Category Archives: Landscape

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Groundbreakers App Ties History and Beauty Together

This is an exhibition I hated to miss… Groundbreaking women in Landscape Design – an acceptable profession of the times.
Thanks to my sister… always fun to see things through her eyes… Enjoy! Jayme B.

Note: The App is worth the effort but will not work on I Pad Mini.. Still fun on the tiny screen.

itsnewstoyou

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The New York Botanical Garden carved out an ambitious agenda in its Groundbreakers show – to tie the stories of six women of landscaping history, present a two-gallery recreation of an historic garden, pay tribute to the contributions of several landscapes within NYBG itself, create a poetry walk, and wrap it up with the history of early 20th-century photography and high-gloss publishing. They did it with GPS and an iPhone app, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Closing this weekend, Groundbreakers: Great American Gardens and the Women Who Designed Them is still worth downloading from iTunes, just to get a glimpse into the lives of six landscape-gardening pioneers, see their work, and understand the popularization of American gardening long before the dawn of HGTV or Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Here’s the link.

Photos of Ms. Johnston (left), lantern slides and projector, and Beals (right) on NYC street in 1902. Courtesy: NYBG Photos of Ms. Johnston (left), lantern slides and projector, and Beals (right) on NYC street in 1902. Courtesy:…

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The Mark of Adventure…

These days when you purchase a home, the property more often than not, was likely clear cut when built. Perhaps even the topsoil was scraped and hauled away with the removal of Bushwhacked  or Bush-Hogged trees, stumps and shrubs. A mark of adventure for the machine operator. 

This trend developed in post war 1947 when the first planned community called Levittown emerged. The style emerged to level the playing field of  future residents, done for the convenience of the builders, not for the love of the land or to retain the sense of place.  Merely mass production of affordable housing a mark of adventure for future prosperous development.

Aerial view of Levittown, Pennsylvania, circa 1959

Aerial view of Levittown, Pennsylvania, circa 1959 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The country prospered and someone figured out that all the leftover bomb chemicals could be sold and used to “fertilize” the new suburban lawns.  Yes, this creative lifestyle morphed into a heavily marketed middle class status symbol – a small but “Great Lawn”! 

The Builder then contracts a landscaping crew to add back some landscaping to give it curb appeal… typically these are fast growing evergreens that give the builder some bang for the buck, for saleability, often with no regard for how large the tree or shrub will be in a few years… for the most part unsuspecting homeowners are left with an ongoing task of whacking these back, from blocking windows and doors. 

Oh but I digress from the real question on my mind:

Have you ever thought about where our garden plants come from? 

What is the Mark of Adventure?

To be continued… tomorrow part 2 of 4.

Enjoy – living the  EntwinedLife

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative

JC Raulston Arboretum Volunteer

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Gifts for Gardeners

Several years ago I was having a conversation with an actress between takes.    She said she had an agreement with her husband regarding categories of gifts – they must be either – Shiny, furry or involve real estate.

No electrical cords allowed! Continue reading →

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Figs bursting with delight.

Bursting point… We all get to this point… when the blood starts to boil – the emotions swell – so full of stress our juices ready to burst like a fig after a fresh rain.  This morning I was so ready to burst that I called my sage friend  Helen Yoest – she reminded me that sometimes it is just better to “let it go”…

I took a deep breath and ventured outside to find solace in Entwined Gardens.

To my delight, I wasn’t the only one having a break & snack.

Sevensons against a
Carolina Blue Sky

The Heptacodium miconioides  (Sevenson Flower, Autumn Lilac) tree was a buzz with pollinators.  As I looked up at creamy white puffs against a Carolina Blue sky my angst began to vanish lost in a swirl of bees, wasps skippers & butterflies.  My thoughts turned to my delightful 2009 quest to find this tree – an Entwined Gardens expansion – to create a new border adding fall interest near our parking area.

Yes, a crazy Dr. Seuss – like plant that gets far too large for the chosen location.  But the fragrant creamy white flowers appearing August – September, turning into small rounded fruit with a cherry red to rose purple calyx  – ShaZaam! There’s no such thing as too Big as the sweet scent welcomes us home each day.  This small deciduous tree growing 10’ –12’ tall x 8’ – 10’ wide also valued for exfoliating bark in warm hues of light brown, does not disappoint, especially if you don’t mind unpredictable plants with fall winter interest! For those of you who cringe at the word ‘Prune’ – one can’t make a mistake on this wildly branching structure.   Within a year of planting this tree was a showstopper in my new themed border of plants for fall interest and ready for the 2010 Garden Conservancy Open Days Tour!

A lovely butterfly perched upon a Cana ‘Phaison’ or Tropicana Lily, caught my attention. I wasn’t quick enough to get a photo – then it was off in a wisp of a wing – up and circling overhead.

Table for Two –
Red Spotted Purples
dining on Celeste Fig

My mind clearly engaged as I watched the Zen motion as the butterfly fluttered up and around higher & higher then caught a glimpse of pink in an unexpected place.    One of the out of reach Celeste figs had burst open and the scent of soft flesh fills the air. Another Butterfly lands and enjoys the fleshy sweetness – talk about table with a view.

The usual suspects at the Fig Café – humans with morning coffee in hand, disrupting the quiet feast of squirrels & birds who quickly disappear, thinking of another way to enjoy these fruits, of course tasting for inspiration.  Wasps & butterflies throughout the midday, lingering like the folks at an Internet cafe; Possum and Raccoons – the nocturnal clientele leaving debris like twenty -somethings in a college town, so although unseen, we know they’ve been & enjoyed.

Who are these diners
at the Hibiscus Cafe?

Drawn further into the garden – some yet to be identified colorful visitors snacking on Hibiscus coccineus – Red Star Hibiscus pod.

Further down the path another snack has been consumed and another life form swells, 

slowing down progress, almost paralyzed to move forward.  I snap a few photos – in this the moment of truth.  By the time I can summon my husband and run back he has slithered into the safety of foliage.

I am reminded of the lesson to let it go.  Had I not taken a break, made room to breath, I’d have missed these whimsical delights, sweet smells and delicious figs.

Joy!

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative

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Hot Coral – Echinacea by any other name won’t be as Expensive!

It’s Hot, It’s August and it’s Buggy in the NC Piedmont, a good excuse not to be working in Entwined Gardens, therefore a good time to travel…

One of my Volunteer Jobs being a regional representative for the Garden Conservancy ‘Open Days’ Tour is not only to find great gardeners to participate, but also promote the tour.   One way is making sure posters are delivered & postcards put out and about.  Garden Centers are very kind to help promote the event, so off I went in a 50-mile radius.

Today’s first stop was at Fairview Greenhouses and Garden Center  in Cary, NC…

I love exploring garden centers, like a quest for the Jewel of the Nile or an unexpected plant combination…

Cute succulent roof top Garden for a lucky Pooch – Fairview Nursery & Garden center

Not only did I find this charming roof top succulent garden for a lucky pooch, I gathered up some reduced herbs for a herb planter to take as a hostess gift.

I headed out of the greenhouse to an outdoor covered area, and there it was… Heart be still… just in  –  was it love at first sight?  I circled the tall-shelved wheeled cart, and tried to walk away, but the colors tugged at my heartstrings again… I was hypnotized – lost in the array of hot fluorescent colors – an array of pinks, & corals.

Echinacea Sombrero ‘Hot Coral’

I tried to move away and be amazed at the size of the giant array of Hibiscus lining the next table.   Before I knew it I was back staring at the cart of recently delivered offerings.   A nice clerk who had been giving all the plants water on this 90 plus degree morning… walked over and said “Aren’t these amazing?  They just arrived this morning.”

Echinacea Sombrero ‘Hot Coral’ – Echinacea by any other name won’t be as expensive!

I had tried to be good all summer, limiting spending of any kind in these economic times, but this one I could not walk away from. I could feel the butterfly within circling around and around – flying off but then drawn back in… Oranges are HOT… It didn’t matter the price tag for this perennial – of a whopping $21.00.  My obsessive brain took over… It will keep these kind folks in business…   I couldn’t purchase a cut flower bouquet for this amount…   Well, I’m here and they will certainly be gone, and then there’s the gas if I drive back…  Oh the ecstasy of the color – I am color centric but that’s something to muse on another day – home it came with me.

As my luck would have it, Fairview also had Roses on sale. Again my eye spied orange and I was drawn in.

The great gals I volunteer with, at the JC Raulston Arboretum Mixed Border affectionately known as the ‘Border Babes’, are a diverse, opinionated, yet congenial group.  We are all gardeners, our styles are as distinct, as we are, but this is a plant we all agree on  Rosa ‘Paprika’ – delicate in size, but intense orange buds, that evolve to a soft coral when open with a sunny center – a real show stopper.  Disease & spot resistant.   When we first planted it in the Mixed Border several years ago, the official plant marker said ‘OSO EASY Paprika (R. ChewMayTime ppaf)’.  We were delighted when this plant hit the market! Talk about Smokin’!   We all like to cook and many of us are fond of Smokey Spanish Paprika – so this Rose like its spicy culinary counterpart is sure to Spice up your garden life.

R. ‘Paprika’ will be perfect further back in the bed and will color echo the ‘Hot Coral’. The eye will samba from E. ‘Hot Coral’ over to R. Papricka.   Supporting players will be Barberry ‘Crimson Pygmy’ – a dwarf Japanese Barberry.

I can visualize it from my deck butterflies swirling around.  No guilt, no shame, we’ll have Mac n cheese tonight – I’ll add some cherry tomatoes, a little cilantro and finish with Smokey Paprika!

Colocasia Royal Hawaiian®
‘Black Coral’.

Next it was off to Campbell Road Nursery  – a no frills nursery, but always cool, cutting edge plants!   I spied a  Colocasia ‘Black Coral’  – hardy black taro… I hadn’t had lunch and it looked the color of a dark chocolate bar – It would be great behind & to the left of the ‘Hot Coral’ … the bed anchored by a pink & yellow nesting box with ‘Hot Coral’ & ‘Black Coral. ‘  An analogous color scheme of oranges & pinks… Ahh…. I asked Plantsman Layne Snelling about ‘Black Coral’ and he mentioned it was part of the breeding program by John Cho (not to be confused with the actor of the same name) at the University of Hawaii Plant Breeding Program.  One of the benefits of Cho’s breeding work is short  or no stolons – which means no chance of invasive runaways… plus hardy to zone 7B… this went into the floor of my back seat!  I can’t wait to get home to plant this fiesta!

I love seeing folks with plants in their vehicles… always brings a smile to my face!   Sometimes I have thoughts of following them home to see their gardens, but alas as I merge into I-440 at rush hour, I am satisfied to see the chocolate elephant ears swaying in the rear view mirror headed home to an Entwined Life!

Joy!

Jayme B

NC Certified Environmental Educator

Garden Conservancy Regional Representative