Garden Alchemy in a Provencal Setting

Le Jardin de l'Alchimiste

(Above photo courtesy the Garden of the Alchemist)

Revisiting an all-time favorite ... A garden rich with atmosphere,

adjoining a lovely country inn located in the village of Eygalieres,

Update:  Mas de la Brune ~ The garden and inn are no long open, sadly.

I pay homage to the amazing landscape in a long post on:

Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

21st Century Gardens .. at the Marin Art and Garden Center

21st Century Gardens: Movements, Trends, Projects 

A Presentation on Landscape as Art.

This Thursday I'll be presenting a talk to the Garden Society of Marin.

My musings on landscape at art will braid together gardens designed by Ossart & Maurieres,

land artist Alain Idoux, 

and tree sculptor - work pictured above - Marc Nucera: the subject of a recent book.

My talk takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Marin Art & Garden Center 

Arrive early and you can stroll through the lovely gardens on this historic property.

Photo: San Francisco Chronicle - for my Garden Walks Column.

To read more about the MAAGC gardens in Ross, California,

link below to one of my San Francisco Chronicle  

'Garden Walks' columns.

Another contemporary Paris parkland that has been featured on 

Alice's Garden Travel Buzz ~ click on link below:

Parc André Citröen

gives rise to compelling design elements that are highlighted in the presentation,

along with major private gardens in Provence created in the new millennium. 

Clamor .. Murmur .. Plash! Potpourri of Fountains

The Alchemist's Garden 

Provence, France

Still pools, cascades, clamoring waterfalls & splashing fountains.

A collection of magical water gardens photographed in Spring, Summer and Fall, 

appearing on Bay Area Tendrils in 2009. 

To connect to original feature, click on garden link.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Benziger Winery - Biodynamic Gardens

Glen Ellen, California

Classical Chinese Garden

Portland, Oregon

Words and photos by Alice Joyce, Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

The theft of content and photos on the Internet is widespread.

For now, I'll be taking steps to insert links back to my site.

Darioush Winery

Napa, California

Parc André Citröen 

Paris, France

Garden Fever .... An Agreeable Condition

In a reflective mood since receiving the award yesterday on Blotanical,

for Best California Blog.

Although a few have been deleted, 

the tally shows 130 features on Bay Area Tendrils since January 13th, 2009.

One problem is not yet solved: 

I've yet to convert my library of thousands of slides from garden visits.

 Only a very few have been scanned, like a vignette from

Le Jardin de l'Alchimiste in Provence.

I can never convey the sensory euphoria of fragrance and texture, the light and atmosphere

experienced while alone in the White Garden; totally immersed in its beauty. 

One of my first features included a scanned photograph of the doyen of English gardening shortly before his death: Christopher Lloyd, unphased by the rain, leads us from one garden room to the next on a tour of Great Dixter.

When I registered on Blotanical, I listed Great Dixter as the garden I wished most to see, 

and that I had, in fact seen it.

Actually, not true. 

Garden Fever is an agreeable condition, but forceful in its way. 

There are innumerable gardens I hope to visit, despite fond memories of 

Great Dixter's perfect presentation of Arts & Crafts structure with contemporary panache.

A garden writer can't go wrong when featuring a major historic site of exquisite resonance:

Spain's Alhambra & gardens of El Generalife.

However...

when Bay Area Tendrils Garden Travel

 features a stunning Modernist landscape, 

such as the expansive

 Parc André Citroën

 in Paris, the response is generally less enthusiastic.

I love every type of garden, perhaps in equal measure.

I'll have to think about it, but this may be the case.

Events such as The Late Show Gardens

.... inaugurated this September in California Wine Country, 

give me reason to ponder and write about important issues such as climate change,

while soaking up ideas, innovative designs, 

and the opportunity to peruse the best of the best new plants.

The photo above - a detail - is from opening day of The Late Show Gardens,

the day after I first photographed 

 The Grow Melt Project 

during the Preview Party. 

Roasting temperatures in Sonoma caused the wall of ice to melt rapidly.

Today in my garden, Scrophularia 'Lemon and Lime' ...

I'm a plant geek, what can I say.

- Congrats to all the Blotanical finalists and winners -

It's a great group, good wishes to my California cohorts!

Town Mouse and Country Mouse

Daffodil Planter

Tulips in the Woods

Cindees Garden