Glittering Gardens Designed by Andy Cao

Two new installations have emerged at Cornerstone Sonoma ..

...both designed by Andy Cao of Cao:Perrot Studio

Red Lantern

is a work in progress, to be completed within the next month: In time for a reception with Andy on November 20th and a no-host dinner co-sponsored by The Garden Conservancy.

Bai Yun / White Cloud

represents a transformation of Andy's initial work installed at Cornerstone - the Lullaby Garden.

I found it enchanting to get lost in the austere landscape of Bai Yun,

an atmosphere that effectively contrasts with the glittering clouds overhead. 

Vertical Garden Virtuoso!

The design of the garden is now quite apparent as the plants have produced lush growth 6 months after the installation. Many species are continuing to bloom as we enter the Bay Area's Fall season.

Drew School Vertical Garden October 2011 ... San Francisco 

Photos @ Alice Joyce

Look carefully in the upper bay window and you'll catch a glimpse of Patrick Blanc gesturing to a journalist before the reception and presentation.

The afternoon winds had picked up and the light was fading when I photographed this lupine bloom, waving about some 18 inches or so from the green wall. Patrick expressed delight in the progress of the plantings!

Read more about Patrick's visit on ... Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

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Patrick Blanc .. Tonight at Drew School

Tonight in San Francisco,

Patrick Blanc, aka His Greenness, will be speaking at Drew School, where he designed a vertical garden of native plants. I'll be reporting back after hearing his presentation.

It's always exciting to have a chance to talk with Patrick about his latest projects spanning the globe.

I'll allow time to photograph the garden before the cocktail party, having been able to document its progress since the installation in Spring. Photo below shows how it looked in July of this year. Quite a few plants were blooming.

Read more: Green Roofs ... Vertical Gardens Revisited ....

Elegant Amethyst .. Tricyrtis lasiocarpa

Statuesque Tricyrtis lasiocarpa...

[Photo © Alice Joyce]

has spread widely to fill a large bed with its delightful display, a show that goes on and on for many weeks. Looking ever so much like orchid flowers, this 'toad lily' has taken over much of the space where another variety, Tricyrtis hirta 'Variegata' had been growing and thriving. Clearly T. lasiocarpa is proving to be the more vigorous species.

Growing in Alice's Garden...

Lurie Garden Lyrical

Piet Oudolf plantings: September at Chicago's Lurie Garden - Millennium Park

Echinacea seedheads cosseted by grasses.

It's official: I've transitioned to the new Blogger interface and can attest to the enhanced features.

Like any change, it simply takes some getting used to, but I'd say it's definitely a step up from the old.

Late-Summer Gardens .. Chicago River Cruise

It seems I'm always looking forward to visiting my home town.

 Chicago is vibrant in its approach to arts and culture, a dream destination for anyone who appreciates historic and contemporary architecture. The brilliant river cruise I took last week was a high point! 


Visit  ... www.architecture.org to get the full details on the city's most informative architecture cruise:

 Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady Cruises 

  Leaving from the Riverside Gardens Dock – look for the blue awnings – on the lower level of the Michigan Avenue bridge at Wacker Drive.

Garden lovers must be sure to take a stroll down north Michigan Avenue toward Water Tower to see what's been planted. Lush, eye-catching displays are enlarged upon each year by temporary installations.

As the sign indicates, a new, upcoming event - Chicago Ideas Week will be held from October 10-16, to feature a host of speakers and innovative workshops taking place all around town. The event exemplifies the kind of energetic approach Chicago is known for.

A Most Beautiful Blue: Interlude at the Lurie Garden

Arrived home tired but enthused after from my annual pilgrimage to the Lurie Garden in Chicago's Millennium Park.

 My visits often coincide with the bloom of Bottle Gentian / Gentiana andrewsii 

[Photo © Alice Joyce]

Would anyone care to provide an I.D. for the tiny white sparkly blooms in the background? 

Gardening in the Blogosphere

Summer Bouquet: Zinnia 'Berry Basket' - a cultivar from Renee's Seeds that deserves high praise!

The zinnia plants have been blooming non-stop at T's community garden, where there has been no problem at all with mildew. T brings home big bunches that I take delight in. I'm lucky that he gardens in a plot in full sun, as Alice's Garden receives decreasing sunlight with each passing year; certainly not enough to grow vigorous annuals such as this.

I've spent some time this morning connecting with new bloggers via the Blotanical web site. It's a great place to discover gardening blogs of every kind, foodies to exotic gardens filled with tropicals. I find it to be a great place to find blogs from countries as diverse as the gardening realm itself.

Amber Lanterns & Fiery Sprays: Clematis and Cuphea

Rare Clematis tibetana, with its delicate amber lantern-like flowers, scrambles up the rather brittle stalks of Cuphea ignea in Alice's Garden. The silky seedheads are shown below!

Hummingbirds adore the fiery blooms of C. ignea, a tender perennial sub-shrub that thrives in my Northern California garden. I've grown various Cuphea species and cultivars, but C. ignea has proven to be the most vigorous of all, blooming for months on end except in the coldest weather. If you garden in a colder climate, I recommend growing C. ignea as an annual: it's a great selection for a wildlife habitat.

As my garden has matured, plants such as this Cuphea deserve pride of place in the garden's beds the borders, having proved themselves worthy of repetition in the garden design.

Clematis tibetana, a late-bloomer is only now putting on a show. It boasts lovely blue-green ferny foliage that's an asset throughout the season. And I love the fluffy seedheads that follow.

Of course the plant's tendrils have made it famous!

In a good year, a new plant will pop up in an unexpected spot, even as the 'mother' plant vanishes.

Andy Goldsworthy: Wood Line - San Francisco Presidio

Wood Line

[Photo by Monique Deschaines]

Aficionados of Andy Goldsworthy's artworks are legion. All the more reason to make your way to the Presidio of San Francisco, where the artist's newest installation has been created in a grove of eucalyptus. You'll find Wood Line just inside the park's Presidio Gate along Presidio Boulevard. The work represents a project commissioned by the FOR-SITE Foundation, partnering with the Presidio Trust.

Read about Goldsworthy's earlier Presidio installation: the Spire

Note: The Presidio Habitats exhibition featured on Bay Area Tendrils in April will close Oct. 2nd.

A permanent site-specific work by Goldsworthy is located in the entry courtyard

of the de Young Museum: Drawn Stone

"takes its inspiration from the unique character of California’s tectonic topography. Goldsworthy has created a continuous crack running north from the edge of the Music Concourse roadway in front of the museum, up the main walkway, into the exterior courtyard, and to the main entrance door. Along its path, this crack bisects -- and cleaves in two -- large rough-hewn stone slabs that serve as seating for museum visitors."