Silver Spike Grass

Spodiopogon sibiricus
A fast growing, upright, clumping, warm-season perennial grass, reaching up to 5 x 4 feet, that is native from Siberia to Mongolia and China as well as Korea and Japan. A great bold architectural plant that is similar to bamboo in appearance.
The very luxuriant foliage, up to 4 feet in height, is deep green turning to deep red during late summer into autumn.
The silvery flower plumes, up to 6.5 ( rarely over 5 ) feet high, are borne during mid to late summer, lasting until mid autumn.
Hardy zones 3 to 9 in full sun to partial shade on fertile, moist, well drained soil that is mulched. Silver Spike Grass is not prone to pests or disease. Cut back as soon as foliage turns brown after first fall frost. Propagation is from seed or division done during early spring.

* photo of unknown internet source

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Shared Safety or Shared Danger

I’ve been ruminating on writing an article about ‘shared spaces’ for a little while now. It’s a subject I’m personally very interested in, but also seems to be a current hot topic in the press. At some point in the future the fruits of my musings may appear on here, but in the meantime I’ve been doing a bit research into the thinking behind it and have found some interesting related ideas.

For those unfamiliar with the term and without getting too bogged down in it, ‘shared space’ is an approach to the design of roads and streets where the traditional separation between pedestrians and vehicles is removed or eroded, to create a space where all users co-exist. This generally involves the removal or lowering of kerbs, reducing signage and the associated roadway paraphernalia, and the merging of footways and carriageways with the aim of improving road safety by forcing drivers to reduce speed and have due consideration for other road users.



The approach was originally developed by Hans Monderman, a highway engineer working in the Netherlands, but has since been applied to schemes worldwide. According to the Gospel of Wikipedia however, it was British shared space enthusiast, Ben Hamilton-Bailey who first used the term ‘shared space’ to describe Monderman’s approach (note that Ben Hamilton-Baillie’s Wikipedia article was written by a B. Hamilton-Baillie). In the UK, shared space concepts have been promoted by a number of sources, but perhaps most influentially in ‘Manual for Streets’; a guidance document for the design of roads and streets, prepared in partnership by the Department for Transport and the Department of communities and Local Government. The aim of Manual for Streets, of which I’m a big fan by the way, is to try and promote the role of roads in place making and improving their environment, rather than looking solely at issues of vehicular transit and pedestrian safety.



However, not everyone seems so enamoured by current developments and there has been a significant amount of negative press coverage of some recent shared space schemes. This seems to stem from broadly two sources; organisations that represent the blind and partially sighted, and then the doomsayers who read the Daily Express and write to Ester Rantzen to complain that someone will surely be killed! Now without going into all the in’s and out’s of the arguments, I’d say that there clearly is an issue with guide dogs not being able to negotiate roads without kerbs (although there is little recognition of the potential benefits of this to those with limited mobility), but the rest…



It was actually Ben Hamilton-Bailey’s website, which first made me aware of Warwick Cairn’s excellent book, “How to Live Dangerously”. First and foremost it’s a very entertaining read, but it actually makes some pretty serious points about our compensation culture and the paradoxes of public safety. Interestingly, it both references Monderman’s work on shared space, but also gives some background on the thinking behind it and I think offers an interesting perspective on many issues in today’s society.

To those that are interested by the subject, I’d recommend getting hold of a copy, as its a nice light read (see link below). For those of such an inclination, I suspect it would prove good toilet reading …







Rather cheekily, I thought I’d drop a few quotes from the books chapter “ The Safety of Danger”, in below.

“Where this is all leading is to one of the most important theories of how human beings deal with danger and risk, and why. It’s a theory that has very important and far-reaching implications, as we’ll see a little later. The theory goes by a number of names, including ‘risk homeostasis theory’ and ‘risk compensation theory’, but you may prefer to think of it as just plain common sense.

Here’s what the theory says: all of us have a natural or ‘ideal’ level of risk that we feel comfortable with in our lives... When things become more dangerous than we like, we take more precautions – when the roads are icy, for example. And – here’s the important part – when things become noticeably safer, we feel that it’s all right to take a few more risks.

So, strange as it may seem, and mad as it may seem, and hard to believe as it may seem, the safest course of action, much of the time, is the one that appears, on the face of it, the most dangerous.

In 1989, the year that UK law first required children in the rear seats of cars to wear seat belts, the number of children killed and injured in rear seats didn’t go down at all. It didn’t even stay the same. What it did was it actually increased. Significantly. The reason for this was that people felt their children were now properly protected, so they didn’t have to worry so much, and so they could afford to drive faster and more recklessly.

And when, for example, we make children’s playgrounds less dangerous by replacing tarmac with special spongy rubber stuff, and when we take away the big tall slides and climbing frames, and when we prevent children from playing conkers unless they wear protective goggles, what we are doing is not actually making them any safer: we are just making life duller, and challenging children’s ingenuity to come up with ways of experiencing the same level of thrills that the old playgrounds used to give them, and that the old unstructured play used to give them. Which may mean using playgrounds in ways for which they were never intended – as places to vandalize and spray graffiti on, for example, which carries the risk of being chased by an irate adult – or not using them at all but going somewhere else altogether – a derelict building, say, or a railway line you can run across as a train approaches; and getting your thrills there instead.

In the 1990s a committee of scientists, psychologists and health-and-safety experts from sixteen countries gathered to examine the evidence for this theory, to see whether more safety precautions actually protect people, or whether they just make them feel safe and confident enough to take bigger risks. Their verdict was unanimous and unequivocal: ‘It is clear,’ they said, ‘that confidence in safety devices – whether they be helmets, seat belts, safety ropes for climbers, or safety nets for trapeze artists – affects behaviour. People respond in a way that tends to nullify the intended effect of the device. Safety measures that ignore this tendency almost always disappoint their promoters.’

And here’s the point: if it isn’t so much things themselves that cause accidents as people’s willingness to take risks, then making things safer won’t mean there will be fewer accidents. It just means that there will be different ones. The only real way to make people safer, the only real way to cut the rate of accidents in one place without it leading to more accidents happening somewhere else, is to lower people’s willingness to take the particular risk that you have in mind. Which is to say, it is to make that risk more frightening. Or, to put it another way, the most effective way to make a thing safer is to make it more dangerous.”

While it seems a fairly contentious premise, if not counter-intuitive, as Cairn intimates there has been some serious research to back up these opinions. Professor Gerald Wilde of Queen’s University, Ontario coined the term, “risk homeostasis” to describe how human behaviour offsets external improvements in safety, by behaving less safely. While not universally accepted, much of the criticism of his work, seems to originate from those who have a vested interest in promoting the value of safety equipment.

All of which makes an interesting response to those who seek to sanitise, standardise and safety-fy everything around us. It rather sadly seems to me that personal responsibility has been largely forgotten in Britain today.

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Small Backyard Landscaping

Small Backyard Landscaping

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Planting an Herb Garden at Home

Herb Gardens are wonderful ideas on several different levels. They can make your Homes outdoor area and outdoor landscaping more attractive and multidimensional. At the same time, they can make your cooking more appealing in a quick and easy way. Find out more about Planting an herb Garden by reading on below.

Grow What Youll Use -

Take a peek in your spice rack. Which herbs do you seem to rely on the most heavily when cooking day-to-day items? If possible, try to plant them in your herb Garden. After all, one of the main reasons to have an herb Garden is to grow herbs that youll use as needed. Before calling up a landscape design Brisbane company, write a list of what types of herbs youd most like to grow in your Garden. That way, when you consult them about your plans youll be able to fill them in about the specifics of what you want and need; this will make the process more streamlined and efficient.
Choose Your Soil Wisely -

If you dont have a lot of knowledge about soil, dont worry. Its fairly easy to learn what types of soil work best for various kinds of herbs. In some cases, the company that you hire to help you design your Garden may have some tips for you about soil, too. Plants draw their nutrients from soil therefore it is critical that you select one that is agreeable with the types of herbs you wish to grow. Using the right soil is one of the easiest ways to ensure the success of your herb Garden.

Organise Your Plants Logically -

Generally speaking, it is usually best to plant similar herbs grouped together. Bushy herbs, then, should be planted near bushy herbs; herbs that tend to spread as they grow should similarly be planted together. As you plan the layout of your herb Garden, its also smart to keep aesthetics in mind. Plant taller herbs toward the centre in order to give it a more organised and pleasing look; try to coordinate colours, too, to make it all look more professional.

In the end, you will end up with an herb Garden that will not only enhance the appearance of your Home, but will provide you with a steady supply of ingredients when you need to whip up something delicious. Youll wonder why you didnt plant one sooner, when your friends and family members begin exclaiming about the incredible deliciousness of the food that you prepare with those herbs.

If youve been thinking about putting an herb Garden into your outdoor area, you should also think about hiring a landscape design Brisbane company such as MP Landscapes to help. That way, your landscaping Brisbane can be given an added dose of appeal while the food you cook gets kicked up a notch with a lovely splash of fresh herbs.

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Create Your Own Landscape Design Landscaping Tips

Create your Own Landscape Design : Landscaping Tips

Landscaping is easy with these tips, get expert yard and landscape design tips in this free video. Expert: Gale Gassiot Bio: Gale Gassiot makes ...

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Favorite Native Plants

Check out todays posting on Betsy Franzs excellent site Metro DC Lawn and Garden.  I discuss some of my favorite native plants with Betsy and talk about how I like to use them in gardens.  Betsys series on gardeners favorite natives is a great source of ideas and inspiration.  Plus, her blog site is an excellent source of news, tours, and garden information for the Washington, D.C. area.

http://www.metro-dc-lawn-garden-blog.com/2011/03/11/favorite-native-plants-thomas-rainer/

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Why Breathe Fire Pit Smoke When You Dont Have To

I just came across an letter to the editor of the British Columbia Local News (bclocalnews.com) requesting that a fire pit ban remain in place throughout the county. The main complaint is that smoke created from wood burning fire pits wafts over fences into others yards, through windows, screen doors and into homes of neighbors.

The main complaint from the author is that because people in this community live close to each other, smoke from fire pits does pose a nuisance and health risk to others the community. Inhaling fire pit wood smoke is not good for you and even more harmful to those who have asthma or emphysema. Fair enough i say. But, there is a solution: stop burning wood and utilize natural gas or propane for your custom fire pit.

No harmful smoke is created when you use alternative outdoor burning systems. Therefore, no harmful smoke will intrude into your neighbors space. Warming Trends CSA Certified Crossfire Burner is a great solution so that everyone wins. Those who want to utilize a fire pit can do so without interrupting the comfort of their surrounding neighbors. The Crossfire Burner also achieves twice the flame of a conventional fire ring because of a precise air to gas mixture. This flame will burn twice as high and only consume half the fuel of a conventional fire ring system. This saves you money and is better for the environment.



So although I respect the right of neighbors to NOT have to deal with wood burning smoke invading their airspace, there are solutions out there and Warming Trends will be happy to help you with any questions you have when you are ready....

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Landscape symbols shorthand for plant and design

Creating your personal dream theme using beautiful sexy patio Chairs and Outdoor furniture...

Patio, pool or Garden spaces are a pleasant way for family and friends to unwind. You will want to show off your special Garden theme that is romantic and sexy, or a patio theme that is bright and colorful for any spring and summer event. Patio and Garden themes are very popular and can be done on a low, medium or higher budget. Can you see yourself showing off that special patio or Garden theme with bright rich colors and fancy theme style cushions, maybe a romantic red color for your patio Chairs, or choose a color of choice to create your personal dream theme that will last for years?
With the average household size declining to 2.5 persons (and continuing to fall), it is likely that demand for smaller dwellings within close proximity to major capital city CBD will continue to rise significantly - and will become especially favoured over the large Mansions in outer suburban areas.

Any fruit is good to plan the result of a Landscape. It s also a leader of a plan of your card orchard brought before starting to work as carpenters, plumbers and electricians, a project intending to build a house that is. Since few of us have ever occurred with a Landscape plan in our daily life is for us to discuss in detail the methods of manufacture and use shouldone.

A Landscape plan does not want to wait artistic skills. All you need is the right tool for measuring and drawing, and mathematical intelligence equally victims of objects of various sizes at a fraction of their size.

Drawing instruments

The instrument needed to make a good Landscape plan shall include: drawing table (or flat panel), T-square, two triangles (grades 45 and 60), protractor, compass, tape measure, scale (or ruler), pencil, eraser, tape adhesive and traceabilityPaper.

Symbols Landscaping

symbols are used in the production of Landscape plans Landscape design. They are easy to learn, understand and interpret. Six Figures in many books used in Landscape design. Come completely familiar with this Landscape of shorthand and you will find that insight and production plans Landscape design is not difficult.

A few minutes of practice (call it "doodling"), you get to the point where this Landscape design termsis easy and fun. The next step is to learn to look at a simple plot plan of existing buildings, walks, driveways, trees, rocks, gorges, hills, fences, etc. that could be seen.

Field Notes

This task can be divided into two parts or stages. The first is to take field notes in the form of sketches and real sizes and descriptions. The second step is to transfer your areaNotes on drawing paper in a legal and acceptable standards. What you get is comparable to a fully labeled picture above taken directly from the site. You need to plan farranging first sight the Landscape design of the place to start working.

In the Notes field is much easier when you have a copy of the house models are available. This should be one of the first things that you collect from your architect or builder that the house will be sold. If youPurchase by a former owner to ask if he has plans, for it was to come, as the home of your property and you can have an indoor house plants pictures you put in your plants.

They are still well off if you collect an official plan of the property with the location of the house marked by the surveyor. Always try to get a plan will save you many hours of work on site. If not available, the following procedures offered as a wayCutting this work to a minimum. It s the result of very very few years of practical experience.

Unpack for yourself why so many people worried about shooting indoor house plants. Visit our growing collection of plants care.com.

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James van Sweden Prairie Inspired Landscape

James van Sweden, CornerStone Gardens

Olive trees have a lot of character, but can be rather slow growing.  Mature Olive tree specimens are widely available and transplant well.  Included in the CornerStone Gardens James van Sweden landscape installation are mature Olive specimens, a Rosemary hedge Rosmarinus officinalis, a mass planting of Mexican Feather Grass Nassella tenuissima with randomly emerging albeit purposefully planted American Century Plants Agave americana and Genus Coreopsis and another flowering perennial planted as randomly but with a bit more frequency.  This is  particularly easy landscape to install and maintain, yet is quite useful, habitat-friendly and beautiful.

With the exception of the Olive, the plants are exceptionally fast growing an generally inexpensive, providing relatively quick gratification for relatively little money.  The Chinese Elm Ulmnus parvifolia would be a less cumbersome investment and is very fast growing.  If a gardener or landscaper is to care for the structure of the Chinese Elm as if pruning a bonsai, the trees aesthetic quality may compare to the Olive.

Enhancing the elegantly simplified planting palette is a sculptural element peering up behind the rosemary hedge, which invites the visitor to travel the path to investigate.  One might find similar sculptural industrial elements that contrast nicely with this prairie type of landscape at a salvage yard or at ARTEFACT or Restoration Hardware.

Mermaid in Front of ARTEFACT

The rosemary hedge frames the planting, setting it off, which keeps the natural looking planting from appearing uncultivated.  I imagined this first as a planting for a front yard with the trees somewhat near the home though set off some distance by the broad path and potential terrace which might serve as a foyer for a home lacking such a feature meanwhile providing great curb appeal.  However, this landscape design would be equally at home in a backyard with the trees against the back fence and the grasses nearest the home.  What is appealing about the latter arrangement is when looking from the home, one has the sense of floating in a sea of grasses.  The movement of the fine grasses with the wind is delicate and calming.  Many of these plants are easily propagated and so when considering a landscape design on a larger scale, this planting is not only visually effective and habitat friendly, but also affordable and engaging for the avid gardener.

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Garden Designers Roundtable Texture in the Landscape A Musical Analogy

I’ve been thinking about texture lately.  Texture is one of those generic garden topics like “color” that every garden book dedicates an obligatory chapter.   Photos of hostas, ferns, and other foliage plants often follow.  Despite the rather clichéd use of the word in garden literature, the idea of texture in the landscape does not seem fully explored.  So to better understand what texture might mean in landscape sense, I turn to music. 

According to one source, texture in music means “a structure of interwoven fibers.”  In music, texture refers to the way multiple voices (or instruments) interact in a composition.  Texture in music is a way of understanding hierarchy.  Which voice is prominent?  Are they all equal?  How do they combine to create the whole?  Already my mind was spinning about materials in a landscape.  Texture is not just about a type of plant (i.e. big leaf foliage plants), but about the way materials or plants work together to create effects.  That got me thinking: how do we combine materials for artistic effect? 

Music theory describes four types of texture in music: monophonic, polyphonic, homophonic, and heterophonic.  Now before you glaze over, each of these concepts has some rather fascinating ways of understanding texture in a landscape setting.  Consider these visual analogies:

Monophonic Texture

Monophonic texture is music consisting of a single melodic line.  This may be sung by one person or several.  Think about Gregorian chant or even singing “happy birthday” in unison.  In the garden setting, this might describe a large mass of a single species like this sweep of the native Heuchera villosa at Pierces Woods in Longwood Gardens.

Or the repetition of whorled fronds on this massing of Adiatum pedatum (Maidenhair Fern) in a woodland in Vermont.  All of the elements work together to form a single melody.  It creates the effect of legibility and calmness in a composition. 

Polyphonic Texture

Polyphonic texture ("many sounds") describes a musical texture in which two or more melodic lines of equal importance are performed simultaneously.  Think about rounds in music: singing "Row, row, row your boat . . . " in staggered successions (you know, what you do inebriated  at the Irish pub on St. Pattys day).  Composers in the Renaissance and the Baroque used this style in rather complex arrangments.  In planting design, one may combine two different plants with similar textures to heighten and intensify the total effect.  Look at this combination of Hakonechloa macra (Hakone Grass),  Tradescantia Concord Grape (Spiderwort), and Bletilla striata (Hardy Orchid).  From a distance, the two plants read as one mass, but up close, one begins to appreciate the subtley of the contrast.  Combination by Ching-Fang Chen.

Or this combination of two cultivars of Knautia macedonia designed by Piet Oudolf for the Highline. 

Homophonic Texture

Homophonic texture is one we encounter most often in music.  It consists of a single, dominating melody that is accompanied by chords.  Sometimes the chords move at the same rhythm as the melody; other times they move in counterpoint to each other.  The big idea is that the chords are secondary and supportive of the melody.  While this concept is the basis of most music, it is relatively underused concept in planting design.  Consider some good examples of homophonic texture.

Here is a combination of Heuchera villosa Brownies (Coral Bells) and Koeleria macratha (June Grass) by Piet Oudolf for the Highline.  The larger mass of June Grass (melody) is supported by contrasting leaf texture and foliage color in the Coral Bells (harmony). 

Or this image showing how Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Purpureum) highlights and intensifies the purple tulips in this photo of Great Dixter.

photo by Marian Boswell

Heterophonic Texture 

This was the most complex for me to understand.  In music, heterophonic texture consists of simultaneous variation of a single melodic line, often with two musicians simultaneously performing slightly different versions of the same melody.  Each version is improvised or ornamented version of the same melody rather than a harmonized version (described above in polyphony). This kind of texture is not very common in Western music, but more often found in traditions such as Japanese Gagaku, the gamelan music of Indonesia, and even traditional Appalachian fold music.  Modernist composers like Debussy and Stravinsky played with heterophonic texture.

The closest thing I can think of in planting design are some of the large rivers of salvia created by Piet Oudolf in many of his designs.  The central gesture of the Lurie Garden in Chicago is a boomerang-shaped river of Salvia nemerosa.

drawing by GGN Landscape Architects

What makes this a heterophonic texture is the mixing of different cultivars of Salvia.  Each supports the larger melodic gesture, but each cultivar adds a slight variation or ornamentation of the melody.  What you get is a feeling of added depth and sparkle that would not be possible with a single cultivar.  From a practical point of view, using different cultivars also extends the season of interest.

image by Archidose

The same effect is done with Salvia in this Piet Oudolf project. The different Salvias provide a kind of heterophonic texture that reinforces and diversifies the larger melody.  This is very advanced composition work, but Oudolf is the master. 

IN THE END, what became apparent to me was how limited our design vocabularly is when it comes to planting design.  While great artists like Piet Oudolf and other designers may be experimenting with some of these ideas, garden and landscape design disciplines lack the language--the conceptual framework--to discuss composition in depth.  Other artistic disciplines have much richer languages for this.  Perhaps, until we develop our own language for planting design, we can borrow from our sister arts to better undertand our own art.

To learn about other designers take on texture, please visit some of these excellent blogs:

David Cristiani: The Desert Edge: Albequerque, NM

Pam Penick: Digging: Austin, TX

Rebecca Sweet: Gossip in the Garden: Los Altos, CA

Deborah Silver: Dirt Simple: Detroit, MI

Christina Salwitz: Personal Garden Coach: Renton, WA

Douglas Owens-Pike: Energyscapes: Minneapolis, MN

Robert Webber: The Hegarty Webber Partnership: Bristol, Avon, UK

Andrew Keys: Garden Smackdown: Boston, MA

Rochelle Greayer: Studio G: Boston, MA

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day January 2012

The weather has been pretty mild so far but we are now feeling the cold as the temperature plummets to a chilly 27 degrees.   My zone 7 Long Island garden is in winter mode and just the bare bones are present.  One of the nice elements of winter is that the season supplies some down time to walk around the garden and take inventory.   I am already getting ideas for next season and the imagination is running wild.  Its only January and this gardener is already looking forward to next season with great enthusiasm.  As many a gardener may agree... gardening can go on all year....plan all winter and embellish all spring, summer and fall!

Winter is  a very good time to plan  the "foundation" of the landscape.  While gazing out my window on a cold winters day a few years ago I came up with the idea for this crab orchard walkway.  It replaced an old cement pathway leading up to the front doorway that had lost its charm and did not have as many curves as the new updated version.  The new walkway gives a little element of surprise as it winds around the garden bends on the way to the front door.

Our stone walkway is surrounded by evergreen shrubs and sedges along with clusters of yellow, purple and pink perennials that bloom in the spring.  On the right there is a Weeping White Birch and down a way is a Weeping White Pine along with more evergreen shrubs.                             

Montgomery Globe Spruce

One aspect that I really do enjoy about gardening is incorporating many colorful evergreens. They are especially appreciated in the winter months when other shrubs and perennials become dormant. Here is one of my favorites...a Montgomery Globe Spruce.  


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Montgomery Globe Spruce is a dwarf conifer that grows only to two to three feet in diameter and keeps its vibrant silvery-blue color all year round.  There are so many beautiful evergreens that are not at all green that can be brought into the garden. 

Some of the other evergreens that I enjoy are Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar, Weeping White Pine, Gold Spot Euonymus and Boxwood Wintergem (pictured here).  I also have a special affection for my Picea orientalis Skyland Yellow Oriental Spruce  (first photograph above front left) and Golden Hinoki Cypress (first photograph above front right).  Their golden hue is even more prominent in winter.


The berry producing plants such as holly, viburnum and this Nandina domestica (heavenly bamboo) are interesting at this time of year and the foliage stays evergreen as well.  I have had this Nandina domestica Gulf Stream for many years now and it just keeps getting more interesting year after year.

Here in the backyard along my patio is a Weeping Pussy Willow along with Gold Mop Cypress, Blue Star Juniper, Repandens  Spreading Yew and Barberry.   The crab orchard stone path leads from the patio to the back lawn.  In the summertime I like to sit out on my patio and gaze at this particular part of the garden.  For now Ill just dream about the peony, daylilies and purple salvia that will emerge in spring but at least there are my evergreens.

                                        




It wouldnt be the same if garden gal wasnt in the picture so here she is enjoying her mondo grass planter.

I found Garden gal in the local nursery years ago and she has been my whimsey in the garden ever since.  When I was about five I wore a hat just like hers and probably carried the basket of flowers to match.  She reminds me of myself...always a gardener at heart.


                                       

Pictured here is our pool covered up for winter and surrounding gardens. Again just the "bare bones" but the evergreens give something to look at through the back window.  I have  a feeling that it wont be long now until this poolscape is covered in snow since the temperatures are dropping. 


The back perennial garden sleeps.  When April arrives there will be various blooming bulbs including crocus, tulips and hyancinths.  Perennials such as coral bells, daylilies and balloon flower along with ornamental grasses and  evergreens will emerge later on.

Here the Star Magnolia is forming its soft white flower buds for spring...

and the graceful Weeping Japanese Maple is showing its artistic framework...

As the sun lowers towards the horizon another day has passed, and the garden rests.

Much thanks to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens for another Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I hope you have enjoyed my January garden. Please be sure to stop by and visit our hostess for more January blooms around the world.   As always...Happy Gardening!


One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns

Author:Lee@ A Guide To Northeastern Gardening Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved

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Small Backyard LandScaping

Small Backyard LandScaping

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Principles Of Landscape Design

Principles of Landscape Design

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Desert Landscape Designs Require Less Water

Desert landscape designs are used by many of us who live in areas where it is difficult to maintain green grass or to grow many plants. Many desert landscape designs work well in backyards that have many rocks and boulders along with very sandy soil. That peaceful backyard retreat can still be created by adding items to soften the yard and give the family and guests more comfort.

Gardening magazines or landscape magazines that are relevant to your weather conditions will be able to help you figure out what will work best. The most difficult part is coming up with that perfect design for you and your family. There are three important issues to consider regarding your desert design and they are: the amount of money you want to spend; the time you are willing to give to the project; and the space you have available. If you are thinking about boulders or already have some in the yard, by placing lively desert plants around them can spruce up a garden. A smaller yard will be able to handle smaller boulders or rocks of different colors, shapes, and styles.

It is always possible to create a desert landscape in any garden. Plants and flowers that are that are able to withstand your particular weather conditions along with rocks and pebbles will give you a desert type landscape that can give a garden a new look. The lower growing plants and smaller boulders need to be in the front of the garden while the taller and larger ones are lining the back. This way you can enjoy the entire landscape from inside the house and may even lure you to spend more time outdoors enjoying it.

If you live in a hot, dry climate you may want to add a water feature to your backyard landscape. This not only gives you relief from the heat but that wonderful sound of water will be very relaxing after a long day at work. Some of you may be able to add a swimming pool but others with smaller yards can have a water fountain, water garden, or a pond for enjoyment. Another wonderful idea for a desert garden is to add outdoor lighting. This way you will be able to enjoy your desert landscape designs even more during the night. Unusual shadows will be created by spotlighting all your rocks and boulders. A few creative ideas can improve the feel of your landscape.

Desert garden designs are not only good for arid climate areas but for almost any type of climate area because you will be using native plants that require very little or no water to be able to survive. In the arid climate areas some shade or covered outdoor living areas are a must to work into the landscape for relief and comfort from the extreme sun in the afternoon. There are several materials that are energy efficient to create outdoor living rooms that can resist the intense heat from the sun but will also retain a little warmth during the cooler evening hours.

Clay barrel roof tiles, adobe brick, natural cast earth, and even thatched straw can be used to construct shaded patios and covered walkways. Any garden walls that are constructed of plaster or clay will provide shade during the day and warmth during the evening and also provide a little privacy. The right accessories can blend together the indoor space with the outdoor area by providing comfort and ease of entertainment to the garden. Desert patio designs not only include some type of shade and water feature but also fans or other devices that help circulate the air. Fireplaces or some type of heating device for cool, chilly evenings with any other patio accessories can create a comforting outdoor living room.

These desert designs also include xeriscaping which is an easy way to garden in the dry climate with the use of drought tolerant plants and it also will preserve one of our most precious resources by the use of less water. Xeriscaping will still provide us a beautiful garden of blooming flowers and native foliage. It also combines a number of native plants that are able to survive with smaller amounts of rainwater. Desert landscape designs are created mostly in your very arid climates that receive the lowest levels of rainfall during the year but can also be used in other climates to conserve the use of water.

Barbara lives in a desert area that does best with desert landscape designs. She and her husband enjoy their time in the garden. Barbara has several articles on her website Gardeners Garden Supplies pertaining to the garden.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_Volkov

http://blogspot.com/

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HERBERT BAYER

I believe that the artist must achieve creative control over the whole of his environment.- New York Times, October 21, 1984

Herbert Bayer was intimately involved in the celebrated Bauhaus school in Germany in the 1920s and 30s: first as a student, and then as one of its directors. He emigrated to the United States in 1938. As an advocate of Bauhaus principles he produced works which expressed the needs of an industrial age, the positive collaboration between business and art, mirroring the advanced tendencies of the avant-garde.

typography by Herbert Bayer, entrance to Bauhaus    image: Wikipedia

The Bauhaus was based on the principles of the 19th-century English designer William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement that spoke of art meeting the needs of society and that no distinction should be made between fine arts and practical crafts. It was also dependent on the more forward-looking principles that modern art and architecture must be responsive to the needs and influences of the modern industrial world and that good designs must pass the test of both aesthetic standards and sound engineering. This Bauhaus style, could also be described as the absence of ornament and ostentatious facades and by a harmony between function and the artistic and technical means employed.

For over 60 years Bayer created pioneering works in painting, sculpture, environmental works, industrial design, typography, architecture, photography, and applied design.  He was truly what can be referred to as “a renaissance man,” one of the few "total artists" of the twentieth century. 

"Metamophosis"1936 photographic montage

image: metmuseum.org

Marble Garden, 1955

Aspen Meadows Hotel 

In this experimental garden, Bayer introduced modernist imagery into the environment for perhaps the first time. Slabs and blocks of white marble were sourced from a nearby abandoned quarry for this thirty-eight foot square experimental garden that begins to suggests the notion that all gardens are nothing more than three dimensional sculpture.

The "Grass Mound" (1955), came to inspire a whole generation of earthworks artists and initiated the ground for ecological design and restoration projects of today.

Sketches for earthworks by Bayer...

Installed in 1982, the "Earthworks" was hyped for its fusion of art and infrastructure, making the installation a powerful precedent for landscape designers, architects, engineers and artists.  A series of sculpted spaces that feel both ancient and modern, the Earthworks’ pure forms of geometry -- cones, circles, lines and berms—are built into the alluvial delta at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. Grass and concrete, a wood bridge and steps: these are the materials at work, joined by the natural forces of Mill Creek itself.  According to Landscape Architecture magazine, "the city of Kent, Washington,  through its Arts Commission and Parks and Recreation Department, commissioned this project as a solution to urban stormwater runoff and its resultant soil erosion problems. The environmental artwork was a means of enlivening the plans for a proposed stormwater detention basin and creating an unusual entrance to an existing public park. The citys goals were to control flooding, to restore fish runs, and to create an aesthetically pleasing facility that would contribute to enhancing the park."

Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks 1982

image: landscapemodeling.org

 

previous images: flicker.com

Photo by John Hoge and Nancy Leahy

"Layered Landscape" 1944 gouache on paper   

image: aspen journal

In his commercial graphic design work, he was an advocate of social responsibility in design -- products or services that promote positive ideas and behaviors while promoting the company.   In 1941 the Container Corporation which produced 90 percent to 95 percent of its cardboard from wastepaper hired Bayer to oversee a series of posters promoting the companies ability to recycle products on a grand scale, linking corporate responsibility with the environment.  

Subsequently, Bayer also oversaw another series of posters linking entitled "Great Ideas of Western Man".

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life."--Theodore Roosevelt. 

From the series Great Ideas of Western Man. 1959 Herbert Bayer 

“In a response to the Earth Day of 1970, the Container Corporation announced a design competition for a trademark for recycling in the spirit of Bayer. The competition was won by a student at the University of Southern California presenting the symbol at the Design Conference in Aspen (Figure 7).87 Now universally known, its history goes back to the Bauhaus ideal for living in harmony with the natural world.”

-Environmental History, Peter Anker  April 2007

original design for recycling

image" wikipedia

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