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At A Glance: Great Veins

 

Nervure-so you know this word?  I didn’t either, until I started reading about plant veins.  A nervure is a vein, or a rib.  The  veins, or ribs of a leaf, support the tissues that comprise a leaf.  The ribs can be vascular bundles-meaning that they transport vital materials from one place to another.  The science of travel and feeding aside, great veins endow leaves and flowers with a graphic beauty worthy of note.  Nervure-I like  the idea of a new word better educating me.

Coleus is noted for its leaf color.  The dark veins in this coleus make a pattern, a fretwork-a map.  Could not the layout and streets of a beautiful city be designed from such a map?   

These yellow petunias have creased flowers-I doubt the lines I see are veins.  Veins usually support leaf life.  They move life giving nutrients from one place to another. They provide a structure that keeps a leaf parallel to the sun.  They give that thin wisp of a leaf, or that incredibly thick leaf, some neccesary structure. 

 The veins of this alocasia leaf are prominent, as they need to be.  An alocasia leaf covers a lot of square footage.  The leaves are thick and heavy.  Lacking the structure from veins, these leaves would collapse in a sorry heap.  Lots of square footage requires strong ribs.  Nature made provisions for this.  Water and nutrients need to move along the supply lines provided by the veins to keep this big leaf healthy.  Should I ever retire, this picture might inspire me to write a book about supply lines, food, water, healthy structures, flow-and the miracle that is nature-great veins.  The alocasia leaf depends on its great veins to thrive.   

Who knows why I had the idea today to take a closer look at the veins in leaves.  That question aside, I am quite sure a love for the garden runs through my veins. 

The veins in leaves are functional, and remarkably beautiful.  Veins are a structure which is first and foremost a life line.  Make of this what you will. 

pilea

 The structure of leaves varies enough to defy and confound the imagination.  Those veins that empower those leaves-extraordinary.  Make no mistake, I can barely keep up with what nature has in store.   I so like this playing field.  The miracle that is nature helps keep me awake.

 If you have the chance, take a closer look.   

Posted on: September 2, 2012 Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Plants, Picture This

A Small Space

Everyone is plagued by it.  An awkward or small space.  The space that is what is left over after the invention of a more important space.  A closet, or a kitchen cabinet that is deeper than your arms are long, or way over your head.  The airspace underneath the stairs that asks for a piece of furniture that has yet to be imagined, much less made. The above picture details the problem.  A portion of the driveway on the way to the detached garage maroons a small space.  The overscaled bluestone walk to the side door chops the small space in even smaller bits.  On view, the dryer vent, the automatic gate mechanism, a hose bib, exhaust pipes, and a roof drain.  The windows are both high and low.  The two story house looms over this little space, as there is nothing going on at grade that would ground the eye.    

The view in the opposite direction tells the rest of the the story.  An L-shaped covered walkway to the garage that wraps around into a covered rear yard porch has produced this small but highly visible space.  No doubt this is a daily drop off or drive by.  The bottom of the garage window barely pictured on the left, is within 12 inches of the ground.  Given the numbers of different materials and angles and shapes, no wonder my client grassed over the ground. 

A driveway is a utilitarian gesture meant to easily accomodate motor vehicles coming and going.  It is rarely the most beautiful part of a landscape.  It is a necessity that frequently follows the fastest and most direct route from the street to the garage.  That does not mean that short trip cannot be a visually interesting one.  Given that the driveway comes so close to the house, it seemed like a good idea to pave it with a more architectural and beautiful material.  The proximity of the driveway to the fence line behind it presented another problem.  What landscape gesture could possibly be made in a space this shallow? 

Sandwiching plant material between the driveway and the fence seemed like a short term solution at best.  Anything large enough to screen the property and garage in the neighboring yard would not like growing in such a restricted space.  The space directly opposite the porch steps was the narrowest spot.  We would try some multitrunked yellow magnolias.  But for the narrowest space, we built a car stop.  A smaller and more handsome version of a bus stop.  The steel lattice would screen the neighboring yard from view.  A bench would be built that oriented the view towards the house. 

 

This existing asphalt drive was removed in favor of a brick drive in a herringbone pattern. A herringbone pattern interlocks securely, and can handle vehicular traffic.  But the big move was to remove the grass and bluestone walk, and build a brick terrace that exactly matched the new material and pattern of the driveway.  This stubbornly unlovely spot has become a rather spacious terrace, thanks to the square footage added from the driveway.

An oak bench was installed inside the car stop. 

A brick landing for the car stop was built at the driveway grade.  A low dry stack stone wall would  permit the maximum width and depth of soil space for a pair of shrubby magnolias.  Amazingly, the house and driveway had been originally set below the grade of the perimeter of the property.  There were water problems.  Quite a bit of drainage work had to be done here.     

An English lead fountain with all of the supply lines running under the terrace was centered in the space.  The view of the neighbor’s car is not quite so prominent.  Once vines grow over the car stop, it will fade even further from view. 

The perimeter was planted with a row of large taxus densiformis, and nothing else.  They seemed to work well with all of the varying heights of the windows.  The bluestone from the walkway was repurposed to provide an edge for the brick terrace. Immediately, there was a good spot for another bench.  Who knows what other ornament or pots might be added later.  What once was an awkward space has become a market square of sorts for this family’s comings and goings.    

 

Posted on: September 2, 2012 5 Comments
Filed Under: Garden Design, Garden Ornament Tagged With: , , , ,

Bold And Beautiful


I cut this picture out of a magazine years ago-would that I could say I had designed this.  White washing tree trunks has its roots in agriculture.  Lime wash was used to prevent sunscald on ornamental and fruit trees.  Grape vines were frequently lime washed to discourage fungal problems and pests.  Kaolin, a type of clay used as a base for face powder, would be sprayed on the trunks and undersides of the leaves of fruit trees, though this has proved largely ineffective against insects and disease.  Agriculture aside, the painting of these tree trunks set in a pattern of boxwood is visually arresting-bold.      

I workede for a landscape designer in the 1980’s-Al Goldner.  He once told told me his one regret regarding his career was that he had not been bold enough. As in bold design.  Bold textures.  Bold color.  Bold curves.  Confident moves.  Bold thinking.  I remember this about him more than anything else-his committment to visually striking design. 

Boldly textured leaves make an emphatic statement.  The calocasia leaves holding forth over the skinny legs of this antique faux bois planter-the invention of my client.  She has an instinct for boldly textured and dramatic containers.  Black calocasia and phormium are plants perfectly capable of a bold visual delivery.  There is nothing subtle about them but for the color. This planting is about bold forms and relationships. 

Espaliered trees are a form of growing and pruning that I greatly admire.  What is so bold about these American hornbeams was the idea to bend the leader over at the pergola roof line.  I am sure this shape was established at a very early stage in the lives of these trees.  A bold vision of what would be many years later drove this planting.  By this time the trees probably have no need of the pergola for support and guidance.  One could imagine that the pergola could be removed, and the shape represented entirely by the trees. 

This garden calendar is bold all right.  The size is competely unexpected.  Ordinary plants in unexpectedly small or large sizes attract interest.  An overscaled element in a garden properly done can be a bold gesture. A single big idea makes a bigger impact than many little ideas clamouring for attention.        

 Amaranthus is bold in both form and color.  Small intimate spaces can suddenly acquire a romantic atmosphere with one rose in a small vase.  Big spaces may need bold gestures to create an atmosphere.  A single rose in a large room with many people will seem lukewarm and lackluster. A big part of making a bold statement in a landscape is getting the scale right.        


This green man medallion hand cast by Phillip Thomason on one of his modern coadestone boxes is a sculptural marvel.  Phillip Thomason may be is premier pot maker of the 21st century.  His works rarely come to market.  His commissions are many-get in the queue.  This hand made box could easily organize an entire landscape.  The face is boldly modelled; the features are distinct, even from a distance.   

This 1950 Dodge Coronet woodie is as bold as can be.  The shape, the abundance of chrome, the color,  size and the styling-all bold.  It looks big enough to hold enough to hold a decent sized event. Heavy and strong enough to protect its occupants. Automotive designers are not just concerned with safety and efficiency, but great style.  This vintage station wagon-a sculpture on wheels.   

This rare and massive cast iron tank would be a bold addition to a landscape.  It has battleship like proportions, but very graceful lines.  It would come with a very bold price-much more than the original price of the Dodge Coronet pictured above.  Luckily bold design has almost nothing to do with price.  Everyone has seen landscapes that look like they cost a lot of money and have little to show for it.  Will I buy the iron tank?  I am thinking about. 

 

It was a bold urban planner who made the decision to line this street not far from me with London planes.  What a welcome relief they are from the standard Norway or silver maples. They seem incredibly healthy, given that these giant trees  are constrained on both sides by cement.  The maples in my neighborhood all show signs of stress from girdling roots, not to mention the sidewalk sections that are lifted off grade by their roots.  I would not have thought London planes would make great street trees, but this bold move seems to be working. 

 

There are plenty of choices, should bold flowers appeal to you.  Dahlias-the showgirls of the flower world.  In that same vein, add in hardy hibiscus, delphiniums, bearded iris, giant alliums and oriental lilies. Bold flowers planted as hedges-very bold.  Someday I will have an opportunity to plant a long thick hedge of hardy hibiscus.      

 

 

Topiary evergreens have bold shapes. This simple planting in a lead box, set in a paving arrangement scaled to celebrate that box may not be moving or romantic, but it certainly is handsome.


This pair of white glazed French pots make a spectacularly bold and elegantly formal statement. All of those cut delphiniums in one place took my breath away.  There was no need for any other flowers. 

 dolly tubs

All of these vintage dolly tubs lined up on a terrace with i gallon size chartreuse dawn redwoods, or tomatoes, or dwarf horsetails  in them-every bit as bold as as that embarassment of riches in delphinium.  Bold is as bold does.

Posted on: August 30, 2012 14 Comments
Filed Under: Garden Design, Landscape Design

Monday’s Strictly Opinion: Angie’s Theory

Bear with me, as I am about to post for the umpteenth time about proper watering.  I have just cause-most problematic issues I am dealing with now regarding the landscape have to do with water.  A scheme for watering the plants has been the hottest topic of our season, given the high heat, and the utter lack of rain.  I mean to discuss the water that your plants, garden, and landscape require.  Thoughtful and dispassionately informed watering makes a difficult season more manageable.  I hope by association to address the problems that arise from too much water.  My clients who have not watered, or who have overwatered-we have a discussion pending,   

Our August nights have been on the cool side- downright chilly.  I ordinarily dial back the water when the nights cool off.  This makes sense.  Cool temperatures means water evaporates from the soil at a slower rate.  Hot days do not tell the entire story.  The night time story is a story line worth following.   My advice?  Ignore the day temperatures.  Follow the night temperatures.

Overly wet soil under any circumstances, hot or cold,  can result in root rot.  Rotted feeder roots means that no matter how much water is available to absorb, the mechanism for that absorption has been destroyed.  A plant with root rot cannot absorb any water from the soil.  Your worried watering may be killing your plants. Why am I blathering on about the importance of proper watering?  A misguided hose, watering can, or sprinkler system kills more plants than any other factor.  Too much water kills more plants than drought, insects, or disease.  Too much water can sicken and endanger an entire landscape. 

Those gardeners that never water anything are not really gardeners.  Those gardeners that water over and over again given a tough summer season are fearful gardeners.  I understand that fear-I reacted to the steamy heat and dry with my hose, open full blast.  But I see now that my off the top of my head reaction was harmful.  Thoughtful watering makes for a great landscape and garden.  As Buck says, be cool, and assess the situation.  Being cool, and properly assessing the situation-a good thing.   This is my theory.  Cool off.  Observe before you make a move.  Water only when there is a call for water. Do not water solely thinking you will help plants suffering in the heat.  Plants have an extraordinary will to live.  A drink now and then will help them to survive.  An ocean of water -they may drown.   

Consider these simple examples.  Japanese iris love wet ground-during their growing season, that is.  Flooded fall and winter ground will kill them.  Lavender can endure heavy clay-meaning astonishly water retentive soil-over the summer, but winter wet will kill them.  Yews are a snap to grow, unless an overactive irrigation system drags them down, and eventually drowns them.  Established landscape plants rarely need supplemental  irrigation, unless there is a drought.  Overwatered trees and shrubs will go yellow in leaf.  Hydrangeas appreciate a regular source of water-it takes a lot for them to produce prodigious blooms of great size.  Water them regularly.  Smart watering makes the difference between a passable landscape-and a stellar landscape.  Think through the wet and the dry-make a plan to endorse and follow that happy medium. 

Angie supervises one of my crews.  She is of the opinion that containers and plants should be watered first thing in the morning.  This gives them the entire day to soak up, to make use of,  that morning water.  Once dusk comes, the warmth of the day has already absorbed the the day’s watering.  The excess-so much steam.  This is a theory, remember.  This is a garden story that might make no sense scientifically, but could make emotional sense.  Dryer, overnight, given cooler temperatures-a good thing.  Good water during the day feeds the plants.  Dryer at night ensures their survival. I like my summer container plantings to go on into the fall.  Watching the water really carefully now will make a difference in their longevity.

 I usually water my containers after work-this is when I have time.  I load up the corgis at 6:15 most mornings-to go to work.  They fuss if I am late serving breakfast-they really fuss if we do not leave on time.  Given those dogs, I am not a morning waterer.  Tonight I find that all of my containers have just enough moisture to survive until morning.  If I water them tonight, they will be soaking wet in overnight chilly weather.  I make a call – no water tonight.  Tomorrow morning I will water-the corgis loaded up in the Suburban.  I will load them in the car, and water what really needs water.  

I read somewhere long ago that plants do most of their growing in the wee hours of the morning-meaning 4 until 6am.  It makes sense that their roots need to be able to breathe then.  My containers are the most water sensitive of any plants I grow.  As I am interested that they grow on into the fall, I am interested in testing Angie’s theory.  Water in the morning.  Make the daytime evaporation rate work in the interest of enabling  dryer and happier plants overnight-before morning. 

Every gardener needs to carefully observe how their plants react to their care.  Good observation makes for a really good garden.  Great gardens are unquestionably more about care than design.  Make every effort to get the water right.               

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on: August 27, 2012 3 Comments
Filed Under: garden maintenance, container planting, Summer Tagged With: , , ,