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Container array .. Great Dixter
England
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Via Aqua .. a Modern Approach - 2010 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

Via Aqua

Via Aqua - Design by Huettl Landscape Architecture

2010 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

I'm drawn to modern design, although I've never had the opportunity to live in a contemporary space.

Joesph Huettl's approach to Via Aqua combines rectilinear elements and a minimal aesthetic,

resulting in an understated, elegant setting.

Above photo by Huettl L.A.

The garden's open steel grating forms a floating deck; the industrial nature of the material and the stone patio playing off the pop of color in the gorgeous chaises longues.

Overall, the reflective quality of the water animates the design.

www.huettldesign.com

Wildflower Walk .. Mt. Tamalpais .. Marin County

Pacific Coast Iris ... quite tiny but what a presence!

Wildflower season on the trails around Mt. Tamalpais, and Marin County's Bon Tempe Lake.

Lemon yellow blooms ... Coast sun cup, perhaps.

Mt Tamalpais

Alligator lizard: Didn't mean to frighten you!

Life cycle of the woodland: A stumpery to please Prince Charles.

Abstraction: Rusty orange rock face.

Baby blue ... brightening a shady spot.

Cynoglossum grande

Garden Folly for the New Millennium- 2010 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

The Living Room ... Organic Mechanics

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show 2010

James Pettigrew and Sean Stout, designers ... aka Organic Mechanics

create consistently fresh and innovative designs.

The Organic Mechanics 2010 show garden is no exception:

The Living Room seems calculated to captivate the senses, and in the manner of visionary work, provokes discourse. The elements came together in ways that challenged me to consider the scope and language of modern garden design. An experience I celebrate in design that looks forward, not back.

A detail of the building's circular watery surround, enlivened by shiny blue glass spheres - The Living Room is a garden folly that takes the the form of a cube, with exterior walls outfitted in a panoply of richly textural succulents. You're drawn to enter across a small circular moat, accessed via large stepping stones (repurposed aged griding wheels, if I'm right).

Tongue-in-cheek, the designers suggest thinking outside the box in their description of the design. Thinking, rather, "around the box." The entryway presents an inviting contrast, with the warm tones of natural wood

outlining the doorway.

A peek inside, where the table setting presents an inviting tableau,

and the impact of a stunning chandelier is enhanced by its mirror image.

Notice the pop of turquoise showing up on the right.....?

Detail showing a corner of the folly & shallow circular watery surround.

Step inside....

An engaging shade of turquoise makes the rectangular window cut-outs pop!

Gold Meadow Award Winning Garden

2010 San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

Link to cool youtube video:

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show & The Living Room