Garden Share Bristol

little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparum

You can keep your burning bush pink and your orangey-red Autumn Blaze maple (the "it" tree for fall color around here these days); I'll take the dark, luxurious reds of fragrant sumac, Rhus aromatica, any time.

The glossy foliage catches the low autumn light and adds depth and complexity — plus a touch of glamour — to this Rocky Mountain native.

Hands down, the best shrub for full sun, poor soils, and dry conditions when your goal is super red fall foliage.

Art may be the ultimate focal point in the garden.  Unlike plants, which are ephemeral throughout the seasons, art can be used as a permanent statement to express one's personal identity or enforce a sense of place.  The garden itself can be used to set the stage for the artwork and provide the backdrop, frame, and foreground.  Here are a few examples of art in the landscape, and why they work so well.

Representational artwork  may best represent / reenforce a specific place.  Nothing is left to the imagination; the association between object and place is clear, and the artwork contributes additional information about the space to the viewer.

This life size bear trio looms over the entry court of a private residence in Vail, Colorado.  They look like they've just emerged from their woodland home. Notice how the white trunks of the aspen trees create a nice contrast with the dark patina of the bronze.  The colorful flowers at the base of the sculpture catch the eye (as if the bears aren't enough!) and bring them into scale. The large size and prominent location make this a major focal point for this home.

A Japanese quince (Chaenomales japonica) paired with a Japanese lantern reinforces the identity of the Japanese Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.  Again, a bright flower companion may initially catch the eye, but the dark, evergreen background in contrast to the pale stone sculpture is key.

This statue does not reinforce its urban Denver location but is, instead, a memento or symbol of a specific time or place that's important to the owner.  This small piece is part of a vignette within a garden — a treasure to be discovered. Here, the gardener has used a  Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) with dark foliage as a contrast and color echo to the clay.  I also like the way that the water's reflection has been used to magnify the presence of this little piece. 

Abstract artwork may be viewed as the self-expression of the owner. It represents an emotion or a memory — perhaps related to a specific person, place or time — that's meaningful to the owner.

This joyful sculpture of stainless steel by Denver artist Kevin Robb, is reaching up to the clear, blue sky. It's hard, shiny, geometric form is wonderfully contrasted by the organic, undulating forms (lavender? rosemary?) beneath it. Perfection is the color echo of matte gray foliage to the steel.

photo courtesy of Kevin Robb Studios

Another whimsical art piece is this sculptural gate by Denverite Dennis West.  The lively, nature-based forms bring a hard, impersonal entryway to life.

 Sinuous curves feature in the simple, repetitive design of this sculpture (perhaps originally part of an architectural detail), which is the perfect focal point of a small meditation garden. Note how the fine textures and limited selection of the companion plants create a calm and relaxed setting.


Last, but not least . . . my favorite art piece in my garden is this tile mosaic that hangs on our patio wall, adjacent to the place that inspired it.   It was made by our daughter when she was 10 or 11 years old (sadly, it's not dated) and is simple titled "Pond."  Erin went on to earn a degree in apparel design and production from Colorado State University and became a talented textile designer. She recently opened her own business and is the proud owner of Super Good Art Stuff in the Tennyson Art District of Denver.


Art is a wonderful investment (at any price) in improving one's quality of life.  Buy (or create) what you love, and integrate it into your garden.  Read more about art in the garden from my fellow members of The Garden Designers' Roundtable, or click on the direct links to their blogs here:
 
Susan Cohan : Miss Rumphius’ Rules : Chatham, NJ
Mary Gallagher Gray : Black Walnut Dispatch : Washington, D.C.
Lesley Hegarty & Robert Webber : Hegarty Webber Partnership : Bristol, UK
Jenny Peterson : J Petersen Garden Design : Austin, TX
Deborah Silver : Dirt Simple : Detroit, MI
Rebecca Sweet : Gossip In The Garden : Los Altos, CA
Pam Penick : Digging : Austin, TX

Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'

 Sorry for the blurry photo, but I wanted to share this wonderful winter color. A great succulent for a sunny, dry, and windy site.

Remember this?

The lovely 'Autumn Joy' sedums that I photographed just a few weeks ago now look like this:


  They had not had enough time to dry out and harden off before we were hit with a couple of heavy snows. Some years they will stay perfectly upright and the flower heads will dry to a rich, brick red, adding texture and color to the winter landscape. 



 This year it was just not meant to be!

sea lavender, Limonium latifolium

Aster 'Alma Potschke'

My favorite fall aster (the one with the name I can never pronounce), is in full bloom now. The vibrant pink blooms are a throwback to spring; not quite au courant in autumn, somehow. Maybe that's why I like them - bucking the trend that calls for deep reds, oranges, golds, and bronze!

Great plant combination! Ephedra equisetina, Zauschneria garrettii, and Nessella tenuissima

Behold the patterning of colors and textures that creates a timeless, mysterious beauty in the bark of these old alder trees (Alnus rubra?).  Photographed in McKinleyville, California.

 Is there such a term as "archeological" when referring to plants?  If not, there should be!

Last week I attended ProGreen EXPO, a conference/trade show for landscape professionals working in Denver and the Rocky Mountain region. This year's show featured 650 booths and 141 seminars! Impossible to see everything, but I always learn something new and get inspired for the season to come.

These photos are from the Proven Winners booth. I loved the geometric arrangement of the succulents to create distinct color blocks (almost quilt like). The planting design was perfectly matched to the sleek, black containers.

Hmmmm....I think I see a succulent quilt garden in my future!

Thank you, Proven Winners!

Ever "greens" - Vinca minor, Cerastium tomentosum, and Mahonia aquifolium 'Compacta'

I like the natural look of these winter planters; they're decorative without screaming "holiday!!!"  I also like the fact that the designer (unknown) played on the fall kale and pansy planting by simply adding colorful branch cuttings and pine cones. Less waste, more texture. Win!

I recently visited The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins, Colorado, and was enthralled by the beautiful, rich colors of the late season edibles. The foliage of the artichokes was lush and full, and still wearing its silver patina, although the vegetables are now in a strictly ornamental mode.

Strawberry foliage in hues of garnet and ruby.

A few golden delicious apples clung to the espaliered trees (Note the wonderful demonstration kitchen in the background!)

My favorite: a giant array of silvery green and purple kale. The various foliage textures in the low afternoon sunlight really made this planting sing.

The adjacent garden plot was planted in a cover crop of annual rye grass. There is a good article on selecting and using cover crops as "green manure," in the December issue of Fine Gardening magazine, if you'd like to learn more about this beneficial gardening practice.

A few more foliage highlights from the garden this week as fall moves slowly forward...

Syringa reticulata

Euonymus coloratus, Prunus bessyi, and Verbascum bombiciferum

Amorpha canescens

Hypericum fondosum 'Sunburst'

Syringa reticulata

Celtis occidentalis

Sumac are always dependable for fall color, and I have two dwarf varieties: Grow-Low fragrant sumac and dwarf cutleaf sumac. Their foliage textures are different, as are their colors. The Grow-Low will feature intense red to deep burgundy leaves, while the cutleaf tends to lighter yellows, oranges and bright reds.

Rhus aromatica 'Grow-Low'

Rhus glabra 'Laciniata'

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

Fraxinus americana 'Autumn Purple'

Amelanchier canadensis

Parthenocissus quinquefolia engelmanii

Parthenocissus quinquefolia engelmanii

Parthenocissus quinquefolia engelmanii

I'll keep you posted as more plants submit to the lure of dormancy and put on their autumn colors. I hope you're enjoying fall in your garden!

Zauchneria brightens the October garden