GARDEN DESIGN OF THE FUTURE

In 2008, a show garden design at the Chelsea Garden Show envisioned a courtyard garden set fifty years in the future, designed for global warming. The garden assumes a somewhat hotter and sometimes wetter London than today, incorporating lush planting and cooling water canals under dappled shade.

The garden designed by Robert Meyers is assumed to be largely enclosed to the sides and rear by buildings, and visible from the street through implied railings at the front. The 'buildings' are represented by planted green walls divided into panels by strips of pre-cast stone. This references the emerging possibilities of the green architecture of the future. There is a double-layered tree canopy, created with tall palms, smaller sculptural trees, and a high proportion of evergreens.

all photographs ©ToddHaiman2013

According to Cornell University’s agricultural extension office, “a gradual increase in Earth’s atmospheric greenhouse gases is expected to make global weather more volatile over the next century. This might include higher temperatures, less rain but heavier downpours, changing wind patterns, and rising sea levels. Higher temperatures and more turbulent weather will affect everything — from which trees to which wildlife cover the region to what crops farmers raise to how cities allocate water. Weather unpredictability would make dry years more common and wet years less effective. The result could be more reliance on rain-intensive crops or more garden watering."

Extension Horticulturists have urged caution in accepting these new zones, because hardiness is influenced by rainfall, plant vigor, and drought as well as minimum winter temperatures. With global warming comes habitat conversion, pollution, an increase in invasive species. It is the combination of all these stresses that will likely prove to be the greatest challenge to wildlife conservation in the forthcoming years.

comparison of USDA Hardiness maps from their website

Countering landscape and garden risk with evolving climate may be achieved by purchasing smaller herbaceous plants and shrubs that are recommended for a warmer zone.

The use of native and adapted vegetation in the built environment, taking full advantage of the most appropriate plants that increase air quality, conserve water resources, and sequester carbon dioxide.

Traditional turf lawns contribute to global warming in multiple ways through: 1. The decomposition of lawn waste, which turns to methane gas as opposed to composting, 2. Using fossil-powered machinery to maintain it (mowers and leaf blowers), 3. Fossil energy used to pump water to irrigate and fossil energy used to produce fertilizers and pesticides. Native plants are significantly more effective than traditional mowed grass as a carbon sink due to their extensive root systems and increased ability to retain and store water.

I’m curious… how do you envision residential landscapes in the future? Did Robert Meyers accurately portray this? Please leave your thoughts…

HEDGES

The word "hedge" appears to stem from the Old English word "HEGG" which is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words ;

HAEG - hurdle 

HECG - territorial boundary dead or planted

HEGA - living border boundary 

1

Hedges are a bordering and design tool. They enclose and subdivide fields, orchards, yards, parks and gardens. They form vegetative edges, topographic spaces, garden rooms, gateways, screens, enclosures, foci and forms within the landscape.

The term Hedgerow used to refer to 2 hedges running side by side separated by a track or pathway. These hedgerows served 2 traditional purposes , that of being a barrier to livestock and as a means of marking out territory or property boundaries. The term however tends to be used these days to describe a hedge of shrubs and occasional trees that create a border between fields and gardens or to create a privacy wall for a homeowner.

An extreme privacy hedge

www.dicts.info/img/ud/hedge.jpg

It is believed that the Romans may have first planted hedges in Britain but most of the few ancient hedges date from Saxon times, making some of them 1000 years old. The Saxons organized ‘strip farming’ in which each community of people would have a field which was divided into strips separated by grass verges. Each strip was one furrow long (one furlong or 201 metres). People were given a number of strips to farm by the lord of the manor. This system changed in the late Middle Ages when landlords wanted to put boundaries around their property, so they enclosed their land with walls or hedges. Enclosure Acts in the 18th and 19th centuries allowed farmers to put more hedges round their fields and most of Britain’s 300, 000 miles or so of hedges date from this time.

“During the 16

th

and 17

th

centuries, dense hedgerow patterns provided shelter for persecuted Protestants in France and Holland to organize their clandestine religious meetings. During the WW II the dense bocage in Normandy caused the invading Allied forces much trouble in advancing to conquer the Nazi regime.”

2

In the past hawthorne (

Crataegus monogyna)

was the most popular choice for hedgerows in the ancient woodland for marking territory or as barriers to contain livestock. Nowadays hedges are commonly constructed of various plant and non-plant material for more ornamental purposes yet still as a privacy tool.  Boxwood, Privet, Beech, Cherry Laurel, Hedge Maple, Hornbeam, Holly and Yew are but a few of the more desirous plants used currently for hedges.

 Designer Luciano Giubbilei's masterful use of hedges at a Chelsea Flower Show garden in 2009

1. Hedgerows, Hedges and Verges of Britain and Ireland

2. Natural History Museum of Britain. www.nhm.ac.uk/index.html

*all photos copyright Todd Haiman unless otherwise noted

CONCEPTUAL GARDENS

Having returned from the Chelsea Flower Show, I must admit it just gets better every year.  Cleve West’s sunken Roman garden won best in show, Diarmuid Gavin theatrics stopped traffic, and my personal favorite garden was Luciano Guibbilei’s for his serene and elegant Laurent Perrier garden. 

Lucian Giubbilei's "Nature and Human Intervention" sponsored by Laurent-Perrier 

Diarmuid Gavin's "Irish Sky Garden"

Show gardens (at Chelsea) are proposed to the Royal Horticultural Society almost a year before the actual show and are either accepted or denied.  For sheer uniqueness there was the artisanal Hae-Woo-Soo garden, which I led on about last month. The Hae Woo So garden was one that stretched the boundaries of the “British proper.” One person on the acceptance committee mentioned to me “we knew it would either be extraordinary or be an embarrassment.”  Thankfully, the garden was exemplary and honored with a gold medal. 

According to Jihae Hwang, who designed the garden, this conceptual landscape refers to a place where you “empty your mind.” According to ancient Korean tradition visiting the lavatory (the trip to it) is traditionally regarded as a cathartic experience, a way to spiritually cleanse one’s mind and reconnect with nature through a “natural cycle” -- the physical act that accompanies it. The focal point of the garden is an elegant wooden dunny (an outhouse).  The lintel is low, forcing one to bow as you enter, humbling oneself.  Typically the wooden building (the latrine) serves a dual purpose in that the human waste is left to ferment, creating fertilizer.

Stipa tenuissima, Paeonia lactiflora and Lonicera japonica embrace a stone wall

     A washbasin filled with rainwater to cleanse one's hands

Candlelight to illuminate the path at night

In romantic disorder, plants are arranged along the path to “the throne.”  Small, highly scented lilacs, Syringa wolfii and Syringa dilatata and Lonicera japonica (Honeysuckle) aid in perfuming the air surrounding the latrine. 

**all photos ©Todd Haiman 2014

WHIMSY IN THE GARDEN

Every year at the Chelsea Flower Show there’s always one designer who separates themselves from "the pack" in the design of their garden, perhaps with a bit of whimsy, tongue in cheek or simply just choosing not to take themselves too seriously.

In 2009 there was a magical garden created out of plasticine, designed and organized by James May, which elicited childhood memories of "Play-Doh" and plastic fruit “still-lifes” on dining room tables from the crowd.  It was essentially a sculpted art installation framed in the guise of a mystical secret garden. Dozens of people contributed to this garden, across all strata of British society, from children who never handled the material to war veterans that remember when it was the latest invention to professional model makers.

In 2010, “Welcome to Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Crumble & Custard Garden” (a mouthful in more ways than one), a bowl of Yorkshire rhubarb takes center stage.  Yellow Sedum acre ‘Golden Queen’ symbolizes a generous serving of overflowing custard, and the crumble is represented by a stonewall.  A Yorkshire handcrafted oak spoon doubles as a seat on the stone patio.  Rhubarb forcing pots create focal points. According to the designer, bronze fennel is meant to suggest the brown sugar sprinkled on a crumble.  The idea for this garden was envisioned while the designers were having lunch!

This year I’m looking forward to the Hae-woo-so garden. This garden is inspired by the Korean belief in the cathartic and spiritual experience of using the toilet.  Looking forward to the audience’s and critic's comments.

GARDEN INSPIRATION

Andy Sturgeon, a highly regarded garden designer had won several medals in past years from the Chelsea Flowers Show. Almost a year prior to designing a Chelsea 2010 show, Andy’s life forever changed.

His partner, Sarah Didinal, the mother of his three young boys  - Luke, ten, Cameron, seven, and Tom, five  - had enjoyed Chelsea Flower Show with him.

A week later Andy found her dead in bed. She was only 37, apparently fit and healthy. She died from an irregular heartbeat. Her last post on Twitter read, 'Going to bed happy.'

Andy reflects on the Daily Telegraph, …..'The way I dealt with Sarah's death was by having goals  -  positive things to work towards, that are more about the future than the past, or even the present,' he says.  'This garden has been one of the tools I've used to help me along.”

“I had the germ of the idea when I was on holiday with the children (after Sarah’s death) in Italy last summer, every day looking out at a dry landscape of evergreen oaks and lavender.”

'I never normally design anything so quickly. But I had this idea of screens so I made a scale model and a few walls, which I slid around, and got down to check the views. This design is all about the views.  

It's a metaphor for life. You have choices in the garden  - two different ways to go. Depending upon which path you take  - the direct path or the winding path  - you has different experiences along the way.  

As you journey through life, the screens open up and allow glimpses of what you might have experienced if you'd taken another path, but you end up at the same destination."

As a visitor walks around the edge of the garden they also discover ever-changing views.  Three runs of Cor-ten steel subdivide and frame the garden.  Three edifices of Purbeck stone walling add to the suggestion of an enclosed courtyard, while maintaining a sense of openness and space. The contemporary gravel garden has open clearings of sparsely planted gravel, which provide places to pause on a journey that culminates in a courtyard at the rear.  A stately Cork Oak (that he searched extensively to find) and the sound of running water combine to create a contemplative retreat. 

 Let Andy take you on a tour of his garden.

Find plant information here:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01645/telegraph-garden-g_1645484a.

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

Queen Mary (in white) viewing the Chelsea show

As written in past years, I have an annual pilgrimage during the third week of May "across the Pond" to the Chelsea Flower Show in London. Here is a bit of context and history about what is referred to as "the Great Spring show.

England had been compared to a garden since at least the time of Shakespeare. This metaphor took on particular significance in the Victorian Era as it infiltrated visual, literary, and everyday culture in England.  The garden came to represent two things for the English in the Victorian era: home in the face of a massive Empire, and stability in the face of industrialization and a perceived disintegration of society.

English citizens were spread across the globe, (see past post on Rudyard Kipling) and began to seek a symbol that would unify those at home, and that would serve as a memory of home for those in their colonies.  This image was particularly significant during the Victorian Era as England expanded her empire and influence across the globe.  

The English landscape garden is considered by some cultural historians England's most compelling contribution to the visual arts. During the eighteenth century, as England struggled to develop a national identity, the landscape garden was a continual source of pride to landowners, artists, poets and gardeners alike. Botanical Gardens were established in most major towns and many royal estates were opened to the public.

London Bobby (policeman) admiring floral displays

 Women in 1940's reading the show's catalog

It is in the next generation, between the wars, that the English become routinely described--by themselves and by other Europeans--as "a nation of gardeners."  This extended to middle- and lower-middle-class suburbanites, whose terraced and semi-detached houses and gardens offered certain elements in common with the grander country houses of the elitist classes.

The show, which ultimately grew out of this “religious zeal” was organized by the Royal Horticultural Society and has been a staple of the British social and cultural scene for nearly 150 years. This annual spring festival is held for five days each May and features designed gardens, a large variety of exotic plants and all the accoutrements, trappings and revelry of a great fair. The event is held on the grounds of London's Royal Hospital, and it is perhaps the most celebrated show of it’s kind.

Crowds in 1950 swarming the show

“In 1862, London's Royal Horticultural Society held its first Great Spring Show. The show was held in Kensington and featured an array of exotic plant species from around the world. Each year until 1888, the RHS continued with this annual event, gradually building up a loyal audience. In 1913 they decided to use the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, which had hosted several successful rose exhibitions. The show at the Royal Hospital became known as the Chelsea Flower Show, though it is still officially named the Great Spring Show. From 1913 through 1916, the fair enjoyed unprecedented success. By 1917, World War I had devastated much of the region, and the fair was canceled for two years. In the 1920s, London's royal family began to visit the fair each year, starting a new tradition that continues to this day. Also during this time, the Chelsea tea parties began. These parties take place during the show and are a major draw for Britain's social and political leaders. The show was canceled again for several years during World War II. In 1947, though crops and supplies were limited, the Chelsea Flower Show was held as scheduled, and it became a symbol of the country's strength and determination to rebuild. By 1979, the show was so popular that crowds began to overwhelm the limited space. Throughout the next few years, ticket limits were set and attendance was restricted to help prevent injuries to attendees. Despite ticket limits, crowds continued to overwhelm the show until 1993, when parts of the show were relocated to other venues. Today, more than 150,000 visitors attend the show each year. All attendees must purchase tickets in advance, and the show holds an annual preview day specifically for the royal family and other honored guests. The BBC shows much of the event on television each year, to allow those who can't get tickets to take part in the experience. The Chelsea Flower Show is considered a place to spot the latest trends in floral and horticultural design, and it is eagerly attended by industry professionals and garden enthusiasts from around the world.”

1

previous five images of celebrities from bigpictures.com

1 -reprinted from RHS Show catalog