Flora Grubb, Panayoti Kelaidis AND the HPSO Study Weekend!

Well, THAT was fun! Yesterday's HPSO Winter Program featured two speakers who approached the idea of vertical gardening. From very different perspectives Flora Grubb, owner of Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco and Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator and director of outreach at Denver Botanic Gardnens, presented images and descriptions of super-cool painting-like 'gardens' and the coolest flora found in the highest elevations of the world. If you follow design magazines, you will have seen some of Flora Grubb's gardens such as these 

with permission Flora Grubb Gardens

with permission Flora Grubb Gardens

with permission Flora Grubb Gardens

Flora Grubb and her talented cohorts investigate and create the best design-driven gardens. Primarily working with containers, she and her team are doing their best to outfit space-restricted, San Franciscans with artful, small-scale, gardens sure to peak the interest of any closeted horticulturalist wanna-be! Of late, Flora has taken interest in urban projects in an effort to bring a little green to the city. She and her team are creating temporary gardens in the place of a parking place here and there, replacing concrete medians with tables, chairs and gardens - in essence, humanizing the city bit by bit with little (well designed!) gardens.

With a wickedly-quick wit and seemingly infinite passion, Panayoti took us on a trip to central Asia, the steppes of the Andes, temperate South Aftrica, Morocco and the western U.S. During our trip, I've developed a new plant interest...cushion plants! While I've been interested in these little tactile wonders, not until I saw images of the rock-like formations looking like an extreme version of installation art, did something 'click' in my brain. Check out Crassula setulosa and Euphorbia clavarioides to get a sense of their habits and forms. Also check out Harry Jans, who Panyoti referred to as 'the ultimate vertical gardener. You can bet that I'll integrate a version of his Tufa Wall into a design!

And finally... Tomorrow, February 1st registration opens for the 2011 HPSO Study Weekend! 

...from the HPSO website...

Join over 500 gardening enthusiasts from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond as we gather in Portland in June for this year's conference. The theme of the Weekend is"Gardening in 3D: Dichotomy, Diversity, and Desire". Eight fantastic speakers are lined up as well as twenty open gardens, a Saturday evening soiree, two workshops, specialty plant and art sales, and more! Dates: June 23-26, 2011. To learn more about this event and registration details, go to the Study Weekend home page. Don't miss out! Come celebrate gardening in "3D", and learn how to manage dichotomy, diversity, and desire in the garden. The Study Weekend is held in Portland only once every four years. Pre-registration is required to attend.

My First Hamamelis

My very first Hamamelis is beginning to bloom! I've inherited a fine Hamamelis 'Aphrodite'. It is not expected to bloom heavily this year (because it was stressed last year) but it IS blooming! Gorgeous orange ribbons begin to unfurl, revealing dark red/maroon calyxes - those are calyxes, right? Along with my Hamamelis, I've got some lovely Galanthus of an unknown species who came along for the ride.

The Hamamelis bloom is the tiny little thing towards the bottom of the shrub not the orange things (flags) in the background!

See the clump of bulbs at the bottom of the photo - those are the Galanthus! 

I love this time of the year. The days are longer requiring me to take note and appreciate the extra light and the garden is full of change. But to witness these changes I must pay attention! I have to microscopically, inspect plants to see the changes - buds fattening and beginning to bloom and new leaves sprouting, shiny and fresh. Its as if, the plants quietly yell 'stop, linger and enjoy me!' It is a subtle and mysterious time of the year when-even though I've seen buds turn to blooms - they always seem to surprise me. Every year is new in my garden and every year I am new to my garden.

HAPPY GARDENING!!!! 

Arapahoe Acres...sadly, these are the last photos!

Here we go...

Notice the wood 'sill' beneath the lower window that brings the wood lines from the roof in to perfect balance.
How I wish the landscape design complimented the architecture better!

This (and the following) are my two favorites of the smaller homes. I love the roofline that incorporates the chimney, or perhaps, it is the other way around!

If you look closely, you'll notice rusty, vertical steel sculpture against the plantings.

Ahhh...another picture of perfection! Its hard to tell in this photo, but the door is light pink!

Isn't this bold! I love the deep turquoise with the color of the red brick.

My friend noticed that the Jeep served to compliment the paint colors on the house.

In this garden, long strands of white lights are hanging straight down from the trees! At night, it must look like white, illuminated snow or rain.

The PERFECT garage door!
Lovely!!!

Thinking of spring....Annuals!!

In today's Oregonian Homes & Gardens section, Kym Pokorny introduces some great new annuals and 'tried and true' favorites of several local folks, including yours truly. Click here to read an on-line version. I picked up a paper version this morning and I have to say all of the springy colors are a welcome pleasure to see...spring WILL arrive!!

One of my favorite annuals Mandevilla laxa

growing up post on left of pergola

MCM continued...

More photos from the Arapahoe Acres neighborhood in Denver, Co.

Notice the roofline of the garage (left) that matches the roofline on the house - also the orange (which seemed to be a signature color in the neighborhood) 'holey' gate.

Along with accents of orange, many of the homes sported steel sculptures.

Another 'holey' gate that unfortunately had a piece of paper attached to it.

Few homes had much hardscape in the front gardens but this one had a nice 'zig-zag' pathway leading to the front door.

Eating my words,  I spotted this highly geometric neighboring garden! Maybe a planting of Ajuga?
Hmmm...

I'm especially fond of the low sandstone wall which 'pulls' the architecture of the house into the garden.

Several gardens had island beds with gorgeous red sandstone, conifers and succulents.

...still more to come...

Arapahoe Acres - Mid-Century Modern Homes in Denver

I'm so excited, so excited!!! 

I finally visited Arapahoe Acres, a MCM (Mid-Century Modern) subdivision in Denver, CO metro area.

 These homes exceeded my expectations! 

Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!! 

Here are a couple...

Strong horizontal lines are a grounded backdrop to an arid, naturalistic garden.

The garden is lush, open, and beautifully maintained.
Round pavers set in gravel gently lead you by well-built red sandstone planters full of drought tolerant grasses and conifers.

A similar home, clearly Japanese inspired home and garden, is both detailed and simple. The deck railing is low and horizontal in keeping with the roof line.

The wooden garage doors repeat the horizontal roof line and the vertical line of the stone pillars on either side. 

The garden is full of mounding stones and conifers. This pathway leads to a gorgeous garden gate painted the same color as the house.

The garden gate.
I took these photos on a gorgeous, cold, sunny day - please excuse the overexposed photos!

The mysterious main entry is masked by the enormous, old juniper.
...If only natural stone would have been used in the hardscape!