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Jack Chandler Garden Design at Cornerstone

New garden space unveiled…

New Garden Space Photo © Alice Joyce

at Cornerstone Sonoma, designed by notable northern California wine country landscape architect, Jack Chandler. Enter the intimate confines of the garden by passing through a rear doorway of the flower and garden shop, Tesoro.

Tesoro at Cornerstone photo © Alice Joyce

Tesoro opened here in September, moving from its long-time location in St. Helena. You might select a fresh bouquet of blooms, order flowers for an event, or spend time poring over the carefully selected ornaments and utilitarian objects filling the shelves — imprinted with the brilliant taste of owner and floral designer, Paul Stokey. A haven for shoppers, Tesoro features elements for the home together with outdoor garden items, on view in the crisply modern garden setting.

Cornerstone/ Jack Chandler Design Photo © Alice Joyce

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Chandler fountain Photo © Alice Joyce

The Chandler-designed fountains have a cool, even stark quality, yet their repetition creates a sense of harmony as the eyes drift across the garden’s boundary. Plantings were freshly installed when I photographed, but you’ll notice the photo below reveals a hedge that helps to define the space. Grasses and herbs will fill in to soften the lines of the garden’s overall angularity.

Garden Fountains .. on Amazon

Jack Chandler Design: Photo © Alice Joyce

Patrick Blanc: Vertical Gardens Update

Since its installation in April, the expansive Drew School vertical garden has filled out beautifully. Gracing the new Sam Cuddeback Assembly Wing with California native species,

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 Bloom Oct 2011 Photo © Alice Joyce

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

Chicago Late-Summer Tour

A visit to Chicago rarely disappoints, with so much going on year-round.

Millennium Park Cleome - Pritzker Pavilion Photo © Alice Joyce

While the neighborhoods teem with great restaurant choices and cultural activities, the downtown area is an open-air museum, landscaped to look stunning at any time. I find it especially enticing Spring through Fall, when the gardens are incredibly lush.

I’ve featured the city’s green highlights, art and landscape architecture here in the past.

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I haven’t previously featured Millennium Park’s BP Bridge. Designed along with the park’s Pritzker Pavilion by architect Frank Gehry, the bridge represents a fabulous feat of engineering in a lyrically engaging form. I expect the bridge will leave its contemporary mark on Chicago, standing up handsomely over time.

Modern Landscape Architecture on Amazon

The Modern wing of the Art Institute of Chicago encompasses a small-space gem in the Prtizker Garden. The design’s refined simplicity is refreshing.

Contemporary Landscape Design…

Artist Pae White created the colorful installation: Restless Rainbow … It was being taken down the day I visited. I had planned to walk along the Nichols Bridgeway from the Lurie Garden to the upper terrace of the AIC’s Modern Wing designed by Renzo Piano. Although the terrace was closed off, I had still had a great view of the artwork from the bridgeway expanse.

Barcelona artist, Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain has ever-changing displays that captivate and delight.

The Lurie Garden plantings created by Piet Oudolf complement Kathryn Gustafson’s cool and orderly landscape design. A happy habitat for wildlife, the garden continues to mature as it increases in beauty.

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Jack Chandler Garden Design at Cornerstone

Patrick Blanc: Vertical Gardens Update

Chicago Late-Summer Tour

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