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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009
FEATURES 36 Aloha Holiday During the holidays, Pixar Anjmation Studios film rurector Lee Unlaich and wife Laura Century enjoy family serenity at a slower pace, Hawaiian-style. For them - and for us - a movieset-perfect Kauai getaway with a lush tropical garden makes the perfect setting for celebration. Bv D EBRA PRINZING
46 London Lighting These London designers know exactly what to do with a small city courtyard: Terrace it, plant it and light it up like a stage. Especially in winter, dramatic lighting adds dimension to gardens that makes them downright otherworldly. Bv LAuREN GRYMES
54 Tradition With a Twist Distinguishing himself from Boston's conservative style, floral designer David Winston takes on the holidays with innovative decorating ideas that bring standards like amaryllis, evergreens and poinsettias to a whole new level. BY j ENNY ANDREws
64 Great White Way Gerard Pampalone is one of those rare gardeners whose landscape has no "off' season. He has good reason to be out there thumbing his nose at the frost: His garden's design makes it noteworthy even in winter. Bv TovAH MARTIN
2 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
ON THE COVER London designer Charlotte Rowe used LED lights to make the outdoor seating appear as though floating. Story on page 46. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIANNE MAJERUS
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DEPARTMENTS 8 11
FROM THE EDITORS
GARDEN GOURMET
STYLE
A holiday guide to unique gifts for the gardener, from watering cans to books to leaf swings. 30
LIVING GREEN
A landscape designed by Margaret Joplin in the prairielike mid-desert of Arizona is strong on materi als and drought-tolerant plants, and a haven for wildlife. 72
Cast a festive glow for your holiday guests with can cUe-style lighting, modern cam pfires and late-harvest comfort food. 22
80
ON DESIGN
Design er Clifton jaeger is obsessed with trees. No wonder they fill the m urals and photographs he creates, turning rooms into wooded wonderlands.
LANDSCAPE
Step into Italy's medieval past in the fantasy gardens of Bom arzo at Orsi ni Castl e, north of Rome. There, gods, monsters and nymphs are frozen in time. 76
SOURCEBOOK A listing of the produ cts and services mentioned
and shown in our pages.
POSTAL INFORMATION Garden Design, Number 162 OSSN 0733·4923). Published 7 t;mes per year (January/ February, March, Ap"l, May, July/August, September/OCtober, November/December) by Bonn;er Corporation, P.O. Box 8500, Winter Park. Fl 32790. CICopyright 2009, all nghts reserved. The cor~tents of this publication may not be reproduced ir~ whole or in part without consent of the copyright o·wner. Periodicals postage
paid at Winter Park, FL. and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S.: $23.95 for one year, $39.95 for two years. Canadian subscribers add $8.00 per year, foreign subscribers add $21.00 per year. For subscription m[Ofmat;on, please call 800·513.0848. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Garden Oes;gn, to P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142·0235. For faster serv;ce, please enclose your current subscr;pt;on label. Occas;onally, we make portions of our subscriber tist available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services we think may be of interest to you. tf you do not want to receive these offers, please advise us at 800·513·0848. EDITORIAL: Send corre· spondence to Edttorial Department. Garden Design, P.O. Box 8500, W1nter Park. FL 32790; e-ma ~ [email protected]. We welcome all editort.at submss-ons, but assume no responSJbility for the toss or damage of unso~etted materiaL ADVERTISING: Send advertising materials toRRDonneltey & Sons Company, Lancaster PremediaCentet, Attn: Garden DesjgnAd Management Module, 216 Greenfteld Road, Lancaster, PA 17601. Ph011e: 717·481·2851. Retail sates discounts available; contact Circulatlon Department. Following are trademarks of Garden Des~gn and Bonnier Corporation, and then use by others is strictly proh•bited; Fresh; Plant Palette; Style; Garden Gourmet; l iving Green; Landscape; Ground breaker; On Design.
4 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
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PLANT PALETTE
Conifers bring color, texture and structure to any landscape. And they are absolutely essential for creating "good bones" in the winter garden.
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FRESH
Big bold style at Venice, California's Big Red Sun; new garden shops not to miss; hot-looking foliage; eSeeds plant community gardens; the latest in lighting from Tord Boontje; garden-inspired textiles from Sina Pearson. 20
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EDITOR
Sarah Kinbar FEATURES EDITOR
jenny Andrews SENIOR EDITOR
Megan Padilla MANAGING EDI TOR
Leigh Ann Ledford ART GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Dave Weaver ART DI RECTOR
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Adam Arvidson, Charles Birnbal4m, jas010 Champion, Ruth Cl1ivers, Damaris Coll•oun, Davis Dalbok, Donna Dorian, Ken Druse, Flora Gru-bb, Lauren Crymes, Emily Young PRODUCTION & DESIGN GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR fef!Casse/1 PRODUCTION MANAGER
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Julia Arana, Sommer Hatfield Coffin, Shanmm Mendis, Mike Rett<:w
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ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTAL
METAL&STONE Whether you are des1gnmg 8 dBZLiing water fouotam, creatmg 8 garden or enhnncmg the beauty of your home, Kenneth l ynch nnd Sons. Inc .• 1s your best resource for mnnufacturing quality and excellence Send S15.00 today for your copy of our beaullful460-page catalog: The Book of Gardt•tl Ornam
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BARTLETT. BECAUSE EVERY TREE IS A FAMILY TREE. Today, more than ever, property value is as much about your landscape as it is your home. The trees and shrubs that grow along with you and your famlly are valuable assets that deserve care and protection. For over 100 years, Bartlett Tree Experts has led both the science and services that make your Landscape thrive. No matter the size or scope of your needs, our arborists bring a rare robe of groundbreaking research, global resources and a local se.rvice approach to every task at hand. Trees add so much value to our lives. And Bartlett adds even more value to your trees.
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from the editors COLD COMFORT
OK, WE ADMIT IT. WINTER HAS arrived. We've barely paid homage to this most glotious of seasons in years past, but this issue is all about the here and now. The holidays are upon us, and Garden Design has set its table with stunning floral arrangements, ventured to Hawaii for an outdoor gathering unique to Kauai's environment and culture, and come back to the mainland to tromp through a snowy garden in Connecticut. We caught up with floral designer David Winston and his creative director of special events, Marc Hall, outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they showed us their innovative take on holiday classics (page 54). Paperwhites, pine cones, amaryllis and boxwood have always been Christmas mainstays, but in Winston's and Hanl's hands they transform into art. Dedicated to the intrinsic beauty of plants, from root to seedpod, for floral design Hall says, "There's not a single part of a plant that's not usable." Speaking of pine cones, features editor Jenny Andrews takes us on a tour of conifers at Iseli Nursery near Portland, Oregon, in Plant Palette (page 22). "They have a spectacular garden, and I was overwhelmed by the variety of plants - all different sizes, colors and textures. Our photo editor Chelsea Stickel was shooting like mad, because it was about to rain. I pointed at my selec-
tions: 'Shoot that one ... and that one."' Fairfield, Connecticut's Gerard Pampalone was inspired by Penelope Hobhouse, who once said that the garden should look good all year, even in the winter months. Beginning on page 64, Tovah Martin's story details the strong design elements Pampalone added to his garden to make it especially showy in winter. It isn't cold everywhere at this time of year. Lee Unkrich and Laura Century's Kauai vacation home, Hale Ho'omalu ("a place of refuge"), is the site of their family's holiday celebrations. When surrounded by agapanthus, bananas, ginger lilies, crotons, hibiscus and more than 100 orchids, Unkrich thinks ofhis garden as a private paradise, a "lush, idyllic vision ofa Hawaiian jungle." Wherever you are - cold climate, warm or somewhere in between; whether you're curled up by a fire with a stack of nursery catalogs, dreaming of next year or sitting under a palm tree with an umbrella in your drink- winter isn't a forgotten season in your garden ... or mine.
SARAH KINBAR/EDITOR
{ foUow us on gardendesignmag
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The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) established the annual Landslide program in 2002 to focus attention on culturally significant landscapes at risk for alteration or destruction. This year, aspiring to reach and inspire an everexpanding audience , TCLF weds our Pioneers of American Landscape Design publication series and annual Landslide initiative under the theme: Shaping the American Landscape. The theme places a spotlight on great American cultural landscapes threatened with change. These estate gardens, public plazas, institutional grounds, park systems, and cemeteries, by seminal and regional ly significant designers, have influenced our country's collective landscape legacy. With this latest Landslide effort, these landscapes vividly come alive, with stories of those pioneering individuals who created them and those championing the ir survival today.
Scripps Estate • Lake Orion, Ml
Washington Square Village • New York, NY
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden • Santa Barbara, CA
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AUSTIN-STYLE ON THE WEST COAST$ HOT-LOOKING FOLIAGE. SINA PEARSON TEXTILES $ TORD BOONTJE LIGHTING
modern maQ'i C
Being the trendsetting landscape design atelier in Austin,~as, wasn't enough. Big Red Sun has plunged farther west, and its year-old outpost on Rose Avenue in Venice, California, is making a splash with Angelinos. Vegetally adventurous Venetians and tourist passersby alike are captivated by the inventive gardens and boldly painted cottages. For years Big Red Sun founder Selena Souders had been making trips to Southern California to find inspiration for her Texas outpost. "I pioneered bringing in a lot of new cultivars to Austin from grow-
ers out here who were traveling all over the world for hardy natives and drought-tolerant species," she says. In 2007, Souders bought the ramshackle cottage on Rose Avenue and used it as a holding yard, production space and think-tank headquarters for Big Red Sun: California-edition. Part of her construction team from Texas made the move west to help form her design-build crew. Last year Souders branched into retail with the cottage, a SoCal version of the successful enterprise she started 15 years ago in Austin. Subscribing to Big Red Sun's bold style, she painted it cobalt blue>> nov/dec 09 gardendesign.com
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fresh Our use of steel, concrete and combination of materials easily complements different typeS Of architecture" - SELENA SOUDERS
Above: Big Red Sun's eye-catching storefront on Rose Avenue. Right: Souders built an outdoor room behind a client's bungalow in Venice. The overhead steel struct ure provides protection from the elements, while the elevated steel fireplace provides warmth on cool Pacific nights. The mahogany benches from Big Red Sun are paired with the client's own table.
and the adjacent building a jade green, where she has additional offerings for the home and garden. The store is a pivotal landmark on the avenue, invigorating the souffy northern edge of Venice. Now it's a gatheling place for neighbors with its inviting front yard filled with seasonal vegetables and native plants, and punctuated by Big Red Sun's signature flying saucers - elevated steel planters with a succulent-driven otherworldly appearance, a constant in many of Souders' clients' gardens. Follow the meandeting pebble path through the property where the garden continues to evolve into other expeliences: wall-hung, framed anangements of colorful moss mixed with epiphytes and succulents; bubbling concrete fountains next to space-age woven Iiana vine lounge chairs by the eco-friendly designer Bannavis Andrew Sribyatta; vintage home accessolies for inside and out; plus a carefully edited collection of containers and plants for the dirt-inclined weekend wartior. Besides retail, many customers come in for ideas and to set up design consultations. Souders insists that it's easy to start with a small space and budget, and likes helping people make their gardens look tasteful and diverse. "Our use of steel, concrete and combination of matelials easily complements different types of architecture from a simple bungalow to a modem house, n she says. Perfect in a neighborhood with postage-stamp-size lots that is famous for its annual garden walk, Big Red Sun emphasizes what's original about Venice: a locally owned business that is intimate in scale yet showcases imaginative ways to use very small spaces. bigredsun.com - ANASTASIA BowEN 12 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
more new shops l)GRDN Urban gardeners in Brooklyn, New York, turn to GRDN for seeds, fresh flowers, containers and tools. Experts in organic gardening and landscape-design services are available no matter t he space constraints. 718-797-3628, grdnbklyn.com 2) THE PALM ROOM
When not working off-site with clients, landscape designer Brandon Peterson is active in this Seat tle, Washington, shop helping customers sort through his unique collection of plants from all over the world that are ideally suited for the local environment. 206-782-PALM, t hepalmroom.com 3)SPRUCE
In Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, founders Nomita Joshi-Gupta and Cheryl Nix Murphy opened Spruce for the eco-minded shopper. Check out the chic EcoSmart outdoor fireplaces, Greenform planters and fiber cement chairs, and SeaStone t iles and pavers. 504-265-0946, sprucenola.com
fresh 1) 'Pink Chaos' Coleus Hot-pink leaves with ruffled, variegated borders edged with a thin line oflight green make Solenostemon 'Pink Chaos' look like an explosion of neon paisley. Grows 6 to 18 inches tall. Can be perennial in Zones 10 ton, but elsewhere is an annual.
2) New Guinea Impatiens One of 22 varieties in the Celebrette Series, 'Coral Light' has a kickin' combination oflarge coral flowers hovering over dark-edged foliage midstriped with a blaze of more coral. Needs some shade, but laughs at heat and humidity. Grows 8 to 10 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide. Annual.
3) Bright Star Yucca A glowing combination of blue-green and butteryellow, with a tantalizing blush of pink on older plants and in cool weather. Bright Star (officially named Yucca gloriosa 'Walbristar') forms a spiky crown of flexible swordlike leaves. Slow growing, it eventually forms a short woody trunk similar to some agaves. Perennial. Zones 7 to 10.
Staying Power One reason t o focus on foliage is to give your garden four seasons of int erest. While many follage plants are tropicals or annuals, a whole host of them can look g reat all year. Three win ter-worthy examples shown here are Bright Star yucca, 'Anne Greenaway' spotted dead nettle and 'Sweet Tea' foamy bells. SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 76
4) 'Blazin' Lime' Beefsteak Plant A cultivar of Iresine herbstii, which is also disturbingly called chicken gizzard and bloodleaf, 'Blazin' Lime' is the new sister to the popular 'Blazin' Rose'. Sports lime-green leaves with cream-yellow veining on fuchsia-pink stems. Puts on the best show in light shade. Heat tolerant. Grows 1 to 2 feet tall. Annual.
Way Hot Plants
FOLIAGE FEVER Rivaling the pageantry of a richly tricked-out runway show, colorful foliage plants are as eye-catching as any flowers, sometimes more so. And the display can last all season, even all year - far longer than most plants can hope to bloom. Whether striped, splashed, edged, speckled or awash in a solid vibrant shade, these leafy garden luminaries add pizzazz to the border and make container COmbOS pop. -JENNY ANDREWS 14 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
5) 'Anne Greenaway' Spotted Dead Nettle A vibrant groundcover for the shade garden, Lamium maculatum 'Anne Greenaway' forms a 6- to 8-inch· taU mass of scallop-edged variegated leaves that glitter with chartreuse, silver and mint green. Clusters of small lilac-mauve flowers add to the display in late spring, but the foliage can last all year in mildwinter regions. Perennial. Zones 3 to 8.
6) 'Sweet Tea' Foamy Bells Coppery-orange leaves, 4 inches across, are marked with cinnamon-colored stars. X Heucherella 'Sweet Tea', a hybrid between Tiarella and Heuchera villosa, forms a neat mound 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. Performs best in light shade. Looks fabulous no matter how hot the summer. Perennial. Zones 4 to 8.
fresh j ust In
FUTURE FLORA Dutch designer Tord Boontje doesn't dig minimalism. To his highly evolved sense of decoration, modern design is at 1isk oflosing touch with the patterns and sensuality found in nature. "I want to reintroduce nature into decoration, to reference the whole 18th-century folk-craft tradition," says Boontje, who was recently lured from his studio in France to teach at the Royal College of Art in London. His latest romantic antidote for the minimalist epidemic is Future Flora Lights for Artecnica, a line of pendulous, matte-silver lanterns (suitable for outdoor use with the addition of an outdoor light fitting). At first glance, the lights might pass for pretty, curving Art Nouveau style fixtures, but look closer. They're unsettling, unusual and the floral shapes are vaguely off-kilter. Ironically, Boon* says that it's modern technology that allows him to create his sensual shapes. The photo-etched metal lanterns are assembled into one of three distinctive designs, Rugiada, Nadine or Laure (named for Boontje's assistants, pictured below is Laure). Boontje likes to hang them in clusters for the full unearthly, yetinspired-by-nature, effect. $97 each, at A+R. aplusrstore.com- LISA CREGAN
Are plants using us for their own purposes? Just who is controlling whom? Set your DVR to record PBS' twohour special The Botany of Desire: A Plant's·Eye View of the World, based on Michael Pollan's best-selling book. OCTOBER 28 AT 8 P.M.
News
CLICK, GIVE AND GROW The late Robert Mandavi did far more than catapult California wines onto the international stage. "For decades, Mr. Mandavi dedicated himself to launching and supporting charitable foundations to establish an American food culture and to help families put fresh meals on their kitchen table," says Todd Ziemann, winemaker for Woodbridge by Robert Mandavi. To that end, purveyors of the wine label have set up an interactive "growing gardens" fundraising campaign to nurture Mandavi's epicurean philosophy within a more diverse community than even he - brilliant marketer though he was - could likely have ever hoped to reach. Through the end of this year, log onto the "Giving Through Growing" section of the Woodbridge website and click on an eSeed icon. Addressed and sent to a friend, the simple gesture clears the way for the winery to donate $1 for each eSeed to the American Community Gardening Association, which promotes urban and rural greening by increasing and enhancing community gardens. For the campaign, they'll be leading educational seminars in select cities across the country. Send an eSeed today to help Woodbridge reach its goal of donating $4o,ooo by year's end. woodbridgewines.comjgarden- LAu REN GRYMEs 16 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
La Plaza Cultural is a unique community garden and openair theater at 9th Street and Avenue C in New York City.
fresh
One to Watch
SINA PEARSON Sina Pearson (right) relies on regular v isits to her island garden in Washington state (far right) to inspire her textile designs; t he designer's work t able (below) w hile creating Colores de Mexico, available this spring.
Textile designer Sina Pearson lives and works in SoHo, but it is her travels- especially to her garden in Washington- that inspire the saturated stripes and vibrant abstracts of her outdoor lines. Every month she escapes to her remote island home that's surrounded by a semiwild garden (and adjacent to the 1950s A-frame beach house of her childhood). Ideagathering sojourns to locales such as Sweden and Mexico also inspire the designer's high· performing textiles for residences, hotels, restaurants, offices and outdoor settings. Her newest collection, out next spring, is called Colores de Mexico. Its influence? The orange· striped, hand-woven curtains that once hung in the family's island home. "It has an ethnic, modernist vibe with a serapehke texture," she says. - D EBRA PRJNZJNG
colors and textures together. I've always maintained that you have to listen to what the fabric wants to be- it's a wonderfully slow process. Similarly; I observe how each plant works together, how each season is revealed in flower, foliage and blade. Q. What influences you? A. I can't separate how I've grown up from what I am now. My parents were so visual. My mother was a landscape designer and my father was a photographer. We had Jack Lenor Larsen's textiles in our house.
Q. Tell me about your Fidalgo Island garden. A. I could not be doing what I'm doing if I didn't have my garden. It frees my soul and lets me experiment with weaving
I cannot remember a time when I was not playing with fabric. Q. How have you re-imagined outdoor fabric? A. I want to invigorate outdoor fabrics with modern designs. I'm a big proponent of mixing cool and warm colors together. I also like neutrals -sage, taupe, midtone brown - paired with b1ighter colors to give a reference to nature. Q. What is on your drafting table? A. Little piles of yarn in brighter palettes inspired by summer's clean, crisp colors. I'm playing with simple shapes, hand· cutting paper into geometric forms, stripes and flowers. I find it ve1y satisfying. I look like a second-grader, sitting on the floor cutting out bits and pieces. NOT A DESIGN PROFESSIONAL? Enid Ford Atelier in the San Francisco Design Center and MUSEO in Kansas City, Missouri, sell Sina Pearson Textiles directly to consumers. enidford.net, museousa .com; see the entire collection at sinapearson.com
Garden Library
READING EDEN Ready for an adventurous escape to the lush, exotic world of Kauai? In her new horticultural memoir, Waking Up in Eden: In Pursuit of an Impassioned Life on an Imperiled Island (Algonquin Books). Lucinda Fleeson describes two life-changing years when she did just that. The former big-city newspaper reporter left Philadelphia to shake up her life and took a f undraising gig at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai. Her lovely, compelling narrative describes t he island's flora and fauna, traces Hawaiian native-plant exploration and protection. and profiles Kauai's cultural, ethnic and bot anical hist ory. Plus, she plants a garden t hat changes her life: "During a t ime when I felt the earth shifting under me, something about literally putting down roots helped create a feeling of sanity; she writes. That's t he magic of gardening. especially in a t ropical paradise. - DI;Bit< PoNLING 18 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
"There is no doubt that lawn culture is not good for the planet," says John Greenlee, whose mission is to change how America gardens. The Amencan Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn (Timber Press, November 2009) teaches you how. Find nursery sources for your meadow-by-design at gardendesign.com.
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garden gourmet PURE RADIA CE Set your holiday entertaining aglow STORY BY LAUREN GRYMES
Do your good-cheer entertaining outdoors by casting a mellow glow to the setting with flame - real or implied (think LED-powered candles, infrared grill burners, propane heaters). Satisfy your guests' appetites by serving comfort food cooked (mostly) outdoors and prepared with a sophisticated twist, as does Alexandra Guarnaschelli, executive chef at Butter in New York City and host of Food Network's The Cooking Loft. Guarnaschelli has a terrific way to share the warm fuzzies, take meal-prep pressure off the host and add some drama to an otherwise allgrilled menu: Make a soup ahead of time that your friends can enjoy while hanging outside with the grillmaster. "People love to eat and watch food cook at the same time," she says.
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1 PORTA-GLOW The OXO Candela Glow rechargeable LED lights "burn" for eight hours straight and won't be extinguished by wind. $129.99 for t he eightlight set ; $69.99 for t he four-pack; $39.99 for the two-pack. 800-545-4411, oxo.com
2 GLOWING GLASSWORKS Mosaic t iles aren't just for the pool. Glass t iles and porcelain bricks are mixed here to create a stunning patio bar and water feature. On the bar: Oceanside Glasstile's Facets line integrates handcrafted glass tiles made from recycled bot tle glass. Available in more than 40 colors that can be custom blended. $28 to $ 40 per square foot. glasstile.com. Water feature: Mandala's Presidio porcelain mosaic bricks are $40 t o $60 per square foot. mandalat ile.com
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3 STEAK WARMER Protect your grillwork from t he elements with GrillTenders Original Meat Resting Blanket. The t hermally insulated cover not only keeps meat warm after grilling, it gives steaks time to marinate in their own juices. Offered in six fabrics, shown in Black Denim. $34.95. 888-719-1110, grilltenders.com
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4 AMBIENCE PLUS This fixture looks like a lamp, yes. But the Kindle Glow is that and more - an outdoor heater wit h a battery-powered light ing feature that can be used independently (i.e., in summer) of the propane-powered heating element hidden in t he glowing, translucent base. Starting at $2,295. 424-208-3884, kindleliving.com
5 FIRED UP Get cozy and gather 'round EcoSmart Fire's Around Burner fireplace. Its contemporary modular styling and renewable fuel source (denatured ethanol) is a modern version of the classic campfire. It burns clean and is practically maintenance free. $990. 310-914-3335, ecosmartfire.com
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Try Ibis_ For a warm holiday gathering, even if barbecuing weather is cooler than ideal, Guarnaschelli suggests a toasty, late-harvest menu of grilled pork chops and a nutty-flavored Jerusalem artichoke soup that will leave your guests glowing. "I love a hearty soup when the weat her is colder," Guarnaschelli says. Below is her perfect winter-weather menu, complete with wine pairings. • APERITIF
Tangerine Cocktails (served with a salty snack, such as homemade potato chips or marinated olives) • STARTER
Sunchoke Soup Paired with: Gruner Veltliner or dry Riesling • MAIN COURSE
Grilled Pork Chops With Brussels Sprouts and Apples Paired with: a light Syrah or Rhone blend • DESSERT
Indian Pudding See recipes at gardendesign.com/recipes
6 RADIANT HEAT Make quick work of the holiday meal in the infrared glow of Viking's Outdoor Gas TruSear Infrared Griller. The intense heat (up to 43,000 BTUs) efficiently caramelizes the outer skin of meat and vegetables. sealing in their flavorful juices; flare-ups are prevented because any wayward drippings are vaporized by t he grill's searing heat. From $2,025 for the 24-inch-wide TruSear griller (shown); from $1,275 for the 15-inch-wide version. 888-845-4641, vikingrange.com
plant palette EVERGREEN ESSENTIALS Conifers are the beautiful backbone of a four-season garden STORY BY JENNY ANDREWS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHELSEA STICKEL
OF ALL THE LIVING THINGS ON THE planet, conifers are some of the oldest (bristlecone pine, 4,700 years), tallest (coast redwood, more than 360 feet tall) and largest (giant sequoia, more than 52,500 cubic feet). And they've been around since the Carboniferous Period, 300 million years ago. Their use as landscape plants is long-lived as well, holding places of honor in Chinese and Japanese gardens for centuries, not to mention their integral role in the ancient art of bonsai. While the Victorians - whose penchant for collecting things is legendary - amassed conifers much like they did ferns and orchids, today's conifer options are so numerous as to boggle the mind. Many are diminutive enough for a respectable collection to be assembled in an average-size yard. But their usefulness in the garden far exceeds any gotta-have-one-of.everything allure. Focal points, screens, hedges, topiaries, groundcovers, shade trees, container plants - the list satisfies nearly every need in the garden, especially given their variety of textures, colors and forms. One of their strong suits is their quintessence as living sb.ucture. Add to this that most are evergreen (and even the deciduous ones have attractive silhouettes and bark in winter), and they become essential components for any year-round garden. SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 76
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DAWN REDWOOD
A golden form of t his ancient species (fossil records date back some 90 million years), fv1etasequoia glyptostroboides 'Gold Rush' has dawn redwood's signature pyramidal profile and feathery foliage. Needles hold t heir color throughout the growing season, then turn amber in autumn and fall from the tree (dawn redwood, like the similar bald cypress, is a deciduous conifer). Reaches 12 to 15 feet in 10 years. Zones 5 to B.
22 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
A JAPANESE WHITE PINE Reaching 2 to 3 feet t all and 6 t o 8 feet wide in 10 years, Pinus parviflora 'Fuku-zu-mi' is a slow grower, with lush t ufts of twist ed, blue-green foliage. An ideal specimen plant , t his medium-size tree naturally has an unusual, irregular, spreading form that makes it look windswept. Zones 5 to 8.
CANARY ISLANDS JUNIPER A Native to the Canary Islands and Madeira - Juniperus cedrus has been listed as endangered since 2000 by the International Union for t he Conservation of Nat ure, but it is starting to regain ground. Both tall and broad, ult imately reaching more than 50 feet in height, this juniper is cloaked with graceful, dramatic swags of pendulous blue-green foliage. Zones 7 to 9.
HAYATA TREE
)oo
A dwarf form of Taiwan-native Cunninghamia lanceolata, 'little Leo' forms a globe of soft, densely packed needles, looking like a pincushion. After 10 years, t his rare conifer will still be less t han 3 feet tall. Leaves are dark green during the growing season, taking on a bronzy, purplish cast in wint er. Zones 7 to 9. nov/dec 09 gardendesign.com 23
plant palette
DAHURIAN LARCH
A
Another deciduous conifer, Larix gmelinii 'Romberg Park' is a dwarf form of Dahurian larch, comprising parts of the northernmost forest stands in the world and found in the vast taiga forests of Siberia and northeastern Asia. Creates an irregular mound, 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide, and is covered wit h short tufts of bright-green needles. Foliage turns yellow in autumn before making its exit. Zones 2 to Pacific Northwest 9.
A EASTERN WHITE
PINE
Discovered growing in Vermont, Pinus strobus 'Louie' has brilliant golden needles, which hold their color year-round and really pop against the darker foliage in the shaded interior of t he tree. Grows into a broad pyramid, about 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide in 10 years. Zones 3 to 8.
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JAPANESE CEDAR
Discovered as a witch's broom on Cryptomeria japonica 'Gracilis', C. japonica 'Little Champion' is a dwarf form with a tidy globular shape, about 1 to 2 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide in 10 years. The finely textured needles, pale-green color and compact size make this a perfect container or rock-garden plant. Zones 6 to 8. 24 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
A BLUE ARIZONA CYPRESS Frost ed-blue foliage on delicate branches makes a striking contrast against the brown bark of Cupressus arizonica var. glabra 'Blue Pyramid'. Much taller t han wide, t his upright, symmetrical form of Arizona cypress can reach 20 to 25 feet high by 10 t o 12 feet wide in 10 years. Zones 6 to 9. ~
COLORADO SPRUCE
An elegant, slow-growing small tree, Picea pungens 'Hillside' is a dwarf form, reaching 3 to 6 feet tall in 10 years, creat ing a flatt ened pyramid. Stiff bottlebrushes of needles are blue-gray-green. Zones 3 to 7.
NATURE, NURTU_RE CARE: One of the most common problems gardeners have with conifers is ignoring the edict of right plant, right place. Like a Great Dane puppy, they can be little and cute when young, and then surprise you with their ultimate bulk. Before you plant (even before you buy) a conifer, check its growth rate and mature size. Forcing a plant int o a too-small space by indiscriminate whacking and pruning will leave it misshapen and unhealthy. For proper pruning, take stock of where growing points are on t he stems and how many times a year the genus produces (flushes) new growth. Some genera respond well t o regular shearing (like
yews). Dwarf and miniature conifers may never need pruning. But never cut back beyond live buds on any conifer, or t he branch will likely die. Specifics on pruning each type of conifer are too lengt hy to cover here, so research your plants before you start cutting. ZONES: There are conifers for almost every temperate hardiness zone, from slash pines in South Florida's Zone 10 to Siberian juniper (fV1icrobiota decussata). which can grow as far north as Zone 2. Most conifers fall within the broad range of Zones 3 to 9, but check informat ion on the specific plant to find its ideal zones.
EXPOSURE: The majority of conifers need full sun to thrive. A few, such as hemlocks
and yews, can tolerate and even do well in part shade. SOIL: With a few exceptions, such as
the swamp-loving bald cypress, conifers require loose, well-drained soiL Larches, dawn redwood and arborvitae can tolerat e a range of moisture situations. Yews, pines, spruces and firs demand good drainage. Many dwarf and miniature varieties make great container plants, but t hey can dry out quickly in such situations, so pay attent ion to watering, even in t he winter
nov/dec 09 gardendesign.com
25
style HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE What do you give t he gardener who has everything? STORY BY DAMARIS COLHOUN
1 DOUBLE ENTENDRE These bright designs might look like vases, but don't let them fool you. On the balcony or in the garden, Kartell's La Boheme stools are a cheerful alternative to ordinary garden standbys. The gifted will be surpri sed and delighted; this is one "vase" they won't store on the back shelf. $198, Kartell New York, 212-966-6665, kartell.com
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2 THE GOLDEN AFTERNOON Originally published in 1989, Hidcote: The Making of a Garden was t he first biography of Maj. Lawrence Johnston, the Henry James American behind one of the most revered gardens in England. In the revised edition, Et hne Clarke has gathered new material on Johnston and Hidcote Manor Garden in the cont ext of "The Golden Afternoon," a period t hat established England's excellence in garden design. $45, wwnorton.com or amazon. com
3 SWINGING BEAUTY If someone you know is still hanging onto a tire swing out back, bring your friend into modern times. The Aut umn leaf Swing, says Spanish designer Veronica Martinez, mimics "the falling leaves of autumn:' Hand-molded of lost-wax cast aluminum, the sculptural and functional qualities of this piece are sure to please. About $360 or 250 euros, 011-44-7927-181-481, [email protected]
26 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
For ou r Autumn Offers an d a B rochu re please cal l
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4 UPDATED CLASSIC Alessi's Kiwi turns traditional wat ering-can design on its head. With most wat ering cans being wider than t hey are tall, t he Kiwi -available in cerulean blue or tangerine t akes a vertical approach t o free up space in the st orage shed. Leave Kiwi out on the patio and some guests might mist ake it for a sculpture. $49, alessi.com
5 OFFER A SEAT Designed by Patricia Urquiola for Kettal, the sleek and sturdy Relax chair, from the Maia collect ion, is made f rom a powder-coated aluminum frame and hand-woven synthetic fiber. To kick up t he color, mix and match colorful seat cushions. $942, Kettal North America, Coral Gables, Florida, 786-552-9002, kettal.es
6 WALL FLOWERS
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Whet her you call t hem modular planters or mult it ask t iles, these green pocket s by Puerto Rico-based designer Maruja Fuentes are a tidy way t o bring plants into the fold. Attach green pockets directly t o the wall or interlock t hem with other pockets t o creat e a vertical garden of your own. Price upon request, 787-994-7747, marujafuent es.com
7 STONES FROM A RIVER Composed of stones washed smooth in rivers, each one of CB2's pebble mat s is unique. Not surprisingly, t hey have no trouble standing up t o the elements either. Organic and subtle, the Pebble mat brings a lit tle Zen t o any threshold, an addition both modernist s and tradit ionalists can appreciate. $44.95, 800-606-6252, cb2.com
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WORST GIFT EVER! • "Two right -footed Marc Jacobs gardening boots." - Nico De Swert, floral designer, New York City • "A bad rose clipper. It cut me more than it cut any of the roses I had!" -Michael Walter, co-owner, Lexington Gardens, New York City • " Beautiful but invasive morning glory seeds." - Rosa Szule, co-owner, Lexington Gardens, New York City • "Farm ers hand salve in my stocking. Again." - Megan Van Linda, owner, Megan Van Linda Design, San Francisco
BEST GIFT EVER! • "The best gift was a pair of Felco pruning shears- my absolute favorite. If you maint ain them well, t hey will last you a lifetime!" - Nico De Swert, floral designer, New York City • "A carved lava stone figure from a painter who stayed at my house for a while."- Megan Van Linda, owner, Megan Van Linda Design, San Francisco • "A rock garden recipe! Dig out humusy soil and backfill with 3 shovels fine sand, 3 shovels gravel, V. shovel topsoil, V. shovel compost. Stir well." - Paul Plumador, co-founder, Center44
he Cultural landscape Foundation
Sentinel and specimen trees, allees and boulevards, hedgerows and urban forests- they surround us and are living reminders of our heritage. Either forma l or vernacular, these irreplaceable trees and tree groupings are often associated with historically important people and events that have shaped the development of communities and cultures. They stand as living reminders to our country's past and have the potential to bear witness to coming generations. For this, these natural elements command the same awe and admiration that our culture bequeaths upon brilliant artists, poets, and scholars. In order to honor and help preserve our country's heritage of trees, The Cultural landscape Foundation and Garden Design are agam teammg up with our new sponsor, The Davey Tree Expert
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living green DRY WIT A garden in Patagonia, Arizona, takes t he Southwest climate in stride STORY BY JENNY ANDREWS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM FULLER
MARGARET JOPLIN'S WORK HAS A DEFINITE ELEMENTAL appeal. Its celebration ofsteel and stone speaks of earth and industry and craftsmanship. You can almost hear the sounds of forge and fire, hammer and chisel. And the studied awareness of water apparent in her landscapes is simpatico with the Southwestern surroundings that trigger Joplin's creative muse. Principal ofTucson-based Design Collaborations Ltd., Joplin moved to Arizona from Oklahoma City for college and has been there ever since, opening her landscape-architecture firm in 1990. Since then she has tackled a range of projects, from public to residential. One of Joplin's larger projects has been a residence in Patagonia, Alizona, a hot spot for birders and hikers, situated in the prailielike mid-desert. Here grasses and wildflowers sway, and mesquite, oneseed juniper and scrub oak dot a landscape of rolling hills. It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer and the wind will knock you down, but the wild beauty is mesmerizing. 30 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
Above: Materials used inside this modern Arizona home- steel, travertine and poured colored concrete - are continued outside. Set on a butte, the house stair-steps down a slope, with the wild mid-desert landscape in the distance. Close to the house, plants suitable to the climate are arranged in a more ord erly fashion, like the Euphorbia antisyphilitica lined up along the perimeter wall.
Or so it is for Suzi and Bill Sheweloff, who were poised to close on a house in Westlake Village, California, when they spied an ad for a "secluded hacienda" in Alizona. Intrigued, they hit the pause button on the closing and flew out for a look. The region took immediate possession of them and now, though Bill (a smfer) travels regularly, Suzi says for her "it's ve1y difficult to leave." The two 40-acre parcels that they eventually purchased (having passed on the hacienda) proved to be surprisingly rich, though challenging. The house that followed in 2oo6 has been a uniquely personal project for the Sheweloffs: Every few years since they were
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married they have sold everything, lock, stock and barrel, and moved to a new home (Suzi calls it a kind ofhobby, moving and redesigning). but this is the first house they have built from the ground up. Joplin was brought in at a very early stage, just as the footer for the house was being formed, which was a key factor in keeping the continuity between indoors and out. As construction progressed, Joplin and Suzi worked together closely to hash out every detail. "Suzi has fabulous style and an innate design ability," says Joplin. "She really had the vision." Some of the hardscaping Joplin employed even repeats materials used indoors, including steel. poured colored concrete and travertine flooring, which was brought right out the front door and onto the patio. Serendipitously such materials are completely in keeping with a characteristic theme of Joplin's work: creative use of common materials. Acid-washed concrete, steel. rebar, angle iron and (not surprisingly for Arizona) aloes, yuccas and agaves are high on Joplin's list of favorite components, and she made good use of them at the Sheweloffs'. Says Suzi, "Margaret is a weaver, working everything together." The house, which is roughly in the shape of a plus sign, allows for four outdoor living spaces in the corners: a wide travertine patio near the entrance with a sitting area; a pool and encircling acid-washedconcrete deck; a dog run (with artificial turf- a first for Joplin); and an open, unpaved patio with a stone path leading to an organic vegetable garden. Extending around nearly half of the house is a deep overhang, which gives cooling shade in summer and creates cozy, 32 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
protected niches in the winter. Though temperatures range from 100 degrees to below freezing, under the overhang it's nice all year. For the plantings, Joplin started at the farthest reaches of the property, installing trees and positioning boulders to screen off the neighbors and the road, and worked her way toward the house as the Sheweloffs became more certain of what they wanted. Along the decomposed-granite drive, she used planted and hydroseeded indigenous species ('Today it looks like native grassland," says Joplin). Closer to the house, Joplin utilized a wide variety of plants to achieve a sagebrush, plains, Southwestern look, arranging the beds and sculpting the land to take full advantage of rainfall and to channel runoff from the house's hardscaping (she also employed rain chains and a drainage system installed under the patios). One of her charges was not to plant anything so big that it would block the panoramic view from the house, which sits on a butte. Sans windscreens in this gusty location, Joplin opted for tough-butpretty, lower-growing species. Penstemons, chocolate flower, little bluestem, globe mallow, blue flax, prickly pear cactuses, agaves and yuccas are just a portion of an extensive plant list that is dominated by natives. Three years later, with the landscape settled in (so too the Sheweloffs), Joplin's merging ofhomestead and wild terrain is complete, and the homeowners insist there's not enough time in the day to fully enjoy it. As Suzi says: "The sky and the sunsets are unbelievable. And the stars are amazing - you feel like you can touch
Above, left to right: A lap pool with a spa is a favorite hangout ("Bill swims and I float ," says owner Suzi Sheweloff); an adjacent overhang makes it possible to enjoy being outdoors all year. Carbon steel containers designed by Joplin and fabricated by architect Bob Clements through his side business dubbed Bugscrap will last forever under their skin of rust. Standard poodle Lola, one of the Sheweloffs' five canines, frolics in the dog run, complete wit h artificial turf, an easy-care alternative that adds a bit of green in a region too dry for lush lawns; in the dist ance, the entrance gate, also designed by Joplin. Golden Barrel cactus is the ultimate droughttolerant plant and here also acts as a sculptural element in a raised bed separating t he ent ry from the patio.
them." The wildlife has accepted it as well, a clear sign that something is working. Deer, coyotes, kudamundi and javelinas wander through, and a pair of phoebes recently nested in the entry light fixture. Despite Bill's loathing of snakes ("He levitates" when he sees one, says Suzi), the fauna has been one of the most rewarding parts ofliving here. One of the Sheweloffs' favorite ways to spend a lazy aftemoon is hanging out by the pool in their chaise longues, reading and listening to the songbirds. No wonder it's difficult to leave.,.
use water well PRECIPITATION No matter what region you live in- from the hot, dry Southwest to snowy Alaskait pays to become familiar with your local rain and snowfall, both the annual amount and seasonal patterns. And with global-warming issues, you might need to update old information. This will give you more-realistic expectations as far as the plants you can use, and the wisest size and type of garden.
ALLOCATION Plan your garden so it needs as little supplemental water as possible. If a few plants need more monitoring and more water, keep them near each other, near the house and near a spigot, and design the garden to channel rainwater to needy plants. If you put in irrigation, customize the system taking microhabitats into account Mulching and temporary irrigation can also be installed to get new plantings through their first few years.
APPLICATION Though drought-tolerant gardening is a universally smart approach, irrigation isn't a landscaping evil, but use it wisely. Monitor heads to be sure they're in working order and spraying where they should (i.e., not on the sidewalk or street). Install a rain gauge (how many times have I driven to work in a downpour and seen a neighbor's irrigation going full bore). And if there's a way to connect it to a rainwater catchment or gray-water reuse system, that's taking it to the next green level.
SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 76
nov/dec 09 gardendesign.com 33
SPONSORED CONTENT
An Entertaining Ide a
Enjoying your own dinner party while also preparing the meal is possible!
Brian Griffith, 2009 outdoor kitchen design award winner, shows us how. Sometimes necessity really is the mot her of invention. Just ask landscape designer Brian Griffith - winner of the third annual Oasis Award . " I used my own experiences as a host for this conceptual design," Griffith said . " Oftentimes, as the cook, I would miss out on the social aspect of entertaining fam ily and friends because I was isolated in another part of the home preparing the food ."
The Prima Vista Entertaining Garden, winning design for 2009, is the creation of landscape designer Brian Griffith (www.griffithimagery.com). Brian holds a master's degree in landscape architecture from The Ohio State University and a bachelor's degree in urban planning from the University of Cincinnati.
A lso within reach of the chef are Kalamazoo O utd oor Gourmet's prem ium q uality products including the hybrid b uilt -in g rill, warming and refrig erated drawers, the Outdo or Artisan Pizza Oven and wine chiller. "I think Kalamazoo is top of the line. They have everything to fit your need s for d esigning an outdoo r cooking space," said Griffith.
In Griffith's winning design, the chef is literally cent er stag e t o the festivit ies, situat ed on a platform slig htly higher t han the d ining table, an asp ect the expert panel of judges loved. Landscape arch itect Mary Palmer Dargan comments on t he " convenient two-tiered cooking and serving stat ion," w hile kitchen and bath designer Mary Jo Peterso n add s, " It d oes much to prot ect socializers fro m t he heat of t he grill, while keeping t he chef f ront and center at t he party."
As is typical wit h any party, some guests w ill gravitate into smaller g roups. For those moments, Griffith created sitting areas p erfect
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The inventive flooring patterns, which create the effect of area rugs, divides the outdoor living plan into smaller dining and entertaining areas without limiting the flexibility of the space. Griffith 's Prima Vista Entertaining Garden offers a balance between formal design and casual elegance. Just one part of a lush planting scheme, a chef's garden puts key ingredients within easy reach of the outdoor kitchen.
for quiet conversations yet still w ithin t he confines of the entire outdoor space.
done, very well-execut ed projects" - Griffith's work stood out.
"The architectural elements create one cohesive whole. The design is thoughtful, comprehensive and demonstrates what I call 'creativity with a purpose,"' said Jan e Humzy owner of Jane Hamley Wells.
A Buckeye-state native, Griffith's landscape design experience runs deep. After receiving his master's degree in landscape architecture from The Ohio State University and a bachelo r's degree in urban planning from the University of Cincinnati, he got his hands d irty by working on projects ranging from state highways and schools to residential and hosp ital sites.
Also important t o Griffith is crea t ing a space the whole fa mily can enjoy. This father of twin ninemonth-aids knows the importance of fresh air for little ones, something Garden Desig n editor Sarah Kin bar can also attest to (as the mother of two small child ren herself), "Once outdoors, everything you could wan t or need for relaxat ion and entertainment is within reach, so why go back insid e?" Despit e numerous entries for the O asis Award and according to panel judge ASID presidentelect Michael Thomas, "The challenge of ident ifying a winner from a collection of well
Griffith has recently started his own landscap e design fi rm , Griffith Imagery. He is hop eful that this national and newfound recognition for his work will help jump-start his new company. "Experiences like t his allow you to t ry t hings you would n't normally do," Griffit h said. "I had no expectati ons of winning. But this has given me a new realizat ion that anything is truly possible and now I can't wait to see what t he fu ture holds for me and my fa m ily."
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Congratulations to Andrea Kareh from Wade College in Dallas, Texas. Her design was selected by the judges as the top student entty for 2009.
On Kauai, a private garden ret reat is th e setting for a seasonal celebration - Hawaiian-style STORY BY DEBRA PRINZING • PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIN NY MORRIS
Above: Keiki (children) perch on pillows (featuring Kravet's outdoor fabric, Diamond Rafia) to string fragrant leis incorporating gardenias, orchids and Plumeria flowers to give to guests attending a party. Says designer Andrea Lecusay, "The grassy knolls here and there were designed so you can sit on pillows made for the lawn and 'talk story' and make leis." In today's parlance, ''talk story" means "hanging out" or "shoot ing the breeze" with friends and loved ones. Right: At the Kauai home of Pixar filmaker Lee Unkrich and his family, an ipe wood boardwalk, along with an elaborate lighting system, provides safe passage from the garden to the cliff overlooking exclusive Secret Beach on t he north coast of Kauai. 36
Above: To celebrate the completion of t he three-year project, interior and garden designer Andrea Lecusay (pictured second from left) and builder James Antony threw a holidayseason party. Early arrivals t raversed the boardwalk to hang out on a dining platform at the edge of a bluff. The chairs, by Lecusay, are made of recycled boat siding and rice-plow handles. Opposite, above: The teak poolside furnishings were imported from Bali, as were t he urns, used here as water gardens. Opposite, below: The bale, an open-air Balinese pavilion t raditionally used for lounging, is a central design element to t he pool area. "The family has their pupus [appetizers) and drinks here. They love this space;• says Lecusay. A keypad on the ballard beneath the light fixture allows the family to select one of many wireless lighting "scenes" to fit any mood - day or night.
athering family, friends and good food is an Ametican holiday tradition. For Lee Unkrich, wife Lau ra Century and their three children, the holidays also mean h itting the pause button and traveling from Northern California's Marin County to their vacation home on Kauai, the northernmost of Hawaii's string of exotic islands. At Hale Ho'omalu ("a place of refuge"), the Unkrich family enjoys a slower pace. The property's open-air architecture and lushly planted grounds are more allurirlg than any exotic retreat. "Our fiiends call it the nicest 'resort' they've been to," says Lee, a Pixar Animation Studios veteran whose feature-length film (as director) Toy Story 3 will be released in June 2010 (he also codirected Finding Nemo and Monsters, Tnc.). 'The garden is our lush, idyllic vision of a Hawaiian jungle." Before even reaching the residence, a series of garden elements unfolds. A trio of foxtail palms rises behind a teak seating area near the front door, while a stone Buddha sits atop a meticulous mound of green mondo grass and agapanthus. Gentle splashing sounds beckon the visitor to turn a corner and discover the partially hidden water garden. A pathway lined with orchid-laden palms leads away from the house, through an opening in the hedge, to the shaded and decadent pool pavilion, where towering twin tikis stand sentry. At Hale Ho'omalu, each garden feature leads to another, allowing one to relish and discover without fear of missirlg out on any single detail. Laura and Lee discovered the two-acre property and its Greene and Greene-inspired home while vacationing on Kauai in 2oo6. The couple envisioned an island retreat where they could come for brief or extended visits. "W~ d been traveling to Hawaii for years, but we had become disenchanted with resort-style vacations," Lee explains. "We wanted to get off the beaten path and see the real Hawaii." The 3,6oo-square-foot residence is situated in a private enclave at the upper edge of a valley on north Kauai, aptly named the Garden Isle for its verdant tropical vegetation. The diverse terrain includes a forest of palms, ferns and bamboo; a bluff overlooking Secret Beach and 39
a trail that leads down to the beach and right to the edge of the turquoise Pacific. "One of the things we knew right away was that this is a place to share with family and friends," Lee says. "It allows us to spread the good fortune of having such a special place." To renovate the decade-old home and its sprawling, overgrown grounds, the couple spent three years in collaboration with Hawaii-based designer Andrea Lecusay ofLakshrni Interiors and custom-home builder James Antony of Antony Homes, who built the original home in 1996. Together, they upgraded the residence, expanded the outdoor pool and patio areas, and renovated the extensive grounds into multiple garden rooms designed for entertaining and outdoor living. To Lee, designing a home and garden is not unlike his day job. "It's very similar to designing a movie," he acknowledges. "I had a lot of opinions about every tiny little design detail." Antony ensured a seamless appearance in craftsmanship. "James was able to locate the same carvers and craftspeople to add on railings, corbels and other details. There isn't anything here that hasn't been made by hand," Lecusay says. "Lee and Laura very much love old Hawaiiana, and they wanted to create an understated elegance that was reminiscent of Hawaii circa 1900 to the 1940s," Lecusay explains. "We worked with the Arts and Crafts and Asian-influenced architecture, and blended it with a landscape of Hawaiian plants and Indonesian furnishings to create a serene and tranquil environment." When Lee and Laura acquired Hale Ho'omalu, it was already heavily populated with trees. Fiji fan palms, blue Latan palms, foxtail palms, triangle palms and coconut palms create a "tropical woodland," which Lee appreciates as a "cool, safe haven from the sun." They also inherited a family-size orchard with exotic edibles, including avocado, lychee, noni, 'Cara Cara' orange and allspice trees. "Around the house there were a few black taro plants, old agaves, bananas and some orchids in the trees, but otherwise the (understory) was sparsely planted," says
Below left: A fragrant gardenia is silhouetted against variegated ginger foliage. Above: The barbecue-bar is part of a triumvirat e of outdoor-ent ertaining elements that also includes t he lounging and dining bales. Opposite, above: Sheltered from the ocean breezes by a cardamom hedge (Elettaria cardamomum), the rustic seating is made from reclaimed teak. Bri lliant color comes f rom hibiscus and Heliconia, a ginger relative. Opposite, below: Hawaiian culture is centered on ohana, or family. "And it"s not really ohana without keiki;' Lecusay says, as ch ildren race around the pat hways edged with cust om-carved tikis draped wit h leis.
____aot~~e~c~o~r____________________ With the bountiful landscape as a backdrop, Lecusay worked with floral designer Laurel Randolph of Kauai Floral Arts and her assistant, Mary Lou Harchis, to fashion botanical decorations for the party. Here's how they transformed local materials into festive decorations: • They strung floral garlands that are Hawaii's equivalent of lights. Eighty garlands - made with pale-green and white Dendrobium orchids, creamy white Stephanotis blooms, crown flowers (Calotropis gigantea) and green berries, and finished with shells, seahorses and gold balls - hang from the bale rooftops. • For the seasonal centerpieces, they selected lime-green Cymbidium orchids, white Anthurium, huge protea blooms and gold balls for accents.
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Island Grown Dani Felix of Private Chef Kauai created a "fusion pupu" menu for the holiday party, sourced with seasonal ingredients from local growers who sell at the Hanalei farmers market. • Sweet-potato latkes with chutney, pineapple and candied ginger creme fraiche • Taro blinis with smoked salmon • Grilled pizzas topped with a mix of yummy island flavors: macadamianut peste, caramelized sweet Maui onion, sweet corn, Cajun seared ahi, wasabi cream, pickled ginger and fresh mozzarella • Hawaiian sugar-cane skewers with grilled chunks of coconut chicken and mahimahi • Lavender-infused walnuts and flax-seed almonds from Kauai Nut Roasters • Guava-rum punch
To try some of Chef Felix's recipes, go to gardendesign.com/recipes.
Opposite, above: The tiki in this seating area off the home's rear lanai (veranda) was chiseled in place f rom a dying palm trunk by master carver Crazy Al Evans. It often anchors one end of a hammock. Opposite, below: In keeping wit h t he t urn-of -t he-century-inspired architect ure, Lecusay set t he tables wit h Hawaiiana decor, including calabash bowls carved from gourds and Acacia koa, a Hawaiian hardwood. "We laid Lawai f erns all the way down t he table and used Lee and Laura's hazelnut-colored Heath dinnerware, which looks beautiful with the wood bowls," Lecusay says. Above: Chef Dani Felix's version of a garden salad: Kilauea greens and purple cabbage, Kauai Kunana Dairy goat cheese, Japanese cucumbers, roasted beets, Lone Palm bean sprouts and nasturtium flowers t ossed wit h her Lilikoi dressing. Right: Oil lant erns were dressed wit h hakus made f rom Lawai ferns, the same crowns worn on t he heads of hula dancers. The bistro tables and chairs are from Sutherland. 43
Sharon Fiore, a local garden consultant whom Lecusay brought into the project. Color and texture were missing from the landscape at eye level. To add layers of interest, Fiore filled planting beds and borders with tree ferns, agapanthus, orchids, bananas, taro (Colocasia esculenta), ginger lilies (Hedychium), crotons (Codiaeum), gardenias, honeysuckle, ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa), hibiscus and other tropicals. With more than 100 orchids on the property, something is always in bloom. Perched above the ocean as it is, the bluff, with its platform deck and dining area, is exposed to constant wind and salt water. Here, along the rugged north edge of the property, Fiore planted native hibiscus and dwarf octopus trees (Sche.fflera actinophylla). "They can take the extreme conditions," she points out. "Because of Kauai's mountains, wind and weather patterns, this property doesn't get much rain. But these plants just take off here." Thoughtfully planned seating areas throughout the garden encourage its occupants to live on island time, whiling away the tropical days. Lecusay designed most of the furnishings and had them made in Indonesia. Custom gas tiki torches surround the saltwater pool (a bamboolike copper sheath covers the pole of each), and the trunks of palms are uplit after dark. "The best time to arrive here is at night," Lee says. "There are torches everywhere - it looks like we're ready for a Polynesian luau." Indeed, the grounds are movie-set pe1fect for entertaining. Everything from the monkey pod trees to the Buddha statue is lit at night. "We programmed 'scenes' into the keypads so Lee and Laura can control the atmosphere with a single touch at different times of the day," Lecusay says. "There's a romantic twinkle everywhere." To Lecusay, the magic of Hawaii's culture, alluring plant life and welcoming spirit is embodied in the home and garden she helped to create. "People move to Hawaii because they want to live a casual and luxurious outdoor lifestyle," she says. "The more time you spend here, the more you appreciate the ambience and the beauty." , SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 76
Above: To Lecusay, t he party was a celebration of the Hawaiian spirit. Here, gathered at a custom t restle table built from 100-year-old boat siding, two guests talk story. Right: Subtle and evocative, the warm glow of outdoor lighting - part of a wireless Vantage lighting system - and the flames f rom tiki torches lend magic t o this poolside setting.
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Right: For the owners of a newly built late Regency/early Vict orian-style house in an exclusive 19th-century London neighborhood, Philip Nixon designed a minimalist, rectilinear garden - softened by trees, perennials, water and night lighting repeating the home's very modern interior feel. The garden is set aglow with targeted uplighting, underwater lighting and upright panels t hat are powered by LED strips that "glow in a spectacularly beautiful way," Nixon says. The panels "key off lines in the gard en and serve to reflect into t he Barragan-esque pool of water; he says.
Trip with us across the pond to see what London's growing in t he lighting department STORY BY LAUREN GRYMES
W
ith today's breakneck advancements, the workday continues to stretch later into the evening. Many of us are not seeing what's right outside our front and back doors. And as in tune as we gardeners might fancy ourselves with nature -our iPhones and BlackBerrys notwithstanding- it's still pretty darn hard to see a garden in the dark. Enter technology. The sam e unstoppable force that could be blamed for distracting us from our gardens is being harnessed in ever more brilliant ways to bring gardens to light long after the sun sets. To check out what's lighting up the garden-design horizon, we turned to the landscape artists' lodestar. London. Low-voltage light-emitting diode (LED) strips, glowing etched-glass upright panels and changeable remote-controlled uplights are being used to gorgeous effect and in myriad ways by the English garden-design vanguard. Add the age-old sta ndbys. fire and candlelight, to the modern illum ination mix and a garden's after hours - including in the colder months - are made that m uch more romantic and inviting.
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"Lighting is mostly about extending the useful life of a garden; it allows the garden to be seen and used after the sun has gone down," says James Alexander-Sinclair ofNorthamptonshire-based James Alexander-Sinclair Garden and Landscape Design. "Even in the depths of winter, a well-lit and silhouetted tree can transform a view- even better with snow flakes or light rain drifting through the light beam." Gardens large and small are being lit sensitively and beautifully. But successfully bringing afterglow to a smallish town gardenusually considered a bonus living space that happens to be outdoors -is a different challenge from lighting the far-reaching landscape of a grand country estate. Both situations deserve the less-is-more treatment, top U.K. designers say. But "less" in an outdoor setting already competing with street and other urban lights and cast deep in ominous shadow from nearby buildings actually involves a bit more - light, up-to-date and hidden technology, and thought - to bring all the elements together so they are pleasing and dramatic without being an obnoxious eyesore. 48
"Lighting is important in all gardens," says Philip Nixon of Philip Nixon Design in London, who says his firm's rule-of-thumb is never to allow a lighting design to upstage a garden. "Urban gardens can generally take a higher specification of lighting than a country garden. If you overlight a country garden, you run the risk of it looking like Disneyland." Urban gardens are usually designed as outdoor rooms extending from the house, so lighting them should be approached in much the same way as interior lighting, designers say. "Town gardens are normally quite compact and form an integral part of the house or apattment," says Charlotte Rowe of Charlotte Rowe Garden Design in London. "It's important that they can be seen at night, so they need to be lit." "This is particularly true in the long U .I<. winters, when many clients leave [home] when it is still dark and return when it is dark," Rowe adds. "So in order to appreciate the garden, lighting is crucial." And town gardens, with their usually generous hardscaping,
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Do not overlight a garden and do not light every feature in it. It is better to have one focal point that is lit, w ith some additional lighting around the garden to balance it" - Charlotte Rowe
Above: A fire pit adds warm light to a contemporary "chill out" space by London designer Charlotte Rowe. The sitting area - built with the homeowners' teenagers in mind - has an "almost desert-like feel, as the client, who is American, wanted a New Mexican desert-style planting" in t his corner of the garden, Rowe says. The cant ilevered bench is subtly, and yet theatrically, elevat ed by underlighting, making the seating look as if it is "floating within its space," she says. Right: Rowe strikes with light again, this time using lit stepping-st one squares inlaid into the decking of the rooftop terrace of an early 20th-century London house. The homeowners wanted a "soft but dramatic space with a funky element• for after-hours relaxing and entertaining, "so lighting was essential," Rowe says. "Originally we were planning a water feature. The square light panels were designed to reflect t he idea of wat er:
MEET THE DESJGNER_S
2
1) CHARLOTTE ROWE
Rowe, principal of Charlotte Rowe Garden Design, works on a variety of urban and rural project s both in the U.K. and overseas; her display gardens have been featured in the Urban Gardens Show and The Daily Telegraph/House & Garden Fair. She estabished her London-based garden design studio in 2004, after graduating from the Oxford College of Garden Design. charlotterowe.com 2) DIARMUID GAVIN
Since t he London-based firm Diarmuid Gavin Designs' 2004 inception, it has among it s honors two Silver Gilt awards from the Royal Horticultural Society's annual Chelsea Flower Shower. Gavin is a prolific garden designer, writer, author and television host who studied amenity horticulture at
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the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland. diarmuidgavindesigns.co.uk 3) PAUL DRACOTT
A longtime garden designer, Dracott opened Agave Garden Design Store in Cambridge in 2004. A year later, Paul Marshall joined Dracott and Agave Garden Builders was born - their work most recently seen at t he U.K. conceptual-garden show, Future Gardens. Dracott designs, lectures and writes about garden design and construction. pdgardendesigns.co.uk 4 ) PHILIP NIXON
Nixon's namesake l andscape- and garden-design studio integrates architecture and furniture design, ecology and art into its projects, which are reaching outside the U.K. into Sweden, Russia and
Switzerland. His firm's work has won t hree Gold medals and one Silver Gilt medal for show gardens from the Royal Horticultural Society's annual Chelsea Flower Show. Nixon is a trustee of the Landscape Design Trust. philipnixondesign.com 5) JAMES ALEXANDER-SINCLAIR
Garden designer and blogger Alexander-Sinclair has been gardening professionally for 25 years. He started his eponymous design business in 1992, when he and his family left London for Northhamptonshire to live and garden at Blackpitts House. Alexander-Sinclair's designs range f rom public to private and from urban to country; his gardens have been displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show and Westonbirt (Arboretum) Festival of the Garden. blackpitts.co.uk
At the time of design and construction, add the provision for lighting, such as laying cables beneath decks or paving, even if lighting is not planned immediately. Retrofitting the cables is a difficult task." - Paul Dracott
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offer a unique chance to play with light. "The spaces are often treated as interior rather than garden, so more-vibrant and exciting lighting can be used," says Paul Dracott of Agave Garden Design Store in Cambridge. He says that the hardscape often used in an urban garden benefits from a little light softening - and those same brick-, stone- or concrete-surfaced spaces offer "more items to light and more chances to create effects." As for trend spotting, many of the advances are in what you won't see, designers say. Garden-lighting systems are being made more energy efficient and are being computer linked via remote control "with moods and levels all preset and available at the touch of a button or time switch," says Dracott, describing how the systems can be linked to cell phones "so clients can speed-dial their lighting system to switch on the garden lights as they are nearing home." And, as often happens, the more technical our culture gets, the more we crave simplicity - especially as the world around us grows ever more chaotic. "People are also embracing simple white twinlding lights, the Christmas effect, which can be magical," says Diarmuid Gavin, of Diarmuid Gavin Designs in London. "In tough economic or political times, some of design's inherent uptightness and snobbishness goes out the window and allows a brash joyfulness in. We'll see more of that." So, imagine coming home late on a damp chilly night following an exhausting day in the office or studio, or from a week spent in and out of meetings and airports, or after being stuck in traffic for hours, to a garden wired on artful and smart light support. Seems like an instant spirit brightener, and that is the point of a garden.,. 52
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Above, left: Garden designer Diarmuid Gavin and designer Sir Terence Conran part nered for t heir award-winning Oceanica Garden display at t he Royal Horticultural Societ y's 2008 Chelsea Flower Show. In this colorful detail image, t he crown of a limbed-up Prunus laurocerasus is softly underlit, "creating a forest of craggy st ems bathed in purple light ;' Gavin says. Above, right: In a very small, "terribly urban" court ya rd garden often viewed f rom above in London's Paddington neighborhood, James Alexander -Sinclair drew a strong outline with angled paving and a bisecting night-lit rill "that is also an excellent place for the clients' grandchildren t o sail small boats;• he says. A simple line of blue LED lights runs along t he rill bottom.
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OUTDOOR LIGHTING 101 Swing your garden's mood from daylight casual to after-dark glamour w ith a flip of a switch.llluminating paths and spot light ing trees are basic ways to bring on the power. Add thought, creativity and all-important restraint, and a landscape light ing plan adds depth, warmth, struct ure and punctuation. London-area designers, using electric light (most often in LED-powered fixtures) as an integral yet unobtrusive landscape element, are leading the way to making garden light ing an art form.
ART LIGHTING Paul Dracott's custom-designed glass panels, etched on the reverse to diffuse light, are used as a backdrop for shadow play. Plants w ith strong architectural form are set between a light source (two custom-built single 2-watt colored LED lamps mounted on a single stainless-steel pole) and the panels. For a similar lamp, see t he Vicenza at vivacelig hting.com.
UNDERWATER
UNDERLIGHTING
To bring "maximum effect" to a very long water feature, Charlotte Rowe and Rebecca Weir of Light IQ underlit its footbridges w ith low-voltage pond lights and spotlight s. Weighted Pond Lights and Adjustable Spike Spot s supplied by light iq.com.
Rowe and Weir underset a cantilevered bench with LED lights to make the seating "look like it is floating in space," Rowe says. LD20 exterior LED lig hts from lightiq.com. Fire pit custom designed by Rowe; for a similar fireplace, see Cementum Fire Table at viteo.com.
UNDERFOOT
UPLIGHTING
Rowe and Weir inlaid square steppingstone light panels in rooftop decking and underlit adjacent planting containers with a row of pink LED lights. Pink rope lights and square LED exterior uplights from lightiq.com.
Diarmuid Gavin and Sir Terence Conran used a sophisticated LED light system on a color w heel to create an ethereal under!it effect on the stems of Prunus /aurocerasus. Beamer Tri LED lighting system from allaeys.com.
BACKLIGHTING FREESTANDING Philip Nixon worked with Graeme Laurie of The Light Lab (thelightlab.co.uk) to create g lowing, etched-glass panels housing LED light strips.
James Alexa nder-Sinclair teamed w ith David Milsom of Garden Lighting Inst allations (gardenlightingdesign.com) on a pool wall's inset "false windows" of sandblasted g lass panels lit from w it hin along each side by w hite LED strips. Torino Light Strips from vivacelight ing.com.
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••••
with a twist Winston Flowers takes a modern approach to decorating for the holidays STORY BY JENNY ANOREWS • PHOTOGRAPHY BY JON WHITTLE
Opposite: For David Winston and Marc Hall, creative director of special events, the main goal in doing up this New England house for the holidays was to find atypical solutions that combined elegance and organics.ln the dining room, looking beyond the polished first impression reveals some surprises, like a layer of berries tucked beneath the blown-glass antler candleholders. In the t rio of bouquets, dogwood stems (Comus alba 'Kesselringii1 support a simple white-and-green palette of orchids, snowflakes, hellebores and ball-shaped flower heads of Brunia. The crowning glory of the room is the chandelier (shown in detail above). The drum-shaped framework of aluminum and wire, 30 inches across and 38 inches tall, was created to fit over the existing light fixture. It took three people two days to meticulously attach its tiny "jewels" - pine needles, hemlock cones, Mylar snowflakes, faux gems and Hypericum berries.
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hough based in Boston, that enclave of conservative style, David Winston ofWinston Flowers is always looking for ways to challenge the standard approach to floral design, to bust outside the box. At this New England home, he and Marc Hall, creative director of special events, put their heads together and found an envelope-pushing concept for every standard-issue holiday convention, from garlands to Christmas trees to yule logs. While their guiding precept- elegant but organic - might seem paradoxical, it worked. The result is something very modem but also homey and inviting. One reason for this is Winston Flowers' dedicated celebration of the intrinsic beauty of plants, from root to seedpod. "There's not a single part of a plant that's not usable," says I !all. Here, bare paperwhite bulbs can be found clustered at the base ofamaryllis in full bloom, a row of pine cones lines a mantel, berries nestle beneath candleholders, pine needles carpet an entry Aoor and stacked firewood is displayed like sculpture rather than hidden away. But this woodsy winter wonderland also has its share of bling, thoughtfully placed- such as the stunning motherof-pearl vase in the foyer, the twinkling Mylar snowflakes and faux gems on the chandelier, mirrored stars among the amaryllis and crystal "tumbleweeds" topping the trees in the sunroom. After all, what would holiday decor be without a little glimmer, though in this case, it's all done without plugging in a single string of lights. While the elements are recognizable, they are used in some surprising ways - Christmas red shows up but in a topiary of rose blossoms, tropical orchids join hellebores in a bouquet, and poinsettias emerge from a ruffled collar of juniper in a 4-foot container. As Winston says: "There are so many ways to do Christmas. Some people like tradition but others are willing to take risks - they want something other than the same-old. We want to let people experience something different and contemporary." ,. SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 76
Right: Many holiday mantels might sport a greenery garland, stockings and a wreath, but David Winston want ed t o do something different, seasonal but interesting beyond that. The bas-relief panel custom made for the recessed niche above this fireplace is like an aerial view of a landscape, with mosses and Mahonia forming hills and valleys. Sculptural Coult er pine cones become an unconventional garland. Hall want ed an artistic way to store plenty of wood for the fire and give t he entire room an earthy feel, while still allowing light to filt er in from t he windows. He refers to the fireplace vignette as "a stylized woodland."
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Opposite and right: Juxt aposing refinement with rusticity, Hall placed stacked orbs of rich scarlet 'Forever Young' roses in a Radica pot from 0 Living made of kabibe shells in t he front entryway, then gave it a surprising woodsy carpet of brown pine needles. Says Hall, "I wanted a tradit ional red, but t o show how it can be used in a sophisticat ed and unconventional way:· (Supporting t he rose blossoms is a chicken-wire form over wet floral foam.) The arrangement is a prime example of t he high drama t hat is, literally, a trademark of Winston Flowers. Though conventional wisdom says if a vase measures 2 feet then the floral ar· rangement should be double that , says Winston, "We like to t ake a tall vessel and then put in something low to really accent uate t he height."
designer profile: DAVID WINSTON Co-owner wit h brothers Ted and Michael of Boston-based Winston Flowers - a floraldesign business started by their grandfather more than 60 years ago-David Winston proudly ticks off a list of company accomplishments: s ix retail locat ions, a busy online-shopping website, a bustling design studio and more than 200 special events a year. His latest venture is landscape design -a natural next step.
' ' The kabibe-shell container decorates the entry all year, making it easy to add arrangements seasonally and for parties. We've used it to hold everything from orchids to manzanita. It's high drama and high style." - DAVID WINSTO N 59
''An
inspiration for the composite Christmas trees was the view you get of the tops of evergreens when you're skiing down a mountain. You see the tips of the trees distinctly while the bases blur together." - MARC HALL
Above: In the sunroom, seemingly t ypical holiday elements have a hidden t wist. What looks like one big Christmas tree is really three smaller fir trees grouped t ogether, t wo on pedestals. Hall's thinki ng: While the base width is similar to a single t ree of this mass, with three "peaks" you can enjoy more ornaments. To t he right (again using low plants in t all vessels), poinsettias are given layered ruffs of juniper and pine cones, hiding the bases of t he plants, which t ypically lose their leaves as the season progresses. And using t wo containers side by side (not flanking anything) is outside the usual design rule of odd numbers; as Hall says, "We love pairs." At the far end of the room, instead of displaying paperwhite narcissus in bloom, here the bare bulbs are an "underst ory" for amaryllis plant ed in black raku vessels (shown opposite in detail).
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On the front porch, oversize terra-cotta pots painted red hold unadorned boxwoods informally shaped (tight meatballs would have been out of place for the natural look Winston and Hall wanted). Swags of conifer branches-and rh9doeen- ' dron cascade down the walls to hug the ~-~~~..:;;~·~·"" ccmtainer bases. An evergreen wreath to~ a red bow welcomes visitors w.l.thout givi_ijpway the surprise in store just inside the door. Indoors, the next "wow" encounter is the mother-of-pearl pot crowned with rea roses that invites a .... ~ trea ure bunt through the "house. r
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CLASSIC DECOR ELEMENTS MADE MODERN Traditional materials used for jazzing up the season have a long history, but David Winston of f ers his own t ake on this list of popular holiday plants.
1 Boxwood A green element in European gardens for cent uries, boxwood's unique suit ability for being heavily pruned has made it t he st andard choice for topiary. Winston fi nds many out-of-t he-box uses fo r boxwood, both as potted shrubs and cut mat erial. It looks modern planted in repet it ion in containers or perched in pot s wit h exaggerated height . And Marc Hall often uses cut boxwood twigs st uck into Styrofoam to form t oweri ng faux hedges fo r events.
2 Holly Used by Druids to give fai ries and sprites a safe haven once ot her t rees had lost t heir shelteri ng leaves, a sprig of holly holds steady as a symbol of t he holidays. But Winston's favorite holly isn't t he evergreen kind. He favors t he deciduous 1/ex verticillata, or winterberry, which forms t hick clusters of red berries along ramrod-straight stems. "We've even massed t he branches inside a trio of tall, clear floor vases used t o support a glass t ablet op:·
3 Paperwhites Paperwhites are t ender bulbs native to t he Mediterranean. Easily forced int o bloom indoors in t he winter, t heir fragrance can waft t hrough an entire house. Winst on considers paperwhites beautiful in all t heir parts, not just for their flowers, and enjoys present ing t hem like a living botanical illust ration: "We rinse dirt f rom t he root s and peel off some of th e bulb's out er coveri ng, exposing its white and green colori ng. Then we place several inside a clear vessel so you can see t he whole plant - flower, st em, bulb and root s."
4 Evergreens
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Brought into t he home since t he Saturnalia fest ivit ies of Roman t imes, boughs from conifer t rees have served as a reminder t hrough t he centuri es t hat life will indeed ret urn to t he winter landscape. Winst on uses conifers as needles sprinkled on a t able, as element s in cent erpieces, as 4- to 5-foot-long branches in oversize vases and as swags and garlands.
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5 Amaryllis This large-flowered t ropical bulb, popular for forcing indoors, is bot anically Hippeastrum and not in the genus Amaryllis. Breeding efforts by t he Dut ch began in t he 1700s, wit h t he first cult ivars probably reaching North America by the early 1800s. Winst on not iced t hat loose bulbs left lying around will send out quirky crooked st alks going in different direct ions. He just adds a little wat er to bring t hem int o bloom and, voila!, living modern art.
6 Poinsettias Native t o Mexico and Guat emala where it grows wild along t he roadsides, poinsettia has long been a Christ mas plant sout h of t he border. In th e U.S., Paul Ecke Ranch in California has dominat ed t he poinsettia-growing market th anks to a secret met hod of grafting plant s, a myst ery for many years. Winst on likes t o incorporate t hem as t iny 3-inch-tall plant s for individual place settings.
7 Pine Cones ~ ..... ..... i 3:
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Conifer cones can last fo r years and, as Winston says, "They're wintry but not necessarily Christmas." He fills glass vases wit h t hem, st rings t hem and uses t iny ones to top-dress potted plants, t reasuring t heir organic appeal and finding t hem "beautiful just as they are." An unusual approach he t akes is refrigerat ing cones while t hey're st ill vivid green for use lat er. 63
STORY BY TOVAH MARTIN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY STACY BASS
64
Originally barn-red, homeowner Gerard Pampalone stained the farm structure behind his house a less-obvious shade called Bark Mulch to stand out in winter, yet merge into the surroundings during the grow1ng season. Like marbles randomly rolled over a sparklingwhite surface, barbed-wire balls (detail opposite) poke fun at the farm motif.
In a region where the official growing season is a brief120 to 180 days long, the decision to bolster the "blah:' season was deliberate
The wind is from the north, a dusting of snow blew in last night and temperatures are tottering on the brink of chilblains, but nonetheless, Gerard Pampalone is on patrol, marshalling the topiary. He's thwacking away at any globs of snow that might be overburdening his conifers, and he's tying that stray strand of clematis vine back into the fold. Though his progress is impeded by the sheer bulk of polar fleece he donned to beat the wind chill, Pampalone soldiers on. He is one of those rare gardeners who doesn't put his garden to bed. At least, not in the sense that he shuts the gate in late autumn and settles for four months of vicarious experience via books and nursery catalogs. Apparently, hibernation isn't in Pampalone's vocabulary. Sure, he does autumn cleanup. And yes, he says all the prayers and does all the incantations necessary to ready his garden for whatever stern weather is in store for Fairfield, Connecticut, in winter. But after that, he doesn't abandon ship. Not only does he weather each and every storm, but he manages to turn inclement to his advantage. Call him obsessive if you will, but the fact remains - Gerard Pampalone has a reason to be out there thumbing his nose at the frost: He's got a garden worthy of attention in winter. In fact, he's got a cold-season head-turner. And, in a region where the official growing season is a brief 120 to 180 days long, leaving half the year threatened by frost, the decision to bolster the "blah" season was deliberate. He traces it back to British garden writer Penelope Hob house, whose philosophy is: The garden should look good all year, even in the winter months. Actually, a whole series of foreign influences effected Pampalone's landscape. Faced with his first genuine garden of his own in 1995 after years of residing in situ· ations without horticultural outlets and scant opportunity to bond with botany ("lots of ideas, no experience''), he gave himself plenty of time to lay plans for his newly acquired three-and-a·half acres of property. Since the place had been long abandoned, what followed was three years of intensive weeding, general cleaning up, thinking
Opposite: When the roses are slumbering, the snow-capped boxwood rondelle stands out, surveyed by a granite throne with boxwood armrests and a juniper back. Behind the bench, hemlocks form a wind-blocking, snow-clad curtain. Above: The baking apples that the orchard bore in autumn went to pies long ago. Now the limbs balance a snow load.
67
it through and research, which for Pampalone meant globetrotting with his wife, Arlene. No fewer than seven tours of Europe later, and Pampalone was ready to install Villa Gamberaia in Fairfield. Or at least, he came home hoarding a head full of ideas based on what he'd encountered in Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Belgium and Bavaria. As he puts it, "When you've seen hundreds of gardens, you're going to catch on." One thing he saw was the value of structure. In applying it to New England, he realized structure could even counteract winter's bleak "X-ray starkness," allowing strong lines, silhouettes, texture and form to stand out. The winter garden could in fact have a profile and a persona. Having inherited the remnants ofa formal perennial garden, a poorly executed rose garden and the makings of a hauntingly beautiful orchard on land that was once a farm (the house dates back to the 186os), Pampalone went to work on Beanacre Farm. (While doing first aid on a chimney, he found an old notepad in the rubble with that cryptic heading and immediately adopted the name.) After nursing his soil back to health, he did up summer royally, planting roses and seed-grown perennials and annuals galore. But his vision didn't halt abruptly in December. Instead, he projected into the dormant season. "I kept winter in mind, when the garden would look at its worst if it lacked strong design elements- that was my driving force throughout the design process." From the get-go, he installed components to add oomph to that most neglected of seasons. For the main formal perennjaJ garden, which was originally "without a smidge of boxwood," he installed 22 large, deftly clipped orbs (an idea snitched from the Netherlands) to infuse order. These play off a series of very vertical, vine-shouldering tuteurs that Pampalone custom-designed (Give my served as the inspiration). And that's the rhythm section for the garden. As punctuation marks, the rugged lines ofbrick-colored chimney pots stand out when dusted with snow. And a few containers are suffered to stay outside (and possibly be sacrificed to the freezingjthawing cycle) specifically to don their dunce caps of snow on incumbent boxwoods. Pampalone also did layering that would remain intact throughout the year. Around a wooden bench, he put in inkberry as a headboard, spiral junipers (floated over by ferry from a Southampton boxcar-size previous property), a horseshoe of boxwood and a couple of giant arborvitaes that serve as bookends. Voila! Instant clarity. Etched in snow, the topiary sports a strong silhouette. When your breath forms a cloud in the crystal-sharp air, the bench is like a throne with a pillow of freshly fallen snow. Now composed of eight beds, the formal garden in summer took its cue from Helen Dillon's Dublin color creation, with reds and blacks on one side (think poppies, cannas, 'Bishop ofLlandaff' dahlias, crocosmias, eggplants), blues and Top right: Behind the formal garden is a tree border with conifers that abate the gusts but also hold the snow. Bottom right: Pampalone leaves the clematis seedheads on the obelisks to become a mass of frosty squiggles. Opposite: For emphasis in winter, 22 boxwood orbs syncopate the formal garden, leading up to the inkberry headboard with the snow-coated curves of juniper spirals.
68
Gerard Pampalone realized structure could counteract winter's "X-ray starkness," allowing strong lines, silhouettes, texture and form to stand out
purples on the other side (delphiniums, Perovskia, Aconitum, Adenophora, Amsonia, Baptisia, Cerinthe major and asters). For winter, the bulk of the garden is laid bare to let the strong evergreen accents step forth, but anything that retains its structure after December - sedums, Amsonia, Angelica gigas, Buddleia, Joe-Pye weed - is left uncut, though often bound tidily. On the other side of the house - a home that under the Pampalone administration now sports a conservatoty and a fluorescent-light setup for growing seedlings hidden in the basement - he tackled the rose garden. Rather than wrapping his roses for the off-season, he surrounded the space in the embrace of a protective hedge to thwart breezes of the blustery kind. He shuffled the roses around, added his signature tuteurs and created a rondelie of boxwood culminating with a glistening white orb/fountain at dead center. For a bench, he brought in a granite slab and then found it bleak until he had the "aha!" epiphany of cushioning the incongruous, cold stone with evergreen armrests and a coniferous backrest. To pick up on the orb motif, Pampalone followed through with the same geometry, this time in negative space. A se1ies of spheres p[aced near the barn in va1ying sizes and made of wound, tied wire (resonating the agricultural roots of the erstwhile farm) roll along the white-blanketed plain like marbles- dramatic and very Yankee in their understated reserve. But Pampalone knows when to leave pe1fection alone, and he lets the poetic orchard speak its lines without upstaging. For sure, the garden's beauty in winter is stark. Compared with the complexity in other seasons, winter can be, well, harsh. The lines and the air are sharp as opposed to summer's free and easy. But as a matter of principle, nothing in this Fairfield garden is under wraps, barricaded behind snow fencing or swathed in burlap except Pampalone himself, of course, as he trudges out on his daily rounds all bundled up. For Pampalone, winter is just the reality check he craves to keep his design honest.,. SEE SOURCEBOOK FOR MORE INFORMATION, PAGE 76
Opposite: All the furniture on the property was purchased with winter in mind, including this reproduction iron bench from Charleston Gardens. Above: To soften the old New England stonewall, 10 ornamental crab apples march down the street, holding their crop of frozen fruit until stripped by feathered thieves. 71
landscape GORGEOUS GROTESQUES Monsters and nymphs animat e the medieval gardens at Bomarzo STORY BY PAULA DE LA CRUZ
A MILE-LONG ROAD WINDS FROM ITALY'S MEDIEVAL Orsini Castle in Bomarzo, outside the province of Viterbo, north of Rome, into an increasingly dense forest of fig, chestnut and oak trees. It is eetily silent except for the occasional crunch of chestnut husks underneath my feet. As the woodland grows denser and darker, I arrive at Bomarzo Bosco Sacro - or Sacred Grove (also known as Parco dei Mostli) -a garden of fantastical stone creatures created by Pier Francesco "Vicino" Orsini, the Duke ofBomarzo, in the mid-16th century. The scale of the figures is striking, and most are there to fiighten visitors far more than to delight them. Once inside Orsini's imaginary world, giant tufa mouths look like they want to devour you, and nymphs lie seductively, despite the toll of centuries oferosion on their mineral bodies. Vicino Orsini was an avid reader, and perhaps the most popular book of his time was Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an epic tale in which Poliphilo con72 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
Above: A stone dragon
sculpture, in a section of Bomarzo, being attacked by a dog, lion and wolf - symbols of spring, summer and winter. To the left, a reclining Neptune. The masons who completed the work throughout the garden are unknown. One theory attri butes the sculptures to prisoners of war granted to the creator of the garden, the Duke of Bomarzo, Vicino Orsini.
guers his beloved Polia in a feverish dream on the island of Cytherea. Besides the heroic acts, the tale is bizarrely peppered with descliptions ofarchitecture, illustrations of phallic woodcuts and passages desclibing "the crowd of young lovers and divine amorous girls." The depictions of the woods and gardens on the island where Polia finally falls for her suitor influenced artists and architects as well as the structure of many 16th- and 17th-century gardens, Bomarzo in particular. The animals and masks set around the garden are meant to elevate the mind and spirit, but are less ostentatious than their counterparts in the Mannerist gardens of Rome and Florence, which are notable
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landscape
for their excessive detail. Entering through Bomarzo's gates, a sign on a sphinx reads: "He who does not visit th is place with raised eyebrows and tight lips will fail to admire the wonders of the world." A path descends toward a cascade, past two colossi fighting, with the stronger one ripping the weaker one apart by his legs. Perhaps this is an ironic allusion to the false grandeur of commissioning colossal figures for Roman gardens, because it is inevitable that the figures' limbs fall off. To the left of the gate, a sea monster resembling an Etruscan Medusa makes room enough for me to venture inside its cavernous mouth. The face balances a globe showing traces of red pigment, and there's a castle sitting atop it, which is a symbol of the Orsini family. In fact, many of the statues once were painted, just as ancient Etruscan ones were before. Until the 4th century B.C., Viterbo was a bustling center of Etruscan life. Orsini was very proud of the area's Etruscan past and celebrated this by placing an artificially aged mausoleum and a bench with an Etruscan fa~de in his park. Closer to the valley bottom, near a stream, the woodland is darker and the stone is thickly carpeted with moss. At first glance, there are no colors, just light and shadows, and the scene is like a black-and-white photo. Mammoth animals rise abruptly from hidden nooks, much as in the Hercynian forest described by 74 gardendesign.com nov/dec 09
Above, left: The monsters of Bosco Sacra, or Sacred Grove - t he main attraction in t he Italian town of Bomarzo -are overseen by this grotesque entry to Orcus Grotto. Just inside t he ogre's mouth is a table with benches. Above, right: Nearby, a pegasus, Pegaso, is poised for flight. Often referred to as Monster Park, t he garden was dedicated to t he memory of Orsini's wife, Giulia, who died before most of t he construct ion was completed. After languishing in obscurity for many years, the park was restored beginning in the 1950s, and is now open to the public year round.
Colonna "where there was nothing but the lairs of dangerous beasts and caverns full of noxious creatures and fierce monsters." A giant turtle perched on the edge of a cliff, obscured by holm oaks and European hornbeams, slowly makes its way into the open jaws of a whale. Farther down, closer to a ravine, the figures become racier and far less heroic, including three graces who display their voluptuous bodies. Directly across from the graces and a nymphaeum, there is an oval pool edged by dolphins. The pursuit of sex and love was central to Orsini's happiness; he once described himself as "a dry straw before the flames of lust." His most erotic figure is a reclining nymph whose genitals are only barely covered. She seems to be in a deep sleep, much like Psyche who meets her lover Cupid in a secret place where he could visit her only under cover of
darkness. The statue could also be a reference to Orsini's p layfulness and extramarital curiosity. The statue's body was carved carelessly, which has led experts to believe local masons were employed - if not the p1isoners of war awarded to Orsini after his successful military campaigns. But these are all theories, for no one really knows who designed the terraces and coves of this woodland garden, though it's generally believed that the Man nerist architect Pirro Ligorio did the overall design and layout. A life-size elephant with a castle on its back, carrying a dead soldier in its trunk, is the only sculpture that alludes to th e duke's military career. It could also be a memorial for Orsini's son Orazio, who died in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The missing tusks were probably real ones, and the hollowed eyes may have been set with polished stones. After Orsini's death in the 158os, the park was abandoned, adding to its mysterious aura. Trees and shrubs were left to grow wild, its lake vanished altogether and tall grasses covered much of the bases of the sculptures, until the Italian art critic Mario Praz and Salvador Dali rediscovered it in 1949. Dali became fascinated by the emotional tension of the random stone grotesques and by local stories of some appalling sexual act that took place in the garden that the Orsini family had since tried to cover up. In 1954, Giovanni Bettini bought the land from the Borghese family, restored it and opened it to the public, but not without a precautionary exorcism first. Walking up from the valley, there is a house built at an angle, which looks as if it is crumbling. It is a bit dizzying to walk inside it and an immense relief to leave. The path from the house leads to an open plane decorated with urns that likely held oil lamps used to light great parties. Nearby, a dragon is being attacked by a mask with a gigantic gaping mouth and teeth. Inside, there is a 6-foot-long table surrounded by benches. The chamber was probably used as a cool summer retreat for picnics or for Orsini's obscure rituals. A sign around the mouth reads, "Abandon all thought, ye who enter here," an allusion to Dante's Inferno, where the gate to hell bears the inscription, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." As you leave the garden, a mausoleum is the only building that makes sense, signifying a return to the rational world. But like the advice of the sphinx at Bomarzo's entrance, visit this garden so your eyes widen with surprise and your mouth hangs open in amazement. Learn more at bomarzo.net.,
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plant palette I p. 22 CONIFERS Arrowhead Alpines 517-2 23-3581 arrowhead alpines.com Bizon Nursery 503·682-2435 bizonnursery.com
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features • p. 36 "ALOHA HOLIDAY" GARDEN AND INTERIOR DESIGNER Andrea Lecusay Lakshmi Interiors The Hawaiian Islands 808-652-5770 lakshmiinteriors.com DESIGNER/CUSTOM HOME BUILDER James Antony Antony Homes The Hawaiian Islands 808-826-1680 antonyhomes.com FLORAL DESIGNER Laurel Randolph Kauai Floral Arts Kauai, HI 808-346-0203 FOOD Dani Felix Private Chef Kauai Kauai, HI 808-645-0841 privat echefkauai.com LIGHTING Vantage, InFusion All out door lighting is on a grid wit h customized "scenes" for every mood programmed into a one-t ouch keypad. Orem, UT 800-555·9891 vantagecont rols.com
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• p. 54 "TRADITION WITH A TWIST" FLORAL DESIGNER Winston Flowers Boston, MA 800-457-4901 w instonflowers.com POTS Kabibe-Shell Radica Pot & Black Pots From 0 Living, Denmark Winston Flowers is U.S. source. 800-457-4901 winstonf\ow ers.com Raku Pots & London Pots (terra cotta painted red) From Domani, It aly Winston Flowers is U.S. source. 800-4 57-4901 winstonflowers.com ORNAMENTS Candles Designed by Marc Hall of Winst on Flowers Antler Hurricanes Part of t he Clayburgh Collection from Sempre Winston Flowers is U.S. source. 800-457-4901 winst onf\owers.com Other Glass snifter s and votives, and three-di mensional silver st ars are part of Winst on Flowers' permanent stock.
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Qualit y, affordable, customizable, easy to assemble, do it yourself pergola kits with 100% free shipping. Your choice of four different end cut s, three posts lengths, and options for rough sawn cedar or pressure treat ed pine. As seen on "Groundbreakers" on HGTV. Proudly crafted in the USA. 877-JOE-0002 www.pergoladepot.com
Allison Armour
Dahlhaus Vintage European Lighting
Water features, garden sculptures, and fountains designed by award winning designer Allison Armour. All pieces are individually made to order using contemporary materials such as stainless steel a nd acrylic. Allison's fountains have been installed around the world in private homes, restaurants, hotels, and corporate headquarters. Allison Armour US 805-450-6422. Prices from $7,000.
Founded in Germany almost 40 years ago, the family-run company sp ecializes in handcrafted t urn-of-the-century lanterns and fixtures. The designs are based on original castings created in European cities t hat used to have t heir own foundries. Infused with German, French, Austrian and English character, the pieces maintain a vintage sensibility, but stay with times, as each fixture can be customized to meet clients' decorative needs.
us 805-450-6422 UK 01293 871 575
877- 925· 4 448 www.Dahthaus·l ighting.com [email protected]
www.attisonarmour.us [email protected]
Custom Planters Differentiate your project s. From classic to cutting edge - enhance your landscape design vision with our modular planters & recycling bins. Use tropical hardwoods, copper, stone, 3Form resins, or t he ultimate environmental stat ement: mai ntenance-free recycled plastic wood. See more about planter design at www.planterblog.com/blog. 305· 857·0466 www.DeepStreamDesigns.com [email protected]
Musser Forest, Inc. Over 80 years of growing quality nursery stock including seedlings, transplants, a nd potted liners. Specializing in native plant material for reforestat ion, erosion cont rol and wet land rehabilitation. Start your own Christ mas t ree farm with our nort hern grown, hardy t rees! UPS delivery. 800-643-8319 www.musserforests.com [email protected]
Tuscan Imports Lightweight Poly Planters Tuscan Imports now offers a new line of lightweight poly plant ers to complement their handmade t erracotta tine. Exhibiting an incredibly realistic appeara nce, these Italian-made plant ers a re not only beautiful, but they are also easy to handle and extremely durable. Visit our website to see our complete line of ·The Best Italy has to Offer". 843-667-9101 www. tuscanimports.com [email protected]
TO ADVERTISE CAL L 407 . 571.45 41
TusCAN IMPORTS
Claytonhill Greenhouse Building the finest quality custom greenhouses since 1985. Designs based on individual growing needs. Our customers and t hese beautiful structures get t he attention that t hey deserve. At Claytonhill Greenhouse we're building growing environment s for plants t hat are for people too. 817·516-0045 Fax: 682·292-0831 www.claytonhill.com [email protected]
Chef's Mat by Gel Pro Love to cook, but hate hard kitchen floors? Gel Pro Mats are filled with a soft gel t hat makes standing in your kitchen a pleasure. Beaut iful woven leather look in a stain-resist ant material. Available in a wide select ion of colors and sizes. Proudly made in the USA Makes a great gift ! 866-GEL·MATS www.gelmats.com
David Austin Roses David Austin's English Roses combine the wonderful forms and fragrances of old roses wit h the repeat flowering of modern roses. Our new collect ion for 2010 contains over 200 varieties, all grown in the US, including fragrant shrub roses, climbers and ramblers. Call toll free to request your FREE copy of David Austin's 108-page 'Handbook of Roses' feat uring new English Roses. Please quote code GD19 800-328-8893 www.davidaustinroses.com [email protected]
Trellis Structures Trellis Structures designs and manufactures innovative solutions for pergolas, arbors, trellises and gates. A full complement of garden structures, made of t he highest qualit y western red cedar, is available. Trellis Struct ures is known for its exquisite, finely detailed product s. Shown here and on our website: Mission Modular Pergola
No.5: $3,575. 800-649·6920 www.trelUsstructures.com [email protected]
New from Timber Press!
For more information on advertising in
The New Low-Maintenance Garden by Valerie Easton "Personable, intimate, and inspiring.• -Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plant s
the
The American Meadow Garden by John Greenlee "If transforming your boring lawn into an int ricat e meadow has ever crossed your mind, John Greenlee has all the tools you need:' -Scott Calhoun, award-winning garden designer
www.timberpress.com
greenmarket
call Laurie Sanders at 407-571-4541.
ATIMBER PRESS TO ADVERTISE CALL 4 07.571.4541
on design CLIFTON JAEGER Once an inspiration, trees are now central to his murals
Clifton Jaeger (below) takes inspiration from trees, as in this fine-art photo (left) of a forest scene that he calls Robbins Swamp Two, shot on his property in Connecticut. Bottom: A tree-inspired wall mural in a room designed by Bunny Williams. To see nnore of his mural work, go to cUftonjaeger.com.
80 gardendesign.com
nov/dec
09
CLIFTON JAEGER IS OBSESSED WITH TREES beautiful, ghostly trees that fill the murals and photographs he creates for clients as diverse as top-flight interior designer Bunny W1lliams and The Peninsula hotel in New York. The 44-year-old Jaeger recalls reading that in feng shui one thing that can really help a room is an image of a tree. - LJsA C REGAN
Q: As a struggling young artist, did you suddenly say to yourselfone day, "That's it - trees!" A: Actually, I sta1ted using h·ees to solve design issues. I've been painting murals for 20 years, and over time I discovered I could use trees in the corners of a room as architectural elements. Q: Why not just use a building? A: Ifl add a building to a mural, I think the viewer is distracted by whatever preconception he has of that architecture. Ifl paint in a Chinese pagoda, it's contrived. If it's just nature, the possibilities for imagining that place are broader. I live in northwestern Connecticut where I'm constantly looking at structures and compositions based on nature. Q: Did having a family change your approach to work? A: Oh, yes. My girls are 9 and 11, and when they were born I was crazy busy painting, lots of commissions. I'd have paint all over me that contained cadmium and lead and chromium. Now I mix my own paints, for instance I get 5 gallons of milk from the organic dairy farmer down the road, let it curdle and make paint. It's based on an old Roman recipe. You can still see vestiges of it on the ruins there. Q: Nothing's quite that old in Connecticut, is it? A: Not quite, but there's this 250-year-old sugar maple in my front yard that someone told me might be one of the bigger ones in the state. It's the whole reason I bought my house. Q: You don't seem to have any trouble distinguishing trees from forest. Any favorites? A: Oh, I have many favorites. l recently became obsessed with a unique grove of trees - sugar maples, birches, ash and oaks - in an old cemetery in Cornwall. I drove by them every morning taking my kids to school, so for six months l stopped every day. I was just photographing to make art. But when I e-mailed a designer my photos, she sent them to Hilton, which asked to use them in a new hotel.
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CALIFORNIA
NEW JERSEY
Seasons Garden Center (Washington Crossing)
Gardenology (Encinitas)
Sickles Market (little Silver)
Ph: 215-493-4226
PH: 760-753-5500 - www.gardenology.com
PH: 732-741-9563
www.seasonsgardencenter.com
www.sicklesmarket.com
TEXAS
lntn'l Garden & Floral Design Center (EI Segundo)
PH: 310-615-0353 www.igardencenter.com Marina del Rey Garden Center
NEW YORK Dodds and Eder (Oyster Bay)
PH: 516-922-4412 www.doddsandeder.com
(Marina del Rey) Evan Peters & Co. (Long Island City)
PH: 310-823-5956 www.marinagardencenter.com
PH: 718-349-7545 www.evanpeters.com
Richard Gervais Collection (San Francisco)
PH: 415-255-4579 www.richardgervaiscollection.com
PH: 210-735-7999 www.biggrass-bamboo.com Nelson Water Gardens & Nursery Inc (Katy)
PH: 281-391-4769 www.nelsonwatergardens.com The Arbor Gate (Tomball)
PH: 281-351-8851 Plaisirs du Jardin (Port Jervis)
www.arborgate.com PH: 845-856-6330 plaisirsdujardin@ frontiernetnet
ILLINOIS
WISCONSIN The Wreath Factory (Plymouth)
Steel Heart, Ltd. (Harvard)
PENNSYLVANIA
PH: 815-943-3465
Aquarius Pool+ Patio Inc. (Williamsport)
www.steelheartlimited.com
Ph: 570-326-1111
MINNESOTA
Big Grass Bamboo (San Antonio)
[email protected]
PH: 920-893-8700 www.wreathfactoryonline.com INTERNATIONAL Atlas Pots (North Vancouver,
Tangletown Gardens (Minneapolis)
Athena Garden (Delmont)
British Columbia)
PH: 612-822-4769
PH: 724-468-0063
PH: 604-960-0556
www.tangletowngardens.com
www.athena-garden.com
www.atlaspots.com
MISSISSIPPI
www.cliffordfredericks.com
Garden Architecture and Design
The Everyday Gardener (Jackson)
Garden Accents (W. Conshohocken, PA)
(Saskatchewan)
PH: 606-981-0273
PH: 610-825-5525
PH: 306-651-2828
www.theeverydaygardener.com
www.gardenaccents.com
www.gardenarchitecture.ca
Call today to find out how to become a GARDEN DESIGN retailer and be included in this list of exclusive retailers. The GARDEN DESIGN Retail Program offers you magazines for resale in your store and exposure for your shop in every issue of GARDEN DESIGN and on the web-site for one low annual cost. For details call Linda today at 888-259-6753 Ext. 4511 To find out more about our featured retailers visit www.gardendesign.com/newsstands.jsp
