Is a particular plant a weed? Is a garden a work of art? And who gets to decide? If you’ve read our recent rantings, you’ve likely noticed these questions do not have simple answers. The answers vary, depending on the gardener. Many gardeners (like me) learn their land slowly. At first, they may plant one […]
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Everybody's a Critic, Real Gardens
Those of you who were Twin Peaks fans will recognize the title quote. And while my topic is not quite as scary as being stalked by Bob, the fact that. […]
“Sucking is the first step to being sorta good at something.” My border in early JulyI love this quote from reddit founder Alexis Ohanian because. […]
This past week I was in Alnarp, Sweden to present at the International Urban Tree Diversity Conference. Lots of interesting talks, posters and field t. […]
The Royal Hort Society is holding a debate I’d love to hear. The topic is: “Are Gardens Art?” and get a load of the line-up of debaters — a critic, a designer, a plantsperson and a philosopher: Andrew Wilson (Chair of the debate panel) – Award winning Garden Designer,...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
For decades,Washingtonians have known about a Marc Chagall mosaic in the back garden of a private residence in Georgetown and have strained to see mere glimpses of it from over the garden wall. Homeowner Evelyn Nef and her husband had been great friends with the Chagalls, who spent summers...
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Just in time for local wildflower season (finally), the Burchfield Penney Art Museum is mounting a show of Charles Burchfield’s early botanical drawings. Along with them, they have the models made by another artist, Paul Marchand, who specialized in dioramas and other 3D displays for the local science museum’s...
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We are what we eat, right? What we wear says a lot about us, doesn’t it? Basically, everything we put out into the world says something about who we are, and people are reading those cues all of the time. So during this holiday season, I did a thing...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, CRRRITIC
A lot of us gardening addicts think we live in our own little particularized universe, isolated by our allegiance to perennials, seeds, bulbs, vines, compost, mulch, pruners, trowels, and topsoil. Nobody we know cares about gardening as much as we do. I know I feel that way. That’s why,...
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I recently ventured to Virginia to a place I’d never been before – the Pentagon Memorial to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Its design by two young architects had been selected in a heated international competition by a group that included family members of the victims, as...
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Not the kind that goes on your finger. We’re talking boulders here, folks. Specifically, one large boulder in the middle of a lawn. What’s up with that? What statement is it making? Is it being displayed as a natural sculpture? Is it being used to add a little textural...
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This is the time when the newly emerged hostas look their freshest (“June Frost,” below)—no slug damage, leaves torn by the sprinkler, or other signs of wear yet. It’s also the weekend of our annual art festival, which brings “sunshine artists” from far and wide into my neighborhood. You’d...
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Thanks once again to my Hollywood brother for this one, who actually managed to cast an actor to do most of the heavy lifting.
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At first I wasn’t sure that showing the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera together, along with all the biographical drama that comes with that, was such a great idea. I’m somewhat of a purist when it comes to looking at art—I want to be able to assess...
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Walking through an exhibit made to look like an old house filled with the characters and stories and artifacts from a book I wrote…that is a weird experience. And I realize that it sounds like shameless self-promotion to talk about it, but–it must be talked about. It’s happening at...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?As long as we're talking about booze today, here's a strange and marvelous thing: the people at Hendrick's Gin are injecting their usual madcap absurdity into London Cocktail Week, an event it pains me greatly to miss. Anyway, they've created an Umbrella Emporium to pay tribute to the cocktail...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Garden Rant Cocktail HourNow that the book tour madness has settled down a bit, I'm hoping I'll get to pick up my paintbrush more often. I always paint small–it's all I have time for–and the most expedient way to move them out of my attic and on to someone ele's wall seems...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?How cool and interesting and weird is this? Here's what I know about it: The Crocker Art Museum will open the world’s first photosynthetic restaurant this spring. Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats has developed a gourmet cuisine for flora by filtering and mixing different wavelengths of sunlight. Keats’ installation will...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?Sculpture by Tess Dalhgren PHOTO BY DEREK LACTAOEN That's what happened at Humboldt State University, home to the largest undergraduate botany program in the country. The sculpture was placed in the greenhouse as part of a campus-wide sculpture walk designed to display student art at 60 different locations around...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?I've been a fan of Andie Thram's beautiful and mysterious paintings of forests for years. She goes out into the forest to paint (and leads groups of students on outdoor art excursions a few times a year), and her work is dark and exquisite and magical and whimsical all...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?“It’s only very partially an object. It’s mostly a verb.” That’s how Paula Hayes defines a terrarium, as you’ll see and hear in the video above. Hayes is known for a variety of botanical art endeavors, including landscapes and living sculptures that can take the form of necklaces, planters,...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?As promised, here's a round-up of some of the very cool things you people make and sell and would like to share right now, during the holiday shopping frenzy. You are all so clever and creative that we just can't stand it. While self-promotion can be a little weird,...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Taking Your Gardening DollarSo there's been a discussion on Facebook with a certain artistic garden writer about how she really must make her beautiful artwork available for sale as holiday cards. She's promised us that she will, and that got me thinking: Who else makes cool stuff that holiday shoppers might want...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Taking Your Gardening Dollar
Commented on My Favorite Turfgrass? Sheep Fescue! { Thanks for the good writeup. It actually was every activity consideration it. Glimpse complex to help way released flexible of your stuff! Mind you, how... } – Jul 23, 8:46 AM
Commented on More Foreign Invaders: Possums on the Half Shell { Run for the hills! It's an invasion! Having just moved a year ago from 32 years in Central Texas, I know those armadillos well! Did... } – Jul 23, 8:17 AM
Commented on More Foreign Invaders: Possums on the Half Shell { Great read! I have discovered that if I don't water my garden so much and keep it drier that they stay away more. When you... } – Jul 23, 7:09 AM
Commented on Garden Coaching by Rainer { The gardener & writer Lauren Springer Ogen lives in Texas sometimes and has written a book for these conditions. She's a good writer, the book... } – Jul 22, 11:53 PM
Commented on Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Compost? { Spacing plants further apart leads to lower water use? Greater spacing equals fewer plants. Fewer plants equals less water demand. No great surprise there. I... } – Jul 22, 7:21 PM
Commented on One size fits all? { Exactly what happened here--the local garden writer took a buy-out because the newspaper cut staff to the bone and is close to bankruptcy. Thank goodness... } – Jul 22, 4:00 PMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
