Posts | Deborah Silver & Co.

Dinner In The Granary

To follow is a photo album from friends who hosted a formal dinner party last weekend in their granary. A granary is an outbuilding, a small barn if you will, ordinarily used to store grain. In England, granaries are commonly set on stone piers known as staddle stones. These elevating piers make it next to impossible for rodents and other wildlife to get into the store of grain. This particular 19th century American granary is above ground on concrete blocks. Utilitarian, yes. My friends do not grow grain, but they certainly has a very broad view of utility-and a big love for the landscape. You’ll see.

The weather last weekend-blustery and cold. That problem was solved renting a portable heater which kept the room comfortable. A power outage the morning of the dinner-daunting. But they had a vision to entertain that was 1 part theater, 10 parts a love of beauty, and 100 parts a love of anything and everything in the landscape. The spring sprouting and blooming branches with ranunculus gracing the table-exquisite.

For dessert, rose flavored macarons with raspberries and lychees. Each macaron was presented with a single red rose petal, and a dewdrop of clear candied sugar.1 Their party was so clearly representative of who they are-gardeners with wit, fabulous style and imagination. It is with great pleasure that I share their pictures.

Posted on: April 26, 2013 3 Comments

Filed Under: Parties and Events, Picture This, Good Design Tagged With: good design, garden granary, garden dstyle, event design

Garden Designer’s Roundtable: Transitions

Transitions broadly refer to change. A change in status, as in child to teenager. as in working person to retiree. As in winter into spring. The moment in the garden which is neither winter nor spring, neither summer nor fall, neither fall nor winter-these are transitory periods. Change of any kind implies challenge and uncertainty. As a designer, I am routinely asked to address the change from one level to another. If you have ever climbed a steep set of stairs, you know how much effort is involved to make the transition from one level to another.

A beginning college course in calculus is just that-a beginning. Advancing from one level of proficiency to the next is greatly helped by a friendly transition process. The effort it takes to move to the next level-considerable. Steps in the landscape were invented to make that transitory experience as easy and as interesting as possible. When I am in New York, and zooming up an elevator, I wish for a transition from the first floor to the 28th floor with some grace and style.

Sometimes long flights of steps from one level to another are unavoidable. I try to make that trip as visually interesting as possible. This makes the transition from one level to another an experience-not a chore.

The transition from the public landscape to the private and personal landscape can be brief and substantial-as in a wall. A hedge. A gate.

A subtle transition in grade can be dealt with in a number of ways. Short flights of steps endow a long and gently ramped soil, with a little lively punctuation.

The walk to the front porch is traveled by good friends, family, and UPS. The front porch-a formal transitional space that gives friends, family, and delivery people a moment to collect themselves. A little time to compose themselves. A little time to shed the cares of the day, and focus on the moment. I like big wide and ample porches.

Any transition from one level to another asks for an inventive solution. An invitation to move from one place to another-both physically and emotionally. The time it takes to make a change from one place to another-transitions in the landscape need to be big and generous. Transit implies a movement from one space to another. That transit space needs as much patience as any other space in the landscape.

A steep slope is not so friendly to people. Some slopes can be addressed with steps. Some slopes can be addressed with soil graded into tiers, and grassed. Any transition in the landscape needs to be addressed thoughtfully. Imagine yourself at that transitional moment. Design with that moment in mind.

I am keen to read what other members of the roundtable have to say about transitions-please join in!

Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO

Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT

Mary Gallagher Gray : Black Walnut Dispatch : Washington, D.C.

Debbie Roberts : A Garden of Possibilities : Stamford, CT

David Cristiani : The Desert Edge : Albuquerque, NM

Jenny Peterson : J Petersen Garden Design : Austin, TX

Posted on: April 22, 2013 9 Comments

Filed Under: Garden Design, Landscape Design Tagged With: landscape design elements, transitory spaces, steps and stairs, Garden Designers Roundtable

The Crocus

I’ve been told that our spring season is lagging behind the norm a good 3 weeks. Every gardener I talk to is sick and tired of the winter that will not let go. I was dressed to the nines today-meaning my winter coat, hat, and gloves. Last year, at this time, we were 4 weeks ahead of the norm. Who knew April 29th the overnight temperature would be 24 degrees. What conclusion can be drawn from the fact that April 21 this year is 7 weeks behind April 21 of last year? In my opinion drawing a conclusion does not change the facts. But at least my crocus made an appearance

The lengthy and late April freeze last year was dramatically destructive. The magnolias failed to bloom. The crabapples-no one heard a peep out of them. The flowers of apples, cherries and pears froze, and dropped. Disastrously late frosts dealt a killing blow to gardens, and fruit farmers. 2012-the spring that wasn’t. But those frosts came after a long hot spell. My crocus came up, and promptly passed out and melted in the heat.

Last year’s spring disaster has had me on edge. I have been watching the April weather as if I had nothing else to do. Once my crocus appeared, I was sure the spring would be long, temperate, and rewarding. Why so? Crocus emerge from the ground early. Though they look delicate, they are tough. They emerge at that time when the transition from winter to spring is a big fluid situation. They thrive on the conflict-or so I thought.

The hybrid crocus known as Pickwick is as beautiful as it is vigorous. Crocus bulbs are small; you could hold 50 in one hand, in the fall. Those fifty bulbs can light up an early spring garden. A little package that contains a great gift-the small flowering spring bulbs. Our spring has been very very cold and equally as gray. It seems like I waited forever for a mild and sunny day to come along.

A great garden is all about an experience. That day when the crocus are open wide is a really good day.

This cluster of crocus predates my ownership of my property. In a good year, I will have them a week. In a bad year, not at all.

Two nights ago-we had night temperatures right around 28 degrees. And snow. What could I do about it? Nothing.

Every beautiful moment in the garden is just that-a moment. My crocus this year-I had one half hour of one day to enjoy them. Would I give up on the crocus? Absolutely not. That one moment of great beauty makes for a memory that will stay with me. Was I disappointed? terribly so.