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The Spheres For Thomas Hobbs

Southlands NurseryThomas Hobbs and his partner Brent Beattie own and operate a nursery in Vancouver British Columbia called Southlands.  I first became aware of their nursery via an article in Gardens Illustrated magazine years ago.  As this publication only rarely features gardening places and people outside of England, I knew this place had to be extraordinary.  It is.  Rob made a point of visiting Southlands a few years, as I was so keen to know more about their vision of beauty, their love of the garden, and their love of the gardening trade.  Thomas has written several great books.  Both “Shocking Beauty” and “The Jewel Box Garden” are well worth reading.  His chapter about “bell’occhio”,  literally translated as “beautiful eye”, was an influential read for me.  We struck up a friendship after my first blog essay about him some years ago.

June 24 2013 (5)What has Buck been up to?  Making his steel garden spheres, among a lot other things. If you are not familiar with them, they are a classic style garden lattice re-imagined and constructed in the round.  Buck knew exactly how to make them, but could not draw them.  After much discussion, I finally told him to just make one.  The CAD drawings could come later. The first strap steel sphere-not welded, but riveted together-was big, light, and gorgeous.  Never mind the drawings.  We now make them in both strap and rod steel,  for clients both local and distant.

delivery of the spheresIt was a good thing that we had some spheres on hand, as Thomas decided he wanted 6.  3 strap steel spheres.  5.5 foot in diameter, 4.5 feet in diameter, and 3 feet in diameter.  He wanted the same number and sizes in the rod steel-sent to Vancouver in time for an event.  Buck crated each sphere with the same care he exercises when he makes them.  They had a big journey ahead of them.   Exportation to Canada involves a lot of paperwork, and a customs broker.  The spheres are manufactured in the US, and are made from steel that comes from Canada.  We verified that to satisfy the requirements of our trade agreement with Canada.  The truck that picked up all six spheres was a dedicated truck, meaning no other freight on board.  From Pontiac Michigan, to  Vancouver, British Columbia took two days.

deliveryThe  spheres arrived in time for the hardy plant study group that was to visit his garden in June.  He told me he felt like the the spheres had been crated by the Louvre.  Buck did crate like the Louvre.  We wanted those sculptures to travel from our hands to his-without a hitch.  Happily,  they arrived without so much as a scratch.

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Thomas and I have never met.  We may never meet.  But we have a strong relationship over the garden.  I am thrilled that 6 of our spheres are part of his new meadow garden.

Thomas Hobbs 12He has been sending me pictures. This new garden of his is young, but he has a vision for this space that is timeless.  I can see that as this garden grows, those spheres will be a sculptural element  that will keep pace with the passing years.

Thomas Hobbs 6I imagine that he has been moving them around since the day he uncrated them.  He is testing them in this spot, or that spot.  From the pictures, I can see that he is interacting and responding to them.  Sculpture that graces a garden is much about the gardener in charge.  As a designer,  I rarely presume to suggest a sculpture for a garden.  I can never predict what a gardener, an individual, will find appealing.

Thomas Hobbs' spheresBut given the pictures I am getting every day from Thomas, I think these spheres touch and reach him in a very personal and serious way.  My advice?  Only commit to art that truly moves you.  Any sculpture you place in your garden should enchant you every time you pass by.

Thomas Hobbs 3Judging from the pictures, I would suggest that Thomas Hobbs is perfectly in touch with what enchants him.

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days end

Thomas Hobbs 5The visual news from Thomas Hobbs.

 

At A Glance: The Wreath Details

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It does not matter whether you are stitching a quilt, designing a garden, composing a song, painting a picture, or writing a book-the creative process is a very special state of mind.  I don’t know that I could describe it very well, except to say that the moment when all of ones every day cares and obligations drop away, and all that is left is a collection of thoughts, a vocabulary, some tools, and a willing hand is a precious moment indeed.

wreath-detail.jpgWreath making is a personal description of the natural world, on a small scale.  One can easily hang the work on the front door.  It could be complex and rich.  It could be simple and spare.  It could be Williamsburg like in feeling.  It could be funny, or operatic.  It could be anything.  Imagining the possibilities is work well worth the time it takes to imagine.

wreath-detail.jpgThis 18 wreath project is a project I treasure, as it gives me the time and the space to focus, express, interpret, try out,  fiddle and fuss.  It would never occur to me to judge the importance or lack thereof regarding a holiday wreath.  What is important is the making.  Making is very important to my life-just like it is to so many other people.  Making it to work on time, making a sculpture, making a solution, making dinner-people make things.  There is an art to a life, but there is also a craft.

wreath-detail.jpgWe are pretty busy right now.  The holiday pots, the holiday decorating, the lighting, the clients interested in our take on how to dress their front porch winter, or how they should set a holiday dinner party table. We are in the thick of it.  I rather like all the commotion.  But I also like those moments when the work is not really work.  Those moments spent crafting a story.  There is a story about the relationship of one material to another, the scale, the texture, the color-the line and direction.  The story I interpret for a client.  The season, the materials.

wreath-detail.jpgIf you are keen to design and make, you know exactly what this moment feels like.  These 18 wreaths will be shipped out tomorrow.  I hope that each and every person scheduled for a holiday wreath from my client will enjoy them. I know I thoroughly enjoyed making them.

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The Garden In December

December-garden.jpgEvery gardener’s circumstances are different, but our December is notable for the coming of the cold.  No matter what year it is, my plan for the holiday and winter garden at the shop has to include an element that is warm.  The lighting is warm.  Sparkly or reflective materials can be warm.  The sentiment of the season can be warm.  Rob says the shop garden this year is cozy.  As in yard after yard of thick fir garland.  Concolor fir, noble, silver, Douglas, balsam-fir is a very sturdy and long lasting green outdoors.  The garland was loosely wrapped with grapevine garland.  The contrast of the bare vines and the lush garland   The window boxes have fir blankets.  The windows have fir hats.  It was 14 degrees this morning when I took this picture, but the garden looks warm.

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The window boxes are stuffed with mixed greens.  As the mixed greens are long and lax, we do a few rows of noble fir at the bottom of the greens to support the entire arrangement. Noble fir is very stiff and strong.  Winter weather can be fierce.  Snow, wind, ice and various mayhem from the sky can take a toll on a container garden one would want to last until March.  Making an arrangement sturdy and strong is more than half of the work of it.

warm-winter.jpgThe centerpieces are composed of red bud pussy willow, ochre eucalyptus, a few springs of metallic gold eucalyptus, and a ruff of gold sinamay. For good measure, a dollop of sugar pine cones completes the look.  Given that the building is large, and the garden is mostly viewed from the street, or from a car, the materials are over scaled. A smaller pine cone would not have much impact given the scale of the building.

holiday-container-arrangement.jpgOver the summer, these Belgian blue stone plinths supported Italian terra cotta pots with boxwood spheres.  Winter arrangements in my zone ask for pots that are frost proof. Though boxwood is generally hardy in pots, I would be uneasy about an extended period of low temperatures.  We have had an uncharacteristically cold late fall-12 degrees overnight is much more like late January than early December.  This garden would have a very bleak look, but for its winter dress.

holiday-container.jpgWinter gardens are for viewing from a distance.  It is unlikely anyone will be lingering here for long.  Big, warm, and simple gestures go a long way towards banishing the winter blues.  A design which gives the illusion of warmth is appreciated when the weather is so dreary.  Decorating the garden has its benefits.  It feels good to have something to do that at least approximates gardening. And it is nice to have something good to look at while the garden is dormant.  This garden is just about ready for the snow.

warm-winter-decor.jpgThe fir hats over the windows are composed of garlands that are attached to bamboo poles.  Garden has a natural tendency to fall, swoop and swag.  If you want a straight and orderly appearance, a bamboo pole will keep all of the clippings in line.  The poles are then wired to the pediment.  I like this construction technique for mantels too.

wrapped-tree-trunks.jpgMy favorite part of this winter garden are the garlands and grapevines on the tree trunks.  Deciduous trees have a very spare and sculptural look during the winter.  These over sized scarves that puddle on the ground make the trees look protected and warm.

Detroit-Garden-Works.jpgThere are those places yet to finish.  These urns need something.  The pots need some lighting.  A favorite part of this winter project is the ability to work on it as time and inspiration permits.  Last January I had the basic idea for the garden.  I ordered boxes of grapevine garland, for the building, and the trees, and for Rob’s steel hanging spheres.  Taking the time to let a garden space speak back is my idea of luxury, and part of the great pleasure of the doing.  I may still be tinkering with this 2 weeks from now.  There’s no rush.  Winter will be with us for a long time.

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Warm and cozy sounds good.

The Stick Crop

natural-twigs.jpgThe most glorious color award in the landscape must surely go to the fall season.  From the asparagus to the sweet gums, color is in the air.  The green of the evergreen shrubs and trees is all the more intense by contrast with the colors sported by the leaves of deciduous plants.  Once those leaves fall, the landscape takes on a much more subdued and subtle palette. The natural birch branches, honeysuckle vine rolls, grapevine deer, wood crates and pumpkins in the above picture are one shade of brown or another.  The bark of the linden is a gray variation of brown. So much brown!  The garden is going quiet. For every gardener unwilling to go quiet, the branches, twigs and poles available late in the fall can offer a new lease on a garden life.

red-curly-willow.jpgFor those gardeners who live in more northerly zones, the time between the last of the fall leaves and the spring crocus can be a very long time indeed. This means that the shrubs and trees that sport bark with great color are of great interest. Planning a landscape for winter interest is a good idea in my zone. My dilemma-space.  I have a very small urban property.  I run up against the limits of the space all the time.  Given a large property, I could have swaths of red and yellow twig dogwood, groves of bungeana pine, a group of London planes, and all manner of interesting willows.  Lacking that kind of space does not mean that I have to do without some winter color.        red-twig-dogwood-bundles.jpgI am fortunate that there are farmers in this country that grow certain species of shrubs and trees from which they harvest cut branches. Our shipment of cut branches arrived a few days ago.  The colors are astonishing.  The dogwood branches have glossy bark in a variety of shades of red and yellow.  The curly copper willow is a yellowy orange.  The flame willow is the color of cinnamon. The red bud pussy willow has a glossy dark red brown bark, and red orange buds. This color and bark texture destined to last throughout the winter- so welcome.

red-twig-dogwood.jpgThe species red twig dogwood is dull and dark red. Cut from the garden, this dogwood has small branchlets, and cream colored growth scars. New cultivars of dogwood sport clearer and more intense color than the species.  Spring Meadow Farms has been instrumental in offering great new cultivars of vibrantly barked shrubs to nurseries.  Dogwood which is grown for branches is at some point cut back near to the ground. This process is known as coppicing.  The English have been growing shrubs and cutting them back hard with the express purpose of harvesting the branches for fencing for centuries. A shrub that is cut back hard responds with vigorous new growth.  The straight and unbranched new growth provides the best color, and the glossiest bark.  The red twig dogwood “Cardinal” has the most brilliantly red bark of any cultivar I know.  The color of these branches is as luscious as a red tulip.

pussy-willow.jpgPussy willow is an enormous growing shrub whose main claim to fame is the fuzzy and silvery spring catkins that sally forth in the spring. But pussy willow branches are a gift to a winter landscape. We buy the cut branches at 6 feet tall or better.  The green and chocolate bark, and the orange red buds are sensational.  So how do I use these glossy barked and beautifully colored branches?  In containers at the front door.  On the mantle for the holidays. Over the door.  They can be woven into wreaths. In any application, they are a lively reminder that the harvest from the garden can endow your winter seaso..

red-bud-pussy-willow.jpg A casual bunch of branches has a more informal and traditional look. They pair well with other materials available for the season-grapevine, evergreen boughs, pine cones, dry hydrangea flowers and berries-even the sturdy remains of perennials from the garden.  Ornamental grasses, cut and fixed to a bamboo stake make a graceful foil to the more substantial branches.

yellow-twig-dogwood.jpgAn arrangement of fresh cut branches can have a very contemporary look, placed vertically in a container. The height is a welcome addition to a winter container.  Stems stuck into soil may very well root and sprout in the spring.  The willow leafing out means the branches can be part of a spring container planting.

cut-twigs-and-branches.jpgThe branches are beautiful this year.  They make an enormous visual impact in a winter landscape with minimal color.poplar-poles-and-grapevine-rolls.jpg These poplar poles are much bigger than a branch.  There are places where barked poles are the perfect thing.  A celebration of the season in whatever style and shape suits you.

twig-time.jpgDetroit Garden Works is a source for branches, twigs, poles, and other natural materials in November.  These materials help to make the celebration of the winter season all the better.  These branches can help make a winter landscape all the more beautiful.