Exotic Gardens for California: A Garden Conservancy Seminar

Alhambra - Generalife Gardens: Painting by Ludwig Hans Fisher 1885

Photos: The Garden Conservancy

The Garden Conservancy and Ruth Bancroft Garden will present a fascinating seminar, looking at Moorish, Mughal, and Mediterranean Influence on California Gardens.

Royal Mosque Tile from Isfahan, Safavid period, from Patrick Hunt's Presentation

The seminar: Gift of Persia

will take place on July 15 at The Gardens at Heather Farm in Walnut Creek. To read more about the exceptional agenda and speakers for the day-long event, see the June 19th feature on...

Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Courtyard Garden in Rajasthan

You can register online

or phone The Garden Conservancy office in San Francisco at 415.441.4300.

The event moves to the Ruth Bancroft Garden for a wine reception, where participants can hear the garden's curator Brian Kemble share his horticultural expertise!

A Garden Without Plants - A Dialogue - the Art of Gardens

Photo: lostlandscape

I have a stacks of research material, photos, et. al, for upcoming posts, along with the demands of the garden at this time of year, and attempting to stay on top of myraid details life seems to be throwing my way this week.

Still, I'm compelled to mention a dialogue that I find mesmerizing. It's taking place on a blog I follow for its keen photographic vision, insightful aesthetic viewpoint, and appreciation for bold, beautiful plants:  Lost in the Landscape.

http://www.soenyun.com/Blog/

The April 24, '09 post,  landscaping without plants features the central plaza of the Salk Institute, designed by Louis Kahn.

To my eye, the photos by lostlandscape impart a distinctive connection with Islamic garden design. Yet in the lead photo - a singular view of Kahn's plaza - no greenery appears. 

Despite the starkness, I agree with James Golden's comment,  "I'd call it a garden even with no plants."

For Country Mouse, it's more "... like a place where nuclear fuel might be produced. By robots."

(That produced a hearty chuckle, but I'm uncertain if the spirit of fun was intentional.)

Read the entire post.  

Click on the panoramic view.  

Perhaps you'll feel compelled to join in the dialogue. 

Islamic Gardens.... Paradise on Earth

Alhambra .. Torre de las Damas

 Copyright ©Alice Joyce

Paradise on earth.... an idealized world hidden within the walls of the Islamic garden.

Should the Arab world be outside your reach, you'll find that most memorable effect fully realized in the gardens of the Alhambra, looming over the city of Granada in southern Spain's Andalusia region.

Despite the crowds you'll encounter, a tour of Granada rightly pivots upon the Alhambra's wonders: The immense hilltop complex standing as a testament to eras of occupation by Romans, Goths, and the control of Christian monarchs after 1492. Yet, the grandeur of the Alhambra monument resides in neither the surviving citadel nor the palace of Charles V, but rather in the Medieval epoch's Nasrid palaces, and the exquisite gardens of the sultan's retreat, El Generalife - created by Muslim rulers.

Avid hikers may choose to follow a maze of narrow, winding streets to the monument's gateway, but a bouncing ascent aboard a minibus is the usual transport from Granada's centrally located Plaza Nueva.

Subsequent postings will delve into the architecture, ornamentation and plantings of this remarkable setting.

To read more...