Bloom Day - June 15, 2008

My garden is not one that was designed or planted for its floral display.
It was planted for foliage. Big beautiful subtropical looking foliage. Flowers are a bonus.

For this June 2008 Bloom Day, there are a few things blooming that I will share.

I’ll start with the ‘ hell strip ‘ which is the border that adjoins the street.
It is planted with Alstromeria, ornamental grasses, Ballota, some horrid Austin Roses, Phygelia, Euphorbia, Succulents and more

The front hell strip :


The most impressive ‘ in your face’ plant that is blooming is the bougainvillaea that engulfs the front entry.
It will bloom for the entire summer and fall.


A close up of the bract :


Just below the bougainvillaea is a garden bed with succulents and south African plants.
This is one of the aeoniums blooming


Once inside the front entry gate there is a small green patch of oxalis bermuda grass that pretends to be a lawn.
It is bordered by a foliage border :






Across from the giant bougainvillea is an Iochrma tree that frames the front entry.
It will grow to about 12 to 16 feet by the end of the summer.
At this point in the season it is loaded with blooms and is up to the rain gutters.

Here is a detail shot of the bloom :


There are a few potted plants in the front garden :
Fushia and a odd shade loving variegated canna


I have been on a bromeliad kick for the past year of two.
I have them planted directly in the gound , wired to the trunks of the palm trees and in pots throughout the garden.







Along the back path is a mix of big bold foliage , succulents, some sculpture and a few flowers :









This last photo below shows a recent drop off of plants from Monterey Nursery.
I have a planting project coming up and the job site is too steep for the big wholesale nursery trucks to drop off their plant load so I am storing plants at my house and will truck them to the job site with my small pick up truck.
In this photo there is a nice Agonis tree, Leucospermum Jester, Agave atteuattas, Adenanthos, Phormiums, Yucca, Oscularia and ornamental grasses.

Modernist Remodel

Simple geometric layout that speaks to the 1960's architecture.

The unsung heroes

The unsung heroes.

Recently I have commented that the best laid landscape designs and installation projects have been in collaboration with amazing property owners who have had open minds.

An amazing property owner or client is one that shares your enthusiasm for quality craftsmanship, originality of design, and respect for the land.

Those are just a few of the admirable qualities that landscape designers appreciate and treasure when collaborating with their employers.

As I look back upon our most rewarding projects, it always come down to the people that we worked with.

I / we have been extremely fortunate to have met some of the nicest people on this earth to work with.

I thank them very much for their trust, their open mindedness and their contribution to making this earth a nicer place to be.


The couple who we collaborated with on this project opened their home to us during their installation.


Another couple who opened up their home to us while we were building their landscape.




Talk about graciousness. Bottled chilled water, continuous props, total understanding when sub-contracting schedules got crazy.
The ultimate class act.


Again, another wonderful ongoing working relationship.
These owners know what it is like to work with those who care about their craftsmanship, having worked with Thomas Church and Bob Royston on some of their past properties.


These are just a few out of many people who I have had the shear pleasure and opportunity to collaborate with.

Thanks for ‘your’ inspiration.
Michelle

Armstrong Garden Centers

Pennisetum setaceum rubrum in a pool side container. Napa Valley project.


OHHH ! The rejection of it all ! ( eyes rolling )
A couple of weeks ago I needed a dozen Pennisetum setaceum rubrum for a project.
The plants had to be of a good size.
All of my northern California wholesale resource growers had this plant growing in their yards but they were small.
So I called my dependable local retail nursery ‘Sloats Garden Center’ and asked them if they had any plants in stock.
Nope, they had not yet ordered any Pennisetums set. rubrum for the spring and said it would be another two weeks before their next delivery.
Bummer.
Then I called a new retail nursery called Armstrong Garden Center that opened up about 2 years ago.
They had exactly what I was looking for. A dozen pennisetums in gallon size containers that were healthy and of a good size for immediate gratification.

When paying for the pennisetums I used my business checks.
The cashier noticed my professional status and she offered me a “ Garden Pro” membership application. She filled out the application while I was waiting for the plants to be brought up from the back and I reviewed and signed it.
The normal type information was requested on the application form such as business license, resale number , tax id, blah blah blah, ... you know, the same forms that us ‘professional landscrapers’ have filling out for the past several decades of business.

Today I received a rejection letter from Desiree Heimann , Marketing Coordinator , Armstrong Garden Centers.
I am not worthy to be considered a ‘Garden Pro’.

Maybe you need 35 years in the horticulture business to be considered a ‘Garden Pro’ by Armstrong Garden Centers.
I may reapply in another 5 years , by that time I will have 35 years under my belt and might qualify.
But maybe not.

Outdoor Design and Living

I was standing in the check-out line at my local nursery ( Sloats ) and picked up a magazine and started flipping through the pages and noticed they printed two projects of mine.
On page 67 is an outdoor entertainment room with a fireplace, bbq, seating and trellis work and on page 81 is a quaint outdoor shower nestled into a pittosporum hedge.

The rest of the photos in this summer time specialty magazine issue are also pretty inspirational.

I especially liked the rustic sunken ‘cost effective kitchen’ featured on page 70 , It shows a sunken terraced cooking arena that looks easy enough to make over a few weekends as long as you have access to lots of rock.
I’m not so crazy about the amount of wood burning pollution that this design expels into the air if used continuously for wood burning *entertainment* but for using it for short moments of cooking I can rationalized its use when used in moderation.
Wood smoke pollution is extremely bad for our environment and the overall impact to our bodies is awful. ( see the American Lung Association and The Air Quality Board websites )

There was also a great piece of mosaic work shown on page 65.
The magazine isn’t crediting all the designers on all the photos so I don’t know who the artist is, but it does look like Jefferey Bales’ work. I greatly admire his craftsmanship and design work.

Cover of the Taunton Outdoor Design and Living magazine. Volume 3 2008

I was cleaning out my photo storage and ran through this album, The Pina Colada Garden.
This is my garden at my house ( as opposed to one of my clients gardens. )

Thought it would be interesting to post it again.
Much of the garden remains the same but there have been new additions and some deaths and much more growth on many of the palms, bananas, cussonia, and understory plantings.

enjoy.