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!

Contemporary and Naturalistic... Open Days Visit: The Garden Conservancy

The Garden Conservancy Open Days: Marin County

On a most unusual, rainy June day I visited a landscape designed by Studio Green: A 'Bay Friendly Certified Garden' designed with an awareness for water conservation, wildlife habitat, and the nurturing of healthy soil.

I found it enlightening to hear landscape architect John Merten talk about his approach to the project, and how he implemented the landscape design with a no-mow meadow, and native plantings that include Coyote Brush and Berkeley Sedge, California Fescue & Gray Rush (Baccharis pilularis, Carex tumulicola, Festuca californica & Juncus patens).

Had the process not been explained to me, of how the terrain of the creek bank was stabilized and reconfigured, I would have assumed the expansive site was natural and untouched.

Majestic oak trees overlook the stunning contemporary architecture of the home's horizontal design. While on the Open Day, a natural stream gurgled and sputtered as visitors climbed along a path up the hilly terrain to a bocce court and picnic area with a beautiful view over the property. The contouring of the land added the element of rainwater runoff management.

The property's sinuous concrete and dirt trail appears natural, as well, blending into the land in an unobtrusive way.

Visit The Garden Conservancy web site to learn more about the Open Days Program

and the Open Days Directory: 2011 Guide to America's Gardens

Sculpture! Chelsea Flower Show 2011

Chelsea Flower Show 2011: A look at selected sculptural works on view at this year's show.

Above: Laura Antebi - Wire Sculptures

Tom Hare installation: 'The Power of Plants' on exhibit in The Great Pavilion.

Physalis alkekengi: the Japanese Lantern or Cape Gooseberry is said to have use as a sore throat remedy; also to treat eczema, among the plant's medicinal properties.

I particularly liked this eye-intriguing work by Tom Hare - aka Willowman, combining willow elements woven onto a steel framework. At the base, a naturalistic planting, along with woven willow honeybees.

Photos © Alice Joyce

RNIB Garden - Royal National Institute of Blind People:

A silvery gilded figurative work, although not readily apparent, revealed itself to be a 'living' sculpture when slight movements could be detected.

Exuberant oversize blooms...

A discretely minimal form emerged as a central fountain in the M&G Garden designed by Bunny Guinness.

Photos © Alice Joyce

One side note: Strolling on the streets of London near the Victoria Embankment Gardens, a noteworthy architectural element loomed large.

On offer at Chelsea, works in most every style and material.

Tom Stogdon Sculpture

Photos © Alice Joyce

Sculpture figured prominently in all the major show gardens.

For more on design and horticulture at Chelsea, visit my website:  Alice's Garden Travel Buzz and click on 'Chelsea Flower Show' in the Topics.

100,000 Flowers Thailand Exhibit: Chelsea Flower Show

The petals of more than 100,000 flowers were used to compose the elements of a dramatic exhibit mounted by...

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanic Garden

Brilliant! Winner of Gold at ...

The Chelsea Flower Show!

the captivating design brought together cultural elements in the manner of Thai flower arranging.

A stunning sight to behold.

Overview of the lavishly colorful, vibrant exhibit.

'The Temple of the Dawn'

Thai Shadow Puppets - Fantastic Thailand Exhibit (Photos © Alice Joyce)

More horticultural displays -- Raymond Evison's Clematis 

And...

David Austin Roses  

in The Great Pavilion at Chelsea 2011

Look for more Show Gardens, Art and Design Trends to appear in the days ahead.

There is nothing quite like the Chelsea Flower Show!

David Austin Roses New Introductions: Chelsea Flower Show

David Austin Rose Gardens

Albrighton, Wolverhampton,

England.

'Wollerton Old Hall'

A new rose named for a beautifully designed & planted Arts & Crafts-style English garden, a favorite of mine.

Do visit should you be traveling round Shropshire.

These brilliant new rose varieties were introduced by David Austin Roses at the Chelsea Flower Show 2011.

I'll admit to being more than partial to Austin's 'English Roses' .. with their lovely flower forms and heady fragrances.

'William and Catherine'

Photos: David Austin Roses

'Queen Anne'

'Fighting Temeraire'

Look for an upcoming post on the David Austin Roses' display in the Pavilion at Chelsea!

Fantastical Irish Sky Garden: Chelsea 2011

Largest ever show garden: Fantastical realm created by Diarmuid Gavin for Chelsea 2011

Irish Sky Garden

Read more on... Alice's Garden Travel Buzz

Brilliant! Best Show Garden - Chelsea 2011

RHS Chelsea Flower Show: A Gold for designer Cleve West and Best Show Garden award!

San Francisco to London: The Chelsea Flower Show

Alluring, perfectly grown Alliums & Eremurus

(I believe the display pictured to be Devine Nurseries of East Yorkshire)

It's official: I've been quoted by The Bad Tempered Gardener herself: Anne Wareham

stating, in essence, that other flower shows pale in comparison with the glorious horticulture and panache of the Chelsea Flower Show.

Home... after two weeks in England, planned around an invitation to attend Chelsea's Press Day.

There's much to share, taking in the countryside, too: All to appear in the days & weeks ahead.

You'll find a special horticultural highlight from Kevock Garden Plants 
...posted on my web site: Alice's Garden Travel Buzz ...

It's a rarity I've never before encountered.

Howell Mountain Hillside: O'Shaughnessy Winery

O'Shaughnessy Winery Vista: Slopes of Howell Mountain in the hills above St. Helena.

(Photos © Alice Joyce)

Jack Chandler, Landscape Architect

Spent a lively day buzzing around Napa Wine Country with Jack Chandler, looking at various projects of Jack's spanning private estates to inviting wineries.

One project we toured, O'Shaughnessy Winery in Angwin was new to me. Difficult to imagine a more beautiful site than this East Napa County landscape, with its terraces that take full advantage of the view.

An off-the-beaten path locale for wine loving cognescenti, the winery boasts a scented entry path lined in fragrant roses, befitting a tasting of their 2007 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, which proved to be delectably stimulating. A full-bodied melding of blackberry and chocolate, blueberry, black raspberry and plum notes with cinnamon and vanilla aromas that distinguish the varietal, there are still more complex flavors to tease the palate and emerge at the finish. ((A Robert Parker rating of 95 points.))

Landscape architecture by Jack Chandler.

Sanctuary for Succulents: Ruth Bancroft Garden Reprise

View with Hesperaloe parviflora -- Photos: Brian Kemble

Echinopsis hybrid

Displaying an originality that outshines traditional garden settings, The Ruth Bancroft Garden reveals an eccentric cast of characters and an enthusiasm for succulent plants that traces back to the 1950s, when Mrs. Bancroft first began collecting potted specimens.

View with Agave salmiana

Mrs. Bancroft celebrated her 100th birthday, and another milestone is just around the corner!

Agave celsii Flower

Bancroft Garden Views

Garden Encounters with Wildlife!

Strutting in a hidden Garden in Granada ... Carmen de los Martires

Gargoyle .. Grotesque? A creature encountered

 in Valencia's Turia Gardens,

keeping watch over the Bridge of the Guardian Angel.

Perhaps you can identify this lizard species.

Enjoying a sunbath in the Anza-Borrego desert landscape, while hiding in plain sight:

Its coloration perfectly matches the environment.

[My thanks to Hugh at Rock Paper Lizard

for helping to I.D. the Desert Iguana, Dipsosaurus dorsalis]

We're certain we saw this roadrunner in the hotel parking lot when we were in Desert Hot Springs a few years ago. Such fun to see him again!

Hedgehog (cactus:-)

Worth the Wait... Mexican Lily - Countdown to Bloom

Beschorneria yuccoides : Emerging Bud of Mexican Lily

Photo © Alice Joyce

Another milestone in Alice's Garden: Truly, I nearly fell over the other day when I happened to glance at the garden's one and only Beschorneria yuccoides. Emerging after a decade more or less, the succulent with gorgeous leaf color is only now preparing to send up a flowering stalk, which will tower above the strappy leaves.

In 2004 I witnessed a stunning mass planting of the species growing in the Mill Valley garden of artist/photographer Don Worth: Featured in one of my 'Garden Walks' columns for the San Francisco Chronicle, Don's garden opened to the public at the time as part of the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Program.

You can read the original story by clicking here.

There's an interesting back story, as well.

Don and I crossed paths 2 decades prior when I studied for a Master of Arts in Sculpture, and he was a senior faculty member in the Art Department at San Francisco State University. Life so often seems to surprise us with such serendipitous encounters.

Art in Nature: Presidio Habitats Extended!

Good news! The Presidio Habitats Exhibition has been extended through summer.

If you're in the Bay Area, or have planned a visit to San Francisco, you'll want to stop by The Presidio to take a self-guided tour or guided walk to explore the diverse approaches of these

temporary, outdoor site-based installations set amidst the Fort Scott area.

The Presidio is a beautiful landscape with a fascinating history. Amazing to think that for more than 200 years the land was a military site, encompassing Spanish, Mexican, and U.S. eras. Architecture buffs will appreciate the significance of the Presidio's buildings, now part of a wide-ranging preservation project.

http://www.presidio.gov/history/history/

And near the Presidio's Arguello Gate, you won't want to miss seeing

Andy Goldworthy's installation: The Spire

Regarding the special PRESIDIO HABITATS exhibition: Each work is about a 'habitat' meant to serve "an animal client," as the brochure explains.

Before walking the grounds to see the 11 installations, you'll want to begin at the Exhibition Pavilion where a larger group of submitted proposals are on view. For more information, visit:

http://www.presidio.gov/experiences/habitats/

The show is organized by the FOR-SITE FOUNDATION - web site:

http://www.for-site.org/

Desolate, Yet Strangely Compelling...

Heading south toward Anza-Borrego State Park...

Photo © Alice Joyce

....a short detour from the highway leads to a desolate stretch of seashore, where the Salton Sea appears like a futuristic, post-apocalyptic landscape.

Abandoned buildings and heaps of trash surround the area where we parked the car, while on the northeastern shoreline across the water, a State Recreation Area spans 14 miles along Highway 111. To read more about this strangely compelling inland body of water, its history and current conditions, visit the Salton Sea home page on: www.sci.sdsu.edu/