Patrick Blanc: Drew School Vertical Garden

the garden merited a “Wow… wow!” from its designer, artist/botanist Patrick Blanc, the inventor of the Green Wall as we have come to know it.

Only a few hours after his flight from Paris touched down in the Bay Area, Patrick had arrived at the Drew School to mingle with parents and fans of his work, before presenting an update on current projects – of which there are many from Miami to Bahrain. Patrick shared his impressions of how the school’s garden fared thus far. Overall, the San Francisco habitat is proving beneficial to most of the plant selections, with a spot here and there that may need replanting; the amount of water will be reduced now that plants have become established.

Everything Green!

A good-by hug after Patrick’s enthusiastic presentation at the school’s state-of-the-art theatre.

An exciting revelation in Patrick’s talk: The world-class botanist specializing in tropical flora has had a new plant named for him. Patrick discovered Begonia blancii in Palawan, in the Philippine Islands.

Follow this Youtube link and you’ll be trekking in the jungle with Patrick and his associates as they come upon the Begonia growing in its native habitat, the Bulalakaw Falls area in Palawan.

Heuchera and Aquilegia, lupine and Mimulus area but a few of the plants blooming now.

Patrick Blanc: The Vertical Garden on Amazon.com

Blanc Garden S.F. Oct 2011 Photo © Alice Joyce

Approximately six months since the planting of the Drew School Vertical Garden and the growth is lush, and rich with blooms.

Vertical Gardens .. books on Amazon.com

Read more about Patrick Blanc’s Vertical Gardens…

While in London this Spring I revisited the Vertical Garden created by Patrick Blanc for the Athenaeum Hotel, Piccadilly.

Last year when I photographed here, the garden had been installed about one year.

The growth was noticeably more lush since 12 months had passed.

Athenaeum Hotel Photo © Alice Joyce

Below: Detail of Lamium in bloom, alongside hosta foliage.

During Patrick’s visit to San Francisco earlier this year, to herald the planting of his Vertical Garden for the new Drew School Samuel Cuddeback Assembly Wing building .. the artist/botanist’s sketch for the project was on display.

The botanical names are drawn across the garden’s expanse, with each swath of plants revealing the pattern that will emerge at the garden grows.

In April, 2 months had passed since the San Francisco installation.

A variety of native plant species had begun to bloom, including strawberries.

Patrick talked to me about the importance of creating biodiversity in urban settings. I believe he was excited to have an opportunity to plant exclusively with natives in the temperate climate of San Francisco, while fostering a habitat for hummingbirds and other beneficial wildlife.

Photos © Alice Joyce

Lewisia species appeared to be thriving: Broadleaf lewisia

Photo © Alice Joyce

L. cotyledon – a perennial plant with fleshy leaves that form rosettes.

Blanc’s design mimics the growth habit of these plants, which are found in nature on cliffs and vertical outcrops.

Read more: Green Roofs / Vertical Gardens on Alice’s Garden Travel Buzz

The B & Q Garden - Photo © Alice Joyce

Designed by Laurie Chetwood and Patrick Collins and winner of Gold, the garden boasted the tallest form to appear at Chelsea: A 27-foot high tower representing one of the garden’s 5 demonstration zones, with plants comprising edible selections – either entirely so, or species chosen for their edible stems, roots, leafs, buds or fruit.

B & Q Garden - Vertical Planting Photo © Alice Joyce

The tower’s vertical surface displayed an alluring pattern in hues from chartreuse to mossy to pea green, complemented by colorful blooms as accents cascading from balconies. The horizontal plane came alive with beds of delectable leafy vegetables, fragrant herbs and roses.

Below left: Insect hotels of recycled materials, created by young people from UK Youth.

Right: Allée of lime trees yielding flowers that can be used to make tea.

B&Q Garden insect hotels / Allée of lime trees - Photo © Alice Joyce

Zone 3: A rain harvesting system with water butt and water tower to provide water year-round.

Rain Harvesting System Photo © Alice Joyce

B&Q Garden - water tower Photo © Alice Joyce

B&Q Garden herbs/roses Photo © Alice Joyce

Chelsea-goers new to the idea of edible, sustainable gardens, and for all of us who long ago caught the Grow Your Own wave, the B&G garden’s bounty presented pleasing juxtapositions, bringing to the fore wild strawberries and borage, chamomile and chives, rosemary and pinks, violets and lavender, together with a trove of veggies and those inventive insect hotels. An all-round delight for beneficial insects, birds and London wildlife. As an educational model, the garden presented plenty of ideas to mull over.

The Drew School New Roots Project encompasses a 14,500 sq. ft. LEED-Gold certified building designed by Boris Dramov of ROMA Design Group - project architects, with Bonnie Fisher – liaison involved in the ‘greening’ aspects.

The renowned firm of Rana Creek — designers of the California Academy of Science’s living roof, is creating a living roof for the Drew School addition, surely destined to be a new San Francisco landmark. The roof garden planting  will cover 2,630 sq. ft. area, and along with the green wall, will breathe welcome fresh air in this urban environment.

The artistry of botanist Patrick Blanc has garnered aficionados worldwide, with some 450 living walls created to-date, including the Verdantly Vertical display on London’s Athenaeum Hotel Picadilly, featured on AGTB.

The San Francisco project heralds the largest installation created by Blanc in the United States.

Patrick Blanc’s decision to install California native species is an exciting, innovative highlight of the Assembly Wing’s green swathe, from selections such as Artemisa tridentata and the rare Galvezia speciosa – Channel Island Bush Snapdragon, to Mimulus and Solanum xanti.

Installation of Native Plant Species (Photo: Alice Joyce)

To talk with Blanc is to experience the designer’s enthusiastic response to California’s vast plant life. Perhaps never more so than when one hears him discussing the relationship of California plants to the region’s beguiling hummingbirds. Blanc’s selection of countless red and orange flowering natives have been chosen to foster a vibrant hummingbird habitat within the wall’s community of plantings. Once the garden is completed, you can look for the sprightly trumpets of Salvias, along with blooming Zauschneria & Ribes, to name but a few genera. That these miraculous creatures are not found in Europe seemed to stimulate Blanc’s imagination, giving him an opportunity to design with hummers in mind.

Integral to the design are plants that aim to meet the Vertical Garden’s varying conditions, with species designed and installed according to their light and moisture requirements, or the ability to withstand windy conditions or full shade, for instance, taking in an array of Iris, Heuchera, Viola, Aquilegia, Penstemon and Lewisia.

Scaffolding should be removed in a week or so, giving the plants a chance to settle in. An opening ceremony is planned for late-April. Blanc expects the plants to have grown and filled in by September.

Look for project updates on Alice’s Garden Travel Buzz.

And here’s a feature on Patrick’s project for London’s Athenaeum Hotel

Patrick Blanc Design – The Athenaeum Hotel Piccadilly – London

Athenaeum Hotel London – Patrick Blanc Garden (ALICE JOYCE photo)

Admittedly, I’m in thrall with Vertical Gardens: Exemplifed by the Living Wall or Mur Vegetal created by botanist/artist/passionate plantsman, Patrick Blanc, for The Athenaeum Hotel Piccadilly, London.

The garden Blanc created in 2009 for The Athenaeum had slipped past my radar, until it appeared like a vision before my eyes while riding atop one of London’s double-decker buses, my preferred mode of transport when time permits. The garden’s commanding verdant expanse wraps around a corner of the hotel building on Piccadilly Road. As well as the wall, the hotel’s entryway boasts a densely planted rooftop – pictured above: I was informed that the rooftop element had been added to the original plan after Blanc’s vertical garden revealed itself to be a distinctive addition to the Athenaeum’s facade. Choisya ternata - fragrant Mexican orange - appears among the rooftop plantings, and it seemed to be present in most every English garden I visited this past May.

By the way….

look for the story HERE  on Alice’s Garden Travel Buzz when Patrick Blanc creates his first U.S. West Coast garden, coming soon to the new Drew School building in San Francisco.

And, if you’re planning to visit London, you’ll surely want to visit the Kensington Roof Gardens!

]]> http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2010/09/09/patrick-blanc-vertical-garden-athenaeum-hotel/feed/ 5 http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2010/06/17/roof-garden-fairmont-waterfront-hotel/ http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2010/06/17/roof-garden-fairmont-waterfront-hotel/#comments Thu, 17 Jun 2010 22:22:20 +0000 Alice Joyce http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/?p=1822 Continue reading Culinary Banquet Up on the Roof .. Herb Garden at Fairmont Waterfront Hotel

Fairmont Waterfront Hotel – Vancouver, British Columbia

Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver - In the Garden Facing Hotel

On a long-awaited visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, I reveled in a blissful stay at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. The room’s comfortable, contemporary decor and great views were a welcome prequel to my tour of the Fairmont’s rooftop culinary garden. Installed around 1991, the hotel’s rooftop array had been on my radar for some time. At 2,100 square feet,  the 3rd floor green oasis holds a place as one of the first living roofs in a city that now boasts the largest green roof in Canada, the nearby 6-acre Vancouver Convention Centre.

Executive Chef Patrick Dore at the Herb Garden Gates Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, Vancouver, B.C.

The plantings were refreshed in 2006, and fifteen cubic yards of compost later, the garden layout boasts box hedging that effectively defines the planting beds. Espaliered apples and bay trees add beauty and structure to the design. Not surprisingly, organic gardening practices are employed in these productive gardens, where the Fairmont chefs harvest such delicacies as alpine strawberries, rose blossoms, lovage and calendulas, for the tasty fare at Herons Restaurant. May through September you can tour the garden, or book to see Bee Hive demonstrations: the honeybees are the latest addition to the gardens. Phone or check the web site for tour times. Tours of the Herb Garden can also be arranged along with a lunch reservation in Herons.

Garden Plan - Fairmont Waterfront Hotel Roof Garden Vancouver, B.C.

As you might imagine, these organic gardens are a haven for many species of birds. Here’s a gardening tip revealed on my tour of the garden: Orange pekoe tea with a little bit of soap added is used at times for aphid control.

A Birds Eye View .. Fairmont Waterfront Hotel Roof Garden Plan: The hotel offers guest rooms with views of the garden’s herbs and flowers; also Terrace Rooms featuring private patios that lead to the garden.

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