My garden will never be perfect. I know that. And sometimes that makes it hard to relax in. I’ll sit down and try to enjoy being outdoors, but instead I’ll catch myself scanning around for things to add to my mental “want-to-do” list. For my own sanity, there are times when I need to ignore […]
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Designs, Tricks, and Schemes
I recently visited a private garden near Frederick, Maryland called High Glen. I would link to it, but at the moment it does not have a website (tho. […]
A few images from last weekend’s visit to the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C.
Now, you can Buffalo your garden. That’s what I am hearing from a group of gardeners in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. Here is what Eric S. emailed me a couple days ago: I’m part of an active gardening community in a section of Philadelphia called Mt. Airy....
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Garden Walk Buffalo
On a recent visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens, I was almost as impressed by the thoughtful sculpture installations throughout the grounds as I was by the plantings (which are lovely). The DBG has a distinguished partner in this art project: Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center has placed modern and...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
Contest Closed! “Plant the Seeds, Frame the Art!” When Ken Greene founded the Hudson Valley Seed Library a dozen years ago at the Gardiner (NY) Library, it was the first seed library hosted by any public library in the United States. The concept was that patrons could borrow...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Grab Bag, Shut Up and Dig, Uncategorized
There is an abandoned fencerow on our Salvisa, Kentucky, farm. It’s marked clearly. A dozen black walnut trees Juglans nigra grow in a straight line, running up a small hill toward the rising sun. A generation ago, squirrels stored thousands of walnuts and forgot about them. The trees,...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Unusually Clever People, What's Happening
Just stop by one of Jenny Kendler’s seed stations, located at strategic spots on Buffalo’s East Side, as well as other Western New York locations, and grab a pack of seeds. The project, titled Rewilding New York, is intended to reintroduce native plants to the urban center, providing sustenance...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Gardening on the Planet
Recently I came across this article about the fairly new practice of stacking rocks in wild places. Historically, cairns (rocks piled or stacked by humans) have served important purposes, particularly in parts of the world lacking dramatic natural features to use as landmarks. A cairn might mark a trail,...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, What's Happening
Among all the many seed distribution strategies I’ve seen discussed or proposed, this one is both simple and beautiful. Jenny Kendler’s Milkweed Dispersal Balloons project consists of a mobile unit towing a flotilla of balloons filled with milkweed seed. As the artist says on her website: The artist and...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
After a few swipes on Aunt Polly’s plank fence, Tom Sawyer tired of painting whitewash. So it doesn’t surprise me that there’s no hint, in Mark Twain’s novel, that Tom took a paintbrush to tree trunks. I have been intrigued with this peculiar cultural phenomenon since I was Tom...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, What's Happening
Holy Sissinghurst, Batman!!! There is a way of making gardens that I feel has run its course. It has reached its zenith, its apex, its apotheosis. It can go no further. It has gone far enough. Too far. I speak of the Outdoor Room. Let me be clear....
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Everybody's a Critic
A new memorial opened last month in D.C., this one honoring Veterans Disabled for Life. I’ve watched its progress from the U.S. Botanic Gardens across the street, and seen it presented to a reviewing agency, so was excited to finally see it open. Here’s a fun 2-minute video of...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
For just this month a 6-acre strip of lawn on the National Mall has been turned into a portrait in sand and dirt by Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada called “Out of Many, One.” Commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, it’s a composite of many ethnic groups, a generic face of Americans. About...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
Wandering around Pittsburgh I came upon this fabulous mural depicting cherry blossoms in bloom and a charming collection of old homes. It was off the beaten track, enlivening not a park but the parking lot for a neighborhood restaurant. How does something so wonderful get done, anyway? By an...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
This year’s international Park(ing) Day falls on September 19, a mere two weeks from now. On that day, individuals, groups, and businesses in cities around the world will commandeer on-street parking spaces and convert them to temporary parklets. These people-friendly spaces might include plants, seating, bike parking, games, exercise...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Unusually Clever People, What's Happening
From my recent stay in Pittsburgh I’ve shown you Randyland, which writer/adventurers Susan Reimer, Ginny Smith, Carrie Engel and I stumbled upon while playing hooky from hotel conference rooms. We were on our way to another destination, installation-art gallery the Mattress Factory, which had been called a “must-see” by keynote speaker...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
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....
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Everybody's a Critic, Real Gardens
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...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?
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...
Read related articles in: But is it Art?, Unusually Clever People
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
Commented on How I Became a Landscape Reformer { Thank you, Leslie for your rant. Of course you sometimes overstate the case. That's why this is a rant, and not a peer-reviewed scientific journal.... } – Sep 26, 1:40 PM
Commented on How I Became a Landscape Reformer { This is so well done. Thank you for putting it all together. } – Sep 22, 2:36 PMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
