joene's garden » Sites to see

Landscape design styles – Part 3

joenesgarden — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:56:17 +0000

To illustrate aspects of Paradise/Formal landscape styles and the more pastoral English landscape style – subjects of my two previous posts - let's visit Boston Public Garden as it appeared in May 2010. These 24 acres – a salt marsh until 1837 – along with Boston Common (created in 1634), form the northern end of Boston's Emerald Necklace, a string of greenways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.

The Public Garden follows a Victorian style that encompasses characteristics of formal (evolved from Paradise garden-style) and pastoral (English landscape-style) design.

One enters the garden on wide walkways, lined with formal beds of seasonal blooms, that lead to and guide visitors around statues, a rose garden, and strictly pruned shrubbery.

The tulips in the neatly edged, rectangular bed at the foreground of the photos above and below would be replaced by other seasonal blooms, while the alliums (photo below), in another neatly-edged bed, were just beginning to open.

The gumdrop-pruned shrub (very formal) hides the base of the statue – in spite of what you see George Washington and his horse are not resting atop the shrub.

The main walkway (top photo) follows a strait, formal path from feature to feature, but the side pathways meander in gentle curves and urge walkers to casually wander while enjoying the blooming flowers. The occasional bench entices one to sit a spell to further soak in the views.

A formal rose garden is planted around a topiary shrub. A closely clipped hedge surrounds the entire bed – again very formal.

Yet, tucked amongst all the formality sits a large, shallow pond surrounded by groves of shade trees – a perfect place to stop and rest or enjoy a picnic lunch.

Meandering paths guide walkers along the edges of the pond where they can rest in sun or shade, enjoy the ducks, or relax on a leisurely Swan boat tour.

Similar to the view of Stourhead in my previous post, a bridge enables walkers to enjoy the Public Garden pond from above. Notice the sweeping curves of the pond edges – most definitely a characteristic of the English Landscape movement.

Gently curving pathways also guide visitors to stroll under the shade of less formally clipped trees …

… where one can venture underneath to marvel at the tree's structure.

As with many public and private gardens, Boston Public Garden blends characteristics of formal design styles that originated from Paradise Gardens and the pastoral aspects of English landscape design – all in an effort to give visitors opportunities to soak up soothing sensations of green surroundings.

Part 4 of this series briefly covers Japanese design and how hints of all three styles – Paradise/Formal, English Landscape/pastoral, and Japanese design – can be identified in modern gardens.

Categories: Gardening, Sites to see, Techniques, Training.
Tags: Boston Public Garden, English Landscape style, Paradise/Formal garden style.

Landscape design styles – part 2

joenesgarden — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:24:16 +0000

The geometric, highly organized, and formal-looking Paradise garden style (see previous post) dominated garden design for centuries. Then the Brits revolted.

The English Landscape Movement

In stark response to Paradise garden styles, the 1700's English Landscape movement sought to create the natural, curving views of open fields, lakes, and woodlands depicted in landscape paintings and as guided by Alexander Pope's (1688-1744) belief that all gardening is landscape painting. With no need to accommodate irrigation, England's temperate climate and ample rainfall allowed landscape design to follow a less manipulated look. Geometrically structured planting patterns, gave way to meandering paths through naturalistic meadows and fields, over and around gently sloping hills, and leading to and alongside bodies of water that reflected the sky and adjacent scenery.

English Landscape movement leaders - Charles Bridgeman, William Kent, and Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, who saw his role as a fixer of nature's mistakes - vastly manipulated topography to achieve their vision of a pastoral landscape from which man could contemplate philosophical and political ideas. In doing so they created landscapes no less manipulated than the structured, formal garden style they sought to undo.

The grounds of Stourhead between Wiltshire and Somerset, England, «is perhaps the most complete and elaborate example of the eighteenth-century English landscape style,» notes Russell Page in The Education of a Gardener (page 189). Created in the mid-1700's, Stourhead's design required damming a valley and creating earthen berms to form a lake, planting groves of trees, and constructing paths to and from columned, temple-like structures and in and around the water and trees. Page recalls the original plan «of water and hanging beechwoods and quiet dark green shrubberies … enlivened by a series of architectural incidents,» brought «coherence, dignity, scale, charm and tranquility.»

Photo credit: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stourhead_garden.jpg

It would be interesting to do a study just on Russell Page – see images of his designs – but that's off the current track. There is no denying that Stourhead is beautiful and calming, as are other English Landscape designs. But what struck me most was the extent of deconstruction/reconstruction. undertaken to obtain the final effect – and so many of these creations were on private estates. Want a lake in the design? Just damn a valley.

I tend to think more along the idea of enhancing the natural setting of a site so human impact blends into, rather than overpowers, nature's design … maybe this is splitting hairs. Olmstead's designs for Central Park in NYC and the Emerald Necklace in Boston both fixed nature's mistakes and enhanced natural settings. The residents of both cities continue to benefit from these designs, but these are major park projects that enhanced quality of life for millions of people – they are not private properties redesigned for the enjoyment of a select few. Private properties, I think, do better by embracing nature's design rather than forcing the land to become something out of context with it's surroundings.

Categories: Gardening, Sites to see, Techniques, Training.
Tags: English Landscape Movement, landscape design history, landscape design journey.

A hosta habitat, but so much more

joenesgarden — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000

As anticipated, the visit to O'Brien Nurseryman in Granby, CT was wonderful, awe inspiring, informative, fun, and a feast for the eyes. In addition to multiple – 1600 to 2000 varieties of hosta – you find hundreds of daylilies, conifers, maples, and multiple other shade-loving plants. Just browse the mind-boggling list at www.obrienhosta.com for an idea of their extensive plant list.

Some of the many highlights of O'Brien's Nursery include the sunny display borders.

Hosta for a sunny spot.

Show-stopping evergreens, such as Abies koreana 'Silvershow' and a close-up of its needles.

The lovely Daphne x burkwoodii 'Briggs Moonlight'.

Its cousin - a Daphne sport and O'Brien find - with more green variegation. (See more about O'Brien's daphne's and the nursery visit at Gardening Asylum)

A surprisingly low growing maple, Acer palmatum 'Yatsubusa Kiyohime'. It tops out at about a foot to 18 inches tall – yes, it remains at that height – and spreads to six to eight feet wide. Rumor has it that Debbie at A Garden of Possibilities walked out with one for her garden. … we'll watch for her future report. (see Debbie's post on O'Brien's daylilies)

Tucked here and there, interesting ferns like Dryopteris filix-mas 'Christata Martindale'.

But O'Brien mostly boasts hosta, and lovers of these foliage fashionistas will not be disappointed at the borders, and edges, and corners, and paths, and slopes filled with every type, size, and color hosta one could imagine.

In addition, visitors' minds fill with ideas for placing and combining hosta with other hosta, and other types of greenery. Plus, a walk-through offers a peek at the future – what I like to call O'Brien's nursery within a nursery. Owner, propagator, and hosta aficionado John nurses along hundreds of plants for next year and beyond.

The visit to O'Brien Nursery is worth the trip, particularly on a hot summer day. The nursery has many Garden Days, open from 10am to 5 pm, remaining from now through mid-October. Don't pass up the opportunity to enjoy this treasure.

I hope to find a spot in a future garden for a crinkly-leaf hosta 'Deep Blue Sea'. If you really push me to choose just one favorite of all I saw, this is it … but you really have to push hard.

For more photos from the O'Brien visit head to Scott's Blue Heron Landscapes blog.

Categories: Garden Centers/Seed Suppliers, Gardening, Perennials & Annuals, Sites to see.
Tags: gardening in Connecticut, hosta, O'Brien Nursery.

Nasturtium chronicles

joenesgarden — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:23:01 +0000

I plant nasturtiums for their lovely edible leaves. No, I plant them for their beautiful blossoms. No, wait, I plant them to attract aphids … because they are easy to grow … because they offer a choice of plain or variegated leaves and multiple flower colors – not my favorite purples and blues – but many other crisp warm colors. No, I plant them because they grow equally well in garden soil and containers.

Actually, I grow nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) – also known as Indian cress - for all these reasons. Since potting up a couple in large clay pots this spring, I've had nasturtium – Alaska mix (photo at right) and Moonlight – to brighten whatever corner, edge, wall, or porch I choose. Alaska Mix flower in a range of warm yellows, oranges, deep red, and peachy tones – I could do without the orange but tolerate these blossoms when grouped with the other colors – but the creamy yellow and green variegated foliage is the real reason I like Alaska mix. It provides fresh clean interest no matter the stage of growth and on really hot days the blossoms fit right in with the sweltering atmosphere.

Moonlight nasturtiums – blooming at left with bean blossoms - are my favorites for flower color. Their pale yellow blooms look wonderful next to every other color in the garden. They grow large tasty leaves that give salads a fresh-picked peppery flair, and Moonlight sends out long tendrils to intertwine the blossoms and leaves with neighboring plants. Given the right support, Moonlight will also climb.

The downside – at least some may consider it so – is aphids affinity for nasturtiums. Not sure how or why, but black aphids love, love, love nasturtiums. I use this to the advantage of neighboring plants – nasturtiums attract aphids away from their neighbors. This season I planted aphids in the same pots as a couple of extra eggplant seedlings. I thought the purple stems and fruit, and the large dark green eggplant leaves would be nicely offset by Moonlight's pale yellow flowers. What I forgot at the time is how well nasturtium draw in aphids. In one pot, aphids lit early. I resisted temptation to yank or spray - with organic Safer - the infested plants. Almost immediately ants came in for the sweet, sticky nectar released by the stem- and leaf-sucking aphids. Still I resisted pulling the increasingly sad looking nasturtiums, even when the stems were nearly black with aphids. Then, during my early morning stroll, I noticed markedly fewer aphids. Closer inspection revealed ladybugs. I can't say they were particularly fat ladybugs – don't really know how to determine if a ladybug is fat – but I can't help but see a correlation between fewer aphids and the sudden arrival of ladybugs. Had I pulled and destroyed the infested nasturtiums who knows what other garden might have benefitted by these ladybug visits. Once the infested nasturtiums finally succumbed to the aphid attack, I pulled the plants and burned them.

My other nasturtium plantings are, as yet, untouched by aphids, as are other plants in the gardens. This happens year and year again. One or two nasturtium plants attract aphids, but with nasturtiums present aphids generally steer clear of other plants.

Besides serving as a natural aphid foil, nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible – the peppery taste punches up a green salad. One of our sons used to take nasturtium leaves to school in a sandwich bag to pull out and eat as a snack, much to the surprise and angst of his fellow students and teachers. He said they taste best sprinkled with a little hot sauce. Want to create a conversation piece salad for a neighborhood get-together? Add a few nasturtium blossoms to a green salad or as garnish on a potato salad, guacamole, or other salad or dip, then watch who – if anyone – eats the flowers. Hint: strike up a conversation with whoever eats the blossoms … good chance they will have some plant knowledge.

Nasturtiums are annual in my zone 6b region. Plant the seeds in early spring – either in thawed ground or in pots. Soak the hard-coated seeds overnight to give them a good boost. Give plants full or nearly full sun – at least 4 to 6 hours and water to maintain soil moisture until seeds sprout and to prevent drooping once plants establish. The often 8 to 12 inch tall plants are good in the front of a border, but they tend to get tired as summer progresses. I prefer planting them in a spot where they can shine in spring and early- to mid-summer and be outshined by neighboring plants if they get badly hit by aphids or just get tired of dealing with summer heat. If they get too leggy just cut them back, they will often regrow into a lovely late-summer specimen.

Nasturtium come in multiple varieties. In addition to Alaska Mix and Moonlight, I've planted Empress of India – good for people who like reds, Jewel Mix with flower colors similar to Alaska Mix but solid leaves, Whirlybird Choice Mix which carries blossoms high above the foliage, and Out of Africa also with variegated foliage. I keep returning to Alaska Mix for its leaf variegation/flower combo and Moonlight for its flower color. Still, the dark red/black blossoms of Black Velvet and the color of Peach Melba intrigue me and might find their way on my seed-buying list in the future.

Check out recent shots of the amazing hanging nasturtiums at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum outside of Boston, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Do you plant nasturtiums? Share your nasturtium story.

Categories: Edibles, Gardening, Sites to see, Techniques.
Tags: aphids, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, nasturtium.

Gardens to See: The Mount

joenesgarden — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:00:00 +0000

If traveling through eastern Massachusetts be sure to allow time for a visit to The Mount, the former home of author Edith Wharton. Wharton created the estate and surrounding gardens to suit the classically formal designs of her book, The Decoration of Houses. Wharton also wrote many other books on gardens and landscapes including, Italian Villas and their Gardens.

Wharton traveled extensively throughout France, Italy, and Spain with her family as a child and into her adulthood. In 1901, she began construction of The Mount. She used what she learned about European gardens to create The Mount's Italian walled garden, a formal flower garden, a tree-lined allee with a fountain and reflecting pool at one end and steps leading down to a 'hidden' garden at the other. Wharton's landscape also includes the oft photographed grass steps. The expansive rear terrace of the house overlooks most of the gardens, which she set at formal angles from the house. Wharton's niece, at the time Beatrix Jones (later Beatrix Farrand, a master in her own right – many gardens in Maine and those at Harkness Memorial State Park right here in CT) was embarking on her notable career as a landscape gardener and played a role designing some parts of the estate. Both the house and the gardens reflect many European influences, but the gardens, particularly the 'hidden' garden, highlight Wharton's love of Italian design.

You enter the house through the Italian walled garden - structure accented by a few plants.

The house is filled with beautiful furnishings, but I focused my photos on the gardens. From all the rear windows of the house, and especially from the rear terrace, the gardens draw you outside for a stroll. Here are views of the flower garden, the central path, and the 'hidden' garden from the terrace.

Stunning from above but much more so once you descend down to garden level. Upon reaching the central path you can choose to turn left for a stroll along the sugar maple lined allee that leads to the fountain and what is described as the flower garden. I think, however, that some of the original structure of the flower garden was lost to time.

A right turn upon descending the stairs from the terrace leads to the 'hidden garden' described more thoroughly after our brief tour of the fountain end of the allee.

Below is the view from the fountain looking back down the allee. The pool is surrounded by annuals that were still small during my late May visit in 2004.

From the fountain, the house sits atop a rise to the right. If you walk across the lawn you'll reach the grass steps, created by shaping the underlying soil into risers and treads, then overplanting the soil with grass. Following either the grass steps or a path from the fountain area brings you to another less formal garden (not shown here). I think this was the location of a kitchen garden in the original plan.

A relaxing stroll back down the allee leads passed the central stairway and path from the house, and into the lower level 'hidden' garden.

You need to be in the hidden garden to really appreciate its design, structure, and peacefulness.

Built into the massive stone wall at the back edge of this garden are arched 'windows' that give you a peek at the space beyond and entices you to investigate the other side of the wall. I did a quick visual survey of the outside area to see if I could find the deer fencing I knew had to surround the gardens. You cannot plant arborvitae, hostas, ivy, and juicy annuals in the midst of surrounding woodlands in New England without suffering major deer damage. It took some time, but I noticed extensive deer fencing near the edge of the woods.

Once you again enter the hidden garden you are greeted with views of the house and all connected areas above.

Walk back up the steps above to again reach the allee and head back up towards the house.

Like many former estates, The Mount is maintained by a non-profit group, therefore it is not perfect. But a visit there gives you a chance to view a classic example of design symmetry so familiar in formal European gardens. Check the website for the group's list of summer 2010 events. I hope to visit here again this summer to check out progress on the gardens since my last visit. This time I hope to have better light for taking photos, and I will definitely figure out where deer fencing is.

The Mount can be visited along with Naumkeag, the topic of my previous Gardens to See post, but make sure you wear comfy shoes and allow ample time to thoroughly enjoy the unique qualities of the gardens at each estate.

Related posts:
Must do's versus wanna do's
Hitchhiking Weeds

Categories: Sites to see.
Tags: allee, Edith Wharton, formal gardens, Italian walled garden, The Mount.