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Landscape designer and author Scott Calhoun traveled all over the country to put his new book together, and it's a magnificent reference for home gardeners and professional designers alike.

The best thing about Designer Plant Combinations (Storey Publishing, 2008) is that each featured garden plan uses a total six plants or less. The chapter subjects direct you exactly where you want to go:  Perennial Partners; Masses of Grasses; Annual Acquaintances; Accent Plant Associates; Ground Cover Groupies; Buddies for Woodies.

As Calhoun explains in the introduction, he firmly believes that plants do matter, despite the fact that recent garden trends concentrate on outdoor living and hardscape.  "I got into this business to work with roots and shoots," he says, "rather than simply promoting the masonry trade."

His philosophy is detailed in every entry of this book.  In "Tweaking the Coneflower," he features a design by 'Lisa Delplace of Oehme, van Sweden Associates at the Chicago Botanic Garden that combines the dwarf coneflower  'Pixie Meadowbrite' with two types of yellow daylilies and 'Big Ears' lamb's ears.  In this entry, Calhoun tells you how to find the dwarf cultivars that go so well in today's small gardens.

Each of the book's design schemes is accompanied by an introduction about the theme, a photo of the full design, a photo and description of each plant, and a paragraph of "designer tips."  In the entry on New Agave and Yucca Frontiers, Calhoun notes in the "designer tips" that rocky outcrops are most convincing when each boulder is submerged one-third below grade; that odd numbers of boulders look best in a planting design; and that nooks and crannies should be built into the design to allow for good drainage. The tips for each entry are well worth noting.

Some of the designs in this book are simply breath-taking, and the subject matter is quite different from what you'll find in similar books.  I particularly liked the monochromatic color scheme featuring coffee-colored plants; and the stunning combination of Mexican feather grass and 'Raspberry Delight' hybrid bush sage.

This book is more than inspiration ... it's a handbook of first-class design ideas that can't help but produce spectacular results.

(click on text link to purchase book)

In the Magazines Nov Dec 08

Garden Design Nov Dec 08

• This issue highlights the top winners of residential design awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).  Ten gardens are profiled, from Maine to California, along with two international gardens in Lebanon and China.  OR -- to see all the winners, go to the ASLA winners' website.
• Six "way hot" plants to bring indoors for winter.
• Plants with showy fruits for winter interest: winterberry, mountain ash, coralberry, beautyberry and moe.
• Groundbreaker: profile of landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson.
• Martha Schwartz's new design for Arizona's Mesa Arts Center.

The American Gardener Nov Dec 08

• Profile of the late California author & plant hunter Lester Rowntree.
• Plants with striking stems for winter interest: redstem willow, black bamboo, ghost bramble, ocotillo and more.
• Great plant mutations: witches' brooms: one of the very enchanting ones is Ginkgo biloba 'Spring Grove,' with a compact habit and a maximum height of five feet in 10-15 years.
• Author Ken Druse with some fascinating tales of great plant explorers.

Fine Gardening Dec 08

• Fine-textured plants to perk up any garden
• Native grasses with spectacular features for gardens all over the country.
• How to prune shrub roses
• Design tips for light and shadow from landscape architect Raymond Jungles. 
• Narrow trees for tight spaces
• Great containers for shady places

Going Local: MA Fences

  A Fence with Real Style
  They use a lot of granite in the northeast part of the country, and why not replace those normal old fence posts with posts of granite?  The posts pictured here definitely add some heft to the style of this fence, which otherwise would look like any old pedestrian wooden fence that you can see in almost any part of the country.

It's just a small design change, but it makes a real difference in this landscape: it goes perfectly with granite setts on the drive and the granite posts used in a matching gate.

And if you have a place on the water, a quirky "fence" like this one, made of painted red posts and rope, fits right in with the nautical theme.  This fence, in Marion, Massachusetts, denotes the property line, and it extends on down to the water, where there are loads of sailboats docked in the summertime.  As you're strolling through the yard, the fence almost makes you feel like you're on deck.  So think where you are when you begin to design a fence, and you might come up with something as perfect as this for the setting.

This MA fence is a pretty classic design, but there's something about the top cap -- stained a dark burgundy --  that sets it apart from the normal.

It also picks up some of  the colors of the perennial garden in front of it, reinforcing the elegant lines of the curved gate and the stepped down fence. It's a simple way to get some oomph out of fence that could be very ordinary.

This MA fence really caught my eye the first time I saw it.  It runs along the property line next to the road, defining one length of the site.  Rather than constructing a massive, unbroken stone wall, this rustic design combines a series of stone walls with rustic logs, an excellent choice for the country-like setting.  It's hard to say how long the logs are going to last, but it sure looks like they could easily be replaced when they begin to deteriorate.

It's well worth taking pictures of unusual fences whenever you see them -- to remind you that the addition of just one simple element can turn a humdrum feature into a standout.  

(images ©Jane Berger - click on images to enlarge)

A Public Garden Gem

Cleveland Botanical Garden

Don't quite know I missed visiting Cleveland in the past, but it's surely worth going for one reason alone, and that's to visit the botanical garden. It's just down the road from the art museum, Severance Hall (home of the Cleveland Orchestra), the natural history museum and the Cleveland Clinic. 

This is a smallish garden, just ten acres, but it's absolutely  packed with myriad elements -- each in itself a stunning jewel.  Our visit to the garden was in mid-October, and the classic rose garden (above) was still in bloom.  Once home just to hybrid teas, it's now dedicated to the latest trends in rose gardening.  You'll encounter every type of rose you can imagine, and although the garden is at its peak in June, it's charm is evident any time of year.

The Hershey Children's Garden not only features a tree house, but also a worm bin, a sizeable pond crossed by decks above the water, fountains, plants to touch, a cave, an herb garden, and even a clubhouse with a green roof, shown here. It's also the first public children's garden in the state of Ohio -- and definitely a place to put on your family vacation list.

Election Day Rose

Rose for Election Day

Apparently there is no "Election Day" rose, but I think Le Président will do just fine. According to the best and most comprehensive rose site on the web -- Help Me Find/Rose -- Le Président is a light pink hybrid tea bred in Britain back in 1860 by Adam Paul.  It has large, light pink blooms with a petal count of 26-40 and is hardy in US zones 6b-9b.

Help Me Find says that according to some, this rose is identical to the rose called 'Souvenir d'Ami,' shown here; and it's also been imported into the United States as 'Adam.'  It's available in the United States through Ashdown Roses in South Carolina.

In any event, it's a great rose for election day every four years -- and everyone be sure to vote!

(image: Ashdown Roses)

DNA Tests to Combat Florida's Invasive Pines

Australian pines were first brought to the United States in the early 1900's as lovely ornamental shade trees, thought to be a perfect solution for many yards in hot, sunny sites.  The "pine" is now a troublesome invasive plant that has escaped into the wild in south Florida, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.  The plant, which is not related to our north American pines, has become a highly invasive problem weed that is choking out native species in southern US coastal areas, and it is a particular problem in Florida's Everglades National Park.  It is commonly referred to as ironwood, horsetail tree, or Australian pine.

There are actually three different species of Casuarina -- C. equisetifolia, C. glauca, and C. cunninghamiana,  but the three look so much alike that it is very difficult to tell them apart.  Scientists at USDA's Agricultural Research Service are now conducting research to positively identify each species by its specific DNA and then finding insects for each one that might be used as biological control agents.

ARS scientists have traveled in recent years to Australia, where they collaborated with Australian colleagues to collect DNA samples from native Australian trees and to identify insects that might be used to stop the spread of the plant in the United States and its territories. ARS entomologist Greg Wheeler says that although Casuarina has some "fine qualities ... its negatives far outweigh its positives."  Wheeler and Australian scientists collected over 300 insects that might be used to control the weed, and narrowed the field of potential control agents to just 12, including a wasp that eats the plant's seeds and a moth that attacks the foliage.

By the end of this year, the researchers expect to complete their DNA studies, which will allow them to positively identify which species is which -- and then match them with an insect that will help stop the spread of a now-deadly plant that inhibits the growth of native American species.

(image: ARS, courtesy Amy Ferriter, S. Florida Water Management District, Bugwood.org)

New Plants 09 - 2

New from Monrovia, in garden centers this coming spring

Lantana 'Mary Ann'
I love the description of this evergreen shrub lantana, which is said to be very cold-hardy, as far north as zone 7.  So I could even try it here in Washington DC or at my place in Woods Hole, MA in a protected location. It's a small shrub, just 30 inches tall and wide, with multi-color flowers of orange, pink, and yellow. And, like its annual cousins, it blooms all summer and late into the fall.  It might go very well in the front of a perennial border, or even in a large container.  Monrovia is also carrying another evergreen lantana, about the same size, developed by Dr. Michael Dirr.  It's called Lantana 'Chapel Hill Yellow,' -- hardy to zone 7 -- with solid yellow flowers and dark green leaves.  It sounds like a winner as well.

Magical^® Fantasy Weigela (Weigela florida 'Kolsunn')

Here's an alternative to some of the other new weigelas with variegated leaves.  This one was introduced by Peter Kolster, who breeds cut flowers in the Netherlands.  This weigela has broad white edging around the leaves, which becomes greener as the season progresses. The flowers are solid pink and very prolific.  The shrub is hardy in zones 4-8 and reaches a size of about 3-4 feet high and wide.  Full sun for best blooms.

A Garden Walk on the Wild Side

Matthaei Botanical Garden

Next time you're in the vicinity of Ann Arbor, Michigan, make sure to plan time for a visit to Matthaei.  It's unlike any other botanical garden that I've ever seen.  Matthaei itself is one of the largest botanical gardens in the country  -- over 300 acres -- and together with the University of Michigan's other botanical site, The Nichols Arboretum, in all there are more than 700 acres of gardens, nature trails, greenhouses, research areas and other spaces.

I visited Matthaei in mid October, and caught the last gasp of its spectacular fall glory.  Unfortunately, I missed the 10 thousand square foot conservatory housing desert, tropical, and warm temperature plants, which is closed on Mondays, but the extensive outside areas are open to visitors year-round.

There are four nature trails ranging in length from half a mile to nearly two miles. They take you over creeks and past ponds, through glacial terrain and old farmlands, mature woods and wetlands, all incredibly untouched, natural, and wild.  On the Yellow Trail, you'll encounter a flood plain, a kame (a small glacial hill), and even a restored demonstration prairie.

The Sam Graham trail takes you through a floodplain forest and a Tamarack swamp and an oak savannah.  Along the way, you'll notice some 22 separate native trees.

There's even one trail that's accessible to wheel chairs and strollers, so anyone -- from the disabled to very small children -- can enjoy the pure nature displays at this garden.

But aside from the natural wonders of this landscape, Matthaei also has numerous display gardens more formal in nature.  The Gateway Garden is planted with wild species and modern selections of ornamentals that originated in the Americas. Many of them are old-fashioned annuals that are planted out each year in May -- cosmos, morning glories, four-o'clocks and many more.

There's a perennial garden filled with plants that do best in the midwest region, and a knot garden filled with herbs used in cooking and which are the basis of many pharmaceuticals.

There's also a wildflower garden, a display of ground covers, and even a "deconstructed" landscape by John Hollowell & Associates Landscape Architects. It features a wall set into the landscape at ground level, which is surrounded by deer- and drought-resistant plants.

While in Ann Arbor, you can also take a trip to the Nichols Arboretum.  It's closer to the main university campus, on the banks of the Huron River.  It also has nature trails and picnic areas, plus a magnificent magnolia collection and one of the world's largest peony gardens with more than 230 different cultivars.  Back in my student days at U of M, we knew Nichols not so much for its plants. On many weekends with deep snowfalls, we borrowed huge metal serving trays from the cafeteria and hiked down to Nichols and its wondrous hills for long evenings of sledding and merriment. 

Happenings Nov 08

Through Nov 16  Kiku, The Art of the Japanese Chrysanthemum, Bronx, NY
New York Botanical Garden, Exhibition, Lectures, Demos & More (718) 817-8700
Through Jan 5, Darwin's Garden, San Marino, CA
Special Exhibition, The Huntington, 626-405-2100
Nov 1 The Deer Resistant Landscape, Bronx, NY
10AM-1PM, Workshop, NY Botanical Garden 718-817-8700
Nov 1, Extending the Garden in Time & Space, Framingham, MA
9AM-4PM, Symposium with authors Virginia Small, Stephanie Cohen, Nancy Rose & "grass" expert John Greenlee.
Nov 3, Landscape Design: Where Art & Nature Meet, Conway, MA
7-8:30PM, Conway School of Landscape Design, Lecture by Landscape Architect Darrel Morrison
Nov 3, Arboreal and Other Arks, NY, NY
6PM, Lecture by Landscape Architect Warren Byrd, Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave @ 38th, Sponsor NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8747

Nov 6-8.  Re-imagining Cities: Urban Design after the Age of Oil, Philadelphia, PA
Symposium, Houston Hall, University of Pennsylvania. Exhibition, Lectures, Workshops & More. 215-898-8330
Nov 6, Great Gardens of the Berkshires, NY, NY
7PM, NY Horticultural Society, Lecture & Book Signing, Author Virginia Small (212) 757-0915
Nov 7, Less Lawn, More Natives, Wheaton, MD
10-11:30AM, Lecture, Brookside Gardens, Nancy Beaubaire of Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve (301) 962-1451
Nov 7, The Garden Metropolis, NY, NY
9AM-4PM, Symposium exploring interaction of people & plants in urban locations, NY School of Interior Design (845) 265-2029
Nov 7-8 Plant Driven Design, Walnut Creek, CA
8:30AM-5:30PM, Symposium. Five designers discuss the plant's role in garden design 415-441-4300
Nov 8 Lawn Alternatives for the Real World, Swarthmore, PA
10AM-12noon,Lecture by Landscape Architect Larry Weaner
Nov 8, What's New with Grasses, San Francisco, CA
9AM-12:30PM, Workshop with Grassologist Bob Hornback, SF Botanical Garden, (415) 661-1316 ext 400
Nov 8, Japanese Gardening Saturday, Bronx, NY
NY Botanical Garden, 6 Special Classes on Japanese Gardening Techniques 718-817-8747
Nov 8, One Drop at a Time, Stockbridge, MA
10AM-noon, Workshop on Sustainable Gardening Practices, Berkshire Botanical Garden, 413-298-3926
Nov 10, Pruning, Training & Shaping Trees the Japanese Way, Philadelphia, PA
6PM-8PM, Lecture on Cloud Pruning by Jake Hobson, PA Horticultural Society 215-988-8869
Nov 10, Botanical Urbanism, NY, NY
6PM, Lecture by Landscape Architect James Corner, Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave @ 38th, Sponsor NY Botanical Garden, 718-817-8747

Nov 12, What's New in Plants for Mediterranean Gardens, Los Altos, CA
7PM, Christ Episcopal Church, Lecture by Ryan Hall, Sponsored by Western Horticultural Society (650) 948-4614
Nov 13-15 2nd Wave of Modernism in Landscape Architecture, Chicago, IL
Conference on modernist trends in current landscape architecture. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, 202-483-0553. Space limited.
Nov 14, Trees in the Urban Landscape, Boylston, MA
9:30AM-3:30PM, 11th Annual Symposium, Tower Hill Botanic Garden 508-869-6111 ext 124
Nov 15 Vision of the New American Garden, Washington, DC
1PM, Lecture by author Rick Darke, US National Arboretum, Admin Bldg Auditorium, 202 245-4521
Nov 17, Planning, Ecology & the Emergence of Landscapes, Philadelphia, PA
6PM, Lecture Lecture by Charles Waldheim, Director of Master of Landscape Arch Program, Univ of Toronto, Penn Design, B3 Meyerson Hall 215 898-6591
Nov 18, Roses are Plants, Too, Atlanta, GA
7:30 PM, Lecture by Paul Zimmerman of Ashdown Roses, McElreath Hall, Atlanta History Center, Sponsor GA Perennial Plant Assn
Nov 22-May 31, 2009 Chihuly: The Nature of Glass, Phoenix, AZ
Special Exhibition of Chihuly Glass Sculptures, Desert Botanical Garden, 480-941-1225
Nov 22-Jan 4, City Sidewalks, Cleveland, OH
Annual Holiday Show, Cleveland Botanical Garden, 216-721-1600
Nov 23-Jan 4 Garden of Lights, Wheaton, MD.
5:30-9PM except Dec 24-25. A Show of 700,000 lights 301-962-1453
Nov 23-Jan 11 Holiday Train Show, Bronx NY
NY Botanical Garden  718-817-8700
Nov 26-Jan 4, Gardenland Express, St. Louis, MO
Annual Holiday Train & Garden Show, MO Botanical Garden 314-577-9400
Nov 27-Jan 4, Windows to Wonderland, Washington DC
Annual Holiday Show, US Botanic Garden, 202-225-8333
Nov 28-Jan 4 Wonderland Express, Glencoe, IL
Annual Holiday Show, Chicago Botanic Garden, 847-835-5440

Gardens of James Doyle 2

This is another garden by James Doyle (see post below) that members of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) visited late last summer in North Salem, NY.

You enter via a long gravel driveway, and as you look to left, not too far from the entrance, you encounter an austere reflecting pool with a bronze sculpture by Hanneke Beaumont. It's flanked on both sides by alleés of flowering cherry trees. (Prunus serrulata).  This lovely, uncluttered water feature gives you a hint of what lies ahead.

From a parking courtyard, you walk through tall hedges to a small dining patio with another of Doyle's tall zinc fountains in the center.  Again, water cascades down in flat sheets, this time into a hexagonal basin. As you walk through the patio, there's a small, ordered grove of apple trees to the right.

As you emerge from the patio courtyard, you take a left around the side of the house, walk through an alleé of hawthorn hedges and come upon this arbor-like sculpture "C Note Chicago Blues" by Chakaia Booker.  It's made from recycled tires. A walk through the arbor will take you straight to the formal perennial garden.

Birds in the Garden

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, more than 100 studies have shown that getting close to nature reduces stress for both children and adults.  And, one way to commune with nature is to invite birds into your back yard, either with feeders or with plants that provide them with nourishment and cover.

On November 8th, the 2008-2009 season of Project Feederwatch gets underway, and you (and/or your children) may want to take part.  All you need to do is count the numbers and types of birds at your feeders each week and send the info to Cornell.  This year's bird-counting season runs through April 3, 2009.  More than 40 thousand people have submitted information to the Ornithology Lab since the project started in 1987.  It helps scientists track bird movements and populations.

Last year alone, the scientists noted the largest southward movement of Red-breasted Nuthatches in the history of the project, likely because birds fly farther south when their food supplies run short. Other birds flying south in record numbers included Common Repoils and Pine Siskins -- and a Mexican native, a Streak-backed Oriole, showed up in Colorado.

The project benefits we humans as well as the birds.  Cornell professor Nancy Wells says that "nature is critical to healthy human development and functioning."  Her studies have found that viewing nature either through a window or being outside improves a child's cognitive functioning and reduces stress on the child's psychological well-being.  Wells also found that children who spend time with nature are likely to do so as well when they are adults.

To sign up for the project, go to the website or call 800-843-2473.

Some plants you may want to consider that attract birds:

Trees:  Sugar Maple, Serviceberry, White Pine, American, Inkberry, and Yaupon Holly, Southern Red Cedar, Cabbage Palm, Hackberry, Pecan, River Birch, Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Juniper, Western Red Cedar, Mountain Ash.

Shrubs: Viburnum, Elderberry, Winterberry, Bayberry,Blueberry, Florida Privet, Pigeon Berry, Snowberry, Chokecherry, Manzanitas.

There are many more bird-attracting plants.  One good sourcebook I often use is from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden:  Bird Gardens (21st-Century Gardening Series.

(image: Lyn Winans, Project Feederwatch)

The Sustainable Hardscaping Bible

In Berkeley, California, Leger Wanaselja Architecture specializes in ecological design.  They used burned (but uncharred) trees from the 1991 Oakland Hills fire as fencing posts for a residential carport; and they fashioned an old truck tailgate into a garden bench. In a Washington DC project, Philadelphia landscape architects Andropogon Associates constructed a deck made from old harbor pilings and benches made from used wine caskets. 

These are just a few of the projects illustrating an exciting new wave in ecological landscape architecture in Materials for Sustainable Sites: A Complete Guide to the Evaluation, Selection, and Use of Sustainable Construction Materials (John Wiley & Sons, 2008) by Meg Calkins, LEED AP. Calkins, with master's degrees in landscape architecture and architecture from the University of California, Berkelely, has long been involved in evaluating sustainable site materials to comply with the US Green Building Council's LEED^TM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) system.

In this new book, Calkins tells you everything you need to know about materials for sustainable design. She says, for instance, that new "green" materials are not always the answer. Instead, it might be better to use a conventional, tried and true material in a new green way. As Calkins puts it in the introduction, the book will equip the reader with "techniques to evaluate and minimize the environmental and human health impacts of materials and products for a particular clilmate, application, and location."

I liked her "Strategies for Building a Longer-lasting Deck" -- just one page long, the section on designing with reclaimed wood, the "Guidelines for Design and Fabrication of Durable Metal Structures" and specifying bricks from manufacturers who minimize environmental damage.  The book is actually divided into two parts -- the first introduces the tools, techniques, and resources for evaluating and specifying sustainable materials.  The second part of the book devotes separate chapters to both conventional and emerging green materials:  concrete, earthen materials, brick, asphalt paving, aggregates and stone, wood, metals, plastics and rubber.

This book is certain to become the classic reference for all designers and builders who want to pursue creative design in a way that will help protect the planet.

(click on text link to purchase book)

Gardens of James Doyle 1

 James Doyle Design Associates

As soon as you pull up in front of the house (in this case, in Greenwich, CT), you know right away that the garden is going to be something different. The difference is broadcast by those two tall  clipped hedges, boxed in by more of them and centered on the residence.

You then walk through a side yard that is a magnificent statement in simplicity: more boxed hedges that surround a central fountain and are perfectly lined up with the exit gate.

 

The gate at the end of the side yard is centered on the swimming pool in the back yard of the residence, which is not all that huge.  Set directly into the flat plane of the lawn, the sparely-designed lap pool fits in perfectly with the simple yet strong geometric design.

Two generous shrub and perennial beds run along the sides of the yard. At the entrance, a tall meadow rue adds height and an airy light quality, while also marking the beginning of a garden journey.  Along the sides, hydrangeas of various kinds spill over the boxwood border.

In the Magazines Oct-Dec 08

 Horticulture Oct Nov 08

• Mary Stambaugh's 37 year battle to do away with the lawn at her 26 acre CT property
• Woodland lilies and fairybells for spring
• Great companion plants for bulbs

 

Fine Gardening Dec 08

• Landscape architect Raymond Jungles explains how to design with light and shade
• Great trees for narrow spaces
• Fine-textured plants that add space to gardens with wispy blooms, small leaves, seedpods and thin foliage -- and lists of those that will work in various regions of the United States
• AND -- an extra bonus:  a free 2009 calendar

Christopher Columbus Rose

This rose is a little hard to find in the US, but well worth a try. It was bred by Alan Meilland in France in 1992, on the 500th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the Americas.

The hybrid tea rose Christophe Colomb® Var. Meironsse (or Christopher Columbus) is a shrub about three to four feet high with large blooms of various shades of orange.  There is only a slight mild fragrance, but the rose is a vigorous grower that re-blooms throughout the season.

If you can track this rose down, it would be a great addition to the fall garden, and it would make a great Columbus Day present.

Best in USDA Zones 7b and warmer. It requires spring freeze protection in colder areas.  Removing spent blooms encourages re-flowering, and in spring, old canes and deadwood should be removed, and crossing canes should be cut back.  In warmer regions, a little more pruning is best.

(image: Meilland International)