Reminiscing of Summer: A Danger Garden

With our temperatures dropping into the teens this past weekend, I'm trying to accept the fact that some plants may have suffered a bit of damage or may be totally toast. At times, no matter how much you try protect or bring in, you'll always endure a bit of damage, but how much depends on just how far below freezing we get and how soon. Luckily, we didn't have a abrupt cold snap like a few years ago, but rather than whine and complain about how cold it is, I'd like to look back and be reminded of a most awesome summer and a wonderful trip down to Portland, OR (which, sadly, endured snow and much colder temperatures the past few days).  One garden was an exceptional treat and also one I'm a tad bit worried about after our freeze, but should it pull through this season, it is one fine collection by a woman who's getting quite a readership on her blog, "Danger Garden".


This is the garden of Loree Bohl:


Driving by, it's very apparent which is Loree's garden. Beautifully kept with interesting plants and big, bold textures dominate the space and, immediately, you know you're looking at a plant person's garden. Various cacti and succulents are dressed carefully with a layer of gravel  giving each specimen importance and aiding in much needed drainage. The ginormous 'Steroidal Giant' rice paper plant is a true "indicator" plant of a plant nut in the Pacific Northwest.

Growing it in somewhat of a dryer area may be smart for the plant as it has a tendency to really run. The pavement and gravel probably help it to wake up in spring much earlier as it often takes a full growing season to get this size of leaves!

 I came with plant friends Justin Galicic, Preston Pew and Matt Berberich to see Loree's remarkable garden and all three have heard of her blog and were so eager to meet her in person and see her amazing garden. She was so very welcoming and had a wonderful time dissecting the many elements of her fine garden. Not only were there cool plants, there were interesting combinations and a wonderful use of space (especially in the rear garden).

Loree is a gardener who likes to experiment; texture and dramatic form captivate her and her selections and it truly shows. There are rare plants and there are common plants as well aimed to complete a striking look. It isn't wild and over the top. There's room for plants to expand and grow and I sense a wonderful pacing of edits along the way.

A striking Agave in the foreground (left) and the beautifully placed Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffins' with its peeling bark backlit.

A young Yucca rostrata

A striking combination of Nolina nelsonii with Canna 'Australia' backlit in the background.

  

Hardy prickly-pear Opuntias are abundant

Make your way to the back and a treasure trove of wonderful plants await! I loved the sense of a welcome by one of my most favorite broadleaf evergreen shrubs of all time, the rare Fatsia polycarpa with its long petioles and deeply, palmately lobed leaves.  And then everywhere you eye looked was a great plant. The square pavers and even the lawn was a very important feature of this space as it allowed the visitor to enter the space, give it a sense of grandeur thus allowing the eye to rest while it transition through another room.

 

 

The use of containers in this garden was quite affective. There may be too many for most people's liking because of the tedious watering some may require, but the fact that more are succulents or air plants, they lend themselves to being forgotten while they look spectacular as accents all summer long.

 

A series of sitting areas makes this garden wonderful both as an intimate space where one can decide just how much exposure they'd like and as an entertainment space to spread a crowd out so the details of each element can be appreciated and admired. 

Our sincerest thanks to Loree for sharing her wonderful garden with us and may the rest of winter be kinder until next spring as we determine what's made it and what we'll have to purchase again. =(

I'm sure all the containers came inside, but the majority of her garden should be alright knowing the lengths we (including Loree) go through to protect our "marginals", we refer to them as. 




Oh, I must throw in that she's also a Tillandsia freak like myself. I adore her compositions and, yes, even an arrangemnt in the bathroom captivated me!

Well done, Loree!


Riz

Garden Shinanigans in Oregon Part 2: Not just Hellebores

After the drool fest and automatic debiting of our bank cards, we strolled the grounds of Ernie and Marietta's garden and, again, were treated to something truly special and awe inspiring.

"Every great garden as great bones" Penelope Hobhouse once said. Their garden is certainly no exception to this statement; it's actually a fine example of it. In the dead of winter, a garden doesn't need to be flat and barren. Having structural elements and shapes, focal points and other objects which direct the eye make for a successful landscape. I included this photo with the guys in the rear so you get a sense of depth and scale. You see a pedestal as a focal point with a fluffy Carex that makes for a simple yet, very effective focal point and on the right, notice the strong, bold anchor that a columnar cypress creates.

I was taught that if you take a black and white photo of a landscape, you can better define these elements and you can really see what holds a landscape together. It's not just the pretty flowers, lush foliage, the color, the texture of it all, it's these bold lines and shapes that make for the foundation of a landscape.

 

Notice how the rare winter sunlight illuminates the form, structure, and then you get a bit of texture enhanced as the contorted branches become more evident. Notice the small mounds made up of conifers and, in the previous photo above, ornamental grasses.  With curving paths and simple rocks staggered about, it makes for a pleasant stroll during a cold, but bright winter's day.

Here are some more captivating scenes from their garden:

Look at this remarkable composition: the height achieved in the background with vertical elements set off by the bright winter foliage of a yellow-needled shore pine Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph'. And in the foreground, you see their simple rock work with a few mounds of evergreen ornamental grasses and dwarf conifers.  THAT'S ALL YOU NEED and you can have a fabulous garden that looks this great year round!

Even with the remaining foliage of the hardy banana, this photograph illustrates another simple yet effective composition with the variegated yucca flanked by heaths and heathers. In a way, you almost don't notice how ugly the banana is at this time of year.

One of my favorite features of this garden is their spectacular bamboo screen. Meticulously maintained so it doesn't take over all of Eugene, OR, it is a remarkable sight to see. I love the contrast of the aging, multi-stemmed tree against the fine texture and vertical lines of the back-lit bamboo and having the empty containers there

Very important to have  a rest in the garden, both physically with the bench in place anchored by a large container as a "companion", but also a visual rest from everything else that's going on. It may be winter, but there are still a lot of things to see so these wide paths play an important role.

Levels are important especially in these large beds so there's a sense of depth, scale and each plant specimen or planting scheme is

And naturally, the woodlands are inundated with Hellebores!!

A cause for celebration and congratulations!

There's nothing more rewarding, as a garden designer, to get a photo from your client marveling at all your hard work and rejoicing in the splendor that is their unique palate of rare and highly unusual plants.



Here's a blog post about this project. Part 1 and Part 2


My co-hort who co-designed this landscape and project, Clayton Morgan of C.E.M. Design, who I profiled awhile back (see here), tied the knot with his girlfriend, Jamie.

My congrats and thanks for the wedding invite! I owe the bride a dance

A Young Chelsea Designer: Sarah Price

Before I flood this blog of all things Chelsea and UK horticulture, I want to shed some light on a young lady I had the pleasure of meeting at tonight's NHS lecture. While she wasn't at Chelsea this year, she's sort of a veteran with two previous gardens under her belt at the show and numerous other noteworthy projects.



Sarah Price is a landscape designer from the UK that's very quickly rising in the ranks, and according to fellow garden writer, Marty Wingate, she's only 29 y/o. We might be wrong, but she's definitely a youngin'!.

She came to speak about her design process and showcase some of the incredible work. Her list of accomplishments and high profile projects is unbelievable: She's designed 2 gardens for the Chelsea Flower Show, has won a gold medal at the Hampton Court Flower Show (another show I MUST see when I return to the UK!) and one of her current projects entails being a plant consultant for the landscaping being installed for the 2012 Olympic Games in London!


A design for the Chelsea Flower Show.

One of my missions being able to come to the Chelsea Flower Show this year was to observe potential up and coming gardeners. Sarah seems to define what I began to observe and she's just one of many who could lead and continue on a grand tradition that's just so much more recognized and respected over there in England.


The first garden she designed. Not too shabby, eh?

Sarah struck me as a humble, fairly composed young lady with a very strong art backround that she uses to great effect in her design and even in her random doodles, which she wasn't afraid to share even though she claims that they weren't very good, were actually very constructive and quite useful and elegantly done. Her emphasis on "the process" was great to see. Often young designers, or even seasoned professionals always what the high impact image of a "before and after", but seeing preliminary sketches and drafts of her work were actually very interesting.



Getting to chat with her afterwards, I think I might have overdone it with the enthusiasm as I was just so pleased to meet and see someone my age be so successful, talented, yet she also possessed a shyness and apprehensiveness that makes her a real 20-something year old who has a lot of room to develop and grow.

Some may argue, "too much too soon", but if you've got the experience, the drive, the talent and the work ethnic to pull off a veteran project, why not?! Her style is quite natural and she uses the open meadow effect with mass plantings intermixed with various forms and textures and there's a light and airy quality to it that's pleasing to the eye. She uses plants that are relatively common, but again, to great effect.



I wish her luck as they continue building the London 2012 site and I hope she visits the NW again so she can visit the mountains and natural areas here, visit more gardens and meet more of her fellow next generation gardeners!

R

Landscape Install Update: Bellevue Residence with CEM Designs

Oh, I'm absolutely pleased with how things have established and grown since last fall's installation at this Bellevue residence.

Recall the "collaborative efforts" I posted last fall when I worked with Clayton Morgan at CEM Design.

1. Original site and demo
2. Post intial planting

And here it about 7 months later:








I guess what has made this project exciting is the fact that almost all the plant materials, including two rare woodland perennials have thrived and will offer flowers this first year in their Himalayan themed landscape.




Here's the stately Giant Himalayan lily (Cardiocrinum gigatneum) and the delicately elegant and rare Blue Poppy (Meconopsis baileyi)

I did a site visit with Clayton recently and he showed me how to operate the irrigation system. I hope he's proud of this project. It just needs to fill in a little more, but most imporantly, the clients are VERY pleased!

I'm drafting a profile on Clayton very soon so people get to know him and more of this work.


Riz

A collaborative effort. (PART 2)

So, we did an install last Wednesday here here's are some views before the plants came in and some photos after the first phase of installation.

I have more work to do this week to add just a few more things and then we'll be complete with fall planting. Come spring, we'll include more perennials and ground covers and begin to closely monitor each plant as it gets established.

In selecting plant material for this space, a Himalayan theme emerged as a grouping of clumping Himalayan Birches (Betula jacquemontii) was selected as a focal point. In communicating with the clients, I learned about their close ties to Nepal and I wanted to integrate elements in the landscape that would allow them a glimpse of a Nepalese woodland forest and hillside outside their Bellevue home.
Here's the dry river bed from the street(the magnolia installed in the back will actually be moved):
Underneath these stately birches, assorted Mahonias, Rhododendron yakushianum hybrids, and a trio of Viburnum plicatum v. tomentosum with excellent fall color will compliment the birches very well when they mature and produce their "double-file" white flowers.



Approaching their front door and turning to the right, we see this stunning flagstone pathway installed by Clayton's crew. It is flanked with evergreen Sarcoccoca and an assortment of various clumping bamboos that enclose the space and frame a few of the woodland and dry river bed below.
With Rhododendron species from my friends at Chimacum Woods, including a planned Rhododendron arboreum (the national flower of Nepal), the goal is for these plants to reach their tree like proportions in a few years. Alongside these rhododendrons, a wide assortment of shrubs including Osmanthus, Viburnum, Camellia, Magnolia, Daphne, and stands of assorted clumping bamboos complete the picture.



More plants to come and a few things that need to be tweaked and then it's all up to Mother nature to do her thing. We are satisfied with the work we've done and we are looking forward to watching this landscape mature and evolve.

A collaborative effort. (PART 1)

For the past few weeks, I've been working with a colleague in designing and installing a landscape for a client and the process has been incredibly worthwhile.

Clayton Morgan, of CEM Design, Inc., is a former classmate, student, and friend. He finished his BLA (Bachelors of Landscape Architecture) when I finished my hort degree at the UW. We've been talking about doing a project together for some time now and an opportunity arose when a client in Bellevue called RHR (moi) to renovate and re-design their yard.

Since I don't do major demolition and hardscapes, Clayton (who just loves to do these sorts of things with his big power toys! lol ) took on this role. With the hard-working CEM crew, they clean up the site, installed an irrigation system, and transformed an overgrown and uninspiring front slope and uncovered a new canvas for us to create something very special.

EXISTING LANDSCAPE


DEMO & CONSTRUCTION


ROCK & HARDSCAPE INSTALLED (stupid DEAD END sign. We're hoping they can get it moved)



So, most of the plant material was delivered today and the first phase of plant installation begins first thing in the morning. Clayton and I took some time earlier this evening to discuss placements and I couldn't be more pleased to work with someone with a keen eye for design and the experience and patience of a gardener. He's a quiet fellow, but he takes on and accomplishes big things that truly make a statement! Watch out, he's also YOUNGER THAN ME! haha.

Next generation of professional gardeners at work. Stay tuned for views of the first phase of installation.

Cheers,


Riz