalf when flowering is over. [2] WILD ROSE California’s many native roses naturally form thickets of upright thorny stems and are best used to create barriers and wildlife habitats.This one, Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana, has attractive pink blossoms followed by red to orange rose hips in the fall. [3] HUMMINGBIRD SAGE One of dozens of California sages, Salvia spathacea displays broad, textured green foliage— with a fruity scent—and erect stems carrying numerous clusters of bright flowers that appeal to hummingbirds.An evergreen perennial, the plant forms colonies by slowly spreading underground. Full sun to partial shade. [4] OPUNTIA ECHINOCARPA Attractive and shrublike, silver cholla cactus has a fierce yet compelling presence. Beware of its silvery long spines and numerous brown glochids (short hairlike spines) found in dense clusters at the base of the long spines.
There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks—L I N D A
HOGAN
growing
SISYRINCHIUM BELLUM (BLUE-EYED
Cheerful is an oft-used epithet to describe the starry blossoms of blue-eyed grass. Flower color varies from all shades of blue-violet to white—but always with a bright yellow center.This small perennial may be evergreen or summer deciduous and will seed about when situated in sunny gardens and heavy soils. For a classic combination, plant it with California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), arroyo lupine (Lupinus succulentus) and California buttercup (Ranunculus californicus).
GRASS)
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And their flowers surprise; just like little blue eyes, they can wink in the breeze as you pass—S H E I L A
B. BLUME
Stroll through an eclectic dream garden and surround yourself in the colors, textures and scents of an exotic location.
GARDEN DESIGN
LIVE!
Garden Design Live! unveils its most innovative garden yet at the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show. Join us and experience the signature style of hot west coast landscape design firm CLTV8 Art Design and award winning builder Modern Landscaping, Inc. as they create an oasis within the walls of San Francisco’s historic Cow Palace.This California lifestyle garden draws its influence from the southern Mediterranean area of Morocco and creates a bridge between old world Morocco and the new world pleasures of California. Plus, don’t miss your chance to win a fantastic trip for two to Morocco from Royal Air Maroc and the ledgendary La Mamounia Hotel! Visit www.gardendesign.com for more information on Garden Design Live!
San Francisco Flower & Garden Show
March 15–19, 2006 At the Historic Cow Palace www.gardenshow.com
THE MAGAZINE OF EXTERIOR DESIGN
WWW.GARDENDESIGN.COM
Stop by Garden Design Live! and enter to win fabulous prizes – including plants and other outdoor design elements used in our garden from these sponsors:
www.monrovia.com
www.modernlandscapinginc.com
www.CLTV8artdesign.com
www.sundancespas.com
www.mamounia.com
www.royalairmaroc.com
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groundbreaker
I N N O VAT I V E M I N D S I N G A R D E N D E S I G N
A Peaceable Kingdom
Don Shadow: A man of many introductions
DON SHADOW KNOWS A GOOD PLANT WHEN he sees it. Over the past 30 years Shadow Nursery in Winchester, Tennessee, has brought to market such mainstays as ‘Snowflake’ oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia),‘Hummingbird’ summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) and Rutgers hybrid dogwoods like ‘Constellation’ and ‘Aurora’. Don selects some of the trees, shrubs and
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perennials he introduces, but many more are brought to him to propagate and produce by enthusiasts around the globe, a list that reads like a horticultural who’s who. Why bring a plant to Don? “He can propagate a stone,” says Paul Cappiello, co-author with Don of the new book Dogwoods (Timber Press, 2005, $39.95). “Shadow Nursery is unique because Don has the collector’s zeal, the staff to propagate and the network to dis-
seminate large numbers of plants to nurseries around the world.” It is this kind of commitment that has earned Shadow Nursery a designation as one of the few private cooperators in the U.S. National Arboretum plant introduction program. Meanwhile, Shadow’s international renown is not limited to horticulture; he is also a successful breeder of endangered animals. What does Don look for in a new plant?
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes—M A R C E L
P RO U S T
“I select plants to give interest in all four seasons,” he says. “I grow a plant for 10 to 15 years to make sure it’s good. I’m reluctant to name and introduce a plant unless it is outstanding.” In this context “outstanding” means that a conventionally green plant might offer variegation, purple or yellow coloration; exceptional flower color or size; disease and insect resistance; or natural dwarfing that makes it suitable for small gardens or containers. If a plant is hard to propagate, Don gets extra satisfaction from cracking the code. “I won’t introduce a plant unless I have enough stock,” he notes.“If people hear about a plant but can’t get it, the introduction won’t be successful.” “New” and “useful” are two words constantly on Don’s mind.Always on the lookout to fill any voids in the extant pool of useful plants, he believes the industry must respond to the shifting needs of gardeners. So while he evaluates hundreds of trees and shrubs annually, only the crème de la crème pass muster. For small spaces he supplies undersize versions of large trees and shrubs. ‘Peve Minaret’ bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum) grows just 12 feet tall, an excellent vertical Far left: Don Shadow. accent for a patio. LargUpper left: Seedling of er but strictly columnar ‘Cherokee Chief’ dogis ‘Slender Silhouette’ wood. Below left: Carolsweetgum (Liquidambar ina silverbell (Halesia styraciflua). Crape myrtetraptera). Below: tles are de rigeur in the
BETH GWINN (4)
Camels at the nursery.
Right: Spring flowers of native red buckeye (Aesculus pavia). Far right: Shadow with very rare, shaggycoated Poitou donkey native to France.
South, but most are large trees. Not Lagerstroemia ‘Velma’s Royal Delight’ and ‘Cheyenne’.These mature at just 6 to 8 feet, ideal for containers or small-gardens. In response to the pervasive dogwood anthracnose, Don has in production a disease-resistant flowering dogwood developed by the University of Tennessee. Cornus florida‘Appalachian Spring’ is one of many cultivars in this favored genus, along with his own selections, the upright ‘Dixie Colonnade’ and 8-foot dwarf ‘Little Princess’. Sometimes, beauty is all that is required of a new introduction. Gems such as ‘Floating Clouds’ redbud (Cercis canadensis), noted for near-white variegated foliage that doesn’t scorch; Iris cristata ‘Tennessee White’, a dwarf ground cover with large white flowers; and floriferous‘China Snow’ Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus) stand out in any landscape setting. A fourth-generation nurseryman with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the
BETH GWINN (2)
groundbreaker
University of Tennessee, Don founded Shadow Nursery in 1973 on 160 acres in gently rolling Middle Tennessee.Today, it covers more than 800 acres. Don holds a deep appreciation for animals as well as plants. On the grounds of Shadow Nursery he became the first private individual to successfully wean Chinese red panda cubs, and this year he proudly oversaw the birth of a baby Brazilian tapir.These are among 600-plus mammals and birds in 60 different species that Don nurtures along with his beloved plants. Never one to rest, Don is constantly expanding his program. He regularly travels to Japan to comb nurseries for exciting plants.What’s new for 2006? More dogwood selections of course and an exceptional fyi The “Don Shadow columnar boxwood, as Signature Collection” well as Halesia diptera of noteworthy and ‘Southern Snow’ (twounderutilized plants, winged silverbell) with sold through Greenlarge flowers produced wood Nursery, is availin profusion before the able at www.greenfoliage emerges. Don woodnursery.com concentrates on plants that are useful to gardeners, either for their beauty or their unique ability to fill a niche. In doing so, Don Shadow fills a unique niche in American horticulture.—C . C O L S TO N BU R R E L L C. Colston Burrell is a garden designer, photographer,naturalist and award-winning author. His latest book is Hellebores:A Comprehensive Guide,co-authored with Judith Knott Tyler (Timber Press, 2006, $34.95). Cole lectures internationally on design, plants and ecology.
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O N T H E ROA D W I T H G A R D E N D E S I G N
has undergone a transformation. Unusual for a British hotel, the garden has been as carefully considered as the interiors (very sumptuous, designed by Fox Linton Associates), so landscape architect Michael Balston had to do something equally special with the remnants of the original gardens.This included bringing a huge walled garden slowly back to life and replanting a once-glorious grove of cedars. Balston, a Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medalist and Royal Horticultural Society judge, says, “The old and new dialogue was as important outside as inside, so we overlaid the 18th- and Here:The Grove, 19th-century design with Hertfordshire, a a 21st-century garden.” “groovy grand” This means a clever mix hotel with gardens of small, intimate spaces, designed by Chelsea scent-filled terraces and gold medal winner dramatic vistas.The amMichael Balston. bitious stepped canal that divides the garden from the parkland sets the tone. Softening this simple, almost severe conTHE DOLLAR MAY SINK, THE NATIONAL DEBT GROW LIKE KUDZU; BELTS MAY BE TAKEN IN A NOTCH, A struction of stone, water and fountains is a few items cut from the grocery list—but luxury is an essential. Be it a pink pashmina or a cruise marvelously fluid herbaceous border with for two, the modern disposition is to demand the best and cut back on the basics.When it comes yew hedges planted on the slant and running to hotels, horticultural riches to enjoy along with the vintage wines and high-thread-count sheets down one side.Ancient trees have been reare what attract the haute horticulturist. And in England a new breed of “luxury modern” ho- tained where possible to give historical contel is waiting for you. If the idea of a country retreat where the gardens are as glamorous as the text, while Nathalie Decoster’s contempointeriors tempts you, try The Grove, Hertfordshire, or another of our top picks. rary bronze sculpture and Gregory Ryan’s
Luxury English Garden Hotels
PITCH YOUR BASE CAMP Would Watford top your list as a base for a garden trip to the U.K.? Probably not. I needed to be convinced, too. I could imagine somewhere in Gloucestershire maybe, Somerset or Cornwall. ButWatford, about 20 miles from London, a notoriously unattractive snarl of motorways and transport links—what can it possibly offer? Well,The Grove for one thing, which, the owners say, is a “groovy grand” hotel. It has an 18-hole golf course designed by Kyle Phillips that is all set to stage the World Golf Championships in 2006.The red-brick mansion, formerly home of the Earls of Clarendon, dates from the 18th century and was once an incredibly fashionable place to stay. Guests included the artist George Stubbs, who painted some of his famous horses at The Grove. During the past nine years it
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One touch of nature makes the whole world kin—W I L L I A M
SHAKESPEARE
ANNOUNCING GARDEN DESIGN’S
2OO6 G O L D E N T ROW E L AWA R D S To enter: For the Golden Trowel Awards (open to amateurs and professional landscape designers and contractors), please fill out the form below and return it, along with your completed entry, by June 1, 2006 to Garden Design, attention Golden Trowel, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park, FL 32789.Your entry should include the following: Your story: Send us a written account. Include your inspiration, the planning and what you started with, the planting, the achievements and the setbacks of your garden. Be as specific and creative as you can. Submissions must be typewritten on white 8 1⁄2- by 11-inch paper only. Handwritten submissions or those sent via e-mail, disk or CD will not be read. Garden plan: Send us a drawing of the layout of your garden, indicating major beds, trees, walkways, lawn, hardscapes, structures and other features.We’ll accept anything from a professionally rendered drawing to a homegrown sketch. Be as detailed as reasonably possible, but keep the plan simple to interpret. Include a list of key plants by common or Latin name. Photography: Submit enough prints to explain the garden, including overall scenes, plant beds, structures, furniture, outdoor kitchen or living areas, etc. Label these prints with corresponding details. (Hint: Copy and enlarge actual snapshots on a color copier, or photograph the images with a digital camera and print them out on a color printer to allow more room for labeling.) Submissions on disk, CD or email will not be viewed.Also include slides of your garden and its features for publication in Garden Design magazine if you win. Images for possible publication must be high-quality color 35-mm slides or larger transparencies only. No dupes.
Open to all home gardeners and do-it-yourself designers as well as professional garden designers, landscape contractors and landscape architects. Winning gardens will be presened in an upcoming issue of Garden Design magazine. SPONSORED BY Monrovia will award a $1,OOO GIFT CERTIFICATE to the amateur whose garden demonstrates the most creative use of plants.
H O R T I C U LT U R A L C R A F T S M E N ®
SINCE
1926
ENTRY FORM DEADLINE JUNE 1, 2006 Please complete and mail with entry materials to Garden Design, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200,Winter Park, FL 32789 Name Address
Phone Fax E-mail All materials become property of World Publications LLC, may be used in print and electronic formats in perpetuity and will not be returned. Photographers will not necessarily be credited upon publication and will not necessarily receive remuneration. By your entering this contest, World Publications assumes you have rights to all provided images and have granted Garden Design magazine all rights to publish said images at the magazine’s discretion.
abroad
Above, clockwise: Stepped canal at The Grove; formal garden at Gravetye Manor; tea at Whatley Manor; Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons; a room at Barnsley House.
aluminum water wall provide some startling and thought-provoking moments. More homely touches show this garden takes nature seriously, with bird feeders and nest boxes, as well as immaculate topiary and elegant pots of lilies.A restored glasshouse in the walled garden is the longest I think I have ever seen. There is more than enough to occupy YOU COULD ALSO TRY: your time at The Grove with the garden, Whatley Manor Like The Grove,Whatley sport facilities, spa and delicious food. EatManor near Malmesbury in Wiltshire (two ing is ultrarelaxed: A welcome theme of hours west of London) is one of a new breed light, fresh ingredients simply dealt with of luxury hotel for the U.K.Whatley is stylish avoids the often overcomplicated hotel style. (green ostrich leather in the bar), earthy (a real But to return to our original theme of garkitchen garden) and traditional (a stone manor den visiting, many great examples worth house) all rolled into one.An entry courtyard seeing are nearby.Waddesdon Manor, run filled with billowing lavender bodes well for the by The National Trust, you must include. rest of the gardens that, inspired by the original Give yourself a day to absorb this Rothschild 1920s layout, are lavishly old-school in style, gilded mansion designed in the French leavened with contemporary sculpture by chateaux style, with high Victorian gardens Simon Allison. See www.whatleymanor.co.uk. (including outrageously OTT bedding Barnsley House For many years the schemes and a Rococo aviary) and a house home of gardening legend Rosemary Verey that’s almost overendowed with paintings (1919-2001), Barnsley House and treasures.The Royal in Gloucestershire is a kind Botanic Gardens, Kew, of shrine to her vision of the The Grove,Watford, Hertfordfyi: are within very easy English-country-house garden shire: www.thegrove.co.uk.Waddesreach of The Grove, and style, visited by devotees the don Manor, Aylesbury, Buckingin addition to the classic world over.After Verey’s hamshire: www.waddesdon.org.uk. plant collections and death, the house was sold Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richspectacular glasshouses amid a chorus of doom that mond, Surrey: www.rbgkew.org.uk. some special event is althe garden would be lost. Far Michael Balston works on large-scale ways going on. Spring from it—the house is now an and private projects in the U.K. and 2006 should see the new exclusive hotel with an excelthe USA. See www.balston.co.uk. Alpine House openlent restaurant. Guests can J A N E N E W D I C K ed.—
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stroll the gardens after lunch, and visitors can join one of the frequent guided tours in summer. See www.barnsleyhouse.com. Gravetye Manor One of the great historic gardens of England, Gravetye Manor in West Sussex was once the home of William Robinson (1838-1935), a driving force of the English gardening tradition and author of The English Flower Garden and The Wild Garden.The house, surrounded by formal gardens and woodland, has long been a renowned luxury hotel, and in spring guests will see drifts of naturalized daffodils, bluebells and wildflowers, as well as immaculate borders. A perimeter footpath is open to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays. See www.gravetyemanor.co.uk. Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons French owner and chef Raymond Blanc is practically an honorary Englishman for his contribution to the revolution in English cuisine of the past 22 years. Blanc caught the English obsession with horticulture and is now as well-known for his extensive organic kitchen garden that supplies his luxury hotel and restaurant.A Japanese tea garden and Malaysian garden are also open. Modern sculptures are featured throughout. See www.manoir.com.
One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things—H E N R Y
MILLER
the way hot
1OO The most exciting plants for 2OO6, brand new and insiders’ top picks. Check out what designers and avid gardeners are wild about this spring
TO M M C W I L L I A M
BY JENNY ANDREWS
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A N D R E A J O N E S , S U S A N A . ROT H , F I S C H E R U S A , B O D G E R ™ B OTA N I C A L S , N O RT H C R E E K N U R S E R I E S ( 2 ) , P RO V E N W I N N E R S ®
ANNUALS [ 1 ] Alternanthera A shady garden isn’t limited to coleus and impatiens anymore. From ItSaul Plants comes a collection of tough, colorful Joseph’s coat with the enticing names ‘Cognac’, ‘Crème de Menthe’,‘Grenadine’ and ‘Partytime’. [ 2 ] Calibrachoa Callie™ Deep Yellow A new bright, clear color for Million Bells®. [ 3 ] Capsicum annuum ‘Black Pearl’ (Ornamental Pepper) An ornamental pepper with round, shiny black fruits that mature to red and striking black glossy foliage when grown in full sun.At 18 inches or more tall and a foot wide, it makes a great container plant. An All-America Selection for 2006. [4] Chrysanthemum ‘Killeen’ Mum flowers come in many colors, but the fresh, bright green of ‘Killeen’ is a totally new look. [5] Euphorbia ‘Dulce Rosa’ This poinsettia is for the garden not the holidays. Grow as a summer annual in the shade. Bright pink bracts on 2- to 3-foot-tall plants. [6] Euphorbia Visions of Grandeur™ (Poinsettia) A plush new poinsettia for the holiday season from Ecke Ranch with large, full bract clusters in a delicate vanilla peach. [ 7 ] Hibiscus acetosella ‘Maple Sugar’ An improvement over‘Red Shield’, this tender perennial is typically grown as an annual for the color and texture of its blackish-purple, maple-leaf-shaped foliage. In cooler zones it will reach 3 feet (making it also a great container plant) and in warmer zones, up to 5 feet. Blooms late (in October) with dark magenta flowers. Zones 9 to 11. [8] Ipomoea batatas Sweet Caroline™ Series (Sweet PotatoVine) From North Carolina State University comes this series of smaller-leaved, compact (18 to 24 inches wide) sweet potato vines in light green, purple, red, bronze and variegated. Densely packed with foliage.Well-behaved companions for containers and garden beds. [9] Ocimum x citriodorum ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ (Basil) From Sunny Border Nurseries, this is the first variegated culinary basil. Light
green leaves have creamy white edges. Columnar but compact and nonblooming. Perennial in Zones 9 to 11, but can be brought indoors over winter in cooler zones, keeping its flavor all year. [10 ] Osteospermum Tradewinds Pure Yellow Heat-tolerant African daisy with extra-large flowers in bright yellow that continue blooming into the fall. [11 ] Vinca Nirvana Series Big flowers in a wide array of colors, tolerant of heat and wet conditions and disease resistant—what more could you want in a vinca! Trailing varieties are great for containers.
3
™
™
cendo™ Series (Chrysanthemum)
PERENNIALS [12 ] Baptisia Tough and dependable, many baptisias are blue, but the palette is expanding. Baptisia sphaerocarpa ‘ScreamingYellow’ is bright yellow and compact; hybrid ‘Carolina Moonlight’.has.elegant creamy-yellow bloom spikes; Twilight.Prairie.Blues ™ (shown) has fascinating mahogany flowers. Zones 5 to 9. [13 ] Bulbine frutescens Another great plant from South Africa, bulbine has airy spires of tiny orange or yellow flowers that nod in the breeze over bright green clumps of succulent narrow foliage. Hardy in Zones 9b to 11, it makes a great long-blooming annual in cooler zones. [14 ] Chrysanthemum ‘Ryan’sYellow’ A glorious denouement for the growing season, this perennial mum is covered in the fall with soft yellow daisylike blooms with a warm peachy cast. Makes an attractive clump even without pinching. Zones 6 to 9. [15] Coreopsis ‘Autumn Blush’ A new coreopsis fromTerra Nova Nurseries with flow-
ers that change color. In summer they are peachy-yellow with a red eye; in cool spring and fall the blooms have a rosy blush. Zones 4 to 9. [ 16 ] . D a h l i a . i m p e r i a l i s Though the tree dahlia has been around since the 16th century, it’s still a rarity in gardens.A late-fall and win2 ter bloomer in Zones 8 to 10, with large lavender-pink flowers on towering stems up to 9 feet tall.‘Double or Nothing’ is a double-flowered form. [17] Dendranthema Autumn Cres-
From Rika Bronsther comes this series that has the appeal of standard pot mums but with larger flowers on hardier plants (Zones 5 to 9). 8 They require less pinching to produce their profusion of gold, coral-peach and rose-pink flowers, and some of them change color as the flowers age. Look for ‘Bolero’,‘Rhumba’ and ‘Samba’. [18] Dianthus Whetman Star Series Bred by John Whetman in the U.K., Star dianthus bloom prolifically from spring through summer with bright spicy-scented flowers over compact mounds of dark green foliage. Zones 5 to 8. ®
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Plush new poinsettia for the holidays, a shiny black pepper for a pot, the tallest dahlia you’ve ever seen, a coreopsis with flowers that change color 57
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HOT BOX
succulent with wavyedged leaves that twist and 31 curve, forming a spidery 8- to 12-inch rosette. Flowers are yellow-orange. Zones 9 to 11. [20 ] Echinacea Echinaceas are still the rage, with new colors and forms every year.Two new cultivars join the outstanding Big Sky™ series from ItSaul Plants. Harvest Moon™ 26 (pictured) has the golden color of a harvest moon, with 4-inch fragrant flowers on compact 30-inch plants.‘Twilight’ has rose-red flowers with red cones. FromTerra Nova comes ‘Fragrant Angel’ whose large fragrant blooms have bright white petals held horizon35 tally. Zones 4 to 9. [21] Euphorbia cotinifolia ‘Atropurpurea’ This bushy tender perennial looks just like a smoke tree, with wine-colored foliage tinted purple and amber. Beautiful when backlit by the sun. Can reach 10 feet during a season in warm zones or can be pinched back to keep it shrubby. Zones 9 to 10. [22] Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Oranges and Lemons’ Has the same ease of care and long bloom period as other blanket flowers but softer colors. Tangerine petals tipped in pale yellow surround an orange-and-yellow center.Very floriferous, it can have over 50 flowers on one plant at the same time. Compact plants are less 33
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mono-pot mania
The newest direction in container gardening is the monopot—that’s one inyour-face plant, pumped up to Schwarzenegger proportions and reveling in all its individual gorgeousness rather than sharing the limelight with hangers-on.This could be the plant breeders’ response to design-minded folk who like to grow one kind of plant per pot and combine several different containers into one show-stopping display. A pot
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of naturally low-growing and compact plants won’t turn into a demanding diva that requires time-consuming pinching and staking to remain happy. Low-key mono-pot plants are also perfect for fancier containers that have a little of the show-off in them; the plants’ simplicity allows the pot to shine, too. [23] Achillea Gypsy™ White A waterfall of small, white button flowers and heat tolerant to boot. [24] Angelonia Serena™ Series Plants branch well
than 2 feet tall and wide. Thrives in less-than-ideal conditions. Zones 5 to 10. [ 28] Gloxinia sylvatica The Bolivian sunset gloxinia does double duty, making a great houseplant or a real showstopper in the garden in warmer zones, where it is covered with deep orange flowers in late fall and winter. Zones 9 to 11. [ 29 ] Helianthus ‘Low Down’ (Sunflower) The shortest of the perennial sunflowers at only 8 to 12 inches tall. Forms a compact clump with willowlike shiny leaves, topped by numerous bright yellow daisy flowers in fall. Even a small-space garden can now have sunflowers. Zones 6 to 9. [30] Hemerocallis (Daylily) ‘Buttered Popcorn’ and ‘Persian Carpet’ are the 2006 winners of the rigorous cross-continental.testing done.by.All-Amer ican Daylilies..The.for mer blooms golden yellow from midseason to frost.The latter has blooms 7 inches across, salmon pink with a rose halo. Zones 3 to 9. [ 31] Heuchera ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ Another great heuchera from Terra Nova,
without pinching to produce full, compact plants. In lavender, lavender pink, purple, white and a mixture. [25] Lantana Bandana™ Series In cherry, pink and rose, the well-branched plants make compact mounds. [26] Euphorbia Diamond Frost™ Nonstop frothy white flowers like baby’s breath. [27] Oxalis Charmed™ Series Velvety purplish-black or frosted-green leaves and pink-tinged flowers are a great texture and make a dramatic focal point.—R AY RO G E R S
with enormous 7-inch-wide, wine-colored leaves and delicate plumes of clean white flowers in spring. Zones 4 to 9. [ 32] Inula magnifica A supersized perennial, commonly called elecampane, with huge canoe-shaped leaves and 6-foot flower stalks marked with purple. Spidery yellow daisies, 4 to 6 inches wide, bloom in August and September. Zones 3 to 7. [33] Kniphofia ‘Green Jade’ Introduced by Beth Chatto in 1968 but still something of a rarity, this red-hot poker has long cylinders of icy lime green aging to cream, with only a few top buds a dusky orange. Zones 6 to 9. [34] Leucanthemum x superbum Broadway Lights (Daisy) An exciting new Shasta daisy from ProvenWinners. Large flowers open bright yellow, lighten to butter yellow and finally turn white, so the plant is covered with blooms in three shades. Sturdy stems reach 2 feet tall. Prolific bloomer, perfect for flower arrangers. Zones 5 to 9. [ 35] Phlox paniculata ‘David’s Lavender’ A lavender version of the popular white-flowered ‘David’ summer phlox, with the same resistance to powdery mildew. Zones 4 to 8. [ 36 ] Sedum ‘Angelina’ Ground-cover stonecrop with brilliant yellow-green, needlelike leaves. Foliage is bronzy in fall. Yellow flowers in summer. Can be used at the front of the perennial border or trailing over the edge of a pot. Zones 3 to 11. [37 ] Sedum Mini Joy A miniature version ™
™
T E R R A N O VA N U R S E R I E S , P RO V E N W I N N E R S ® , A N D R E W L AW S O N , WA LT E R S G A R D E N S , K . VA N B O U R G O N D I E N A N D S O N S , F I S C H E R U S A , S A X O N H O LT, I T S A U L P L A N T S , A N D R E A J O N E S , TO M M C W I L L I A M
[19 ] Echeveria runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’ Silver-gray
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Thanks to the staff at Harry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando, Florida, for allowing us to photograph plants on their beautiful grounds; and to Twyford International, Lake Brantley Plant Corporation and Blooming Nursery for lending us plants in their prime.
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TO M M C W I L L I A M ( 2 ) , J E R RY PAV I A , J OY C R E E K N U R S E RY, M A R C U S H A R P E R , C O N A R D - P Y L E C O. , J O H N G L O V E R
of one of the most popular perennials of all time—Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’—with sturdy stems and salmon-pink flowers in late summer. Less than 2 feet tall, it can be used in the garden or in a container. Zones 3 to 9. GRASSES AND SEDGES [38] Carex berggrenii Diminutive, 4-inchtall evergreen sedge with metallic toffeecolored grassy leaves. Native to bogs in New Zealand but doesn’t require wet soil. Spreads slowly to form a dense mat. Use as edging or tuck between stepping stones or into trough gardens. Zones 5 to 9. [ 39 ] Cyperus alternifolius The 5-foot-tall umbrella sedge is a familiar addition to water gardens. Newer dwarf selections like ‘Gracilis’ (18 to 24 inches) make great textural additions to containers and can be grown as houseplants. Zones 9 to 11. [ 40 ] Melinis nerviglumis Pink Crystals™ One of the most beautiful grasses on the market and worth tracking down to add to the border, despite its tender status. Ruby grass has nodding flowers of bright pink and silver that sparkle over tidy 2-foot clumps of bluish leaves that have a purplered tinge in fall. Zones 7 or 8 to 11. [ 41] Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gold Bar’ From Joy Creek Nursery, a dwarf striped maiden grass with as much gold as green on the narrow foliage, making it shimmer in the summer border. Matures at 5 feet. Burgundy flowers appear above leaves in October.‘Super Stripe’ is a taller version. Zones 5 to 8. HOT BOX
[42] Muhlenbergia capillaris This na-
tive grass has grown steadily in popularity and is so tough, it’s even used in highway plantings. Regal Mist™ produces spectacular clouds of dusky-pink blooms in the fall. New selection ‘White Cloud’ has see-through white flowers. Zones 7 to 10. SHRUBS [ 43 ] Callicarpa (Beautyberry) Stunning autumn display of purple berries clustered along the stems of beautyberry will stop traffic. C.dichotoma‘Issai’ produces an abundance of metallic-violet fruit. ‘Early Amethyst’ fruits before other types.‘Dark Star’ is more compact at 5 feet tall and wide.The native C.americana (shown) is hard to beat with balls of beadlike berries extending 2 to 3 feet along the stems.A flower arranger’s dream. Zones 6 to 9. [ 44 ] Deutzia gracilis Chardonnay Pearls Pearllike buds open to delicate sprays of starry, white, fragrant flowers in late spring. Narrow, toothed, lemon-lime foliage glows in the garden all season.A new look and compact form (to 3 or 4 feet) for an old garden favorite. Zones 5 to 7. [45] Hydrangea arborescens ‘Ryan Gainey’ Introduced by Shadow Nursery in Tennessee, this smooth ™
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hydrangea.improves.on.the.popular ‘Annabelle’ with thick, sturdy stems that support the full heads of white flowers even after a rain. Zones 4 to 9. [46] Mahonia x media The candelabras of rich yellow flowers, 10 to 14 inches long, on these mahonia hybrids are spectacular in late winter and early spring, maturing into waxy black fruit. Glossy evergreen foliage is hollylike. Grows 10 to 15 feet tall. Look for ‘Faith’,‘Hope’,‘Charity’,‘Winter Sun’ and ‘Lionel Fortescue’. Zones 7 to 9. [ 47 ] Rosa Home Run Like the groundbreaking, low-maintenance Knock Out™ shrub rose but with brilliant red single flowers covering the mildew-resistant, compact, 3-foot shrubs beginning in early summer. From Tom Carruth atWeeks Roses. [ 48 ] Rosa Rainbow Sor46 bet A glowing floribunda in shades of bright orange, yellow and red. An AllAmerica Rose Selection for 2006,.introduced.by Conard-Pyle Company and Star Roses. Other 2006 winners are floribunda‘Julia Child’ and grandiflora 48 Wild Blue Yonder™ from Weeks Roses and hybrid tea Tahitian Sunset™ from Jackson & Perkins®. ™
™
chocolate indulgence
Chocolate is hot! If you’d like to try a new “peacemaker” color, i.e., one that plays well with others, and you’ve explored green and played with gray (“silver”) and black plants, join the cutting-edge designers and avant gardeners who use chocolate-toned leaves and flowers in beds and containers. Far from being dull, chocolaty foliage and flowers offer hints of red, green, orange, bronze and black, which subtly complement brighter
hues. And if creating sharp contrasts stirs your senses, try pink, chartreuse, lemon yellow, terra-cotta, scarlet, white and even lighter shades of blue and purple with any of the treats from this box: [ 49] Rodgersia pinnata ‘Chocolate Wings’ Changing shades of chocolate, green and bronze; heads of pink to burgundy flowers. Scrumptious! [ 50] Heuchera ‘Chocolate Ruffles’ Chocolate and burgundy foliage spritzed with
cream blooms.
[51] Carex ‘Milk Chocolate’ Leaves like long “shavings” of rich brown take on orange and green highlights in autumn. [52] Geranium ‘Chocolate Candy’ Mounds of dark chocolate leaves and months of fondant-pink flowers. [53] Baptisia ‘Chocolate Chip’ Spikes of brown peaflower buds open to reveal butter-yellow centers.—R R
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A N D R E A J O N E S , WA LT E R S G A R D E N S ( 2 ) , P L A N T H AV E N , R I C H A R D H A RT L A G E , P RO V E N W I N N E R S ® , H E RO N S W O O D N U R S E RY, F O R E S T FA R M , S T E P H E N PAT E G A S
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the come-back kids
Like the Doublemint Twins of advertising fame (remember them?), you can double your pleasure with reblooming plants.These amenable sorts do their thing earlier in the season, take some time off from flowering and then bloom again before the season ends.While it’s nice simply to have seconds at a floral banquet, it’s even more of a treat to surprise garden visitors with a startling, take-a-second-look combination of, say, irises and chrysanthemums. Because rebloomers expend more
flower-directed energy than once-bloomers, give them extra fertilizer and water between the two displays to increase their potential to extend the gardening season. [ 54] Reblooming Iris Also called remontant iris. Once limited to only a few varieties, there has been an explosion of rebloomers in the past few years. Climate can affect the reliability of repeat blooming, so select a cultivar that performs well in your area. Pictured:‘Autumn Circus’. [ 55] Reblooming Daylilies
Many, many selections to choose from, in every possible color and bloom size. Pictured: ‘Always Afternoon’. [56] Digitalis ‘Spice Island’ Tasty peach-tinted yellow thimbles with rusty spots. [57] Verbascum ‘Blushing Bride’ Lavender and pink “blushing” to darker shades. Compact with profuse flowers. A magnet for butterflies. [58] Penstemon ‘Party Dress’ and ‘Sweet Grapes’ These tough 2006 introductions from Terra Nova just keep on flowering.—R R 62
[ 59 ] XSinocalycalycanthus (Spicebush) Two introductions from the JC Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina combine the best qualities of native and Asian spicebush species. XSinocalycalycanthus raulstonii ‘Hartlage Wine’ (shown) blooms with a profusion of large claret-red flowers resembling water lilies in late spring on robust 8-foot shrubs. XSinocalycalycanthus ‘Venus’, Developed by Tom Ranney, has large white flowers that splay open like star magnolias, with yellow and purple centers and an enchanting fragrance of strawberries, melon and spices. Large shiny leaves have a tropical look.Very heat-tolerant. Zones 6 to 8 for both.
spring with clusters of reddish-purple flowers that have a camphor scent. Hardy to Zone 9. Ropelike stems require a sturdy trellis. [62] Nasturtium tuberosum
TREES [ 65 ] Acer
shirasawanum ‘Autumn Moon’ (Japanese
Maple) A golden full moon maple similar to
var. lineamaculatum ‘Ken Aslet’ A late-blooming
cousin of the annual nasturtium, this tender climber (Zone 7) produces masses of spurred orange-scarlet flowers over fanshaped blue-green leaves. Tubers (the species is a food crop in its native Andes) can be stored over winter in cooler zones. [63] Thunbergia Smoothie Series Colors of this new series have more depth than the traditional black-eyed Susan vine. Apricot Smoothie is orange with burgundy overtones and eyes; Raspberry Smoothie is lavender-pink. Fast growing to 6 feet, this tropical is covered with blooms until frost and can be trained on a trellis or planted in a hanging basket. Zones 9 to 11. [ 64] Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls’ Unlike its aggressive Asian cousins, this na-
tive wisteria is well-behaved, with small compact flower clusters of lavender blue that bloom later (so they avoid.late.frosts) and.dainty.leaves that.emerge.silver. Its.shorter.stature and.slow.growth make.it.suitable even.for.limited44 space gardens. Often reblooms in summer.A winner of the 2006 Gold Medal Plant Award from The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Zones 5 to 9.
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the coveted‘Aureum’ but more vigorous and tolerant of full sun, heat and humidity. Nearly round leaves are bronze in spring, lemonyellow in summer and brilliant red and orange in fall. Forms a small rounded tree to only 5 feet in 10 years. Zones 5 to 8. [66] Cercis canadensis (Redbud) The word in redbuds this year is “compact.”Two new introductions from Don Shadow are the first dwarf versions of this popular native
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VINES [60] Mandevilla Sun Parasol™ Mini Crimson A new addition to the Sun Parasol™ series from Suntory, with smaller flowers and leaves on bushy plants. Mini Crimson has 3-inch carmine-red flowers produced in profusion. Blooms a month earlier than most mandevillas. Zone 11. [61] Millettia reticulata Often called evergreen wisteria, this unusual vine blooms in
Iris that bloom over and over, a spicebush with water-lily flowers, an orange-scarlet nasturtium climber, redbuds that stay compact 63
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tree.‘Ace of Hearts’ has small heart-shaped leaves one-half normal size.At 10 years old, the parent plant is only 12 feet wide and 11 feet tall.‘Little Woody’ has dark leathery leaves. Zones 4 to 9 for both. [ 67 ] Cercis canadensis ‘Hearts of Gold’ New cultivar of the native redbud with three seasons of interest—red-tinted new leaves and magenta blooms in spring, golden leaves in summer and bright yellow fall color. From breeder 78 Jon Roethling. Zones 5 to 9. [ 68 ] Edgeworthia chrysantha Silvery buds in winter open into golden fragrant flowers on the giant leaf paper plant beginning in mid-January and continue till April. Lovely small tree (to 6 feet) for Zone 7 and warmer.‘Red Dragon’ is a red-flowered form. [69] Lagerstroemia indica ‘Whit II’ (Dynamite ) The reddest crape myrtle on the market, with 12-inch panicles of crimson buds opening to cherry-red blooms that keep coming into the fall.Thick, dark green leaves have a reddish tinge when young—a great combination with the flower color. Highly resistant to powdery mildew. Zones 6 to 10. [ 70 ] Lagerstroemia fauriei ‘Fantasy’ Elegant vaseshaped Japanese crape myrtle with bright white flowers and peeling, orange-red bark. Pest-free and more 82 cold hardy than many crape
myrtles at Zones 6 to 9. [71] Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender Silhouette’ (Sweet Gum) An excla75
mation point in the landscape, perfect for formal gardens or in a narrow bed beside a tall structure. 60 feet tall at maturity but only 6 feet wide. Fall colors are yellow, peach and purple. Nearly fruitless.Another Don Shadow introduction. Zones 5 to 8. [ 72 ] Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ This magnolia blooms later and can escape frost damage. Creamy yellow flowers with rose tints are 6 inches across and abundant. Begins blooming at a young age. Form is symmetrical like a Bradford callery pear. Zones 5 to 10.
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TROPICALS [73] Chlorophytum amaniense ‘Fire Flash’ A relative of spider plant and just as easy to grow, the center of the mandarin plant glows with orange leaf bases and midribs.Wide, shiny dark green leaves form a handsome rosette. [74] Cordyline Several recent introductions of New Zealand cabbage tree offer color, texture and drama for containers and warmHOT BOX
climate gardens.‘Red Sensation’ and ‘Red Star’ have reddish leaves and greater hardiness than their green relatives, to Zone 7. ‘Sundance’ has green leaves with a base and veins of red.‘Peko’ is lime-green.‘Atropurpurea’ (shown) has purplish-bronze leaves. [ 75 ] Homalocladium platycladum Called ribbon plant, this oddity from the rain forests of the Solomon Islands has leathery, compressed, jointed stems that look like flattened bamboo, though it’s in the buckwheat family. Zones 9 to 11. [76] Kalanchoe thyrsiflora Large pancakeshaped leaves are stacked to form a striking rosette of bluish green blushed with rose along the edges. Descriptively named flapjacks, paddle plant and desert cabbage. A succulent native to South Africa that needs virtually no care. Zones 9 to 11. [77] Microsorium musifolium ‘Crocodyllus’ Dramatic Australian native fern with oversize undivided leaves textured like reptile skin. Individual fronds make unusual additions to flower arrangements. [78] Philodendron scandens ‘Brasil’ A variegated form of the popular and ultraeasy heart-leaf philodendron, with splashes of light and dark green, cream and yellow. [ 79 ] Polypodium podophyllum Green Wave Exciting new fern with dramatically upright leaves with wavy edges. ™
heat of the moment
Heat got you (and your plants) down? While Northerners and Midwesterners continue to seek out increasingly cold-tolerant garden possibilities, Southerners and many Westerners have fretted for years as their plants swoon or die as the heat and humidity go up and stay that way for weeks or months. Recently, the American Horticultural Society and several hot-climate institutions have heard the call, responding with the AHS Heat Zone Map and an ever-growing number of
plants that don’t give up during hot days and sticky nights. Armed with knowledge about the heat tolerance of plants and supplied with new heatresistant offerings, virtually anyone can extend gardening’s pleasures well into summer and even beyond. [80] Icicle® Pansy Extremely cold-tolerant, this series of pansies will stand some heat and drought, too. Available in 16 solid and combination colors and several mixes. [81] Coleus Series from Lake Brantley Plant Corporation Each named after a Florida city, these coleus take
heat and sun and don’t produce many flowers (which can spoil the foliage display). Pictured above is ‘Yalaha’. [82] Fuchsia Angel Earrings® In shades of pink, white and purple, these new introductions are perfect for containers, hanging baskets, windowsills and borders. [83] Lobelia Laguna™ Series Masses of diminutive, striking dark blue, light skyblue, pink or white flowers. [84] Nemesia Sunsatia™ Series In cranberry, coconut, lemon, pineapple, peach and banana colors, these plants have real “wow” appeal.—R R
S U S A N A . ROT H , TO M M C W I L L I A M ( 5 ) , J A C K S O N & P E R K I N S ® , F E R N L E A F L O W E R S LT D. , S T E P H E N PAT E G A S
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A N D R E A J O N E S ( 2 ) , J O H N G L O V E R , H I G H C O U N T RY G A R D E N S , B R E N T A N D B E C K Y ’ S B U L B S , S U S A N A . ROT H , RO B C A R D I L L O
Have you discovered Slow Food? Devotees of this emerging trend appreciate the healthy pleasures of visually appealing, non-cookie-cutter meals based on the freshest ingredients. It takes only moments to bring fruits and vegetables grown in your own garden into your kitchen, and you don’t need to spend huge amounts of time raising them. Grow tasty fruits and vegetables on a small patch of ground or even in containers. As a bonus, you can feast your eyes on these beauties while
you’re waiting for your crops to mature.They might even entice fussy family members to eat their vegetables! [ 85] Cauliflower ‘Veronica’ A green romanesco type of cauliflower. Chartreuse cone-shaped florets in a fascinating spiraling fractal pattern. [ 86] Mesclun Mix Trendy combinations of lettuces and other leafy salad greens grown as a mix and picked young. [ 87] Eggplant ‘Mohican’ Dwarf and bushy. Produces lots of oval fruits, creamy white with purple stripes, ma-
BULBS [90] Agapanthus ‘Cold Hardy White’ The hardiest of agapanthus, this cultivar is perennial to Zone 5 with winter protection. Blooms profusely in summer with crisp white flowers. Introduced byArrowheadAlpines of Michigan.A 2006 Mail-Order Gardening Association GreenThumb Award winner. [ 91 ] Begonia boliviensis Brilliant orangered bells 2 inches long cascade from 2-footwide clumps of angel-wing foliage. Blooms throughout the long hot summer if given some shade and watered well.‘Bertini’ was bred for containers.‘Bonfire’ is a new, vigorous, long-blooming form. Zones 7b to 9. [ 92 ] Caladium The latest trend in caladiums is sun-tolerant, compact forms such as the Florida Series with thicker, more substantial leaves. Look for ‘Florida Sweetheart’, ‘Florida Fantasy’, ‘Florida Red Ruffles’, ‘Florida Sunrise’, etc. Zones 10 to 11. [93] CannaTropicanna Black The newest of the popular Tropicanna® series from AnthonyTesselaar Plants, this one with ebonypurple foliage and scarlet flowers. Leaves are much wider and more rounded than ®
turing at 5 to 6 inches long. Easy in sunny containers. [88] Tomato ‘Green Grape’ Medium-sized, amberyellow cherry tomato with grapelike clusters. Makes a statement in salads. [89] Beet ‘Bull’s Blood’ Heirloom selection provides both great baby beets and tasty (and attractive) dark metallic-red leaves. Scatter seeds in flower borders or containers.—R R
those of other black cannas. Zones 7 to 10. [ 94 ] Colocasia esculenta ‘Nancy’s Revenge’ A big elephant ear with high drama. Large leaves over 2 feet wide emerge green, but as temperatures rise they are soon centered and veined with creamy yellow. Zones 8 to 11. [ 95 ] Dierama pulcherrimum Iris family relative with pink, magenta or white bell-shaped flowers that dance on the ends of 3- to 6-foot wiry stems above 2-foot clumps of swordlike foliage, inspiring the name angel’s fishing rod. Zones 7 to 10. [96] Lilium formosanum This heirloom bulb is back in vogue.The Formosa lily fromTaiwan reaches 6 feet tall, with pencil-thin leaves the length of the stem. Big white trumpets open in summer, 5 to 7 inches long
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with a rich fragrance. Zones 5 to 8. 95 [97] Lycoris radiata (Spider Lily) A nice surprise in the early-autumn garden, spider lily’s red, sea-urchin-like flowers emerge on 15-inch leafless stalks, just as the garden is changing from green to gold. Hardy from Zones 6 to 10, but winter clumps of narrow foliage might need protection in cooler regions. [ 98 ] Muscari macrocarpum ‘Golden Fragrance’ This new, 85 hardier strain with brighter flowers has made this rare species of grape hyacinth attainable. Sulphur-yellow tubular flowers with a purple crown, with a fragrance of gardenias and bananas. Zones 4 to 9. [ 99 ] Narcissus ‘Dainty 90 Miss’ Only 14 daffodils have ever been given the Wister Award from the American Daffodil Society, and this is the 2006 honoree, from breeder Grant Mitsch. Elegant white perianth is round and flat, with a neat green-eyed cup. [100] Tulipa clusiana The dainty lady tulip is one of the few tulips that will perennialize (especially in the South), thriving in dry soils.White pointed petals are striped with red on the diminutive 2- to 3-inch blooms on stems 8 to 10 inches tall. ‘Cynthia’ (shown) is yellow and red. Zones 3 to 9.
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Big elephant ears with high drama, a bulb with a fall surprise, eggplant for a sunny container, sun-tolerant caladiums, an award-winning daffodil 67
Lisa Eisner decorated the outdoor fireplace area in her garden in bohemian chic—drawing on indoor furnishings from the ’60s and ’70s. Top right: Lisa and Eric Eisner, seated, worked with Art Luna to redesign their Bel Air, California, garden.
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BY DONNA DORIAN P H OTO G R A P H S B Y V I C TO R I A P E A R S O N
L.A. SOUL ... and English sensibility.
Landscape designer Art Luna brings structure and order to a lush Bel Air canyon garden
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ong before Art Luna had a reputation as a first-rate landscape
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designer, Los Angeles knew him as the swank celebrity hairdresser that he still is today. I once asked him what he thought the oddball relationship between landscape designer and hair stylist was all about. “Looking at a quarter of an inch all day long,” he replied. But seeing the dappled light gleaming through the long allée of tree ferns Luna divined in Lisa and Eric Eisner’s canyon garden in Bel Air, I felt the kinship between his two professions was not just an acute attention to detail. More, it seemed like the shared hand of a sculptor who discovers the soul hidden in a stone, in a shape—or here, in a place. Relying on a mix of unusual plants, he cut and reorganized and reshaped what was already on site.What emerged from the wildness is an English-styled garden with subtropical plantings, a kind of tropical rain forest composed of allées and vistas and a unique sense of place. Left: Huge sycamores Built in 1937, the Eisners’ bring an architectural house was designed by Cliff presence to the yard. May, the grand master of the Top right:Tree ferns California ranch house, who and California-made for this site provided a hacienBauer pots flank the da-style residence inspired by entrance to the fireplace Mexican architecture. May also area. Below: Lisa Eisner seems to have had a serious mixes Asian, Italian knack for site planning: Placand California style ing the house close to the road pottery on a terrace. allowed room for ample, uninterrupted grounds at the back. “With a stream running along the back of the house and a hillside enclosing it in the rear, the canyon is wrapped in wind and damp, cool air. It is always moving,” says Lisa Eisner. “It’s like an ocean.” It wasn’t just any piece of land, either. The towering sycamores, tree ferns, dwarf bamboo and pittosporum long ago found a home on the property, and were part of a garden originally accompanying the house. But in the 18 years the Eisners have lived here, a number of high-powered land-
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scape architects have left their mark on the place.The heart of the garden is an outdoor fireplace pit, where Lisa, with unstudied derring-do and whimsy, brought out a huge velvet circular sofa, high-backed rattan chairs, and a birdcage that belonged to that most revered of L.A. designers,Tony Duquette. “The pit creates this mysterious ‘what is it out there?’” says Luna.The curiosity is satisfied via a stone path that leads from the house to the terrace. Beneath the porches, Lisa conjured up exotic dining rooms and elsewhere decorated the gardens with lanterns and California-made pots by Catalina and Gladding, McBean. But even with Lisa’s inimitable way of bringing outdoor living into the garden, in general it hadn’t aged well. “It had no structure, no breathing room,” says Luna, “so I knew we Left: A quirky but stunneeded to edit.” ning juniper topiary is After his first visit, set in a California-made Luna started talking to Gladding, McBean pot Lisa about the Australian in front of the pool. tree ferns (Alsophila ausRight:The back of the tralis)—the truly majeshouse is surrounded by tic plants on the propera porch where Lisa has ty. Unusually large, created an outdoor dining between 50 and 60 feet room sprinkled with a tall, they were scattered collection of lanterns. in bunches everywhere. “I told her my golden rule: If a plant is already working on a property, add more,” Luna says. So he moved the tree ferns to form a line on both sides of the stream, creating an allée running lengthwise across the property.To enhance its architectural quality, he planted an understory of bromeliads (Alcantarea imperialis) whose burgundy undersides add splashes of color and contrast. Because Lisa finds it difficult to throw anything out, she closed her eyes when Luna cut down sycamores and rambling bougainvillea, but after he did, she realized
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Mysterious and alluring, the tree fern allĂŠe that runs across the yard is underplanted with large bromeliads. Right:The fireplace area is surrounded by a hillside covered in mown bamboo.
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the ar t of garden photography LISA EISNER,
whose garden is fea-
tured on these pages, is a documen-
On photographing the latter, she says:
Use photography to connect to
Don’t get distracted by a pretty
tary photographer and founder of the
your garden. It’s my way of being in
plant. The quality of a photograph is
photo book house Greybull Press.
nature—of really looking at it.
all about the light. What I love about
Her thoughts on the relationship between gardens and photography: Use photography to design your
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rethink the design of that area.
For details on Eisner’s upcoming exhibit, see www.mbfala.com. V I C TO R I A P E A R S O N ,
who photo-
garden. When I find it difficult to
graphed the Eisner garden, shoots
photograph something well, I often
fashion, travel, interiors and gardens.
natural light is that it’s different wherever you go—it’s key to revealing the beauty of everyday things. Composition is all about balance. For this story, the first photos I took
were of the fireplace pit because the staging was already in place. Because there are only a few peak hours to photograph outdoors, be strategic. Garden photography is best in the very early morning and the very late afternoon, when the light is low. Save the afternoon for shooting in the shade.
it was for the good. Luna knew she wouldn’t let him just banish the agaves. (“Big agaves are like suntan lotion in California. Everyone uses some,” he said.) Again, he just rethought how to place them. His move was to get them out of the garden and hauled up the hillside, where he grouped them together in staggered rows creating a poolside vista of pure pizzazz. Meanwhile, dwarf bamboo (Sasa pygmaea) had gone on a rampage, building a wall of foliage behind the fireplace pit. Instead of taking on the endless battle to Left: Lisa Eisner took banish it, Luna made a subtle this atmospheric photomove—he mowed it down like graph beneath her tree grass. Now a hip bamboo crewfern allée.Top right: cut outlines the mounding rise To create a quiet space, of the hillside behind the fire Art and Lisa took a pit and along the far side of the Japanese approach to walkway that meanders to the designing this pond pool, letting the shape of the and set a beautiful flat land and the light streaming stone in its center. through guide the way. Below: Agaves climb “I didn’t want a manicured up the hillside. garden—I wanted something natural that you could let morph into whatever it was supposed to be,” says Lisa.As it turned out, the Eisners and Luna were perfect partners; their wants for the garden worked in tandem. Luna’s aim—and his success—was to give the place the subtle structure of an English garden. “You don’t even realize you are in a structured English sort of garden until you are right in the midst of it,” he reflects. “It was all about uncovering the soul of this place and letting the property speak to us.”
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Ceramic Zillij tiles, white plaster anakch, silk fabrics, and foliage plants at the Riad Enija are typical accoutrements of the lush courtyards of Morocco. Top right: Donna Dorian and Topher Delaney at Jardin Majorelle. Below right: Delaney’s sketch of the night sky in the Atlas Mountains.
Return to paradise
Style editor Donna Dorian and landscape architect Topher Delaney discover and share the secrets of Morocco’s hidden gardens BY DONNA DORIAN
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From top left, clockwise: Dorian and Delaney with Moroccan friends.The Marrakech marketplace. A rose-petal-filled marble fountain punctuates a Zilligtiled pool. A Berber woman in the Atlas Mountains. The courtyard fountain and gardens at Riad Enija. Bougainvillea wraps an archway. Moroccan craftsmanship.
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D O N N A D O R I A N ( 3 ) ; R I C H A R D F E L B E R ( 1 ) ; A N D R E B A R A N OW S K I ( 1 )
Last winter,
my dear friendTopher Delaney, a brilliant landscape architect and an all-around formidable kind of gal, asked me to come with her to check out the gardens of Morocco.Think “Thelma & Louise” on the lookout for gardens, not guys. For us, everything about Morocco seemed exotic—the desert, the mysterious courtyards, a legacy of garden design that has influenced the world, that intense Majorelle blue. For Topher, Morocco also held a curious, almost atavistic allure. She told me her mother had been a pied-noir—a “black foot,” a term applied to the French who emigrated to Africa. In the years precedingWorldWar II, her mother’s family had moved to Morocco.Then during the war,Topher’s mother was assigned to G2, an intelligence section working to break the German code, where she met Topher’s father, an assistant to de Gaulle. Topher had never been to Morocco herself, and the trip became a kind of homecoming, which she patched together in her own self-styled way. I have to mention just one tendency: Wherever we went, she kept an eye on the flooring. She discovered that with the use of no more than four different colored square tiles, each floor pattern composed an array of geometric configurations—triangles, diagonals, squares and rectangles. I knew thatTopher had often embedded bar codes into her patio and pool designs; now I knew why.Throughout the trip, “breaking the codes” became our game. For me, the trip was a real eye-opener, which would have been impossible without Topher’s perfect French and her discerning eye for landscape design.What we were looking for and what we found was a common language in Morocco’s gardens—riads hidden like women beneath chadors, orchards made for a king, desert oases—which we comprehended and translated as a microcosm of the Moroccan take on the world.
The Courtyard Gardens of Marrakech Arriving in Marrakech the day after Christmas, we drove along desert-lined streets, then past the ancient walls of the city, stopping at Place Jemaa-El-Fna, the city’s main marketplace, where we had to walk the rest of the way on foot.The square plunged us into the city’s exuberance, spun from its melding of Arab, Berber and French.Teeming with men in jalabas, curling snakes, screeching motorcycles, drummers, dancing monkeys, horses, carts piled high in pyramids and aromas of spices and dates, the scene eventually became a warren of narrow streets. I knew I could never find my way back alone. Finally, our guide stopped in front of a huge door in a nondescript alley.We knocked. A great number of people welcomed us, then the elegant Swiss hotelier, Ursula Haldimann, ushered us through the fabulous Riad Enija. Almost immediately we found ourselves walking through a series of outdoor courtyard gardens—roofless rooms wildly ornamented with foliage plants, marble fountains and pots, lanterns, birdcages and fantastic hand-carved furnishings upholstered in Moroccan silks. “So this is what the guidebooks meant by a riad,” I said to myself. Implying a lush garden, “riad” actually refers to a city dwelling and its inner patios as a whole.The ancient houses of Marrakech were almost all designed in this manner— some grander than others, of course—and over time a large number have been translated into historic courtyard-style hotels, offering an entrance to Moroccan life. A few days later, we spent a morning going from one riad to another. It was our way of taking a garden tour of the city. Each courtyard was centered around a water feature. Marble
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fountains were filled with rose petals (the Moroccans sprinkle rose petals everywhere—in their fountains, on their bed pillows, on the tables at breakfast and dinner). Other courtyards were dominated by long shallow pools of water. It wasTopher who first recognized that each seemed to re-create an oasis, those miraculous, fertile patches in the middle of the desert born from a spring and shaded by palms. Fascinated by the courtyards’ balance of exotic beauty and calm, I realized that these outdoor rooms were really quite different from those in the West. Altogether functional in their ability to offer a household a place to grow fruits and herbs and find shade and water, they were also more than literally “inner gardens.”They were places intended for spiritual retreat. Have we forgotten about that in our gardens? Have I? I remembered reading in Arnaud Maurières and Éric Ossart’s wonderful book Paradise Gardens, “Every gardener wants to re-create the Garden of Eden.”The Moroccans, inheriting a tradition begun centuries ago in the East, are still busy working at it. These were paradise gardens, places where the divine and the secular come together, where mystic and carnal love meet. (Don’t get the wrong idea, guys.) “A garden is a process, just like all spiritual work is a process,” said Topher. I don’t think she meant just the making of a garden, but the being in a garden. “These are places made to connect to a right life.”
La Majorelle: Mecca in Marrakech On our first full day in Marrakech, we made our hajj to the Jardin Majorelle, certainly Morocco’s most renowned garden. Even if you don’t realize it, you know Majorelle blue—the vibrant deep azure Moroccans believe wards off evil spirits—and hence paints the Majorelle buildings, pools and pots. An in-town riad on a grand scale, La Majorelle is a complicated place with no clear routes and a rather staged, often mislabeled botanical collection. Begun in 1927 by the French painter Jacques Majorelle, the garden established him as one of the great plant collectors of his time.After his death,Yves Saint DELANEY Laurent—Algerian by birth—and Pierre Berge acquired the garden, by then in great disrepair, and asked the American garden designer Madison Cox to attend to its restoration. But its glory days are gone. “It looks like a woman with too much make-up,” saidTopher.These days it just seems filled with too much—too many plants, too many pots, too many paths, too many tourists, too much blue.
“In Morocco, I found drawing really bound my attachment to the land —especially the patterns of the fields” — TO P H E R
I much preferred our visit to La Mamounia, one of the great hotels of the world.Winston Churchill made a habit of staying there to paint its noble gardens. In the 18th century, the land, part of an extraordinary park outside the casbah, was presented to Prince Moulay Mamoun as a wedding gift from his father.When in the 1920s it became clear that Marrakech needed a hotel to host European travelers, the park was the obvious choice. La Mamounia’s glamour resides in its historic orchards. Surrounded by the casbah fortifications, which are covered in huge clipped hedges of bougainvillea, the grounds are planted in groves of olives and citrus whose heady aromas permeate the garden. Topher found it altogether enchanting and has since found herself designing an heirloom fruit orchard in the Napa Valley. For me, it was about the mingling fragrances of olives and oranges, which seemed to carry me away. I felt as though I could fly.
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DONNA DORIAN (5); RICHARD FELBER (1)
A Garden Fit for a Prince
From top left, clockwise: Delaney in an outdoor shower.The famous blue Jardin Majorelle. Hotel La Roseraie in the Atlas Mountains. Delaney gets a haircut at the flea market. La Mamounia surrounded by Marrakech’s ancient casbah. An olive tree allée at La Mamounia. Delaney’s rendering of undulating geometry in the fields outside Meknes.
Moroccan Kitchen Garden We discovered that Moroccan Arabic includes numerous words to describe gardens. In contrast to the urban courtyard riad, La Mamounia for example, is a bustan, an immense ornamental garden in the city.We visited another bustan the next day in the Marrakech suburb of La Palmeraie, which takes its name from the ancient palm grove that abuts the city.We went there to meet Meryanne Loum-Martin, a well-known hotelier, and her husband, Gary, an American ethnobotanist, at their chic country residence and guesthouse, JnaneTamsna. We found that Gary, who teaches at the University of Kent, England, had planted a number of gardens around the house that wove together local ecology and his interests in enlarging the region’s plant vocabulary and traditional cultivation techniques. For example, his flourishing orchard and vegetable garden—an arsat—were designed beneath a small grove of date palms (Phoenix dactylifera).The palms have deep fibrous roots
“Westerners are always borrowing design tips from Morocco. But why not their gardens? Imagine a California kitchen garden designed around palms”
T I M B E D D OW ( 1 ) ; D O N N A D O R I A N ( 2 )
—D O N N A D O R I A N
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Here:The ornamental kitchen garden at Jnane Tamsna is organized around palm trees. Inset: Unripened dates hang from a palm. Opposite: Oranges and pomegranates grow side by side in the Atlas Mountains.
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From top left, clockwise: Delaney is inspired by a blue-green acacia. Hotel La Roseraie is renowned for its beautiful gardens. Jnane Tamsna is designed in contemporary style. An oud player. A typical Moroccan archway. Atlas Mountain landscape. Heavily laden camels. A romantic terrace setting at La Roseraie.
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that allow them to thrive during dry seasons, and their towering fronds create microclimates of shade and humidity. Gary has also planted herbs, fava beans, asparagus, artichokes and citrus. Nearby a carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) had sprung to life in a cluster of palm trunks, which fascinatedTopher, who was accustomed to seeing the carob as a specimen tree used to line city streets. Elsewhere on the property, Gary grows‘Iceberg’ roses, alfalfa, olive trees, glory bower (Clerodendrum fragrans) and jasmine, giving the whole place claim to becoming a bustan—a classic Islamic garden of poetry and romance.
DONNA DORIAN (7)
Into Nature’s Garden It wasn’t until Topher and I made our way into the countryside that it all began to come together. On our slow 40-mile drive out of Marrakech up to the Atlas Mountains, we met the flat desert landscape punctuated with opuntia and agave, then started to ascend into the mountains on an ancient, beautiful and terrifying road. After a while, we stopped at a roadside café, which looked across a scruffy road to a stream and green hillsides that gave way to snowcapped mountains.The light was incredibly clear.While we drank glassfuls of mint tea, a man started to play a mournful song on an old folk oud and sing, and there was nothing else but the noise of the rushing stream and the birds in the air.A few men arrived at the stream with their camels.We watched the men tend their camels and the camels drink out of the stream, and although we never said it to each other, we had found ourselves in what seemed the most beautiful place in the world, some ancient paradise that hadn’t changed since the beginning of time. Everything began to run into each other.Topher felt as though she had come home. “All Morocco is a garden,” she said. “The specific and the general, the garden and the landscape are really a single piece.”
going to morocco?
Pacific Horticulture,
among others, has special garden tours, including one to Morocco October 7-17. See www.pacifichorticulture.org. For daily direct flights from New York to Casablanca, call Royal Air Maroc reservations: 800-344-6726. For a comprehensive listing of the best riads in Marrakech, Fez and the Atlas Mountains, including those mentioned here, see www.travelintelligence.com. Call +44 (0) 20 7580 2663 or e-mail i@travelintelligence.net. Diversity Excursions, Ltd. (www.diversity-excursions. co.uk), offers garden tours for guests who stay at Jnane Tamsna (www.jnanetamsna.com). Contact Gary Martin (gary@jnanetamsna.com or gmartinGDF@aol.com). For information on visiting Fez—how to rent or buy a house, the city’s architecture, restaurants, shopping etc.—call 212-61-564-364, e-mail alcfes@menara.ma or see www.houseinfez.com.
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B Y DAV I D M C M U L L I N
P H OTO G R A P H S B Y R I C H A R D F E L B E R
Left: A stream runs through Bill Hudgins’ woodland property in Atlanta. Early in the year the garden is a study in shades of fresh green, with clipped boxwood and giant ceramic pots contrasting with the natural forms of Japanese maples. Right:The terrace behind the house is a haven for entertaining.
the green room Gracious entertaining spaces, a collection of Japanese maples and a working nursery rub shoulders in complete harmony in this Atlanta woodland
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MOST SUCCESSFUL DESIGNERS IN ANY FIELD, IF THEY’RE HONEST, From top left, clockcould attribute their reputation as much to self-promotion wise: A palm (Trachyas to the work they do. But Bill Hudgins is a quiet man.This carpus fortunei) in full Atlanta-based garden designer and owner of Lush Life, a flower by the terrace; swanky garden shop in the Buckhead neighborhood, is group of Acer palmatum renowned for the quality of his work and his sophisticated var. dissectum ‘Viridis’ in eye. A chat with Hudgins yields little of his inner life. His detall pots at the foot of meanor is warm but shy. On the subject of his passions, howthe steps; a bonsai colever—gardens and collecting—he is sharp and definitive. lection is taking shape in “I’m true to myself—I do what I like,” he explains.And what this Japanese-inspired he likes right now are Japanese maples. His garden, in a dark, area; giant terra-cotta leafy hollow on Atlanta’s north side, is host to more than 400 pots climb the hillside. cultivars of Japanese maple, mostly varieties of Acer palmatum. Below left: Hudgins with Why maples? friends Pierre and Midge. “Because I love their diversity. Plus I’m a collector, and Acer palmatum may contain the largest number of cultivars of any Acer species.” Of course, maples aren’t all Hudgins favors. Boxwoods are another obsession. He has 35 or 40 varieties gathered in a quirky and wonderful parterre in the outer garden. And he mentions hostas—the outsize varieties ‘Blue Angel’ and ‘Sum and Substance’ are particular favorites—which also make sense for a collecting spirit. It seems Hudgins has been accumulating things always. His story is quintessential. Small-town boy loves gardening, grows things (vegetables, flowers) in his family’s yard back home (south central Georgia), learns a love of plants and a love of nature, and develops a keen eye and a sophisticated aesthetic. An early collection was African violets—there were dozens—and another decade brought agaves and other succulents.Then the maples took over and became a permanent passion. His first collection was in his old garden in Decatur, Georgia.That smaller garden, with its woodland paths and layers of luscious foliage, became a perennial favorite of garden-club ladies and horticultural tours. His passion led to a successful garden shop—Lush Life (see story in Dirt section)—that overflows with garden art and antiques, topiaries and containers. Soon the phone was ringing off the hook. Eventually the shop outgrew Decatur and moved to swanky Buckhead, as did Hudgins and his partner, Jeff Ziegler—and the maples. “There was nothing here—just ivy, really, no planting,” Hudgins says of the site of his new home. “Woodland and big native buckeyes.” But he characteristically understates the thinking behind his choice.The 3-acre site is beautiful, with a charming, cozy house nestled along the banks of a clear, cold stream in the shelter of a towering hardwood forest. The approach to the front entrance brings the visitor over a wide and comfortable bridge; darters congregate in the swift water, and a lazy water snake is often seen coiled on a warm rock against the bank. 90
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The garden starts here, with meandering pathways that slide under and around an assortment of plants. On the lowLeft: A table setting er slopes around the stream, Japanese maples predominate. of brilliant coral lumiThey offer a huge diversity of mounded, weeping, upright or nesces against the deep spreading forms, plus infinite variations in leaf forms and colgreen of the woodland. ors—spidery cut-leaf types in chartreuse to palmate forms in In all things Hudgins’ shades of plum. Ostrich ferns and shade-loving ground coveye is drawn to nature, ers provide contrast, while tightly clipped boxwood balls, spiso the Raynaud Limoges rals and cones threaded through the garden serve as an ordinnerware in Cristobal, ganizing counterpoint to the feathery free form of the maples. a pattern of shells and The main path turns sharply skyward at the side of the house coral, has obvious appeal and climbs past the boxwood parterre and more maples, this time for him.The theme is continued by the use in a theatre-like nursery of tiers—row after row of meticulousof shells at each setting ly maintained specimens in pots and boxes.Visitors then traverse instead of flowers. a high ridge above the roofline with an overlook of the secluded back terrace, tightly gardened with brick floor, gurgling fountain, statues, specimens in terra-cotta pots and a large, mossy stone table that serves as the center of Hudgins’ entertaining universe.What sets this garden apart from most collectors’ gardens is that it is actually beautiful, a difficult feat to pull off for people with a passion for accumulating. “I know it’s cliché to say it, but nature inspired my design,” says Hudgins.And indeed, the garden is as gracious and effortless as an Appalachian glade. But it
What sets this garden apart from most collectors’ gardens is that it is actually beautiful, a difficult feat to pull off for people with a passion for accumulating wasn’t made without effort—far from it.“When I found this place, I only thought of its potential. It never occurred to me how difficult it would be to garden here.” The soil was one thing—a local enemy of gardeners—a mix of sandy, hard-packed, yellow clay that yields to no spade and can be worked only with heavy equipment.Which leads to the other thing: no access.The pretty little creek that is the raison d’être of this site is also a barrier to all equipment except the wheelbarrow, so all soil-amending work has to be done by the back and the bone. The nursery site is some 50 or so stone steps straight up from the nearest flat landing, which means pots have to be carried in and out one at a time.This is a dedicated gardener. But life is not all work. Comfortable spaces carved out around the house accommodate a series of elegant terraces furnished with an eye for theatrical scale—huge pots, a palm tree, a pair of lions and wall masks spouting into a trough. Splashes of color—warm terra-cotta or the sudden flare of a row of white impatiens—bring a sophisticated edge to the virgin green. In fact, so restful is this room in the woods, towering trees shushing the birdsong and the distant trickle of water, that it’s hard to believe Hudgins ever leaves his chaise. He may stir to dress the stone table for dinner or to chase the cat away from the fish in the stone trough, but the driving passions of the plant collector seem far away and life is lush indeed. Lush Life, 146 E.Andrews Dr. N.W.,Atlanta, GA 30305. Call 404-841-9661. 93
japanese maple mystique A collector of plants is very often reluctant to identify his or her favorites. How can one pick a favorite child? But when pressed for a halfdozen or so of the best Acer palmatum varieties, Bill Hudgins doesn’t hesitate for a second. “Absolutely my favorite red is ‘Zinda Red’,” he begins. “And ‘Mikawa-yatsubusa’ is my favorite dwarf form.” He particularly favors the upright forms: “‘Shishigashira’ has a small, crinkly green leaf, and ‘Ojishi’ is a counterpoint to ‘Shishigashira’ with a wider leaf and more open branch structure. ‘Linearilobum’ is a graceful form with delicate narrow leaves.” Japanese maples (this covers Acer japonicum, A. palmatum and A. p. var. dissectum varieties, to name a few) are easy to grow in all but the coldest or most arid climates. They require average garden soil with filtered light in hot zones, consistent watering in times of drought, and a little patience, as many (but not all) are fairly slowgrowing. They also prefer shelter from wind. Japanese maples are also perfect for large pots, as Bill Hudgins demonRight: A spiral-trained specimen of Acer palmatum var. dissectum ‘Viridis’ by the greenhouse. Left, top: A graceful green centerpiece, A. p. ‘Ao-hici-gosan’ is hung with succulents and underplanted with ferns and hostas. Left, below:The bronzy tones of A. p. ‘Pixie’ stand out against the trim of the house.
strates—just don’t allow them to become waterlogged. Hudgins considers spring to be the best season for foliage color. Autumn color can be glorious, but it is inconsistent in the South. “Last year many of the Japanese maples didn’t reach their peak until December,” he points out.
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sage advice
A H O W- TO G U I D E F O R G RO W I N G A N D O U T D O O R L I V I N G
H O RT Q & A W I T H J A C K R U T T L E
SweetTalk Q
I’ve read rapturous descriptions of sweet peas, so I tried them in my flower garden last year,with no luck at all.The plants were spindly and died before I got a single bloom.What’s the secret? —ELLEN DANTON, CINCINNATI, OH when weather is dependably cool.The plants decline quickly once temperatures get much over 80 degrees.They need to be grown on a fairly tall wire trellis, like regular garden peas, and are better thought of as a fragrant cut flower than something that will make much of a show in a flower border. Climate is the main limiting factor. People do well with sweet peas either in places with winters so mild that freezes are very light or nonexistent or in the north where the summers never get very hot. In either situation, the plants can flower for two months or so. But where summers are hot, the bloom time Sweetpeas are best usually lasts only a few weeks. grown as a cut flower In the South, people plant and given their own sweet peas directly in the garplace in the garden cover the plants with den in fall and pick flowers in rather than combined floating row covers or late winter and early spring. into a mixed border. cloches. Before the Northern growers start them plants get 6 inches tall, indoors and transplant them outdoors in spring once the danger of frost erect a wire or net trellis for them to climb. has nearly passed, a couple of weeks be- Once warm spring weather arrives, mulch the soil around the sweet peas with good fore you can set out tomatoes. You will need to follow the Northern compost both to feed the plants and keep program.About eight weeks before you plan the soil cool.And pick all the flowers regto set seedlings outdoors, soak the seeds ularly to prevent seeds from forming, overnight and plant two seeds per 3-inch pot. which may inhibit continued blooming. Seeds germinate best at 60 to 65 degrees and What would be a good vine to cover the can take a couple of weeks to a month to sprout.When the seedlings emerge, set them electric meter on the side of my house? — under grow lights or on a bright windowsill. ANNIE WISOCK, PORTLAND, OR Plant seedlings outdoors in rich garden Most vines are rampant growers and soil (a sunny vegetable patch is ideal) as soon as night temperatures are dependably will get much too big for the spot. Many above 40 degrees. If hard frost threatens, of them could also damage the siding on
Q A
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your home into the bargain.You need a vine that is a fairly weak grower and that tolerates hard pruning. Perhaps more important than the choice of vine is the trellis to support whatever you decide to grow. If you build a handsome latticework trellis around the meter hardware and then paint it to match your siding, the meter will be very effectively disguised year round, no matter what sort of vine you choose. My top choice of vine for a spot like this is one of the large-flowered clematis in what is called clematis group 3 or C, for example, Clematis‘Jackmanii’,‘Lady Betty Balfour’ or ‘Hagley Hybrid’.The pruning is simple:You cut it all down every year in early spring to about a foot above the ground.The new foliage will quickly cover the trellis, and the plant will produce spectacular flowers in
A gardener learns more in the mistakes than in the successes—B A R B A R A
BORLAND
ANDREA JONES
A Sweet peas are slow-growing and thrive
P R E M I E R R E TA I L PA R T N E R
D I R E C T O RY Annie’s Manhattan Beach Nursery & Florist Manhattan Beach, CA • PH: 310-376-0567 www.anniesfloristonline.com Barlow Flower Farm Sea Girt, NJ • PH: 732-449-9189 www.barlowflowerfarm.com Bath Garden Center Ft. Collins, CO • PH: 970-484-5022 www.bathgardencenter.com Big Red Sun Austin, TX • PH: 512-480-0688 www.bigredsun.com Boxwoods Gardens & Gifts Atlanta, GA • PH: 404-233-3400 dbboxwoods@aol.com Burkard Nurseries, Inc. Pasadena, CA • PH: 626-796-4355 www.burkardnurseries.com Campo de’ Fiori Sheffield, MA • PH: 413-528-1857 www.campodefiori.com Condurso’s Garden Center Montville, NJ • PH: 973-263-8814 www.condursos.com Didriks Cambridge, MA • PH: 617-354-5700 www.didriks.com Dimitri’s Garden Center New York, NY • PH: 212-876-3996 www.dimitrisgardencenter.com DuBrow’s Livingston, NJ • PH: 973-992-0598 www.dubrows.com
Grounded Garden Shop Encinitas, CA • PH: 760-230-1563 juli@grounded101.com
Patios, Walks & Walls Grove City, OH • PH: 614-539-8100 www.patioswalksandwalls.com
Hursthouse, Inc. Bolingbrook, IL • PH: 630-759-3500 www.hursthouse.com
Plaza Design Eureka, CA • PH: 707-441-1380 www.plazad.com
International Garden Center El Segundo, CA • PH: 310-615-0353 www.intlgardencenter.com
Pleasant Pools & Patio Chester, NJ • PH: 908-879-7747 www.pleasantpoolsandpatio.com
J & M Home & Garden Madison, NJ • PH: 800-533-5112 www.jmhg.com
Riverside Nursery & Garden Center Collinsville, CT • PH: 860-693-2285 riverside-nursery@snet.net
Joie de “Vie” Glen Ellyn, IL • PH: 630-790-9113 joiedevie@ameritech.net Kimball & Bean Architectural and Garden Antiques Woodstock, IL • PH: 815-444-9000 www.kimballandbean.com
Savannah Hardscapes Levy, SC • PH: 843-784-6060 www.savannahhardscapes.com Smith’s Acres Niantic, CT • PH: 860-691-0528 www.smithsacres.com
Kolo Collection Atlanta, GA • PH: 404-355-1717 www.kolocollection.com
Southwest Gardener Phoenix, AZ • PH: 602-279-9510 www.southwestgardener.com
Litchfield Horticultural Center Litchfield, CT • PH: 860-567-3707 litchfieldhort@msn.com
Swanson’s Nursery Seattle, WA • PH: 206-782-2543 www.swansonsnursery.com
Lovely Manors Garden Design Center Phoenix, MD • PH: 410-667-1390 www.lovelymanors.org
The Bronze Frog Gallery Oakville, ONT • PH: 905-849-6338 www.bronzefroggallery.com
Lush Life Atlanta, GA • PH: 404-841-9661 www.lushlifehomegarden.com
Fort Pond Native Plants Montauk, NY • PH: 631-668-6452 www.nativeplants.net
Marina del Rey Garden Center Marina del Rey, CA • PH: 310-823-5956 www.marinagardencenter.com
Four Seasons Pottery Atlanta, GA • PH: 404-252-3411 www.4seasonspottery.com
Mostardi Nursery Newtown Square, PA • PH: 610-356-8035 www.mostardi.com
Gardenology Encinitas, CA • PH: 760-753-5500 www.garden-ology.com
North Haven Gardens Dallas, TX • PH: 214-363-5316 www.nhg.com
Gardens Austin, TX • PH: 512-451-5490 www.gardens-austin.com
Organized Jungle, Inc. Winter Park, FL • PH: 407-599-9880 www.organizedjungle.com
The Dow Gardens Midland, MI • PH: 800-362-4874 www.dowgardens.org The Garden Market Carpinteria, CA • PH: 805-745-5505 www.thegardenmarkets.com The Treehouse Garden Collection Dunedin, FL • PH: 727-734-7113 www.treehousegardencollection.com Whiting Nursery St. Helena, CA • PH: 707-963-5358 www.whitingnursery.com
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sage advice summer. Some kinds repeat bloom into fall. If large-flowered clematis have a weakness, it is that plants look a bit bedraggled and sparse in the winter. An alternative, evergreen climber that’s easily kept compact and can be shaped like billowing informal topiary on your trellis is winter creeper, Euonymus fortunei. Get a variegated type, which are more attractive and less aggressive.There are green and white and green and gold varieties; some turn purplish in winter.The plants are very adaptable and easy to train on a lattice trellis. Prune regularly to keep growth shapely and in bounds. Can be susceptible to scale and spider mites.
Q I wish I could find New Guinea impatiens for sale in flats like regular impatiens, but they seem to be sold only as single plants, which are much more expensive.Why are New Guinea impatiens not grown from seed? — GAWES ROBERTS, MARIETTA, GA
from seed, but you won’t be able to get the wide variety of single-color strains that you can with other annuals like marigolds, zinnias or, for that matter, regular impatiens. And you will rarely see seed-grown strains in garden centers. With New Guinea impatiens, breeders have been able to create a wide range of luscious flower colors, as well as foliage suffused with red or dramatically striped with yellow. But it’s difficult to produce seed strains that will come true to the parent colors.To make matters worse for the frugal gardener, recent advances in tissue culture have made it relatively cheap to produce massive numbers of these plants vegetatively, so the incentive to develop seed strains of New Guinea impatiens has diminished. If you want to try your hand at growing New Guinea impatiens from seed, keep a few tricks in mind.The seeds will need a relatively warm 70 to 75 degrees both to germinate and to grow.This can be hard to achieve in a home in late winter, so set the seed trays on a heat mat until the seedlings appear. Seeds can take a week or two to sprout.When you see the first green leaves, move seedlings into a greenhouse or under fluorescent lights; use the lights for about 15 hours a day, with the
J E R RY PAV I A
A You can grow New Guinea impatiens
New Guinea impatiens take at least three months from sowing seed indoors to moving young plants to the garden.
seedling tops an inch or so below the tubes. Transplant seedlings to 3-inch pots three to four weeks later.Allow three months from the time you plant the seed until they are ready to go into the garden.
Q
Near the edge of a woods I have a large patch of Norway maple saplings that I am trying to return to meadow, but the ones I’ve cut at ground level sprout back vigorously and I am seeing little progress. How can I speed along the meadow? — ED ROGERS, PITTSFIELD, MA
A
Norway maple is a tree that withstands repeated cutting. If you remove trees near ground level and mow repeatedly with a lawn mower, they will eventually die. But before that, they will become a mass of knotty wooden nodules at the soil surface, which will result in a bumpy ride and a need to sharpen the blade more often. There are a couple of alternatives. Since Norway maple does not sprout readily from the roots, you could grub out your trees below ground level.This method works best if you have only a few trees. A better approach on a large patch is to spray newly cut stumps with the nonselective herbicide Roundup. Late winter and early spring can be a good time to do this. Mix concentrate 50-50 with water; if the weather is cold, dilute the Roundup with windshield-washer fluid instead of water.A few stumps will probably resprout. Recut them and treat with the solution. Always have the Roundup mix ready so you can use it immediately—while the cuts are still fresh.Apply the spray only to the tops of the stumps to minimize impact on nearby plants.
sage advice 1
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LANDSCAPE SOLUTIONS
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[1] For nearly 12 years, this two-story ‘Kieffer’ pear espalier in a candelabra pattern has basked in the warmth radiated by the façade of Peter Thevenot’s home. [2] A 10-year-old flowering ‘Royal Empire’ apple tree spreads flat against a stone wall in a three-tiered horizontal cordon design. [3] A freestanding Belgian fence design using ‘Bradford’, an ornamental callery pear, makes a highly functional divide between garden and driveway.
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ESPALIER—THE 500-YEAR-OLD TECHNIQUE OF training trees to artfully thrive in narrow spaces—lends itself well to small gardens and other challenging nooks and crannies. PeterThevenot of River Road Farms in Decatur,Tennessee, arguably the country’s foremost expert on the subject, uses the espalier technique, diligently pruning and coaxing young trees, in order to create multi-branched living “sculptures” trained on wire templates that lie flat against a wall or façade. But, as in the example shown at left, espalier can also be used to produce freestanding designs. Espalier originated in 16th-century France as a means of maximizing the harvest of fruit within a limited planting space. Today the art appeals to garden designers as much for aesthetics—interesting shapes and patterns— as for its utilitarian value. “My favorite trees to work with,” says Thevenot, “are the ‘Kieffer’ pear and ‘Gala’ apple because they are the best I’ve found to date for training.” —J A S O N U P R I G H T PeterThevenot;River Road Farms,Decatur,TN; 800-297-1435; riverrd@usit.net.
I am fonder of my garden for the trouble it gives me—R E G I N A L D
FARRER
J . PA U L M O O R E ( 3 )
Tight Spot Training
sage advice A N ATO M Y L E S S O N
Cool Front
to almost float over a dense carpet of mondo grass.Typical of this region, there was no soil at all, so the berm allowed the soil level to be raised by backfilling. Renner intended to resell the house, so David kept the landscape simple, clean and easy to maintain. Deer were a major factor in his choice of plants—it was too difficult to fence this area—so he turned to a palette of tough, deer-resistant evergreens.The result might be described as a Japanese aesthetic, which, as David points out, is not a coincidence: Deer are common pests in rural Japan, and their tastes play a large part in creating that characteristic green look.—JF For more information on James David, call 512467-9934 or see www.gardens-austin.com.
RO G E R F O L E Y ( 4 )
This tranquil green front garden in a wellto-do suburb west of Austin,Texas, was created by landscape architect James David and his client, residential builder Kimberley Renner, a seasoned partnership of 10 years. Renner had created a compound of buildings rooted in Texas vernacular architecture, and she wanted David’s landscape to nestle them into the setting and create a strong connection from the street to the front door. One of David’s priorities with any project is to harness the strengths of the site, and the 1-acre plot was littered with limestone boulders. He used them to build a path and a dry-stacked wall from the street (over 100 feet in length) that points to the tucked-away front door, which as Renner notes is one of the strongest design elements in the project. “So many people stop short LOOK WITHIN The garden breaks down of doing something great,” into several spaces.Top:A stone wall dominates says David,“but the wall wasthe front of the property, blue-berried mahonia n’t that expensive to do, and at the foot. Boxwood balls add a geometrical it really draws you through touch. Below left and right:A flagstone path the garden to the front door leads to a side door. One area is enclosed on like an arrow.” The path, three sides, like a Japanese courtyard. raised up on a berm, seems
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Do not cut down the tree that gives you shade—P E R S I A N
P ROV E R B
FITTING IN
FOLLOW ON
STONE FREE
TREE SPIRITS
The client looked on the front garden as an outdoor room that helps settle the building into the site. Planting envelops the long, low roofline, and extensive use of glass allows the garden to penetrate the interior, too.
The ragged edge of the path and informally massed ground covers: Dwarf yaupon (Ilex vomitoria) mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus), holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum) and Pittosporum tobira create a relaxed first impression.
Natural limestone found on-site was used for the wall and pathway. Its pale color lightens the dark green carpet of mondo grass and reinforces the directional function of the path.
Oaks and smaller evergreens give a gladelike character to the front garden, plus privacy and shade. Leaning trunks bring an inviting spontaneity to the scene, rather than a more formal style typically found in front yards.
A garden should always look bigger than it really is—A L E X A N D E R
LE BLOND
GARDEN DESIGN
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Order free advertiser information here These GAR DEN DE SIGN advertisers invite you to request additional information about their products and services.Tap into these essential resources today—simply fill out and return the attached card to us, and we’ll handle the rest for you. For faster service, fax toll-free to 888-847-6035 or visit www.gardendesignmag.com/readerresource ART ACCENTS/ANTIQUES 900
01 Eye of the Day The most complete inventory of classic pottery, statuary and fountains from around the world. 02 Gary Price Studios Inc. Sculpture that creates a focal point, enhancing nature’s glory 03 H. Potter Distinctive home and garden accents with continual trend setting items that do not go unnoticed. 04 Tuscan Imports Inc. Frost proof Italian terra cotta 05 Roger DiTarando Roger Ditarando Has been creating metal sculpture for over 30 years. His unique work, always reflective of nature, adorns gardens, houses, and museums. 06 Stone Forest Functional sculpture for the garden and bath, hand-crafted in stone, copper and bronze.
12 Summer Classics A manufacturer of fine garden furnishings and fireside accessories, which was founded on the principle of truly classic design. 13 Timberlane Woodcrafters The World’s finest shutters, custom built from premium Western Red Cedar. Request our free catalog today. 14 Escort Lighting Finely crafted garden lighting to accent your garden pond or landscape. Solid copper construction for years of maintenance-free enjoyment. 15 LED Green Power LED Lighting is the next generation in the efficient lighting! They use 5-10 times less energy. Led can last twenty times longer then incandescent lights. OUTDOOR KITCHEN/BBQ 905
16 Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Designers and manufacturers of professional grade stainless steel gourmet grills and kitchens for outdoor living. PLANT & GARDEN PRODUCTS 906
07 Haddonstone USA Cast stone, architectural cast stone and cast stone garden ornaments including balustrading, columns, porticos, door surrounds, steps… 08 Kenneth Lynch & Sons An industry leader in providing site furnishings including statuary and fountains in cast stone, lead and bronze, weathervanes, sundials, park benches and topiary. DECKING/PAVERS/TILE 902
09 EverGrain Composite Decking by TAMKO EverGrain® Decking, from TAMKO®, is created through a compression molding process, producing a deep grain. 10 Millstones.com Millstones and syrup kettles. Authentic, Genuine, Old. 1000 plus inventory in range of sizes from 20’’ to 60” in diameter. HOME FURNISHINGS 904
11 EMU Americas LLC Furniture that is designed to provide comfort and relaxation, enhancing the ambiance of your patio
17 W. Atlee Burpee The Burpee Company was founded in Philadelphia in 1876 by an 18 year-old with a passion for plants and animals… Within 25 years he had developed the largest, most progressive seed company in America. 18 Proven Winners A better garden starts with a better plant – Proven Winners® 19 Spring Meadow Nursery Your best choice for colorful, easy growing, flowering shrubs. 20 Garden Slendor The Garden Splendor® collection includes more than 500 premium varieties of perennials, ornamental grasses, patio plants, shrubs and vines available only at fine garden centers 21 Osmocote The Original Slow Release Plant Food!™ Osmocote is The Smart Plant Food™
23 Bluestone Perennials Specialists in growing and shipping fine perennials for over 34 years. 24 Bartlett Tree Expert Co. For all your tree and shrub care needs, call the experts. 25 Wayside Gardens Our Catalog is filled with magnificent treasures – many offered exclusively through Wayside. 26 Benner’s Gardens Inc. Virtually invisible deer fencing systems 27 Fiskars Brand Inc. Since 1649, Fiskars has been committed to producing tools that exceed the highest quality standards, and guarantees that Fiskars Garden tools are the right choice for you. 28 Heronswood Nursery Rare and unique perennial pants…Shop from 2000 varieties. 29 Paradise Water Gardening If it grows in water…we have it! Send for a 90 page free catalog and guide to Water Gardening. 30 Wayside Gardens Our Catalog is filled with magnificent treasures – many offered exclusively through Wayside. 31 White Flower Farm Since 1950 we have been providing a wide range of ornamental and edible plants, plus tools, supplies, and gardening advice, to gardeners throughout the United States. 32 Encore Azaleas Our Azaleas bloom in spring, summer and fall.You’ll love them! Available in 23 varieties POOL/SAP/WATER FEATURE 907
33 Sundance Spas Inc. Sundance Spas, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of the most technologically advanced acrylic spas in the world, devoted to improving people’s health through hydrotherapy.
22 Monrovia Nursery Co. Monrovia Style…Setting trends and creating distinctive gardens one plant at a time. W W W. G A R D E N D E S I G N M A G . C O M
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The Original Vase d’Anduze Available in various sizes and colors
561.805.9995 www.authenticprovence.com
Spheres now available in sizes up to 6 1/2’ diameter
Prices from $7,000 to $60,000
TEL: 011 44 1293 871575 FAX: 011 44 1293 871111 www.allisonsgarden.com allison@allisonsgarden.com
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L' Antiquario
Antique Inlaid Tiles ~ Endless Design Indoor ~ Outdoor ~ Pools ~ Fountains
www.LAntiquario.com 305.672.6008
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Paris in Spring Using just two plants, French landscape architects Michel Desvigne and Christine Dalnoky created a minimalist natural place that brings the rhythm of the seasons right into the heart of Paris.The building, social housing designed by architect Renzo Piano, wraps around a large sunken garden. Early in the year, a grove of slim birches provides a haze of green, their vertical lines mimicking the strong grid of the building façade. Terra-cotta tiles and concrete banding on the floor pick up the same architectural details, and reinforcing the geometry is a neat carpet of boxleaf honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida) divided into neat blocks bordering the paths.—J F
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I like to go by climbing a birch tree, and climb black branches up a snow-white trunk—R O B E R T
F RO S T