Citron Cachet! AIC Ptrizker Garden

Modern Wing of the Chicago Art Institute

I love the sharp tang of citron, or maybe I should say, chartreuse - the color of the chairs

in Chicago's Pritzker Garden.

It's the structure and evergreen forms of the landscape architecture that I'm drawn to when I visit this downtown setting.....

Creating an Oasis : Glorious Garden Fountains

Chicago's Millennium Park - Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa

Currently atop my short list of favored fountains.
All text and photos: Copyright © Alice Joyce

Think... Summer!

Fountains elevate the atmosphere of a garden, creating an oasis with a play of water... pleasing sounds that refresh. On a grand scale, fountains function as focal points within an expansive landscape design:

in historic settings...

or contemporary estate gardens.

Text and photos: Copyright Alice Joyce

A vineyard vignette encompassing a sequestered space for relaxation.

A contemporary terrace at a friend's home, away from the town.

Always a pleasant diversion to discover a chic garden shop while traveling,

or to be in the embrace of a formal parkland on a surprisingly sunny winter's day.

Arched Blades of Furcraea foetida 'Mediopicta' - Irwin's Garden

Design by Robert Irwin

I love the contemporary aesthetic of Robert Irwin's design of the Palm Garden...
...now on view in Los Angeles at the LACMA campus, where

Architect Renzo Piano has created yet another stunning museum building:

The Resnick Pavilion.

Cor-ten steel - pictured - is one of Irwin's preferred materials, having used it to construct planters and long rectangular raised beds. In outdoor projects, this type of steel weathers to a naturally deep-toned rust color.

The color of these hard-edge containers complements the garden's plant palette, with structural foliage in shades of blue, creamy yellow and green. The layout seems to pop! amidst the grassy sward of the garden's horizontal plane.

Artist Robert Irwin burst on the horticultural scene as the creator of

a controversial garden at the Getty Center,

revisited on Bay Area Tendrils in 2009.

Wing House Landscape: Embraced by Nature

Wing House Detail - Architect, David Hertz

Above: Zauschneria & Below: Ceanothus (Photos: Wikipedia)

Countless indigenous wildflowers rise up in the Santa Monica Mountains. While exploring the Wing Ranch landscape with horticulturist Aaron Landworth, I spied a host of blue varieties of California Lilacs appearing alongside the pathways, and white-blooming species, as well.

Ceanothus crassifolius

Having talked with Patrick Blanc only last week about his inclusion of the hummingbird magnet, Zauschneria (Epilobium canum) for the design of the new Drew School Vertical Garden, it was exhilarating to find myself in a natural habitat where this and so many native species prosper.

Francie Rehwald's incredible Wing House is nearing completion. Driving up to the house's hilltop site, one is struck by the breathtaking 360-degree views: The use of a 747 jet in the construction sets these buildings apart. Such an amazing project! 

You're about to enter a totally unique setting with a noteworthy history, associated with the artist/designer, Tony Duquette.

Collection of tumbled glass fragments & abalone shells to be used in

decorative mosaic elements.

Stone boulders serve as impressive garden seating.

Hidden in Russian Hill: Fay Park

San Francisco's crookedest ... Lombard Street, Russian Hill -- A serious photo op for tourists.

Photo: Wikipedia

Fay Park: Open Daily 10am to 4pm

Continue down Lombard Street a bit to Leavenworth and you'll discover a tiny, albeit, delightful city park designed by the Mid-Century Modern landscape architect, Thomas Church.

California Garden & Landscape History Society Web Site Photo: Copyright Susan Chamberlin

Thomas Church is surely best known for his design of an iconic American landscape: El Novillero, the Donnell Garden. Although I live nearby, I've yet to be free on a day when the private garden has opened for special events.

Fay Park also holds a unique place in American landscape architecture, as it's believed to be the only residential garden designed by Church that is now regularly open to the community and visitors, alike.

San Francisco Parks & Recreation Department worked to restored Fay Park. A neighborhood group, the Friends of Fay Park helps to keep the garden looking lovely year-round. The city has been enriched by the very special bequest of Mrs. Mary Fay Berrigan, who gifted her home and garden to San Francisco. Should you visit the city by the bay, hop off the cable car, or walk up from North Beach: You'll want to take some time to relax in the serene oasis of this park, where beds of roses bloom for months on end.

**Fay Park is a popular setting for weddings, so you may find a celebration in progress.**

Amazed by the Beauty! A Winter Day at Quixote Winery

The Stags Leap palisades create a dramatic backdrop, while seedheads of ornamental grasses soften the surroundings on a winter's day at ...



UNDER CONSTRUCTION....

Quixote Winery, located in the Stags Leap AVA - American Viticultural Area - of Napa Valley.

Former owner Carl Doumani, an avid art lover, once said: "The minute I saw [Hundertwasser's design) I knew it was what I wanted."

Playfully colorful, flowing and undulating, Quixote's design represents a rare example in the U.S. of a site (buildings and grounds) created by the artist, Hundertwasser. Always aware and concerned about the environment, Hundertwasser often added green roofs to structures.

Hundertwasser's paintings and architectural work incorporate an organic aesthetic meant to enrich one's everyday experience, in sharp contrast to the stark, geometric architecture that he loathed.

Ornamental grasses planted throughout add a naturalism to a landscape

designed by Landscape Architect Jack Chandler.

The Quixote vineyards are organically farmed.

"The kind of day that makes you want to live forever."

I basked in the warmth of the Irish: In this instance, the above greeting by Quixote's Wine Club Concierge, Ireland-born Anne White.

Anne's hospitality will enhance your visit to the winery: open by appointment only.

A note: In 2000, Hundertwasser died on a voyage on the RMS Queen Elizabeth, and is buried in New Zealand.

Quixote produces finely crafted Petite Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Curving.. Flowing.. Sinuous Design - Wave Garden Part II

Another look at the Wave Garden: Hardscape, artwork and plantings. Kellee Adams, the plant-scape designer selected species from the 5 Mediterranean regions of the world to enliven a drought-tolerant landscape.

The rosettes of Aeonium 'Sunburst' effectively repeat the harmonious lines appearing throughout the garden, where Victor Amador, the garden's third-generation concrete contractor/designer worked intuitively, applying an organic approach to the creation of walls, stairs, walkways, and special focal points.

The curving planes of a wall embrace a bevy of drought tolerant plants.

The alluring, sinuous lines of hand-crafted iron work are outstanding.

Landscape / Hardscape - Rancho La Puerta

Sunlight through stained glass ... interior wall, Las Piedras Environmental Center

The prevalence of natural rock formations influenced the design of...

Las Piedras Environmental Education Center at Parque del Professor 

Tecate, Mexico .. a project of Fundación La Puerta

Landscape architect Ron Lovinger designed the parkland (we'll be returning here soon!),

while more recently, landscape architect Enrique Ceballos of Rancho La Puerta

contributed to the design of the education building that school children adore.

Sunset ...  foothills of Mount Kuchumaa.

 Walking the grounds of Rancho La Puerta with landscape architect Enrique Ceballos,

we came upon a casita with not one, 

but two of these beautifully constructed benches adorning the patio.

Imagine resting on such a bench, 

watching the advance of rose-flushed clouds as the skies darken.

One picture... worth a thousand words: Typical of the Rancho's fine stonework. 

Tecomaria capensis .. a habitat plant that qualifies as a hummingbird magnet!

Our group delighted in the Rancho's friendly felines.

Gaillardia .. a brilliant bloomer native to Mexico.

Stay tuned... much more to follow!

Link to Part I:  A Passion for Life .. Deborah Szekely

Robert Irwin Design: Getty Center Central Garden

Artist Robert Irwin designed the Getty Center Central Garden in Los Angeles. 

The Azalea Maze is a focal point, while curving swathes of corten steel function as the garden's contoured retaining walls. Seated on a bench nestled in a secluded niche, I could appreciate the rusty patina of the metal, a sharp contrast to the sensory delights of flowers and foliage.

Prominent fossilized remains are a tactile quality of The Getty Center's Roman classic travertine, which covers a staggering 1.2 million square feet of walls and pavement.

Staggered levels of terraced planting create an amphitheater-like setting in the pool area.
Unusual plant combinations reflect Irwin's statement:

"...the garden is like a painting, not so much concerned with species and origin as with color, texture and conditioned relations."

The garden layout echoes a natural ravine in the existing topography.

Photos © Alice Joyce

Zigzag walkways traverse the hillside's gentle descent. Reaching the plaza, water cascades over the stone wall, directing one's focus down toward the Central Garden's reflecting pool.

"Listen to the changing sound of the stream... boulders have been placed...to create a sound sculpture."

Barbara Hepworth sculpture below:

It's easy to spend a good part of a day at The Getty, taking in the exhibitions and outdoor sculpture gardens, enjoying a meal al fresco,  not to mention, adding your own opinion to the ongoing dialogue about Robert Irwin's Central Garden.

Flamboyant Flora at The Getty Center - Part I

What is a Weed? - Native Plants at Hess Collection Winery

What is a weed?

A Plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Hess Collection Winery and Art Museum

View looking down on the courtyard from the visitor center.

The garden features a design by acclaimed landscape architect Peter Walker, with plantings by John Greenlee, noted expert in grass ecology.

"The Hess Collection Courtyard is designed as an integral part of our mountain landscape and a commitment to care for the land we farm. Our vineyards are rimmed by meadows and redwood forests, and although our garden aesthetic is wild and natural, it is well-tended to maintain the experience of a lushly undulating alpine meadow. Native and exotic grasses and ornamentals are chosen for variation in height and seasonal interest. Volunteer plants surprise us in Spring, seedheads are allowed to dry and drop their contents in Fall. Thus, the garden is allowed to propagate itself and actively evolve.

Because the Eastern-most boundary of the naturally occurring redwoods is here in the Mayacamas Mountains, we incorporated these trees with Western sword ferns to echo the nearby woods."

Plantings encourage beneficial insects, taking in native species of common yarrow, Western columbine, bush anemone, creeping ceanothus and blue beach aster.

To add further color, Mimulus 'Pumpkin,' Purdy's Foothill penstemon, Salvia cleavlandii & S. spathacea were selected, along with yellow-eyes grass and Zauschneria californica.

On a recent summer day I made my way to Napa wine country to revisit the artfully arranged, Modernist landscape at The Hess Collection Winery.

A rectilinear pool and wisteria-draped pergola wrap around the garden's central layout of pristine decomposed gravel pathways: Their angular, dynamic pattern extends an invitation to enjoy the spirited plantings where butterflies hover and dragonflies dart overhead.

The garden holds a special place in my memory, having first encountered it while researching the Winery Gardens chapter for West Coast Gardenwalks - before the pieces fell into place for my move from Chicago to California.

(The Hess Collection garden also features in Gardenwalks in California, INSIDERS' Guide, 2005.)

Garden Contrasts - A Garden Installation

Garden Contrasts

Design: OVSLA

Cornerstone Sonoma's garden

creators make up an international roster of eminent landscape architects and designers, while the gallery-style gardens express ideas from whimsical to lyrical to more weighty concerns.

In September of 2006, Cornerstone joined with the Garden Conservancy to host a series of design talks, resulting in a lively discourse on the art of the garden.

A new garden designed by the firm of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates premiered in conjunction with the seminar.  James van Sweden, an influential figure associated with the New American Garden style, and partner Sheila Brady follow a philosophy that references natural meadows, an ecologically minded, low- maintenance approach, and the skillful uniting of informal plantings within a refined hardscape.

The OVSLA design for Cornerstone achieves a lovely clarity in its division of space. Abetted by a diagonal arrangement of 'Tuscan Blue' rosemary, forming a long hedge, the fragrant shrubbery effectively bisects the garden's rectangular layout. Along the boundary to the rear of the hedge, the garden yields to a gathering of olive trees, and plantings of herbaceous perennials that pay homage to the shifting seasons.

In describing the concept, Brady pointed out the design's interplay with geometries: The rectangle... strongly contrasted with the diagonal... and a circular overlay, resulting in a play of light and shade. 

Meander along the pathway and your focus turns from the sculpted multi-stems of the olives, to a vibrant juxtaposition: Within a monolithic field of grasses - punctuated by California poppies - a massing of winter-flowering Agave attenuata emerges in a wedge-shaped, sunny corner. The demonstrative succulent rosettes of the agaves offset the lacy leaves of perennials such as ferns and columbines, growing along the sheltered area behind the trees.

Earth Walk, A Garden Installation

Earth Walk

A garden installation by Pamela Burton

"Even though it is right under our feet, the earth is a living organism that we generally ignore."   Pamela Burton

Built in 2004 when Cornerstone Sonoma opened as the Cornerstone Festival of Gardens,

landscape architect Pamela Burton's installation, Earth Walk, demonstrates an emotionally resonant physicality. 

At ground level, bales of straw contribute to a sense of enclosure, while the space itself reveals a massive wedge carved out of the terrain.

Approaching, the eye focuses on a central expanse of billowy Mexican feather grass. Enter, and follow the inclined ground plane alongside the grassy swath to the floor of the garden... where a tranquil pool appears.

The raw beauty of Burton's design - created from a few fundamental elements - allows visitors to experience the profound materiality of the exposed earth. 

Each time I visit, I'm swept away by the way Burton blurs any distinctions that may exist between gardens & art:  The installation standing as an elegant sculpture. Moreover, a poetic rendition of a garden.

For more on Cornerstone, click below:

http://bayareatendrils.blogspot.com/2009/04/ornaments-in-garden-cornerstone-sonoma.html

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. 

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum

Eastern Australia Garden

Anigozanthos: Kangaroo paw - Photo © Alice Joyce

A fusion of horticulture and hardscape becomes a gateway to another realm in the Eastern Australia Garden at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way.

Designed by Bernard Trainor, the garden takes its character from "materials both hard and soft," as Trainor articulates in his original concept for the space. A stroll through the garden reveals how fully Trainor succeeds in his aim to inspire garden visitors with an exciting collection of plant material from Eastern Australia, laid out to create "a sense of place."

An overall framework of flowing, decomposed granite pathways center upon a rock circle, where the artistry of Jennifer Madden and Jeffrey Reed of Reed Madden Designs emerges in a refined sculptural setting. The circle focuses attention on distinctive wall forms, poured in place. These concrete walls exhibit a warm-hued palette, and the gently curving, fluid striations of rock formations, which outline a distinctive, contemplative area surrounded by unusual flora: the Reed Madden vision, "echoing the ancient geology of Australia." 

Distinctive scenes unfold in Trainor's design, with a dry stream bed, akin to an arroyo, serving as a sinuous link in the garden plan. 

Visitors encounter the twisting trunk and peeling bark of a venerable Malaleuca linariifolia, and an aging bracelet honeymyrtle, Malaleuca armillaris, set apart by a reclining trunk that sprawls along the ground; its angular limbs gesturing unrestrained. And the craggy bark, a conspicuous contrast to feathery foliage.

Wall by Reed Madden Designs

Valencia, Spain - Garden of the Hesperides

The Garden of the Hesperides

Photo © Copyright Alice Joyce

Valencia offers garden travelers and aficionados of modern landscape architecture a trove of settings to fill their days. Strolling away from the city center along Calle de Quart, you'll pass through the ancient towers on the way to the botanical gardens, appearing on your right. Across the street from the gardens, I booked a room at Chill Art Hotel Jardin Botanico.

Do leave a comment, telling me what you think of the hotel's web site design; evoking a dreamy delirium, or perhaps some other mood entirely: 
http://www.hoteljardinbotanico.com 

The El Carmen neighborhood is an artistic hub; a place to enjoy a bite to eat in a small cafe frequented by Valencians. My time in Valencia was coming to an end when I experienced an exhilarating finale to my exploration of Spain's third largest city. That's when I discovered The Garden of the Hesperides, adjacent to the University's Jardi Botanic, but tucked away on Gaspar Bono street.

The Hesperides helps to define the sophistication and spirit of Valencia in the new Millennium, with its refreshingly modern landscape design: A layout animated by the historical significance of its Mediterranean plantings, water features, and sculptural focal point.

Garden Design: M.T. Santamaria, A.Gallud, M. Del Rey, C. Campos

Enter the confines of this walled retreat and you escape from the nonstop traffic of a nearby thoroughfare. Two concrete gates swivel into a locked or unlocked position; the material given textural treatments that set polished surfaces against raw sections. Inlaid with linear strips of black and cream-colored marble, the gates have a presence that calls to mind vast canvases in an art galley. Underfoot, the walkway contains subtle leaf patterns suggestive of fossil remains.

The landscape's bold geometry caters to botanically inclined visitors with a composition incorporating rows of fragrant lavender and germander shrubs, bisected by walls of emerald green foliage interspersed with palm trees.

Exhuberant bougainvillea clad pergolas provide a shady respite, while an espalier of 'Toscana' lemons basks in the sun. Water gently flows within the angular outlines of a rill, the channel dipping beneath the ground, and ultimately finding its way into a rectangular pond.

On the expansive terraces, a lovely Salix babylonica weeps, in alliance with 'Metamorfosis' ...a sculpture by Miklos A. Palfy.