Leaves Other Than Green
Leaves other than the the color green can be cause for excitement. The vast majority of garden plants in my zone are green, as in garden variety green. Not that I object to that. Green leaves are not simply green. They have size, mass, texture, contrast, surface, shape and form. An all green scheme explores all of these design issues. But leaves other than green are a magnet for the eye, and the gardener. My knowledge of how certain leaves are other than green is very sketchy. Some color seems like it is laid over green. The leaves of this shocking pink and carmine coleus seem clear, and not at all muddied by a green layer underneath. Wasabi coleus is a lime version of green. Somewhere in the color mix of this leaf is lots of yellow.
Some gray leaves have a green base to them-as in this Silver Shield plectranthus. Other gray leaves, as pictured above, show no hint of green. Where am I going with this? Color as a container, garden, or landscape design element is as personal as it is complicated.
I find that everyone sees color differently. The perception of color is much about the science of vision, but it is equally about perception. I like every color. I respond to the absence of color, and the combination of all colors. I respond to certain color combinations more strongly than others. The orange flowers of this begonia, by contrast, bring the black green leaves to life.
The color of Red Bor kale is black, under laid by carmine pink. Dusky purple in color, if you will. This dark gray purple asks for a companion that will play off of, or feature that color. The yellow green scented geranium is a perfect companion. Chocolate sweet potato vine would be an interesting combination. A garden variety green leaf would be neither here nor there.
I have a very tough time designing with red foliage. Red leaved Japanese maples are gorgeous on their own, but I do not see them integrated into a color whole successfully very often. I find the landscape with blue spruce, red Japanese maples, and burning bush (a very dull medium green) jarring, and unsatisfying. Blue in the landscape looks good far away from the eye. Red in the landscape looks good up close. Dull gray green-where does that color belong?
The coleus that are available now have strikingly beautiful other than green color. Wild lime coleus permits the placement of the color yellow in the shade. Sum and Substance hosta, and creeping jenny are lime green. Wild Lime has a yellow center. This plant has great color potential for a seasonal planting.
Some leaves are not completely other than green. They are mixed. This mixed pink and green color caladium is good with the mixed color polka dot plant. How so? The caladium has green in its leaf, as does the polka dot plant. There is common ground.
This black edged pink/red coleus is a striking color. I could see planting it with a companionable other than green leaf. As in black oxalis. Or red alteranthera.
Leaves other than green are not so color friendly to green leaves. Do I like this combination? Not so much. I like color relationships that provoke or relate. Color relationships that are standoffish make me uneasy.
There are those green leaved plants that bloom so generously that their green leaves are not a color issue. The begonia leaves in this pot are a secondary visual issue. This container combination takes nothing for granted. The coleus in this pot is edged with green. The green leaves of the begonia, and the green edges of the coleus are in partnership. The orange flowers, and those leaves other than green make a partnership of another kind. The terra cotta pot-there is another color adding to the whole. A visual discussion of color in the garden-interesting.
Posted on: September 15, 2013 13 Comments
Garden On Tour
The prospect of having ones garden on tour is equal parts excitement, and dread. I know. It is my job early each season to persuade 6 gardeners, most of which are clients of mine, to open their garden to visitors. The fact that every ticket dollar goes to benefit the programs of the Greening of Detroit helps considerably. But a garden on tour implies a garden that is not only imaginatively designed, but well maintained. Getting a garden ready for an event is plenty of work. My garden has been on the Greening of Detroit tour every year since 2007. It seems fair. If I would ask someone else to put their garden on tour, I like to be able to say I am right there with them. We are on call at no charge for any participating gardener the 2 weeks before the tour. Every gardener with a garden on tour wants that garden to look its best. Our gardening season has been tough. A very cold and wet spring. Torrential rains, regularly. Storms and storm damage-everywhere. Last week, blistering and relentless heat. This giant tree limb came down across the street from me-just this past Friday.
I do the best I can to get my garden road ready for this tour. I would want every square inch of my landscape and garden to be thriving. Many of the people who take this tour are very interested gardeners. They look at what is there-intently. It is my idea to do whatever I can to encourage people to garden. Gardening is good for people-I truly believe this. But a garden has a tough side. The weather can be terrible. Plants die. Some days nothing seems to be right. Thee are those places that look rough. IO would not want that to discourage anyone. A garden tour is a visual expression about the value of a landscape and garden. That visual expression is not perfect, corner to corner. Gardens have problems and failures. Gaps. Troubles.
I never get my wish for a perfect tour garden. Every gardening season presents challenges. If I had my way, I would have no challenges the month before our tour. But in fact my garden has as many gaps and troubles as it has good moments. I have said this so many times to both old and prospective clients. Perfect applies only to diamonds, and moments. The most beautiful moment of a garden may last but a few hours, on that one day. Maybe no one else will be there to see it with you. Rough spots in a garden cannot always be fixed.
Having had my garden on tour, once a year, for the past seven years, I have this to say. The time and effort that it takes to maintain a landscape and garden is always evident. Those places that do not look so good-every gardener has them. The evidence of bad weather-that is a battle every gardener understands. I don’t fret about every square inch anymore. The people who take our tour seem to simply appreciate every gesture. They see things entirely differently than I do.
My yard was not at its finest this past Sunday. Even Buck remarked that my container plantings seemed listless-plagued by rain. He was right. No matter my efforts, the stormy weather prevailed. Was I worried the day of the tour? Not in the least.
Not one person who came to my house for the tour remarked about the Japanese beetle damage, the mildew on the dahlias, the rain soaked petunias, the rotting scotch moss or the delphiniums out of bloom and listing from the wind. Instead, to the last, they chose to thank me for opening my garden.
A garden is a very personal relationship between a gardener, and the environment. A garden tour presents that relationship to visitors, without any commentary.
I am not so interested in the commentary about gardens. Go see gardens. Every garden you can. Absorb from them what seems pertinent. Take home what works, and do better. The tour seems to encourage people to go home, and take on a project. This is the best part of putting a garden on tour.
My landscape is a blueprint for my life. No matter the troubles. As for being on tour-I would hope that any person who came to my garden this past Sunday would not be discouraged by its failures. I would hope they would be encouraged by the care and energy I put to my landscape.
It was a great tour! So many visitors-so many questions. So many kind comments. Those garden failures-the furthest thing from my mind.
A garden? What is it? So sunny.
Posted on: July 23, 2013 21 Comments
The Fourth Of July
My fourth of July was a holiday of an unusual sort. We installed and planted 9 steel Branch planters at two commercial locations in downtown Detroit. The decision to install on the holiday made sense to us. This is a hopping busy place during the week. There are thousands of people who work in this area. Parking is always at a premium, and parking for 4 trucks right off Campus Martius is just about impossible to find. The planters were located just outside the buildings. But at 8am on the Fourth of July, we were able to park close by. No Detroit police officer gave us a second glance, even though we were parked in no parking zones. Tents were being set up for Fourth of July festivities, but by and large we had the locations to ourselves.
Having a favorable set up means the work goes fast. We were able to spread out and stage the work on the sidewalk, without bothering any pedestrians. The First National Building, a 25 story limestone building, was completed in 1930. The stately old building is undergoing an extensive renovation, courtesy of Bedrock Real Estate Services. The planting of these large steel Branch planters are part of that renovation.
From what little I could see from my scouting and planting visit, it appeared that ground floor spaces were being renovated for retail use. Who knows what is going on upstairs. What a pleasure to see a historic building such as this one in loving hands. It reminded me of my trips downtown better than 45 years ago. There is an energy, a sense of purpose, and a determination to endow a downtown business district down in the heels with new life. Impressive, this effort.
Given some time, these plantings should grow up into these very large pots. They are 36″ in diameter, and 36″ tall. The pink mandevillea Alice Dupont is the most floriferous, vigorous, and brightly colored of all the pink mandevilleas. Though I love the glossy leaves of the Sun Parasol Giant pink mandevillea, I opted for the size and heavy blooming characteristics of Alice DuPont. This cultivar will endure the hot conditions of a downtown location. The Persian Queen geraniums feature bright chartreuse leaves. Alternating with the Persian Queens, a brilliant orange sunpatiens that have already outgrown their 6″ pots. The giant pink petunias, lime licorice, and small plugs of red mandevillea will make for lots of color and volume around the rims of the pots.
The Bedrock staff turned on the street level spigot, so we could soak all four pots. A good watering settles in all of the plants, and eliminates any air pockets. We wanted to drench the plantings with water; this is our idea of good bon voyage. Being July, we planted 3 gallon size mandevilleas, and 6″ and 8″ pots of the other materials. All of these annuals love hot weather. Given that our summer weather has only recently warmed up, I think these flowers will settle in and start to grow quickly. They have made a great start, protected by the greenhouses in which they were grown.
Everyone we have had contact with over this project has been enthusiastic, hard working, and willing to get things done. Young people, of course. So much good energy in one place-it was a treat to be involved. I will admit I was a little bowled over. So much discussion and sharing. My design charette with them-on the streets.
Owen and Lucio wrapped the tops of the bamboo poles for the mandevillea in purple aluminum anodized wire. It seemed to be an appropriate gesture.
Our second location-the Chrysler House. The neoclassical building was completed in 1912, and has already undergone extensive renovation. The facade outside had some “improvements” made in the past. By this time, I was absolutely certain that Bedrock would restore the outside of this building with the same spirit and care that fueled an extensive renovation of the interior spaces. Each of our 5 steel Jackie boxes-4 rectangles, and 1 27″ cube, features a variegated willow on standard in the center. Salix integra “Hakuro Nishiki” is a dwarf cultivar with white variegated leaves. The willows grow fast, and can be left as a starburst, or trimmed for a more formal shape.
The exposure is from the east. All of these flowers and coleus will thrive in this setting. The building across the street features a glass facade. I am thinking the reflected afternoon light off the glass will provide enough sun to make the petunias thrive.
We had no access to water from this building given the holiday. We brought our own, in 3 40 gallon plastic garbage cans. I wanted to be sure the new plants were soaking wet, just in case they had to go without water over the weekend. There are advantages to choosing to large planters for commercial settings. The big size seems in better proportion to a building that is many stories high. The not so obvious advantage – a large soil mass is slow to dry out. Big pots buy you some time.
I don’t have serious concerns with the care to come for this planting. The other plantings and site furnishings in buildings on streets radiating from Campus Martius were well looked after.
This single box sits next to the door of a ground level restaurant. Yes it belongs to the Chrysler House, but this ground floor restaurant space needs its own special sign.
This was a great way to spend the beginning of my Fourth of July holiday. Lingering on my mind was one very independently minded business who feels a substantial investment in the renovation of our city is well worth the effort. There is every evidence of a fearless pioneering spirit that marks the best of what our country can be. Brave American fought for our freedom. Other brave Americans go on to forge a path. They take risks. They invest. They go for broke. Buck calls them the captains of industry-how apt. I so respect the investment that Bedrock Real Estate Services has made with the core idea that the city of Detroit is a city well worth preserving. A city well worth energizing. They are lending a huge hand to the future of downtown Detroit. Bravo, Bedrock.
Posted on: July 5, 2013 13 Comments