Gardens by the Bay in Singapore

A preview of 'Gardens by the Bay' in Singapore - two weeks until we leave on our trip.

Pacific Orchid Expo

The Pacific Orchid Expo hit San Francisco this past weekend.
Lots of beautiful orchids .
The San Francisco Bromeliad Society was invited to install a display table top garden and to have a sales booth.

I just got home from packing up the show ... I'm bushed.

Here are a few photos of the display garden that several members of the club worked on.

From bromeliad table-scape

From bromeliad table-scape

From bromeliad table-scape

Entrance vignette to the show : it was in celebration of the golden gate bridge

From bromeliad table-scape

From bromeliad table-scape

One of the orchid exhibits

From bromeliad table-scape

Mock ups for the upcoming Garden Show in S.F.

Slowing chipping away at building the modular units for the upcoming S.F. Garden show that is opening its doors to the public in late March.

The space that I am working within is a tiny 4x8 area. There will be about 8 or 10 of these spaces and they are being called " Small Space Gardens".

The basic layout :
3 boxes - A plinth for the buddha, a 2x6 planter and a small water basin.

From 2012 garden show

A preliminary planting mock up using plants from my container garden collection :

From 2012 garden show

There will be a simple overhead arbor that I will hang tillandsias from and mount some lighting .

I'm also working on a small vertical garden, 1x3 , that will be inset into the back wall

From 2012 garden show

So far it is bits and pieces and a couple of design concepts

I was invited to install a small 4x8 garden space at the 2012 San Francisco Garden show that will be open to the public in late March at the San Mateo Event Center.

At this time I am exploring a variety of design concepts , doing cost analysis studies , gathering found objects and puttering in the studio and greenhouse.

I’ve narrowed it down to 2 options and I’’m leaning toward # 2 because it has a simple overhead arbor and judging from past shows, the lighting is lacking in design so I will need to design my own lighting system.

option 1 - probably not

From 2012 garden show

option 2 - potentially yes.

From 2012 garden show

The space is small 4x8 .
Color , texture and visual impact is paramount.
the background color :

From 2012 garden show

A little sculptural interest

From 2012 garden show

From 2012 garden show

Horticulturally I will be emphasizing Bromeliads adaptable for the Bay Area, succulents and orchids.
A small vertical window of bromeliads , orchids and perhaps a nepenthe will be set into the back wall.

From 2012 garden show

From 2012 garden show

From 2012 garden show

From 2012 garden show

So many plant choices !
Inside the greenhouse

From 2012 garden show

evolution with glass

It has always been a dream of mine to design with glass.

It was during my last two years in a high school drafting class that I started working on a house design that had a glass stair case and a sunken glass living room. ( yes it was the early 70’s when sunken living rooms were all the rage ) .

Photo from Hospitality Design

From October 31, 2011

My high school drafting teacher , Mr. Nolan, didn’t tell me that my glass house design was impractical or unattainable . Instead he encouraged me to continue to design and handed me an application to Harvard’s Graduate School of Design summer program in architecture

Nervous and armed with an immature portfolio I headed off to Harvard in 1976.
In a rather odd turn of events I did not get into the Architecture department as I had hoped , instead I was placed in the Landscape Architecture program.
Inside Gund Hall - my desk was on the second floor about where that jacket is hanging.

From October 31, 2011

Outside view of the GSD

From October 31, 2011

Link to the GSD website
http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/news/all-news/feed.html

It’s been 35 years later from that first class in L.A.(landscape architecture) and I am still intrigued to design with glass.

Working with recycled broken glass

From San Francisco Garden Show 2008

From San Francisco Garden Show 2008

From San Francisco Garden Show 2008

From San Francisco Garden Show 2008

A Burle Marx influence.

Twenty some odd years ago I was influenced by the work of Roberto Burle Marx, (1909-1994)
He was Brazil's most influential landscape architect and is internationally recognized as the "creator of the modern garden." Mr. Marx is also recognized for his discovery of many native Brazilan rainforest plants. One of my favorites is Tibouchina , which I often use in my garden designs here in Northern California.
Below is a photo of a garden wall that Mr. Marx designed using discarded and collected building shards.

From Water fountains in the landscape

Below is a garden that I designed for the 1990 S.F. Garden Show. I was inspired by the wall that Mr. Marx had created in his garden in Brazil.
I came across these old photos today while cleaning out a bookshelf.

From Water fountains in the landscape

From Water fountains in the landscape

Terrariums. Simple and fun.

Ever wondered how to make a terrarium ?
The folks at POTTED - http://www.pottedstore.com/our-blog/ have a great tutorial that is easy to follow and will offer lots of inspiration.


I vaguely remember making a terrarium back in the 1960’s with my mom. We used a small oval fish tank and colored aquarium gravel. It was probably pretty gaudy looking when we finished but it remains one of those memories where as kids we were encouraged to create arts and crafts without any derogatory judgement.

I tried my hand at making a terrarium a few days ago.
I used a glass domed cheese serving dish , a glass vase and a small glass candle votive holder.
Inside the containers I placed moss, shells, succulents and some willow branches.

It was pretty simple to make and I am inspired to try making a few more for the upcoming gift exchange season.

From terrarium

From terrarium