East Coast Excursion Part 2: The Man Behind The Books

Brooklyn Botanic Garden was an absolute treat! It was minutes from my cousin and it happened to be a day where there was no admission fee! I finally walked into a landscape I had only ever seen in books, magazines and documentaries on television.

A simple and modern design using a simple plant palette to soften the clean lines created by the concrete steps and benches.

From above a platform, you get this remarkable view of an edible garden that looked absolutely well-kept and attracted many visitors including a group of school kids!

One thing I really envy about the east coast is their ability to get lush tropical plantings as lush as they are here on the East Coast. This stunning plant pairing consists of  a hardy banana (Musa sikkimensis) and a annual Pennisetum grass.

The Japanese Garden was lovely and offered this tremendous view from the viewing platform.

The Rose Garden was just passed its prime blooming season, but the perennial bedding plants were putting on a show!

Most Botanical Institutions become destinations for people. Not only are they looking to see plants and gardens, they also want a place to sit, relax and refresh.  I had a light breakfast at their overpriced cafe, but sadly, I didn't have much time to explore the conservatory because I had to meet someone who's quite well known amongst gardening circles worldwide.

Meeting Ken Druse:

Growing up, the name Ken Druse crossed my path and journey towards horticulture with his phenomenal books and exquisite photographs.

He is the author of many books, most notably, The Natural Shade Garden, The Collector's Garden, Plantropology, and his latest, Natural Companions. was just stunning when I had a chance to look at it before we met up.

Just a sampling from this visually stunning work of art scanned by Helen Hoverkamp

I still find it remarkable that I've meet so many people, who I considered celebrities, over the past few years. I guess anyone who's published a book could be considered famous in my mind, but Ken Druse is almost like a household name. He's appeared on Martha Stewart's shows on several occasion and he has this calm and encouraging demeanor to him that I didn't expect from someone of his caliber.

Here he is always working and capturing the stunning bark of Lagerstroemia indica.

It was such an honor to spend the day with him looking at plants, gardens, talking about life and career as a garden writer.

He kindly drove and we hit up our next stop, a garden he insisted I MUST visit while in New York...


Stay tuned..


R

East Coast Excursion: Part 1

It simply broke my heart to see the news and horrible images unfold as many of the places I visited just a few weeks ago were hit with strong winds, terrible floods, and power outages.

After years of reading books, admiring photographs and hearing stories about these  remarkable gardens and landscapes, I finally had an opportunity to visit the east coast! My initial hook was a Perennial Plant Conference, that coincidentally, my buddy, Matt Berberich was also thinking of attending as his hometown was pretty close to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvannia.

Now, I had about a week to devote to this trip and it got me thinking, "I could possibly hit up New York!" I have a few relatives in NYC that I could possibly visit and there were several gardens that I've been wanting so very badly to see!

Rather than ramble on about my trip, here are some photo highlights!

NYC can easily make one feel very small in such a fast-paced environment.

I was thrilled to visit with my cousin and see the amazing Highline! It's a stunning space, but it has become surprisingly touristy.

I also had a cousin who I stayed with in Brooklyn who lived fairly close to the BBG! I had an opportunity to say hello to Scott Medbury, their executive director.

I'm not really all that special, but I guess I had to be to see Mr. Medbury, but the nicest treat was the garden was free that day and I was joined by someone who is quite well known in horticultural literature.

Any guesses as to who??




Stay tuned...

It's Election Day!

From The Next Generation Gardener:

I'm not typically a political person, but selecting our USA President and several issues are very near and dear to me and I ask Washington State to please read and understand the facts and support our community by approving Referendum 74 - The right for same-sex couples to marry!

There are so many gay couples and individuals in our gardening community and they have every right to have the same rights and benefits as heterosexual couples.

Agree or Disagree, PLEASE VOTE!!!

Where do I even begin to pick up where I left off...

bad garden blogger...BAD GARDEN BLOGGER!!!   Ugggggghhhhh....

I guess I could say, in my defense, that I was actually gardening and not sitting on my ass blogging about every event that's garden/plant/flower related. The problem is, just about every aspect of my life is related to plants, flowers and garden and I can't even begin to choose what to share.

Plus, I've also just been so overwhelmed with work. It is FALL after all! Clean up is endless and preparations for the winter, plus TEACHING; the weeks go by so fast and, olly crap, it's almost NOVEMBER!!!

So, here's are some events that took place over the past month. Why don't YOU choose which topic I should do a full blog post on:

-My cousin Jocelyn got married (yes, another wedding, but I didn't do the flowers this time, but there's still something plant related that's cheesy and hilarious)

-A wedding also means a little family reunion. I had cousins stay with me and see my garden which included grapes my grandfather planted that ripened just in time.

-Just got back from my first ever trip to the Northeast hitting up New York City, New Jersey, and the Philadelphia area to visit family, friends, and, of course, GARDENS! I'm sure there will be a post on this no matter what. Hahaha...it was pretty incredible!

-Finished my design for my show garden for the 2013 Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

-Filmed the second episode of the "Next Generation Gardener"  (currently being produced and edited!)

-Presented my first talk called "Travels of a Garden Foodie" to a local garden club.

-Started teaching a class on Nursery and Greenhouse Production at Edmonds Community College. 

-Landwave Gardens in the fall is always a treat as the landscape really lights up.

-It's that time of year where I'm preparing for the winter and digging, dividing, and transplanting all sorts of plants.

I'm sure this isn't all of it, but take your pick(s) and I'll get another post up.


R

A late summer wedding

Flowers are incredibly symbolic and there's nothing more gratifying than sharing my love and adoration for them by creating something for an event that many will see and also remember for the rest of their lives.

During the first weekend of September, I was invited to my friend, Katharine's, wedding that took place at the scenic Washington coast and was asked if I was able to do the flowers for the event.

Normally, I would decline such requests as seasonal, informal bouquets from my garden and what's in season were one thing, but flowers for an event with a specific theme and color scheme were a whole other ball game. Hearing her ideas and offering some advice, I quickly began to see it coming together in my mind. With the help of her Pinterest page, it was obvious that she wanted to go a simple, almost country/rustic route that would be easy to pull off utilizing materials I had close at hand or could be sourced easily and locally!

Already inspired by my early spring trips to Jello Mold Farm and the book "The 50 Mile Bouquet" by my friends Debra Prinzing and photographer, David Perry, I've been on such a roll putting together abundant bouquets freshly picked from my garden and I figured I would have the same approach. It came together very well!
Dahlias were the flower of choice by the bride and I couldn't have been more thrilled. It could have been a total excuse to visit Dan's Dahlias in Oakville to see his remarkable farm!


Excited, yet also nervous, I agreed to create her bouquet and the bridesmaid's bouquets. And always wanting to go above and beyond, I said I could pull off corsages and boutonnieres for the parents, centerpieces for the reception, and arrangements for others areas of the venues.

Long story short, it came together so well. I was able to raid the future mother-in-law's home garden for some fabulous material to put together other arrangements for the event.

The aisle flanked with a pair of galvanized buckets filled with 'Limelight' Hydrangeas, Physocarpus, and plumes of Stipa gigantea. I bundled some fresh lavender, which the groom's family kindly helped me clean and prepare, to adorn the seats that defined the aisle.

The bride's view as she walks down the aisle to her groom under a simple arbor draped in red silk and the dramatic ocean view in the background.

The completed bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages.

The bride's bouquet composed of hand-tied dahlias, chrysanthemums, lavender and surrounded by the sweet scent of Clethera and various ornamental grasses.

The bridesmaids had white dahlias hand-tied with silvery blue Echinops, lavender, rosemary, and various ornamental grasses for a wild, meadow look. I threw in Hypericum berries to compliment the bride's warmer tones in her bouquet.

Witnessing moments like this when two join together as partners in life is something truly special, but to see that you played a part in that union by seeing a bride holding something you created, from the heart, makes what I do working with plants and flowers, so extraordinary.

So here I am with the bride during the reception after all the running around getting flowers and making sure everything looked beautiful.

I've known Katharine since middle school when we were in orchestra together! We both played violin and I think we were stand partners at one point. It was great to know that she continued with it and is now part of a band called Scarlett Virginia:

Congratulations, Katharine and Scott Houck!

R

Scenes of Summer

It's been hard to find time to post something. I'm sorry it's been awhile. I had this ultra-special post I was going to put up, but it got to a point where I was really stressing over it and questioning if I would be sharing too much of my personal life so I scrapped it....for now.

Instead, I'll just show you some images from my garden the past few weeks to give you a sense of my mostly beautiful surroundings.


Early in the morning at Landwave is something truly special that I don't get to experience often enough because I'm such a night owl. Midsummer mornings are like nothing else. Everything is so crisp, quiet, and every plant seems to just glow as the light slowly intensifies.











 Many of you know how fond of lilies I am. This is 'Scheherazade', a 5 year old clump that produces masses of gently fragrant blossoms full of nectar that the birds and the bees absolutely go crazy for and I love the airy Giant Feather Grass (Stipa gigantea) as a focal point in the garden.

















Foliage is equally as important as flowers in the summer border. Here, Rheum 'Ace of Hearts' and Cotinus 'Royal Purple' echo one another with a little Persicaria spike photo-bombing the composition. Back-lit by the setting sun, this composition is quite dramatic.











That little Persicaria is actually a wonderful "weaver" in a bed as it fills in between plants and they bloom continuously and can be kept tidy if you whack 'em back to the base following the first major flush of blooms for a fresh set of foliage and more flowers! Here the soft oranges and blue purples blend well together here. I love how the reverse of the lilies pick p the purple of the Penstemon 'Sour Grapes and the Clematis, which is 'Etoile de Violette', a vigorous viticella type.






Those soft blues carry through to another bed where Phlox 'Blue Paradise' is an absolute stand out and compliment a brand new lily called 'Blueberry Crush' and the wonderful Echinacea 'Hope'.












The dahlias typically begin in August for me, but a few blooming ones caught my eye at the nursery that I had to have so I added them into the main border and they worked so well with the soft pastel tones and texture of the pom pom Allium 'Summer Beauty'. The dahlia is 'Happy Single Wink'.  yeah...I know....ick.











Someday, I hope to have a garden where I can fully appreciate a gorgeous sunset. A view of the water would be amazing, but probably not necessary because I will never be able to afford it, but much like the early morning, it can be quite a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere as you're almost forced to slow down and relax as light becomes scarce.












Cheers,

Riz




 

Call it therapy

Keeping on top of everything as best as you can and not let things overwhelm you has been the theme of the past few weeks and my lack of posts and updates reflect that. My apologies to those who follow his humble blog.

I have a few blog entries Id like to write up as so much has happened and so many stories have yet to be shared!






For now, I send out my greetings from Portland, OR where I've attended a horticultural trade show, visited with friends and immersed myself with things I truly love (like this backyard!)