Garden Share Bristol

Hosta spp

This surely must be the year of the potato - the cool damp spring/early summer seems to have provided us with a great harvest

the search begins

and the treasure - Yukon Gold and fingerlings - have a look at the largest and smallest in the upper left hand corner
we didn't leave the space empty for long - sowed scallions, frisee, Buttercrunch and De Morges Braun lettuces - also sprinkled some neem cake on the lettuce bed - not only provides nitrogen but also hopefully will help repel slugs and snails 

as our carrot seed in bed 1 did not germinate we decided to resow with Kohlrabi

and final pic for the day - Nasturtiums (leaves provide a nice spicy highlight to salads and the flowers add lovely colour - tomatoes are outgrowing their bed and yet another bed of potatoes ready to harvest soon .......

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

Waves of summer color — the perennial trials garden at Colorado State University

As summer moves along the weather of late has, for the most part, been warm and sunny - and watering has now become an important chore for a successful harvest .... and speaking of harvest - have a look at what was waiting for us when we dug the volunteer potatoes ...... and to add to the colourful harvest - "Bright Lights" chard - one of our more successful crops -

That was the good, now for the bad, these two had made themselves comfortable inside one of the potatoes - I thought they were wood bug holes until I saw the slugs curled up inside!!
More colour - this time nasturtiums
And a new bamboo fence - thank you Itzia!!
We covered our carrot seed (planted last week) with wet burlap, with fingers crossed for germination in this heat, and thought we would try some Tom Thumb peas; the purple climbing beans planted last week show good germination and the tomatoes are topping their support poles ... The garden is looking good

Last Saturday was cool and cloudy, a perfect day to visit Tribble Stone.  Located at the base of the foothills between Boulder and Lyons, Tribble is a great resource for Colorado flagstone (sandstone). They carry both the rose and buff colors, and do custom cutting right on the site.

cut stone in the foreground, "random"  (as in shapes) in the back

Here's a flagstone slab right out of the quarry.  It's about 10" thick and will be split into 3 or 4 pieces by chiseling along the edge and exploiting a natural fault line.

Jim, for scale! Note the natural cracks/faults in the slabs

Or it might go straight to the cutter.  This is a pneumatic chop blade. Awesome!  This is how dimensional stone is cut; 2'x2', 3' x 2' 18" x 18" or whatever you need, it's made to order.

8" thick slab ready to be cut.  Any guesses why this equipment is buried?

Left over bits and bobs? Not great for structural building, but beautiful as a textural element when applied as a veneer to buildings, columns, fireplaces, 

Odd sizes await the creative builder.

or...pots!

Their chokecherries were in fine form, too!

native chokecherry, Prunus virginiana

Note: This article was not endorsed or compensated in any way by Tribble Stone.

A summer favorite — classic hollyhocks, Alcea rosea, seen here at Denver Botanic Gardens

The long awaited summer sunshine has finally arrived - and with it our best harvest yet at the SPEC Cambie Garden

A perfect day for our garlic harvest - some really good sized bulbs - the largest measured 3 inches across!! the three white hardnecks didn't fare quite as well- we will keep the best for planting in October. In the space vacated by the garlic we are trying a late crop of peas and some carrots we hope to over winter (if we can get them to germinate in this hot weather) Raspberries and chard are still providing a bountiful harvest and we checked out a few of the potato onions - these had their tops damaged so hopefully those remaining will be even larger Beans at two weeks from planting are looking good - although the slugs have nibbled a few and the garden in early July is looking lush and lovely

Has the heat got you down — feeling a bit wilted, drained, limp?  Our garden is looking a bit on the crispy side these days (and that's how I feel, too), so after a very hot day last week, a picnic at Denver Botanic Gardens sounded like a refreshing treat. We were not disappointed.

The gardens themselves were lovely — full to bursting with flowering plants, shady alcoves, and cooling water features. And I really loved the fantastic art installations. Not only are they large-scale abstract sculptures (not everyone's cup of tea, I know) that were built on site, they are made out of plants — bamboo, specifically.

Tetsunori Kawana created organic pieces that speak to the rolling prairies and foothills; billowing clouds and winds of the Denver region.

Contrasting lines and shapes, hard textures and soft. Stone sculpture by Colorado artist Frank Swanson.

Stephen Talasnik 's more architectural creations bridge water and sky.  Sky, we have a lot of; water, we crave.  A conduit is what we need, indeed.



I will enjoy watching these sculptures weather over the next few months (the installation lasts through November 4).  Already, the bright green bamboo of spring has taken on the golden hues of summer.

Visit Denver Botanic Gardens (check their website, as hours vary daily) and see what you can see.  I'd love to hear about your discoveries!

Note: this review is my express opinion and was not authorized, endorsed, or paid for by Denver Botanic gardens nor the artists mentioned.

My favorite dragonfly is here to celebrate . . .  happy Independence Day!

July has arrived and hopefully a little more sunshine will soon be in the forecast Today we had a wonderful harvest of greens and raspberries ..... and the bush beans planted last week are just beginning to show ...... unfortunately our newly sprouted lettuce has all but disappeared - this rainy weather makes for a perfect slug diner Starting to think about our winter garden - soon the garlic and potatoes will be harvested