Alice's Garden Travel Buzz » Landscape Architecture

Jack Chandler Designs a Garden for Cornerstone

Alice Joyce — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:09:18 +0000

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

designDesign .. Amazon.com

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.

fountainsGarden Fountains .. on Amazon

Jack Chandler Design: Photo © Alice Joyce

Patrick Blanc: San Francisco Vertical Garden Update

Alice Joyce — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:18:33 +0000

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.

PBPatrick 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 GardensVertical Gardens .. books on Amazon.com

Chicago Late-Summer Tour

Alice Joyce — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:25:13 +0000

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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BP Bridge designed by Frank Gehry [Photo © Alice Joyce

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.

L.A. modernModern Landscape Architecture on Amazon

Gehry Design [Photo © Alice Joyce]

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.

AIC Pritzker Garden - Kelly's White Curve [Photo © Alice Joyce

L.ArchitectureContemporary Landscape Design…

: AIC Pritzker Garden [Photo © Alice Joyce]

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.

Restless Rainbow Pae White [photo © Alice Joyce]

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

: Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa Photo © Alice Joyce

: Lurie Garden Photo © Alice Joyce

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.

Kenzo Estate: Exquisite Wines in an Elegant Napa Valley Setting

Alice Joyce — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:22:44 +0000

A confident elegance and exquisite attention to detail enhance every aspect of Kenzo Estate Winery. It’s an ambiance that’s immediately apparent in the interweaving of owner Kenzo Tsujimoto’s refined Japanese aesthetic in harmony with the clean lines of the property’s Modern California architecture by Howard Backen (Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects).

Kenzo Estate Landscape Photo © Alice Joyce

The same subtle beauty manifests in the surrounding landscape designed by Lawrence Reed of the SWA Group, working with Shimoda Design International. Perched at 1,550 feet in a pristine Napa Valley setting where the air invigorates, the breathtaking property features an allée of mature olive trees in consort with a grassy meadow: An ordered example of the ways in which Reed’s design exhibits sensitivity and respect for the site.

Kenzo Esate - Vineyard Landscape View Photo © Alice Joyce

Of the estate’s 4,000 acres overall, the vineyards total some 3 % of the land under the owner’s stewardship.

Kenzo Estate Tasting Room Photo © Alice Joyce

Guests are greeted with a glass of the winery’s refreshingly crisp Asatsuya Sauvignon Blanc, taking its name from the morning dew that appears like sparkling gems adorning this landscape on the slopes of Mt. George.

Dewdrops on Grass Meadow Photo © Alice Joyce

The Kenzo Estate tasting experience offers tantalizing food pairings from Bouchon, adding to your enjoyment when sipping the winery’s distinctive Rindo, Murasaki, and Ai wines.

Kenzo Estate Wines

: Kenzo Estate Winery Tasting Terrace Photo © Alice Joyce

You’ll discover the luscious reds Kenzo produces, while taking in the winery’s singular design; from the tasting room to the stunning caves, to thoughtful touches like the names of the wines etched on the glasses, and the creative foil closures at the top of each bottle — imprinted with the names so you’ll never need to lift a bottle once set in the wine rack.

Tasting the newly released 2008 wines revealed a quality of excellence to be savored. Kenzo’s delectable Cabernet blends are crafted by winemaker Heidi Barrett, from grapes grown in vineyards managed by David Abreu. The ‘08 Murasaki – named for the royal ‘Purple’ in Japan– is a classic that will doubtless be all the more muscular when aged. Boasting a brilliant nose and color, it’s a racy blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, with a soupçon of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.

The caves provide 20,000 square feet of space for the estate’s wines, aged in French oak barrels.

I expect I’ll be dreaming about Kenzo Estate’s Ai. The tasting left me with the memory of an unforgettable young Cab that can be tucked away and awaited with anticipation as it ages. Boasting an assured smoky tobacco balanced with rich bold fruit, the structure of Ai’s Cabernet Sauvignon blend is impressive.

To schedule a private tour to visit Kenzo Estate Winery…

Festival of Gardens: Jardin de Métis

Alice Joyce — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:51:36 +0000

2011 International Garden Festival — Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens

Le bois de biais et sa folie – Through the Wood… Design by Atelier le balto – Marc Pouzol, Véronique Faucheur et Marc Vatinel. Below: The installation’s architectural ‘folly.’

The 12th Edition of The International Garden Festival runs through October 2, 2011. The theme of this year’s festival: Secret Gardens… “a protective space full of emotions, mysteries and wonder connected to the natural world.”

“Le bois…” an installation built in 2006 has now entered its fifth year at the Jardin de Métis. The garden’s lovely framework of willow and poplar trees features a constructed addition — a wooden folly that functions as a lookout tower.

Mirror mirror on the floor, whats beyond the great grass wall…

Habitation Landscape Architecture: David Vago, Simone Marsh, Nick Brown

An installation built in 2010 as “The grass is greener” … which featured grass walls and floors. For the year 2011, the design has been altered in provocative ways, so that the garden visitor climbs a ladder to discover a secluded sanctuary space where they encounter their own reflection together with that of the looming sky.

Fractal Garden: Andrea Legge, Murray Legge, Deborah Lewis

The Fractal Garden has entered its third year at The International Festival. With its grouping of 21 steel planters, this popular installation exhibits the ability to morph into highly varied designs, riffing on references to colorful, lavishly planted historic parterres. And at the same time, it evokes elements of fractal geometry. Thoroughly engaging and delightfully eye-catching in its conception.

HAHA! Design: spmb -(Eduardo Aquino et Karen Shanski), Ralph Glor, Matt Baker, Martin Gagnon

A brightly constructed installation from 2009, HAHA! reveals an updated take on the traditional sunken trench of a country estate. The contemporary design pushes the bounds of the HaHa notion further, borrowing inspiration from Roberto Burle Marx, as exhibited by its colorful layout and aspect of tropical plantings.

Rope Ladders Design: relais Landschaftsarchitekten – Gero Heck, Marianne Mommsen

In 2010 this installation premiered as Tree Stands: “Using locally found material” the designers crafted “an infrastructure which offers both a new perspective and a glimpse of paradise.” Reborn as Rope Ladders, the objects reach high up into the crowns of the towering trees to present the chance to experience a space beyond; a verdant fantasy that I can imagine becoming lost in.

International Garden Festival — Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens is located on Route 132 in Grand Métis, on the shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. Link to Directions

Darioush Winery .. Napa Valley

Alice Joyce — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 22:31:44 +0000

Darioush vignette Photo Copyright Alice Joyce

Darioush Winery:

Architects, Nozari & Nojari, Santa Monica

Landscape Design: Sabrina Tanner, Proscape Napa

Antique Tunisian olive jars nestle among richly scented roses. The assertive forms of the jars are eye-catching focal points in planting beds at the front of the main building.

The Darioush Winery gardenscape surrounds a 22,000 square foot winery building, in a setting that celebrates Persian culture in myriad references to Persepolis.

Washingtonia robusta palms are paired with Pampas Grass to adorn the Darioush Amphitheatre.

The ornate symmetry of the architecture and the estate’s myriad artistic details demonstrate a joyful celebration of owners, Darioush and Shahpar Khaledis’ Persian heritage. Welcoming cast stone seating at the entrance offers a place for visitors to take in the scenery before entering the visitor center.

Wine lovers enjoy tasting the Bordeaux-style wines. Recently the 2007 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon featured among the QRW Best of the Best in the Annual Blind Tasting. The winery’s delectable Cabs are wines to be savored.

Below: At the lawn’s edge roses consort with daylilies, flowering plums & cannas native to Persia. Tall, narrow evergreen Thuja were planted to echo the archictectural columns.

Organic farming methods are employed in the gardens, where natural fertilizers made from sea kelp are used. Plants are selected for their ability to withstand the Napa Valley’s extreme temperature variations, with winter lows that reach 20 degrees to summer highs of 110 degrees.

Lorepetalum and roses in borders surrounding one the winery’s water gardens. Dwarf Magnolias stand sentry at the front lawn. Looking toward the vineyards, a color palette of purple and burgundy catches the eye. Across the winery’s facade, you’ll see plants arranged to complement the building’s honey-colored imported Persian Straw Travertine. Apricot, orange and cinnabar with a bit of blue here and there are prominent colors in a scheme composed of roses, succulents, lambs ears, Jerusalem sage, and Yucca specimens.