Made for the Shade.

This interesting structure is an umbrella stand - or more aptly , a shade structure stand
It’s not your typical residential umbrella made of fabric and a wood pole.

From Interplay Project

This shade structure will be situated near an ocean. The base, shown in the photos, will be mounted in a children's play area surrounded by a sand pit.

From Interplay Project

If you look closely, the motif is inspired by the sea.
Sea kelp floats across the structure and fossils are embedded.
Glass mosaic tiles emulate the waves in the ocean.

This sculpture was crafted in the studio of Interplay Design located in Northern California.

One of the nautilaus that I sculpted out of clay for the shade structure . It was made into a mold and casts were made using concrete

From Interplay Project

roughing in the sculpture.

From Interplay Project

A recent project

I’ve been working on a nice project for the past few months.
It hasn’t been a ‘traditional project’ for me in the way that it came about or how it has developed but I have enjoyed the process and have especially enjoyed the people.

Usually my projects are full master plans or a new landscape development for a renovated home or a new piece of property. I start at the very beginning and see the project through to the end.

In the case of this project the homeowner had hired a very talented landscape architect , Tom Galli of Kentfield , to design the basic yet very complex layout.
Tom is a genius when it comes to figuring out complex sites. It comes naturally to him.
This site had major elevation problems that cut off natural flow of pedestrian traffic.
Tom came up with a great solution that utilizes a series of walls to create flat usable space for the family.

The building contractor , Richard McCartell, has been absolutely fantastic .
He took a set of structural plans that had little to no aesthetic detailing and turned out a fantastic looking job.

All of the fine details were researched and thought up by the homeowners and Richard.
I occasionally was consulted on a few problem solving items, but for the most part it was the homeowner and the contractor who finely crafted this unique looking landscape job.
I stand in awe of their efforts .

Below are two photos of one part of the job.
photo one shows the water feature detail- it is constructed out of slate and glass tiles and is set into one of the main retaining walls.

From New Album 6/2/09 4:27 PM

The second photo shows the stucco coats going onto the retaining wall with the plants in the foreground waiting to get planted.

From New Album 6/2/09 4:27 PM

I post some photos later of the planting and the water feature in action.

Luscious Lavender

It's lavender blooming time in Northern California.

From California Gardening

In solitude above the city.

A small rooftop meditation garden quietly sits above the hustle and bustle of down town San Francisco.

From Water fountains in the landscape

From Water fountains in the landscape

From Water fountains in the landscape

From Water fountains in the landscape

Do - Not - Resist

I did not resist the urge to plunk down a few dollars yesterday while at my local Home Depot.

I bought 3 new plants and a new terra cotta container.

The Home Depot in my 'hood is like no other.
The nursery manager, Charlie Rossi is an experienced horticulturist with a very keen eye for plants.
It's like a specialty nursery rather than a hum drum big box store.
Yes, he does bring in some 'regular staples' for the nursery , but he is more inclined to bring in the hot new
introductions when they can be found at a reasonable price.

Two years ago when Agonis Jervis Bay After Dark hit the retail nurseries for 50 dollars in a five gallon container he found some healthy beauties for half that amount.

Yesterday when I visited 'his' nursery I was knocked over by the rows and rows of fabulous succulents in one gallon and 2 gallon size containers.
Echiverias, Crassulas, Graptosdums, Agaves, Sedums, Senecios and so much more !!
All of them in exquisite health and shape...... and very very reasonably priced.

In the pot ( $ 19.90) below I planted three new plants : Crassula falcata, Crassula capitella and a Graptosedum
The C. falcata was in a 2 gal. container for $ 15. and the C.capitella and Grap. were in 1 gallon pots for 5$ each.

I just could not resist. I spent $ 45.
But when you consider that I will be taking cuttings from these plants in less than a month to spread around the rest of my succulent garden, it is really a pretty good deal.... ( humor me ! )

From New Album 6/2/09 4:27 PM

Terra cotta

I love the various colors and textures of terra cotta.

The clay that comes out of Mexico tends to have a lot more iron oxide which makes the pots a dark to tawny orange.
The clay is usually not fired to full mature temperature so the pots tend to chip or break a lot easier.

The clay from Italy and France is simply superb. I love the pink tones from France and the deeper orange tones from Imperata.
Usually the clay is fired to a full mature temperature so the pots are extremely durable, even in freezing temperature.

Terra cotta from America is as diverse as this country. Most of our commercial terra cotta comes from Kentucky and Tennessee and the factories fire the clay to full maturity making it durable.
One also sees a glaze applied over American made terra cotta. I don't know the reason for this but it strikes me as interesting.

Below is a photo of various terra cotta from around the world.

From New Album 6/2/09 4:27 PM

Roses - not for me.

They are not for me.
Wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much work for the return.

This past winter, during what I am calling my economic cone of doom I took on a maintenance job.
The garden that I now maintain was one that I designed 10 years ago.
It is a Mediterranean styled rose garden.
Great fun to design, not so much to maintain.

The garden is made up of Olive trees, lavender hedges, rosemary borders, citrus trees and roses. Lots of demanding little rosy debutants who mock me with their ever present black spot, rust and occasional aphid infestation.

Yes, like all winter time rose garden slaves I raked up all the fallen rose litter, tore my favorite pair of work pants while performing the ritual winter prunefest , endured punctured fingers and scraped arms despite heavy duty leather gloves and donned a full face mask three different times to spray a concoction of bordeaux spray to fend ( ha hah ha hah ! ) off the summer time rust and blackspot. NOT.

I have one rose at my own house , I planted it as a memorial for my mom whose name was Evelyn .
I don't lather on the attention to this particular rose and when it totally defoliates itself from black spot , I am happy that there are low to no maintenance succulents and ornamental grasses surrounding it so no one can see its ugliness.

I'll happily design rose gardens for other people, but I never want to maintain another one.
I already take care of one rose garden that has only about 40 roses and that is way too much already.

As far as I'm concerned, If you want a high maintenance garden , then plant a rose garden. You won't be disappointed.

From Loropetalum chinese

White Iceburg - or it should be called Blackspot burg

From Loropetalum chinese

From portfolioMay08.jpg

From portfolioMay08.jpg

From California Gardening

From California Gardening