Iford Manor draped in Wisteria: Peto Garden Photo © Alice Joyce

The magnificent architecture and historic landscape of the Harold Peto garden at Iford Manor is literally draped in the cascading, fragrant blooms in May.

Iford Garden Wisteria and Fountain Photo © Alice Joyce

Link to an earlier post, where I reveled in the artistic landscape of Iford Manor: The Harold Peto Garden

Hestercombe Wisteria Archway Photo © Alice Joyce

The historical importance of the gardens and the landscape architecture of Hestercombe must surely be on the bucket list of anyone who appreciates the exceptional Arts & Crafts style. At Hestercombe you’ll marvel at the teamwork of doyenne Gertrude Jekyll and master architecture, Edwin Lutyens.

Kensington Roof Gardens Wisteria Photo © Alice Joyce

A fabulous spot in London: After a delectable meal at Sir Richard Branson’s

Babylon restaurant… be sure to stroll the intimate roof gardens.

Monks House Wisteria Photo © Alice Joyce

My pilgrimage to Bloomsbury author, Virginia Woolf’s Monk’s House is among my most memorable garden visits in the English countryside.  Read more about this beautiful National Trust property that sparkles in Springtime…

]]> http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2012/01/30/springtime-travel-wisteria-bedecked-gardens/feed/ 2 http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2011/07/26/vertical-gardens-revisited-patrick-blanc-in-san-francisco/ http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2011/07/26/vertical-gardens-revisited-patrick-blanc-in-san-francisco/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:54:52 +0000 Alice Joyce http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/?p=3866 Continue reading Vertical Gardens Revisited: Patrick Blanc in San Francisco

“There are no hummingbirds in Europe” .. Patrick Blanc

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

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The Himalayan blue poppy repeated a soft hue to benefit the show garden created by The Royal Bank of Canada. A green roof upholstered the top of a cottage building repurposed from a shipping container, while the ground plane featured clean-lined pools to capture rainwater collected from the living roof. After traveling down to the pools for storage, the water would then be released into the garden.

Taking inspiration from the Arts & Crafts movement, the design incorporated dry-stone wall elements planted up with arrays of succulents.

The RBC Garden’s naturalistic plantings were influenced by the philosophy of the Victorian garden sage, William Robinson.  Designers: Nigel Dunnett & The Landscape Agency

A contrasting concept defined the sleek, contemporary style of ‘A Monaco Garden’ designed by Sarah Eberle for the Principality of Monaco. Not surprisingly, each show garden in its own way emphasized the importance of water in a garden plan.

Blue water represented Monaco’s harbor; water collected from building rooftops feeds the pool; drought-tolerant plants were selected for the green roof; the garden’s vertical living walls echo the greening of Monaco’s urban apartment blocks.

As pools and fountains offer to refresh the spirit on a sunny summer’s day, the reflective quality of water plays an equally prominent role, emerging as an essential point of focus in the layout of the Laurent-Perrier Garden designed by Luciano Giubbilei.

My experience of the Laurent-Perrier gardens at Chelsea brings to mind a sophistication together with a romantic touch. In 2011 this held true. According to the show guide, the soft pink tones of the lyrical plantings were meant to evoke Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Champagne. As a lover of fine bubbly, and most especially Rosé Champagne, I can’t imagine a lovelier notion.

]]> http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2011/06/27/rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2011/feed/ 2 http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2011/06/21/edible-vertical-gardening-rhs-chelsea-2011/ http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/2011/06/21/edible-vertical-gardening-rhs-chelsea-2011/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:48:51 +0000 Alice Joyce http://www.alicesgardentravelbuzz.com/?p=3626 Continue reading B&Q Chelsea 2011: Horizontal Meets Vertical Gardening

An ambitious design emphasizing edible gardening and sustainability set apart the B&Q Garden at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show

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.

B&Q – Vegetable Plots to Tower Photo © Alice Joyce

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.

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Design developed by Melbourne-based Jim Fogarty.

Inspired by the celebrated Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbroune, the design illustrated the importance of water traveling from the parched outback region on a journey through rivers and gorges to Australia’s East Coast. An evocative wall element effectively conjures up images of burnt ochre sand dunes.

Australian Garden Callistemon c. 'White Anzac' Photo © Alice Joyce

A highlight of the garden’s fascinating plant palette: Callistemon c. ‘White Anzac.’

A sky-blue pond echoes the culturally significant shape of a boomerang, set amidst paths suggesting dry river beds. The pavilion, providing shade, is surrounded by a wealth of plants native to Australia.

Australian Garden plantings & walkway Photo © Alice Joyce

There were many species familiar to a Northern California gardener, if not to most show visitors: Hybrid Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos hybrids); Westringia fruticosa – coastal Rosemary; woolybush; ‘Kalibarri Carpet’ Emu Bush; and Grevillea ‘Forinda.’

Australian Garden: Sand Dune Wall Photo © Alice Joyce

Other lovely specimens: Eucalyptus ‘Little Boy Blue;’  Prostanthera cuneata - Alpine Mint-bush; and the early-blooming vine draped across the blue wall of my front patio – outside the window of my office, Hardenbergia violacea or purple Coral-pea vine. Two gndangered plants were on display: Rhagodia parabolica and Swainsona greyana – Saltbush and Darling Swainson’s pea.

Sand Dune Wall Sculpture design by Valissa Butterworth.

Australian Garden Pool Photo © Alice Joyce

The bright blue of the Boomerang River symbolized the sky over the Outback, in contrast to the landscape’s iron-rich red sands.

'Fantastic Thailand' Photo © Alice Joyce

Based upon The Temple of the Dawn – Wat Arun – located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River - the Fantastic Thailand display had the WOW-factor one comes to expect from arguably the world’s greatest flower show: RHS Chelsea. The creation of Nong Nooch Tropical Botanic Garden, the exhibit won Gold.

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanic Garden Exhibit Photo © Alice Joyce

A sacred site and iconic Bangkok landmark, the temple complex on-view revealed the cultural iconography of a vivid Thai landscape in the boldest hues; dragons, elephants and shadow puppets demonstrating a floral arranging style that turned heads with a wondrous attention to detail. Petals and leaves from more than 100,000 blooms were used in this extravagantly exotic highlight, emerging at Chelsea in The Great Pavilion.

David Austin's Rosa 'Munstead Wood' Photo © Alice Joyce

David Austin Roses introduced 5 new varieties, but an earlier introduction caught my eye! My notes are incomplete, however, it’s  likely ‘Munstead Wood.’ Love the old rose form and heavenly fragrance I expect from Austin’s English Roses.

Chelsea 2011: Zandra Rhodes & Friends Photo © Alice Joyce

Enlivening the David Austin exhibit, fashion designer Zandra Rhodes and friends brought their energy to the lavish formal rose garden display. A new David Austin Roses 2011 introduction: ‘Lady Salisbury’ is pictured below.

Lady Salisbury (photo: Austin Roses)

If you’re drawn to color in the gardenscape – and I wonder if a gardener exists who is not to some degree obsessed with the shades and hues making up the garden scheme at home, then surely Chelsea dazzles with the very best in horticulture on exhibit; plant selections of every sort.

Along with the sublime Meconopsis punicea in the Kevock Garden Plants exhibit, an allium stole my heart, and took pride of place in a variety of major show gardens: Allium nectarscordum.

The show sets the stage for dreams of plantings one might be able to bring together at home, be it in balcony containers or on a suburban plot. The skillfully balanced, atmospheric combinations of forms, textures and subtle to brilliant hues on view have a powerful effect. Although, design ideas might not be equally inspiring.  The Urban Gardens certainly present aspects to ponder, if the scale and fantasy aspects of show gardens are beyond the reach of most of us.

Fruits, Veggies & Blooms In Color Coordinated Sections of the Waitrose display.

Sharing only a few of the exhibits celebrating color, along with grow-your-own produce. And if now, you might be inclined to purchase from a Waitrose store.

Raymond Evison’s exhbit, as you’d expect, featured head-turning Clematis cultivars.

Evison Clematis and Interflora FTDA received Gold.

Interflora’s ‘A Sense of Perspective‘ exhibit designed by David Denyer called upon a gorgeous palette of plant material to create a contemporary composition in a gradation of hues.

Click & Scroll to see more on Chelsea 2011

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