Sunshine Coleus, credit:CarlisleFlowers

It’s Mother’s Day weekend and the gardening mother is taken by the non-gardening father to Cylburn Arboretum’s Annual Market Day.  We went directly to the hothouse where it was single file down the line of annuals propagated by the City of Baltimore’s citizens, friends and staff.  The choice of coleuses was overwhelming.  My husband stood tall and guarded our picks because swooping hands were flying low.  I asked for his advice trying to arrange a tall center plant, a medium size spreading plant and a trailer for my containers.  Yet my dear one spied the hot lick of the day, the Sunshine Coleus.  Going against all the rules I bought three for each planter and will have only a mounded grouping.  They are so gorgeous I’m not sure anything could pair with them.

Cylburn Arboretum, Baltimore, MD, Courtesy: Cylburn Arboretum Association

Upon leaving (with dollars to spare!), I happily told hubby that these coleuses, brassy bold, were favorites of the Victorians.  He asked if they were annuals.  ”Yes,” I said.  ”Can we get them back?” he wanted to know.  ”Only if we come to Cylburn next year.  And hon, (so Baltimorese) I’m so glad you picked them out.”  ”See,” as people admired our cache on the way out, “all gardeners smile at each other.  They don’t need to talk about anything else but flowers and trees.

1870 English Victorian Garden, Courtesy, The Flower Museum, London, England

Victorian Garden, Courtesy: Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO

www.cylburnassociation.org

www.gardenmuseum.org.uk

Funding Will Increase Public Digital Access to Natural History Illustrations

(ST. LOUIS):  The Missouri Botanical Garden has been awarded a $260,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for “The Art of Life,” an initiative to identify and describe natural history illustrations from the digitized books and journals in the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), available online www.biodiversitylibrary.org. BHL technical staff at the Missouri Botanical Garden will develop software tools for automated identification and description of visual resources contained within the more than 100,000 volumes and 38 million pages of core historic literature made publicly available through BHL digitization activities.

“This is an important step forward for our projects in that, for the first time, they are being recognized and described as humanities materials documenting the history of science,” said Chris Freeland, director of the Center for Biodiversity Informatics at the Missouri Botanical Garden and technical director of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library’s digitized texts contain millions of visual resources, including illustrations, plates, figures, maps and other images, many of which were produced by the finest botanical and zoological illustrators in the world, including John James Audubon, Georg Dionysus Ehret and Pierre Redouté. Currently, individuals browsing the BHL website can only navigate the Library’s online images by knowing the page of the book or journal where it appears. The images lack sufficient metadata, or descriptive information about its content, to allow dynamic searching and filtering by the image’s type, color content, subject matter or even names of the organisms it depicts. In other words, to find an image, illustration or other visual resource, you have to know what you are looking for.

Biodiversity Heritage Library staff currently manually mange its natural history illustrations via the organization’s Flickr page,www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary. Funding from the NEH will allow the BHL technical staff at the Missouri Botanical Garden to build new software tools and augment existing electronic publishing frameworks that will automatically identify the images, illustrations and other visual resources contained in the Library’s millions of pages of scanned, online works. The newly identified images will be available for searching within the BHL website and also copied to Flickr, where a large community of users has already begun tagging and annotating the manually identified images. By making these visual resources easily searchable through multiple access points, project organizers hope they not only become more useful to the current audience of scholars who regularly consult the BHL, but also discoverable by new audiences and better interconnected with related materials across the web, including the Encyclopedia of Life, for which the BHL serves as the foundational literature component.

“Biologists, art historians, curators and other scholars and educators who rely heavily on visual resources in their research and teaching will now be able to find and view a wealth of illustrations of plant and animal life from which to make connections between science, art, culture and history,” said Freeland.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library is a consortium of major natural history museum libraries, botanical libraries and research institutions that cooperate to digitize and make the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections available for open access. The participating libraries have over two million volumes of biodiversity literature collected over 200 years to support the work of scientists, researchers and students in their home institutions and throughout the world.

The Missouri Botanical Garden has a mission “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.” The Peter H. Raven Library at the Missouri Botanical Garden is globally recognized as one of the most comprehensive libraries of botanical literature in the world, containing more than 200,000 monographs and journals and 6,000 volumes of rare books, including many with full-size plant illustrations important to botanical, horticultural and natural history sciences. To date, the Garden’s staff has digitized more than 3,300 volumes of its volumes (over 1.5 million pages) and made them freely available online via the BHL.

Learn more about the Missouri Botanical Garden at www.mobot.org. Learn more about the Biodiversity Heritage Library atwww.biodiversitylibrary.org.

Dame Sylvia Crowe, an English landscape designer was President of the Landscape Institute in the late 1950’s.  She was a land planner in England as Frederick Law Olmsted was in the United States.

Her book, “Garden Design” is one to keep in arm’s reach.   Dame Crowe writes about garden history, principles of design, materials of design and, addresses specialized gardens. There are also chapters on wild gardens, rock gardens, factory gardens and school gardens.  Below is an excerpt from Dame Crowe’s chapter on “Principles of Design:”

“Space Division”

“The fundamental pattern of landscapes and gardens results from the distribution and proportion between open space and solid mass.  The solids divide the land into space enclosures giving a pattern of closed and open, of in and out, of dark and light.”

Dame Crowe was influenced by the English landscape designer Madeline Apgar.  One of Crowe’s accomplishments was the design of a roof garden in Edinburgh, the Scottish Widows Head Office overlooking Holyrood Park using Scottish plant material.

World-Renowned French Botanist and Artist Brings Breathtaking Displays to The New York Botanical Garden

The Orchid Show: Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Gardens March 3–April 22, 2012

Vertical Garden of Orchids, New York Botanical Gardens, Photo: Ivo M. Vermeulen

The Orchid Show: Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Gardens at The New York Botanical Garden will be unlike any other orchid show ever seen. That is because the guest designer for the 10th annual exhibition is Patrick Blanc, world-renowned French botanist and artist who will transform the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with his spectacular vertical walls of living foliage. Using thousands of orchids and companion plantings as his palette, Blanc introduces towering spectacles of tropical life to the landmark Conservatory. Blanc, celebrated for his innovative vertical gardens and signature “green walls,” abandons the constraints of gravity in his cutting-edge approach to horticulture. In an explosion of alluring design and fragrance, exotic plant walls rise high above, creating this season’s not-to-be missed exhibition for garden lovers, orchid fans, and those desiring a one-day tropical retreat.

Rich in color and texture, Blanc’s living tapestries have been commissioned for cityscapes, interiors, museum exhibitions, and fashion shows worldwide. One of the most notable among his more than 150 projects in 20 countries is the living exterior façade of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris.

Blanc Uses Orchids and Tropical Plants to Create Mesmerizing Textural Walls in the Conservatory

This year The Orchid Show at The New York Botanical Garden, the nation’s largest and only curated orchid exhibition, begins with a dramatic 8’ x 16’ wall erected in the Reflecting Pool of the Palms of the World Gallery and planted with vibrant orchids such as Psychopsis Kalihi (butterfly orchid), ferns and other foliage, interspersed with ribbons of trickling water. The journey continues through the Lowland Tropical Rain Forest Gallery, where orchids grow in the canopies of tropical trees, and then past a display of miniature orchids, some with thousands of tiny flowers on a single plant, in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest Gallery.

Upon entering the Seasonal Exhibition Galleries, The Orchid Show’s main galleries, visitors will encounter Blanc’s astounding 13’ x 13’ “cube” of orchids, a square of four vertical walls of plants with two doorways and six windows. Outside, the “cube” will be festooned with a remarkable array of orchids. Inside, visitors will be treated to Blanc’s images and drawings, reflecting how his fascination with the remarkable adaptations and diversity of plants sparked his innovative approach to vertical gardens and his creative flair for growing plants in urban environments.

After experiencing the rich textures and dramatic colors of Blanc’s “cube,” visitors travel along a pathway flanked by three walls, 23’ to 33’ feet in length. Alive with more of his exciting designs, inspired by his many travels to tropical environments, these walls are clad with Blanc’s distinctive plantings of lush ferns and tropical foliage plants such as zebra basket vine, rex begonia vine, showy medinilla, chain cactus, and Krauss’ spike-moss mixed with brilliant orchids, including ×Aliceara Marfitch ‘Howard’s Dream’, ×Oncidesa Gower Ramsey ‘Hilo Dream’, ×Jackfowlieara Appleblossom ‘Woodlands’, and ×Miltonidium Melissa Brianne ‘Highland’, to create intricate patterns of colors and shapes. Intoxicating fragrances permeate the air, completing a journey of the senses that transports visitors to an exotic and captivating world.

Designer Patrick Blanc

The Orchid Show: Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Garden is designed by award-winning French botanist and artist Patrick Blanc, known internationally as the “Green Man” for his groundbreaking living tapestries. At the age of seven, he designed his first aquarium; at the age of 15, Blanc constructed his first waterfall by recycling aquarium water through the root systems of plants. Through 35 years of studying the adaptive properties of plants in the world’s most primitive forests, Blanc’s process allows plants, flowers, mosses, and vines to grow without soil along the face of a wall. His passionate fascination with plants that grow in unusual places has made Blanc a pioneer in this emerging form of horticultural art.

The concept of the green wall dates back to 600 B.C. with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Blanc has modernized the larger green wall concept with his innovative brand of hydroponics technology. Renowned French architect Jean Nouvel writes in the preface of “The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City” by Patrick Blanc, “He works on including a multiplicity of species. The system is fabulous and the results mysterious.” This exhibition will celebrate Blanc as a designer and an artist and introduce his remarkable creations to thousands of visitors.

The Orchid Experience Continues Throughout the Garden

In venues across the Garden’s 250 acres, The Orchid Show offers visitors opportunities to learn about the Garden’s historic and ongoing orchid research, embark on an audio tour, purchase top-quality orchids at Shop in the Garden, receive care information from experts, take orchid-related courses, and more:

• History and Mystery of Orchids Saturdays and Sundays, 1 & 3 p.m. With over 25,000 species growing on six continents, orchids fascinate and touch the lives of people in every country and culture from the jungles of Costa Rica to vanilla farms in Mexico. This series of exciting presentations and demonstrations takes you on a journey around the world of orchids and shows you how to grow and care for them at home.

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• Orchid Audio Tour A cell phone tour of The Orchid Show: Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Garden complements the exhibition, giving visitors a unique perspective on the remarkable orchids in the Conservatory.

• Orchids for Sale Shop in the Garden has hard-to-find specimens as well as easy-to-grow varieties, orchid-care products, and hundreds of books about this esteemed flower. On weekends, experts will be available to advise you in selecting and caring for orchids.

• Orchid Evenings Saturdays throughout The Orchid Show plus Friday, April 20, 6:30–9:00 p.m. Enjoy a cocktail while viewing The Orchid Show and its thousands of spectacular flowers. Music and unforgettable beauty make for one of New York City’s most romantic date destinations. Your ticket includes a complimentary cocktail and special dinner offers at some of Arthur Avenue’s outstanding restaurants. Non-Member $30/Member $20 (Adults 21 and over)

Orchid • Capturing the Beauty of Orchids: Photography Workshop

Saturday, March 17, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. The Garden’s renowned Orchid Show is ideal for photographing the beauty of these highly prized flowers. Hone your skills of composition, background control, close-up angles, and capturing natural light. Complete the day with a presentation and critique of your photographs. Non- Member $158/Member $142

• Orchids in Ice! Sunday, March 25, 11 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Create your own show-stopping orchid arrangement in a container filled with faux ice after gaining creative inspiration from the beautiful orchids in The Orchid Show. Non-Member $96/Member $86

Browse more classes and register at nybg.org/AdultEd Visit the Garden’s Web site at nybg.org for complete exhibition details and to purchase tickets.

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Founding Sponsor, The Tiffany & Co. Foundation

Major Sponsors, Mr. & Mrs. Marvin H. Davidson Generous support also provided by the Karen Katen Foundation Additional support provided by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States

Permission granted: Constance Haddock

Gatsby and Beyond: The Fabled Gardens of Long Island’s Gold Coast, A Talk Sponsored by The New York Botanical Garden

Originally comprising vast areas of the North Shore of Long Island, the Gold Coast was a favorite retreat of the rich and famous.  Beginning around the turn of the century and through the 1930’s, the North Shore was the place to be for some of the most notable Americans.  Along with grand houses, they built elaborate gardens, hiring such prominent architects and landscape architects as Delano and Aldrich, Carriere and Hastings, the Olmsted Brothers, Beatrix Farrand, and Ellen Biddle Shipman.  Discover such superbly designed gardens as Old Westbury Gardens, Planting Fields, and Oheka Castle as they were originally built, and learn about their history, design, and present condition.

The Speaker:    CeCe Haydock is a graduate of Princeton University (BA English), and received her masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the SUNY School of Environmental Science and Forestry.  After working for the New York City Parks Department, she worked for the firm, Innocenti and Webel in Locust Valley, NY, before starting her own practice, Constance T. Haydock, Landscape Architect, P.C.  For the past 25 years, she has been working on predominately residential projects, as well as municipal parks and commercial sites.  After completing her research on Edith Wharton and Roman villas in 2007 at the American Academy in Rome, she has lectured and written on the topic for Old Westbury Gardens, Ladew Topiary Gardens in Maryland, Temple Ambler University, Princeton University, and the Edith Wharton Society.

Currently, CeCe is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited, and is enlarging her practice to focus on sustainability and “green” building.  She is a national and chapter member of the US Green Building Council, as well as a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America, Old Westbury Gardens and the Planting Fields Foundation.

Bishop's Garden at National Washington Cathedral

The century-old Herb Cottage building was badly damaged on Wednesday, September 7, when a towering crane being used to secure the earthquake- damaged pinnacles of the Cathedral’s central tower toppled during windy storm conditions, smashing the front roof and garden area of the structure. Long a main source of revenue for All Hallows Guild, the Gift Shop in the Herb Cottage sustained considerable damage. Luckily, no one was injured. The clipped roof, causing structural and water damage, will be repaired. The garden, mutilated by the huge crane, can be re-established. The garden benches, the re-circulating pool and walkway can be renovated and the smashed fig tree replaced. Though beheaded and damaged in the crash, the small bronze statue of Pan, the legendary god of forests and gardens, which has greeted visitors at the front entrance to the Cottage since the 1960s, can be mended and reinstated in its familiar location. The treasured stone walls which have acted like protective surrounds to the area can eventually be restored. The shattering destruction means a long restoration period and will require strong financial support from All Hallows Guild and its many friends and followers.

As the crane fell on the Cottage its great weight devastated surrounding gardens. Nothing was spared. According to the Cathedral Director of Horticulture Joe Luebke, there was significant damage to plants and trees from the Pilgrim Steps to the front of Church House. The Yew and Sophora japonica above the Upper Border are destroyed as is the Weeping Cherry, memorial Crab Apple and American Holly.  The Norman Arch is damaged and the Bishop’s Garden lost trees, boxwood, bushes and flowers of historic interest and ancient heritage. Peggy Steuart, chair of the AHG Garden Committee is busy formulating plans for the recovery of the damaged area and advises everyone to view the Cathedral website for current information.  Rehabilitation will take months, if not years.  Engineering and horticultural experts are still finalizing recovery options.  Until then, All Hallows Guild –like Humpty Dumpty is putting it all together again.

For updated information and more pictures of the damage to the Herb Cottage and Bishop’s Garden,  please visit our website: www.allhallowsguild.org on the home page under “Tours” or “Fall Events”. If you would like to help the Guild restore, repair and renew the extensive areas of destruction, you may do so online:  https://www.allhallowsguild.org/involved/donation_form.php