tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18013034631095662212024-03-19T02:06:34.000-07:00Botany of DesignDesign in Conversation with NatureAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-62328038375270771602015-10-03T10:07:00.000-07:002015-10-03T10:07:03.783-07:00One's Native Ground<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"One's native ground is the place where, since before you had words for such knowledge, you have known the smells, the seasons, the birds and beasts, the human voices, the houses, the ways of working, the lay of the land, and the quality of the light. It is the landscape you learn before you retreat inside the illusion of your skin. You may love the place if you flourished there, or hate the place if you suffered there. But love it or hate it, you cannot shake free."</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">-Scott Russell Sanders "Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World"</span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-5323302282213702092014-09-30T15:02:00.002-07:002014-09-30T15:02:59.670-07:00Greetings to OctoberI love October, despite the fact that it is the time that our gardens become sleepy and disheveled. This time of autumn colors and slowing down to build up strength for renewal is beautiful to me. The air is crisp after so many days of summer's swelter, and it is evident that a shift is on the horizon.<br />
<br />
In <i>The Echoing Green: The Garden in Myth and Memory, </i>Jennifer Heath writes of her garden, inspired by the changes brought on in October:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Round and round. I try never to think of the garden in terms of "success" or "failure." No gardener I know really does. It seems inappropriate to bring the spirit of competition into this sacred place whose function is to mediate for the divine.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Gardens are completely personal, not up for judgment. There's no right or wrong in Nature. There are gardening flubs, miscalculations, and so on, but none of it matters much. The garden is always in flux, forgiving, ready and able to teach, ready and able to change on its own, as well as with our interventions. We bring our sorrows here to let our sorrows go; we bring our joy here to share our joy with birds and bees and flowers and trees. Paradise is precisely here, in the oldest, strongest, most majestic oak and in the thinnest, weakest, most anemic window plant. What counts is how we give ourselves to it.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Success or failure, triumphs or troubles, whenever I look over the garden from my bedroom perch, I can see nothing but perfection, simply the Nature of it all. Everything in the garden coexists in constant, active relation. <i>I am.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Here, linear time ceases, so that history and myth blend seamlessly with this day, this moment, this breath. In the garden we are entirely of the cycle: in summer we sense its retreat; in winter we hear the echoing green.</blockquote>
And soon, we will be hearing the echoing green. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-25650274683802581432014-09-24T17:30:00.000-07:002014-09-24T17:30:12.233-07:00The philosophy of Landscape Design<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTwP08N2Ix5I83zDvGP0P06ZkRmZ9P0rum388JbevXa33lw5jznNJ4LrmSzqbMF-5sdKY0byIrkNLQ4w3i7FdxjuiWPapyGhLPZg0xYbFhgERZNDAH_y0CxMdal-tjHP1QdUQHAVtfoQ/s1600/philosophy+landscape+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTwP08N2Ix5I83zDvGP0P06ZkRmZ9P0rum388JbevXa33lw5jznNJ4LrmSzqbMF-5sdKY0byIrkNLQ4w3i7FdxjuiWPapyGhLPZg0xYbFhgERZNDAH_y0CxMdal-tjHP1QdUQHAVtfoQ/s1600/philosophy+landscape+design.jpg" height="166" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>The philosophy of landscape design began as a belief in myth, merged into humanism based on the establishment of fact, and is now grappling with the realization that facts are no more than assumptions. Humanism is passing into another, unknown, phase. It is possible, for instance, that the present disruption of the environment can be traced beyond the manifest reasons to one basic cause: the subconscious disorientation now in man's mind concerning time and space and his relation to both.</i><br />
-Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe from <i>The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-67168215884016545372014-09-23T12:38:00.000-07:002014-09-23T12:38:48.893-07:00Design, stripped to its essence“Design, stripped to its essence, can be defined as the
human nature to shape and make our environment in ways without
precedent in nature, to serve our needs and give meaning to our lives.”<br />
- as defined by John Heskett and quoted in Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind”Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-40671309047234360202014-09-23T11:53:00.001-07:002014-09-23T11:53:31.752-07:00Greetings to fall, and the daughter departs...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVondPUSnRr_hxppeIdd3_cbbToV0U2hfhjwOhglQ5IDvMQWmcHkiE1pgX8c3mscAUeLxPwaDptwHiHopFEfZFsg_5qpJcPjkYFyNiKPDOolTvUtV8nlYkVkAEUqdNTHQwdAnHhbF3avA/s1600/demeter+and+persephone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVondPUSnRr_hxppeIdd3_cbbToV0U2hfhjwOhglQ5IDvMQWmcHkiE1pgX8c3mscAUeLxPwaDptwHiHopFEfZFsg_5qpJcPjkYFyNiKPDOolTvUtV8nlYkVkAEUqdNTHQwdAnHhbF3avA/s1600/demeter+and+persephone.jpg" height="278" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The days and nights are beginning to cool. Perhaps a rare day of rain will again come soon. The flowers are drying on their stems, the grasses are beginning to yellow. We are harvesting now, for soon there shall be no more. The daughter is again departing...</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We have, just last night, given our goodbyes to the fair maiden Persephone. It is, alas, time for her to leave her mother Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, to return to her husband, Hades, Ruler of Death, in his underground lair. <span style="color: black;">We lament, for in Persephone's youth, Demeter adored her little daughter. They played together in
the fields nearly every day, and as Persephone smiled up at her mother, Demeter's
heart swelled with happiness, and the crops grew high and healthy. Flowers
tumbled everywhere. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This beautiful, fertile love begat life, yet of course Persephone must leave on this day of Autumnal Equinox in September. There is no other choice. Only corruption comes from eternal infancy. The cycle must continue. Mothers must loosen their tight grips on their beloved daughters, for Persephone's liberation from her mother creates the ground in which the seasons can flourish. Life is, therefore, stimulated and made potent. And, thus, death begets beautiful life which withers again to death only to resprout as life. The joy in life and the hope in death is only possible in this eternal spinning of the wheel which yet manages to take us back into the wilderness.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let us give these "essential gifts" to Demeter for the Greater Mysteries in spirit of celebration:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Her sacred plants are wheat and barley as staples.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pomegranate fruit will signify sex and death.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Poppy will bring poor Demeter, and indeed the Earth itself, peaceful sleep.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Demeter's fifth animal, the snake shall retreat underground, too, to protect the the grain from rodents. And when it is again time, he will shed his skin and rise and life will be renewed in this time of Spring.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The tears will soon fall again, and we will watch the last of our gardens and crops wither. There is, of course, always the hope borne in the knowledge that Spring will return; yet the missing and the longing prevail as the cold sets in and winter covers the land and our souls, compassionate in Demeter's great loss. Let us shed our tears, for our particularly parched land needs this mourning to rejuvenate. And let us rest through the winter. Take up the Poppy, and may the slumber be peaceful.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The beautiful daughter is the promising bud, yearning to burst into her glorious flower; and her mother the fertile fruit which begets life. The daughter must go for her bud to fully flower. And so her mother must allow her to go in happiness to return to the fulness of her fertility. Yet, so must the daughter return for the circle, the cycle, this wondrous wheel to remain spinning, and for the seasons to remain unbroken.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-56134578538424368942014-09-17T17:11:00.000-07:002014-09-17T17:11:05.732-07:00Botany's website has a new face<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPDZxQCT5BEf8aAlVlFyDEUD7dWfg8KHJVoLy657iQScV6-dDmmWPjwKC8kUnbsb5rpspVs5Neizcinfjpjoq1X2IPU1OBL2wve-xdk5k23BjsMb3LLMrpV_dAOvCavHU6IVeXNAsYvo/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPDZxQCT5BEf8aAlVlFyDEUD7dWfg8KHJVoLy657iQScV6-dDmmWPjwKC8kUnbsb5rpspVs5Neizcinfjpjoq1X2IPU1OBL2wve-xdk5k23BjsMb3LLMrpV_dAOvCavHU6IVeXNAsYvo/s1600/01.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have been working some months now, and I'm so happy to
announce that the new Botany of Design website has officially been
launched!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please visit at
<a href="http://www.botanyofdesign.com/">www.botanyofdesign.com</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd love to
receive all constructive input you have to offer.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-88990403670293508702014-09-10T15:32:00.001-07:002014-09-15T20:20:00.083-07:00The Last Child in the WoodsAs a mother of two small children and as a beneficiary of a childhood spent on a large farm in the country, I realize the importance of fostering a close connection between my children and the natural environment. Because of this strong belief in maintaining the connection with nature, I guide my children there and foster their love for natural places. We regularly spend days at the beach, we go hiking, we have favorite picnic spots on rivers, we swim in alpine lakes, we camp often, we participate in a nature club with a group of friends where we regularly go to wild places, and we go backpacking in the wilderness. Many of our friends enjoy similar experiences, but, alas, this is not the norm.<br />
<br />
In his book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder," Richard Louv laments that: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. That lesson is delivered in schools, families, even organizations devoted to the outdoors, and codified into the legal and regulatory structures of many of our communities. Our institutions, urban/suburban design, and cultural attitudes unconsciously associate nature with doom-- while dissociating the outdoors from joy and solitude. Well-meaning public-school systems, media, and parents are effectively scaring children straight out of the woods and fields. </blockquote>
It is important that we care about and rebel against this trend because:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
at the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical and spiritual health directly to our association with nature-- in positive ways. Several of these studies suggest that thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can even be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorders and other maladies. As one scientist puts it, we can now assume that just as children need good nutrition and adequate sleep, they very well need contact with nature.</blockquote>
Indeed, in the most nature-deprived parts of our societies, we can see the rise of what might be called a cultural autism with symptoms including tunneled senses and feelings of isolation and containment. This has clearly been the trend with the wide-ranging worship of the secondary experience offered by technology: television, computers, cell phones, internet "socializing," or video games. But where do we achieve "primary experience"-- that which we can see, feel, taste, hear, or smell for ourselves? In our modern "machine culture," it is shockingly lacking.<br />
<br />
North Carolina State University professor Robin Moore directs a research and design program that promotes the natural environment in the daily lives of children. According to Moore:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Children live through their senses. Sensory experiences link the child's exterior world with their interior, hidden affective world. Since the natural environment is the principle source of sensory stimulation, freedom to explore and play with the outdoor environment through the senses in their own space and time is essential for healthy development of an interior life.</blockquote>
We all love our children, and so many of us spend great amounts of time and money to purchase our children computers for learning or sign them up for classes and organized sports. We are literally running from the moment we awaken. And so are our children... Is there a better way? I remember spending hours sitting in the river catching crawdads, tadpoles or frogs. I could be "lost" for hours with the baby animals born on our ranch. Or I could walk for miles looking for rocks and arrowheads. I'd trade a computer for these experiences any day.<br />
<br />
Yet it is not so easy anymore for us increasingly growing masses of urban folk. So what can we do? Louv offers a great list of 100 actions we can take in his companion field guide. The following are a few of my favorite:<br />
<ol>
<li>Send your kids outside to play in the dirt.</li>
<li>Invite native flora and fauna into your life by replacing part of your lawn with native plants and maintaining a birdbath in your garden.</li>
<li>Regularly visit nature as an antidote to stress.</li>
<li>Tell your children stories about your special childhood places in nature.</li>
<li>Make the "green hour" a new family tradition (<a href="http://www.greenhour.org/">www.greenhour.org</a>), a time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world.</li>
<li>Go for a hike!</li>
<li>Invent your own nature game.</li>
<li>Keep a "wonder bowl" where you can keep all of your children's collected treasures from nature for display.</li>
<li>Keep a nature journal with your children.</li>
<li>Go harvesting at local you-pick farms.</li>
</ol>
We are now building the foundation for our children's adult lives. Richness of experience will help them to build survival skills-- for both in the natural world as well as in the urban jungles. Help them to build these survival skills, and then help them to thrive by regularly taking them outside to engage with the natural world in unstructured wild play.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-37486886091829346252014-04-05T14:45:00.000-07:002014-04-05T14:45:24.160-07:00Embodiment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWvNHo8KvpknewjJsKI1PzcCK92ymEGlx3KDZKsTewbM88_mdmKaFRP1AqB-b5zhVEGOkEofQIjdDDGUwSMQYa7mM9DbrU2wiKOjrZki9Fx4Ba7Ns0OyJXHXxxBsTyQgjwOJCvN-XnX4/s1600/2.Pallasmaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWvNHo8KvpknewjJsKI1PzcCK92ymEGlx3KDZKsTewbM88_mdmKaFRP1AqB-b5zhVEGOkEofQIjdDDGUwSMQYa7mM9DbrU2wiKOjrZki9Fx4Ba7Ns0OyJXHXxxBsTyQgjwOJCvN-XnX4/s1600/2.Pallasmaa.jpg" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In our age of massive industrial production, surreal
consumption, euphoric communication and fictitious digital environments, we
continue to live in our bodies in the same way that we inhabit our houses,
because we have sadly forgotten that we do not live in our bodies but are
ourselves embodied constitutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Embodiment is not a secondary experience; the human existence is
fundamentally an embodied condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today, our senses and bodies are objects of ceaseless commercial
manipulation and exploitation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Physical
beauty, strength, youth and virility are adored in the realms of social values,
advertising and entertainment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In case
we fail to possess ideal physical qualities, our bodies are turned against us
as causes of deep disappointment and guilt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With ever-accelerating frequency, all our senses are exploited by
consumer manipulation, yet at the same time these very same senses continue to
be undervalued as prerequisites of our existential condition or as educational
objectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Intellectually, we may well
have philosophically rejected the Cartesian duality of body and mind, but the
separation continues to rule in cultural, educational and social practices.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Human conscious is an embodied consciousness and we are
connected with the world through our senses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our hands and entire body possess embodied skills and wisdom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">-Juhani Pallasmaa from <i>The Thinking Hand</i></span> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-32587350069460556082014-01-11T13:40:00.000-08:002014-01-11T13:42:08.199-08:00The Enchantment of Gaia and the Split Between Wild Earth and our Wild Natures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh, what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was made a personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and the setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the solstice and equinox! This is what is the matter with us, we are bleeding at the roots, because we are cut off from the earth and sun and stars, and love is a grinning mockery, because, poor blossom, we plucked it from it's stem on the tree of Life, and expected it to keep blooming in our civilized vase on the table.<br />
<br />
-D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's LoverAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-85483992995524522022014-01-10T23:48:00.000-08:002014-01-10T23:48:22.745-08:00What Would you do if you Came Upon a Blue Tree?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm6VSffFNyNTOA9WAYH6iZa-wHCO0IE14mf4-HdtsVIUPXTc-1tvLt0GCT-kL3sCgShcC2olZvoRaqSD5ZEN_FfPvF44pfKaZjxu7md06WKSgcd8C6rT2zMB89syEAIn92_BrKeOYpMw/s1600/blue+tree+04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvm6VSffFNyNTOA9WAYH6iZa-wHCO0IE14mf4-HdtsVIUPXTc-1tvLt0GCT-kL3sCgShcC2olZvoRaqSD5ZEN_FfPvF44pfKaZjxu7md06WKSgcd8C6rT2zMB89syEAIn92_BrKeOYpMw/s1600/blue+tree+04.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Would you stop to wonder? Could you just pass it by as you might any other tree? Would you make a judgment about the rightness or wrongness of such a sight? Would you smile? Frown? <br />
<br />
I've not come across any blue trees near my home, but if one goes to Seattle, Sacramento, Houston, or about nine other public installation locations, you'll find them. Sculptor and performance and installation artist, Konstantin Dimopoulos explains that he creates artworks
that "are grounded in my sociological and humanist philosophies. In my environmental installation, <em>The Blue Trees, </em> the
colour and the Tree come together to transform and affect each other;
the colour changing the Tree into something surreal, something out of
this world. While the Tree, rooted in this earth reflects what we may
lose."<br />
<br />
Think about it, Dimopoulos, has made the passerby stop when he would not otherwise have. And she does think. Yes, we have had our impact on the trees, and here it is obvious. Elsewhere, we might not notice. So, also in<em> The Blue Trees </em>installation, the trees, a part of the natural world, are impacted by humans, yet here Dimopoulos has given them a voice. They call out to us to bring all trees to mind. We are jarred out of our lackadaisical hypnosis, and we are compelled to know more.<br />
<br />
And when enough people stop to question, we can no longer idly allow the decimation of our forests in a mass of anonymity. We become accountable. And in this step, I see Dimopoulos as having succeeded beautifully poetical in his artworks.<br />
<br />
Dimopoulos tells us that he has "always known that art is and has always been an extended part of nature and that art can effect social change. For that to happen one has to move out of the art institutions and
galleries and move outside among nature and human beings in their living
spaces." I couldn't agree more! To learn more visit http://www.kondimopoulos.com/thebluetrees/about/.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-64132609912009226222014-01-08T14:12:00.000-08:002014-01-08T14:12:43.634-08:00Hurray for the Trees!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGCtMo2Geymv4r2XL9nDyBYKsTUHQHdh35NvgoX_AT5thWOLGrQ5L0tKCvY-k9Ehlfdl-1XvuP_qUFFQTundGV2ZK10Gs014Y6Z6zL9N32sabE47YZf1ZRuTGrZrdhY3ep24xzus-mZY/s1600/tree06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXGCtMo2Geymv4r2XL9nDyBYKsTUHQHdh35NvgoX_AT5thWOLGrQ5L0tKCvY-k9Ehlfdl-1XvuP_qUFFQTundGV2ZK10Gs014Y6Z6zL9N32sabE47YZf1ZRuTGrZrdhY3ep24xzus-mZY/s1600/tree06.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">An ancient tree is more than a beautiful plant, it is our wise teacher and guide. Each of us can think of a moment when we felt a sense of being overcome with the beauty of an ancient tree upon entering the cathedral of an ancient forest. The feeling grips us immediately; we are in awe. So many of us then react by pulling out our cameras or cell phones and quickly posing ourselves or companions in front of these ancient creatures and snapping a few photos as we take a quick loop then move on to the next "attraction." Not too many of us, linger, sit beneath our teacher and ask for some of it's wisdom. If you do, I urge that you will be richly rewarded.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQesuHYAdY1c1SXUZal5KpeMUZjIBzAc7jweLcf7gCo3QxDnIxdC5E-IfHLqVctGV8MZmXD8RHckghLrGpwLCG0lLi4_PhX6u_nF-i-Ylbd2YxtO9VkJP9nT8BeFawbjzqoRPpRQK5jE/s1600/tree02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQesuHYAdY1c1SXUZal5KpeMUZjIBzAc7jweLcf7gCo3QxDnIxdC5E-IfHLqVctGV8MZmXD8RHckghLrGpwLCG0lLi4_PhX6u_nF-i-Ylbd2YxtO9VkJP9nT8BeFawbjzqoRPpRQK5jE/s1600/tree02.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">I have a friend who received a vision that God is a tree. I am not disinclined to believe her. Or perhaps, God is in everything, and if we take a moment to listen to the lessons of the ancients, we become closer to God. After all, Adam and Eve dwelled in a garden and their lives and their fall from this original home are significantly intertwined with the tree-- the "tree of life", the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Buddha receives his enlightenment sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree. And the American Indians worship nature, traditionally living within, and not against, the natural rhythms of Nature.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">I've stopped watching television. It has been about five years now. From time to time, when I visit a friend or family member, or I catch a glimpse of television at a public place, I am suddenly assaulted by the speed, the tone and the flashiness flickering across the screen. It is not natural. And it does not teach the lessons of the Ancients. To me it is hollow, and hollowing. I become discouraged, my thoughts distracted. There is no Holy here. There is no enlightenment.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXrvsSBOZo16U5ixS1knci9gxfOf82cE8ypS-4VxTuJMPxCiAeXulygFtGyEGbE6tP1jasDcPVWQHo0hyphenhyphenRE2HcRwiokd825FP65rvFZ4R079BPOnZeCQzZGorTBr0NCc3ffRbQ3LFAzY/s1600/tree03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYXrvsSBOZo16U5ixS1knci9gxfOf82cE8ypS-4VxTuJMPxCiAeXulygFtGyEGbE6tP1jasDcPVWQHo0hyphenhyphenRE2HcRwiokd825FP65rvFZ4R079BPOnZeCQzZGorTBr0NCc3ffRbQ3LFAzY/s1600/tree03.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">The calendar tells us it is the beginning of a new year. Yet winter still caries us through our natural little death until we are reborn in the spring. For me, this is a time of finishing my resting, but anticipating the energy of rebirth. I indulge my introspectiveness knowing that soon will be the time to follow through with the new year's rebirth.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zUrsSCkQXTD2xnfr2iR7mY72U_aSkLw2qnQvj0O7GeenRORzp3F1THy3P6YpFKXgxDD6Jus7GuUZaE_qBiST5OotkvEABBIMrzls8SZok7XQgdz6gLW0sz1IjUlQwWjB47jsvj9UXsA/s1600/tree01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zUrsSCkQXTD2xnfr2iR7mY72U_aSkLw2qnQvj0O7GeenRORzp3F1THy3P6YpFKXgxDD6Jus7GuUZaE_qBiST5OotkvEABBIMrzls8SZok7XQgdz6gLW0sz1IjUlQwWjB47jsvj9UXsA/s1600/tree01.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">This year, I would like to encourage you, all of my friends, to also indulge your own introspection and to turn to our ancient teachers, the lovely trees. Go to a park such as in Big Sur or Big Basin, Grant Ranch or Sanborn. Take a walk in your neighborhood. Or go sit beneath the ancient tree in your own yard. Touch it and, yes, speak to it. Open up and it will communicate back!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-14659409252953249132013-10-14T16:46:00.000-07:002013-10-16T11:33:37.236-07:00Design in the flow<div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know few who live outside the tyranny of speed. I lament that despite my efforts, I am continually holding myself back from what I would rather do, because I am compelled to drudge through what I "should" do. Speed in all its forms: efficiency, responsibility, performance, financial stability all scream their threats should I consider interrupting work for lunch with a friend, talking too long with a client on personal terms, or going for a mid-day hike. Occasionally I rebel and I am richly rewarded with increased inspiration. As a struggling student myself, I offer these thoughts.</span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is not natural to think in terms of speed. This way of thinking
disconnects us from nature and hinders us from connecting with one-another. Nature,
including humans, is inclined to move in terms of rhythm as opposed to measured
beats (I think this is why the ticking clock drives me crazy, and music and
dance energize me). When we move rhythmically, when we think rhythmically, when
we breathe rhythmically, indeed, when we live rhythmically, we flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity, coined the term "flow." He describes this state of being as</span><span style="font-size: small;"> "being completely involved in an activity for its own
sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and
thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When in "the flow" we feel truly alive. In contrast, Austrian philosopher and social critic Ivan Illich laments, "speed is in
conflict with aliveness. It is a
crude example of historical congeries gratuitously attributed to nature. It
comes out of a bodiless lust that lies deeper than the major assumptions on
which the modern world is built."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I relate this very natural need to remove oneself from the observance of the ticking of the clock to connecting deeply to a place. We feel "at home," and somehow, we know it despite the fact that it surprises us that we know it. We happen upon "home." But how many of us truly become the creators of home? How many of us utilize our sort of sixth sense to feel that we have, if for just moments, found ourselves in harmony? How many of us understand how important it is, and I would argue even essential to create a place that enables a life of harmony where we can rhythmically experience our world?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As a designer, I am compelled to join my clients with a place of harmony, where they feel at home, where the clock ceases to click away. I feel I have achieved success when </span><span style="font-size: small;">I can help my client through place tune into rhythm which leads them to "the flow" which in turn leads to connecting with, indeed sensing,
primal energies with a sort of sixth sense which leads one to a feeling of true
aliveness.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-80689896647496706232013-10-09T15:54:00.000-07:002013-10-09T15:56:28.543-07:00The Energy of a Space<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Everything is energy, therefore "energetic." Imagine the world and everything in it composed of vital energy or a life force which vibrates at different frequencies. This energy moves through space and around every living being, having originated from the sun, the earth and the air. When the energy is dense, we can see it. More fluid, less dense, ephemeral energy, often touches us without conscious awareness of how we have been touched by it. Some of us are more inclined to sensing this more ephemeral energy, while others can learn to tune in to this energy.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">I sometimes enter a garden, or a home, or an urban space, or a forest, or a cathedral and I can strongly feel the energy of the space. Look at these images for example:</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LaPQJjx7yaRyV63EiRsOwofxmK61EXGpT-MTc__5huddoGtk0I1DAeg_dJt2kx3FWJxbqnN8MTT6Wxh9dOPXuQAEdGsurArs63v6BB7PEurOAIPLT_-Js4EoGHcl_7ZdHsvZn8BR_F0/s1600/curiosity.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_LaPQJjx7yaRyV63EiRsOwofxmK61EXGpT-MTc__5huddoGtk0I1DAeg_dJt2kx3FWJxbqnN8MTT6Wxh9dOPXuQAEdGsurArs63v6BB7PEurOAIPLT_-Js4EoGHcl_7ZdHsvZn8BR_F0/s320/curiosity.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Looking through this obscured doorway invokes my curiosity. My energy level rises as I wonder what is on the other side, and I am drawn through the portal.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsdul27YQDhZWFDdzgBRfzBMietql3zBd41PtJ-QTSZPbpC05YG01IvKtLXw6TInXmpBfwUSSq-UbR522-C9UdPaLgnuKM7D0w4o24CZS-yGgIMdzBNPsEG3gQxO5NJtmFuopZK4e5lg/s1600/serenity.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsdul27YQDhZWFDdzgBRfzBMietql3zBd41PtJ-QTSZPbpC05YG01IvKtLXw6TInXmpBfwUSSq-UbR522-C9UdPaLgnuKM7D0w4o24CZS-yGgIMdzBNPsEG3gQxO5NJtmFuopZK4e5lg/s320/serenity.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This natural scene is peaceful, serene and contemplative. My energy level relaxes and I feel soothed.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBm3D3w1RyWGfxdEUrJN7aYIL1l5IVaRJf_phucwoXYXfr4dWAQBzrnGQgHj0-mrJurbZhrue6z50gUy1AGD-nXjKHstqEdSdW0Gi3CR9_IIp3FjjbSmarcXKtLKUAz0cwrwzTyjsemc/s1600/activity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBm3D3w1RyWGfxdEUrJN7aYIL1l5IVaRJf_phucwoXYXfr4dWAQBzrnGQgHj0-mrJurbZhrue6z50gUy1AGD-nXjKHstqEdSdW0Gi3CR9_IIp3FjjbSmarcXKtLKUAz0cwrwzTyjsemc/s320/activity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">This lively city space is high energy; I feel activity in every corner of the space.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"> </span></span><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is important to take this energy into consideration when getting to know a space and planning for its transformation. The space will have an existing energy inherited from the existing plants, wildlife, furnishings and surfaces. It will also bear the energy of former residents, and past events that took place in the space. This energy may be beneficial and should be retained to add to the garden transformation. Other energy, such as neglect or harshness should be transformed. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It is also important to consider the future intended energy to occupy the space. Is the space intended for entertainment and activity? Or is it instead intended for finding peace after a busy day of life. The elements that we bring into the future garden should reflect the intended future energy. Although we do not naturally understand a space in such terms, we are affected by it whether we recognize the effect or not. Each garden that I get to know and create anew receives such consideration during my design process. It is equally important as the aesthetics and the functionality as it is essential to the excellence of both of these realms. </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-31523548773190553922013-01-30T15:33:00.000-08:002013-01-30T15:33:55.248-08:00The Jewel Garden<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'm currently installing a small, enclosed garden for a friend. I've called it the "Jewel Garden" because small spaces allow a bit of luxury for details, and details are intended for this little space. This garden has been envisioned and re-envisioned multiple times, and I think that the final revision suits the space quite well! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Somehow as I design and get to know as space, it speaks to me of it's possibilities </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">and of what might suit it authentically. I've never situated faux doors before, but this garden told me that they would make all the difference. The fencelines in this space bothered me so much. The back fence changes levels, you can see neighboring fences, and the material is uninteresting. So I made the suggestion to add "doors" to the back fenceline to my friend, and he accepted the suggestion. Now that the doors have been placed, I'm so happy to have them; they add so much to the design. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I am helping with the construction, and so far we've proceeded as follows:</span></span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">demo existing elements that were not to remain</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">rough grade site</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">install irrigation, fountain and focal point </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">build small, undulating, natural stone retaining wall</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">build small natural stone patio </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">install lighting</span></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The next step is the planting, and I'm quite excited. Planting is my favorite part and always makes everything prettier and somehow come together. I'll post before and after photos on my website, but for now, here are a couple of glimpses of construction photos.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-37873454792060242732013-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:002013-01-30T14:58:57.980-08:00The loveliest Chondropetalum tectorum that I've ever come across<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;">Chondropetalum tectorum is one of my very favorite plants and, as such, I use it in almost every design I create. It is a great profile plant, and looks terrific profiled up against a wall. It is nice in native or Mediterranean gardens, and in my experience, I've seen it do well in either drought-tolerant or regularly watered gardens. As I get to know the plant better, though, I find that it definitely prefers and looks better in sunnier locations with small amounts of regular water. In the shade it tends to get a bit droopy. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;">A few weeks ago, in the charming small seaside town of Cambria, as I walked with my family along the coast and through the neighborhoods, I came upon the nicest example of a Chondropetalum that I've really ever seen.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ9IORTqD3poC-S6FzrkQZ-zQi-aJ8Ik2omIGfHUUh0jpUoEH1ZzSERn2lAr4Se8NnRrUt8xzOlUVPFI3NwtibUiBJoeqjeRCaFZO9bCTXqN9-AQrqmn6uRUEE_XlVhh13PWeYTdFvrs/s1600/CHONDROPETALUM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQ9IORTqD3poC-S6FzrkQZ-zQi-aJ8Ik2omIGfHUUh0jpUoEH1ZzSERn2lAr4Se8NnRrUt8xzOlUVPFI3NwtibUiBJoeqjeRCaFZO9bCTXqN9-AQrqmn6uRUEE_XlVhh13PWeYTdFvrs/s320/CHONDROPETALUM.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;">It is large, upright, and the brown flower bracts are so beautifully pronounced. The site, a sunny seaside drought-tolerant garden suited it well. It is notable that in several adjacent gardens I saw other Chondropetalum's, none of which looked even close to being as nice as this plant.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;">From San Marcos Growers, one of my favorite online sources for plant info:</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="background-color: white;">"This South African plant forms dense tufted clumps from which arise 2-3
feet tall dark green unbranched stems. The dark brown sheaths at the
joints drop off in summer leaving a dark band. Late in the season the
stems arch gracefully from the weight of clusters of small brown flowers
at the tips. Plant in full to part sun. It is drought tolerant, and
appreciates supplemental water in spring. It is hardy to about 20-25
degrees F. It can be successfully planted in seaside gardens, used in
relatively dry landscapes or as a plant in the shallows of a water
garden. Tolerates a wide soil pH range. The plant widely grown in the
US as Chondropetalum tectorum has been reclassified as Chondropetalum
elephantinum. This true Chondropetalum tectorum is a smaller plant
(about 3 feet tall) from the southern Cape. The larger plant
Chondropetalum elephantinum which we still grow as well, is a more
robust form up to 6 feet tall from the West Coast. The taxonomic work up
on this was done by Dr. Hans Peter Linder who is a professor at the
University of Zurich Institute for Systematical Botany and co-author of
the "Restios of the Fynbos". Likely, many of the plants in the nursery
trade are from seed collected from the larger form. We received this
first offering of the "true" Chondropetalum tectorum seed in the spring
of 2004. While this new plant should delight gardeners seeking a
smaller plant, it will likely confuse many who know the larger plant
under this name. In another taxonomic twist Dr. Linder, based on DNA
evidence, has most recently included Chondropetalum in the genus Elegia,
so this plant would now become Elegia tectorum. We retain the name
Chondropetalum tectorum for this plant until such time as this becomes
more widely accepted. The name Chondropetalum comes from the Greek words
'chondros' meaning "wheat" or a "big, grain of wheat" and 'petalum'
meaning a "flower petal". The origin of the name Elegia is that it is
the Latin word ' elegia' which means a "song of lamentation" perhaps in
reference to the rustling sound of the culms in the wind. The specific
epithet comes from the Latin tectorum meaning 'roofing' in reference to
the fact that this species has been used to provide thatching material,
though it is likely that the plant most used for thatching was really
the larger ones now called Chondropetalum elephantinum [Elegia
elephantina]."</span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-71447528223479062112013-01-30T13:38:00.000-08:002013-01-30T13:38:03.289-08:00A Letter to the Newhall Neighborhood, Looking Back<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Several
years ago, I authored an architectural design pattern book which was intended
to guide new development in my neighborhood, the Newhall Neighborhood in San
Jose, CA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have since regrettably moved
away from my beloved home in this wonderful neighborhood, and I offer this
summary as a letter which reveals my fond feelings for this wonderful place.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>One’s
native ground is the place where, since before you had words for such
knowledge, you have known the smells, the seasons, the birds and beasts, the
human voices, the houses, the ways of working, the lay of the land, and the
quality of light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the landscape
you learn before you retreat inside the illusion of your skin.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><i>Real
estate ads offer houses for sale, not homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A house is a garment, easily put off or on, casually bought and sold; a
home is skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Merely change houses and
you will be disoriented; change homes and you bleed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the shell you live in has taken on the
savor of your love, when your dwelling has become a taproot, then your house is
a home.</i></span></div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Scott Russell Sanders</span></div>
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Our
neighborhood is not only comprised of its buildings as objects, but it is,
moreover, the sum of the uses of the buildings, porches, sidewalks, streets,
and neighborhood amenities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The language
of any neighborhood is both collective memory and collective aspiration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While history concerns the past, tradition
concerns the thresholds from heritage into the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This notion of tradition, of urban evolution,
and of creating and recreating wholeness should be our primary focus while
adding to this neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thus
offer this pattern book as a way of revealing both our collective memory and
our collective aspiration to help designers, developers and the City to create
beautiful homes and public urban space which complement the existing
surrounding neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Pattern
books were commonly used at the time of our neighborhood’s first construction,
and throughout history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They offered
local builders and craftsmen essential details to construct an architecturally
correct house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pattern books were
offered in several forms: classical treatises or manuals, plan books that could
be replicated, catalogs for building products, or plans for pre-manufactured
houses.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Our
pattern book serves more as a data and idea file.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We give the user a glimpse of the project
sites from those who have a history and direct connection with them, and who
have a direct stake in the projects’ success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Consequently, we urge users to plan for this particular urban space by
paying special attention to the surrounding details at three scales: (1) the
overall plan for the development suiting the layout of the existing land; (2)
the image of typical urban spaces within the plan complementing the existing
urban spaces within the neighborhood; and (3) the individual buildings with
their architectural details echoing the architectural styles of the surrounding
homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pattern book has three
essential sections: <i>Project Overview and Neighbor Concerns, </i>which explains
our understanding of the proposed development projects and our reaction to the
proposals; <i>Our Collective Memory, </i>which reveals the existing
neighborhood character, including the most prevalent architectural styles; and<i>
Our Collective Aspirations, </i>which illustrates our hopes for the additions
to our neighborhood, citing examples of recent developments of similar scale.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Our
neighborhood derives much of its character from its diversity of architectural
styles and textures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We, therefore,
encourage any development which pursues a similar mixture of styles and
textures at a modern density which blends well with our existing density. In
the final product, we would like to achieve a balance between the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>individual expression of each building and a
unity of all of the architectural styles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Color should also be used to enliven the development and to harken to
the surrounding neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As in any
composition, a symphony is created from notes which harmonize, take one on a
journey, and tell a story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repetitions
and patterns are present, but are accented and blended into the composition
whole. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Finally,
we urge all who use this book to study our concerns, familiarize themselves
with our history and architecture, and understand and implement our
prescriptions for quality developments to enhance our existing
neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Examine each section as a
whole, and go back and come to know the details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The overall layout of the neighborhood is
important, the size of our streets, the positioning of our homes on their lots,
our street amenities, street trees, and landscaping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The massing of our buildings is integral to
determining and recreating the proper architectural styles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Door and window placement and dimensions are
important, as is exterior detailing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
of these elements combine together to develop the special place that our
neighborhood has evolved into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Our
residences within the Newhall Neighborhood are truly homes, and our
neighborhood, consequently, offers us all a place of comfort and belonging, a
place away from harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We stroll along
our sidewalks beside tree-lined streets in couples holding hands, with our
children, walking our dogs, or solo commuting to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our streets are pedestrian friendly, and we
feel safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #6aa84f;">The
Newhall Neighborhood has seen many new residents, but others have lived here
for many years, and raised families within our grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After so many years of intimacy, the
neighborhood dwells in us as surely as we dwell in the neighborhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those of us who have made a connection with
this place continue to work to improve upon it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Our efforts have accomplished the construction of new sidewalks, the
planting of new trees, a traffic calming street closure, a park, and a
prospering neighborhood organization which continues to address issues
important to our residents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">We
dwell in a neighborhood of diversity, and this is exemplified by the variety of
our homes’architectural styles. We draw the reader’s attention to five
particular architectural styles which are prevalent within our neighborhood,
and we discuss them in alphabetical order: (1) European Romantic, (2) Minimal
Traditional, (3) Spanish Revival, (4) Vernacular, and (5) Victorian Farmhouse
and Cottage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We highlight exemplars from
primarily a one mile radius of the project sites, and have secondarily looked
to examples within a three mile radius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After citing the characteristics which distinguish each architectural
style, we then point to special features such as doors, windows, rooflines,
chimneys, materials, details, and landscaping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is important to see these elements dimensioned individually as well
as placed within the whole composition of the house to achieve scale. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is our belief that the special quality
achieved by this architectural multiplicity draws a particular type of resident
who will laude our diversity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is an
important characteristic of our neighborhood, and although we are open to
change, we support change which will respect this special distinction, and draw
future neighbors who will contribute to our special place.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-4775772834147601772013-01-16T15:09:00.001-08:002013-01-16T15:17:39.903-08:00My New Worx Intellicut...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">has arrived. And I am soooo excited! For I mow lawns for a living. Among many other things, certainly. I consider myself a bit of a renaissance woman. As a landscape designer, life circumstances highly encouraged me to consider my clients' urgings to offer a maintenance service to accompany my installed landscape designs. And when I found that it is oh so difficult to hire a prince gardener on a budget, I was thrown into the additional professional role as Botany of Design's head gardener.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Whew! For years as I studied and worked in Landscape Architecture, I urged my friends and family who had no idea of what a Landscape Architect is that, "I (emphatically) am not a gardener." And now, well, I suppose I am a gardener (she says as she shrugs her very petite shoulders).</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ok, I can do this. I've a big white American truck at my disposal. Check! I've gone out and purchased all the tools, a small investment since I already had the bohemoth lawn mower (which I was already used to pushing around), and the only other power tool I included in my entourage was a backpack blower (which I love, by the way). Check! Gas and oil mixtures. Check! Clients. Check! Service lists, routes, notes and camera. Check!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ok, I'm ready to go! Hmmm, how do I get this lawnmower in to the truck? Well, after spending days watching actual gardeners' techniques and trying many of my own, I finally settled into hoisting the 70 pound monster onto its rear wheels and rolling its front wheels from the tip of the bed on back. Sounds easy enough... but it wasn't. Not to mention getting the mower back out again.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A few years later, I've settled into my gardening chores with a mix of dread, but true love. It gives me so much time to think, I get to touch the dirt (which I love), I see the stages beyond planting and the evolution of my gardens, I learn so much more about my plants and my little created ecosystems, and it gets me out of my office. One day, I'm in my dress and heels and the next I'm tired and dirty, hoisting around lawnmowers. I've found my equilibrium and for now settled in with my gardener(ish) fate.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But my dreams of a lawnmower that I can actually pick up and (perhaps) fit in the back of my Volvo Cross Country abided. Until now, for I think I may have found my ideal mower! I never could have found such a silly little machine in a big muscular warehouse store, so, alas, I was obliged to take a chance on site unseen through the web. The reviews were mixed, but mostly good. And when I kept seeing the words "small" and "toy" pop up, I thought, "this is the mower for me!" So I snapped it up; and indeed, it is small and my 4 year old son could push it as a toy. It has earned some points. But the true test will come on the (battle) fields as I push it across the green locks of my gardens. Will it cut? The jury, of course, is still out. But, indeed, I shall update...</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awww, isn't she cute? </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-30349317362296925432013-01-09T16:02:00.000-08:002013-01-09T16:05:14.572-08:00Death begets life<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: small;">December’s descent into darkness has begun. The chaos of wind and chill and rain bring
disorder and death in the garden. And of death, while we await, begets rebirth. Surely the gardening life places us privy to
the many secrets of the cycles of endings begetting beginnings and our
existence in between. These cycles play
themselves out many times in the garden, and as we gardeners partake in these
cycles each season, we observe and participate in the unification of being and
not being, infinite and finite. It is a
participation in the “holy,” this dance we follow.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: small;">January particularly triggers recognition of this unity
dance of juxtaposition, as we remain still in darkness, yet yearn for new
beginnings. It is the topic of ancient
myths, death begetting birth, and indeed, death sustaining life. And as one considers deeply, we begin to see
that these ancient myths silently guide our modern lives. Lately it has frequently filled my mind, this
deep connection of garden and myth.
Myths, rituals, and archetypes are quietly yet poignantly present in
each design I create. As I delve into
the understanding of this deep connection between the garden and myth, it is my
intention to invite the further participation of my friends and clients. The garden is so much more than a pretty
place to plant flowers, grow a lawn, and invite friends for lunch. I’ve observed this over and over as I watch
my clients’ interactions with their new gardens, and as I have experienced with
the creation of (and loss of) my own garden.
Connections grow deep…</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: small;">Jennifer Heath, in her book “The Echoing Green,” understands
this connection. She proclaims, “Gardens
and myths are companions, twin visions that touch the same desire for
transcendence. Gardening and
storytelling are both acts of love, veneration, and imagination.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: small;">And so, too, a little death has taken place for me; I observe
as I look back on the turbulence of the recently passing years. As I find rebirth, it is this companionship
of the garden and myth which allows us a homecoming and a striving for
transcendence, to which I turn and to which I offer my clients. I wish to you all a rebirth in this new year.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-26006949217021001312011-01-03T13:23:00.000-08:002011-01-03T13:26:38.721-08:00Thinking about vitality and wisdom with so much inspiration from nature<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IT_khkzcoE1NYbAcLQqpCBSgV6eW_Hch_p0vn2raOqbDE1S0_XLYl_Wulw1zhp5MRkrq4Vsx-TiSH7IKAPIaxD0FnC6ORxoqWKMvntfaYMy6NsLcAP3t87kMdN3vw9ATIUvCWyuecTc/s1600/philosophy+05.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-IT_khkzcoE1NYbAcLQqpCBSgV6eW_Hch_p0vn2raOqbDE1S0_XLYl_Wulw1zhp5MRkrq4Vsx-TiSH7IKAPIaxD0FnC6ORxoqWKMvntfaYMy6NsLcAP3t87kMdN3vw9ATIUvCWyuecTc/s320/philosophy+05.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558074083569933778" border="0" /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">"And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." (Shakespeare, AS YOU LIKE IT, Act II, Sc I)</p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">I’ve always loved hiking, and have recently returned to this beautiful conversation with nature after so many years away.<span style=""> </span>Yes, the trees do speak to me, the burgeoning winter streams tell me stories, and the moss-covered boulders and stones inspire.<span style=""> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal">I had convinced myself that working hard at Botany with focus and little distraction equals good business sense, and perhaps eventually a good life.<span style=""> </span>But it is clear that we Americans work too hard, and in the process, we are sterilizing our minds of inspiration and deep aspiration.<span style=""> </span>And we are making ourselves ill in the process.<span style=""> </span>Returning to nature and appreciating the lessons it offers willingly to the attentive student has amplified my inspiration, and I now aspire to balance work and pleasure, especially in nature.<span style=""> </span></p> <p face="georgia" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">And we at Botany are on a renewed mission to bring this inspiration and aspiration to all of our lovely clients and friends; and we ask you to consider the following.<span style=""> </span>We all recognize the refreshing feeling of renewal when we enter green spaces whether they be a forest, a garden or a favorite café which has paid extra attention to detailing with plants, but research has documented that plants offer further benefits including:</p> <p face="georgia" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">• <b style="">Reduced stress.</b> Blood pressure and muscle tension are lower when people are around plants, both indoors and outdoors. Stress is reduced when people have window views of plants and gardens. People performing stressful tasks recover from that stress more quickly and completely with plants in the room where they are working.<span style=""> </span>And walking in gardens is particularly beneficial.</p> <p face="georgia" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">• <b style="">Better health.</b> When stress is lower, stress-related illnesses including headaches and backaches are fewer. Improved air quality results in fewer respiratory and skin problems.<span style=""> </span>Pain perception is also reduced when plants are present, so people feel better.<span style=""> </span>Working in nature or spending significant periods of time in nature has an even greater impact and evidence suggests that this can lessen the risk of developing serious illness.<span style=""> </span>Also now being pioneered are health care programs where doctors refer their patients to forest-based health projects. Here, access to woodland is being improved and activity in woodlands is being encouraged. Following the results of such programs shows that people are becoming healthier due to the exercise and fresh air.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">•<b style=""> Improved productivity.</b> Productivity on repetitive tasks is higher when performed with plants present. Even cognitive capacity has been shown to be higher in the presence of plants.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">• <b style="">Reduced mental fatigue.</b> Mental fatigue, which is increasingly common with the constant intrusions from e-mail and cell phones, is lower when plants are present. People are more attentive when they are in environments with plants.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">• <b style="">Enhanced moods.</b> People are happier and feel friendlier when plants are present. They also are less sad when plants and trees are nearby.</p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">We lament that in the last few hundred years, there has been an extraordinary disengagement of humans from the natural environment; due mostly to the enormous shift of people away from rural areas into cities. <span style=""> </span>In evolutionary terms, the urban environment is a spontaneous, changeable and historically unfamiliar habitat. <span style=""> </span>Never in history have humans spent so little time in physical contact with animals and plants, and the consequences are unknown. <span style=""> </span>Already, some research has shown that too much artificial stimulation and an existence spent in purely human environments may cause exhaustion and produce a loss of vitality and health. <span style=""> </span>Modern society, by its very essence, insulates people from outdoor environmental stimuli and regular contact with nature. <span style=""> </span>And the question arises, are humans fully adapted to an urban existence? <span style=""> </span>With parks and public nature reserves often their only means of accessing nature, the majority of urban-dwelling individuals may have all but forgotten their connections with the natural world.<span style=""> </span>And at what cost?</p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">And so I return to my hikes in nature and I seek the wisdom it offers, as did the Celts over 2000 years ago. <span style=""> </span>We know that the Celts had a wealth of knowledge about trees and the human relationship with them. This was passed down through generations in poetry by specially trained elders. When the Celtic way of life was lost in Roman times, much of their knowledge was lost, as well. However, we can pick up remnants of this lost knowledge.<span style=""> </span>We find that each species of tree was important to the Celts in particular ways.<span style=""> </span>They provided shelter, energy, food and medicines as did other plants in the landscape. <span style=""> </span>Each tree species also had certain wisdom and healing qualities associated with it. <span style=""> </span>The Celtic Druids (specially trained elders), had a secret form of written language called ogham. The earliest known form of this was the Tree Ogham or Celtic Tree Alphabet. <span style=""> </span>Each letter was associated with a tree and had a wealth of symbolic wisdom behind it. <span style=""> </span>Further, each month of the Celtic calendar and therefore different seasons and festivals throughout the year were associated with a particular tree. </p> <p style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" class="MsoNormal">I recollect those I’ve known who exhibit a particular vitality or a rare wisdom, and I find a commonality—a deep connection with nature.<span style=""> </span>We certainly could as a society benefit from increased vitality and more wisdom.<span style=""> </span>So a renewed vision from us to bring to you this very special conversation with nature in hopes that beginning now in the freshness of 2011, you all shall find enhanced well-being in increased vitality and wisdom from a deeper connection with nature.<span style=""> </span>May you all find yourself hiking in nature soon.<span style=""> </span>Come home inspired, and contact us to help you design your new garden, install a completed plan, or maintain a beautiful garden that has been neglected.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-54250740496852293012010-12-07T17:56:00.000-08:002010-12-07T18:08:03.590-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJe9j6PhQNRQVJNTtiGRV2dET3Qa0b9uaqpyPBTYfz7Jmda8fMmyVuhH2aXN79NEHsrBDXoQeOmfBXgzr9wqSKd15cjz_oZDW_wfHnszXpGSDsQ3Fhx_Z_oay02v7AOA6WcZ3c2COhwI/s1600/philosophy+01.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 212px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJe9j6PhQNRQVJNTtiGRV2dET3Qa0b9uaqpyPBTYfz7Jmda8fMmyVuhH2aXN79NEHsrBDXoQeOmfBXgzr9wqSKd15cjz_oZDW_wfHnszXpGSDsQ3Fhx_Z_oay02v7AOA6WcZ3c2COhwI/s320/philosophy+01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548125342780472898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN"><br />We've all had the experience of arriving at a special place and be</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN">coming overwhelmed with a sense of awe and wonder.<span> </span>What is it about this place that affects us so powerfully?<span> </span>Natural</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN"> places such as a "cathedral" in the woods or a sheltered cove have been designed by natural forces, and most created or developed places have been designed.<span> </span>These special, designed places have been thoroughly thought out.<span> </span>What story do we want to tell?<span> </span>How</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN"> many outdoor "rooms" do we want to create?<span> </span>Which views do we want to open up, conceal, or reveal gradually?<span> </span>How shall we guide circulation?<span> </span>How do we </span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN">incorporate resting places or spots for triangulation?<span> </span>How do we want to use color to create moods?<span> </span>How do we make users feel safe?<span> </span>What is the existing language of the space and the surrounding spaces that must be respected to create this sense of place? </span><span lang="EN">A great designed space matters.<span> </span>So many of our clients tell us that before we designed their gardens they never spent time in</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN"> the space, and afterward they d</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN">erive great pleasure spending much of their time in the space.<span> </span>They now want to show it off to friends, and they now start planning activities around the space. </span><span lang="EN">A fellow designer compares good design with smoke.<span> </span>"You know what they are when you see them. But when you try to grasp it, sometimes you can't reel it in."<span> </span>Again, we have the feeling of the ethereal.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnklDL87mMBeKwQQ2GVT2MNU4wj1Cm8MTmTdr_h4Zk75z-jDWMgXxJ6PC8gGRh4i5NrYF4Y2GTnvhfq-pTFtbM9TI3wHM0O1glR2XDxgPwsuat-iUu8ymGQzlXukMiKiXev8xKuj-i9aI/s1600/brandt+simone.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnklDL87mMBeKwQQ2GVT2MNU4wj1Cm8MTmTdr_h4Zk75z-jDWMgXxJ6PC8gGRh4i5NrYF4Y2GTnvhfq-pTFtbM9TI3wHM0O1glR2XDxgPwsuat-iUu8ymGQzlXukMiKiXev8xKuj-i9aI/s320/brandt+simone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548125829913404562" border="0" /></a></span><span lang="EN"><br />Clients are often thrilled when we hand them their final drawings after so much time spent thinking about the design.<span> </span>It is a tangible representation of this ongoing conversation about the creation of this new place.<span> </span>We take great pride in our drawings, but the cost of our design services is not paying for the drawing alone.<span> </span>It represents the many hours of training, specific research, developing and storytelling that is behind each pen-stroke of our drawings.<span> </span>Only through these less visible steps do we achieve a good design; and a good design creates a great place.<span> </span>Good design is intentional, purposeful, and defensible.<span> </span>When a client a</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN">sks us why we placed that patio or tree as we did, our a</span></span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN">nswer will always be much more than "because we thought it would look pretty there."<span><br /></span></span><br />Landscape Architect Dan Kiley has said "The greatest contribution a designer can make is to link the human and the natural in such a way as to recall our fundamental place in the scheme of things." Each of our designs strives toward this ideal, as we work through each design in conversation with nature. Now that so very few people make their living </span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;">from the land, this contribution is particularly in need. So many of us are obliged to be locked up in an often windowless room for 8 or more hours a day, we drive to and from this room on an asphalt road, surrounded by concrete, and by day's end, we find ourselves completely drained. As Jennifer Heath laments in her book The Echoing Green, "Cultural memory is quickly disappearing under the weight of television, shopping malls, and wanton d</span><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;">estruction of Nature. Yet whether we realize it or not, each time we plant a seed, we are rebelling against materialism and the loss of Soul." Mass media has hijacked the cultural memory, and we yearn to reconnect individually and as a culture with the cycles of nature. The land upon which we survive literally "grounds" us.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,Arial,Sans-Serif;font-size:100%;color:#999900;"><span lang="EN"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyETrKmuy1yme7weEPQdFCVbui91rrmbnfjbBZ48dW8jx1JCokttiSzwVX6alCXIedUssWqVy4riK6n_LZr9GpRmOY0YaeYc7CYxBAuU0fDH4ryGQSwo7fxpnpxjt67rFPJW5QWtgxFF0/s1600/IMG_4423.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyETrKmuy1yme7weEPQdFCVbui91rrmbnfjbBZ48dW8jx1JCokttiSzwVX6alCXIedUssWqVy4riK6n_LZr9GpRmOY0YaeYc7CYxBAuU0fDH4ryGQSwo7fxpnpxjt67rFPJW5QWtgxFF0/s320/IMG_4423.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548127079119810514" border="0" /></a></span></span></span><br /><span lang="EN">Landscape designer Harry Schuster once commented, "All other things being equal, a well-designed landscape costs just as much to install as an ugly one. Why not make them all nice?"<span> </span>We agree!<span> All should bring beauty to our spaces and shine beauty into our souls. </span>We commend all of our lovely clients and friends who have had this foresight, and we encourage you all to spread the word. We are on a mission to spread this sense of place, and we'd like to enlist your help. And to all of our new friends, we invite you to join us.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-638993163100267672010-01-21T11:43:00.000-08:002010-01-21T12:24:13.386-08:00The Alameda Business Association Wins Governor's Historic Preservation Award<span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" ><strong style="font-weight: normal;">We</strong> were so pleased to learn that the State of California presented The Alameda Business Association with its Governor's Historic Preservation Award for 2009 to recognize the Association's outstanding achievements in the field of historic preservation for The Alameda Business District and its project, The Alameda: A Plan for "The Beautiful Way". This project is particularly dear to our hearts, and we have been delighted to offer efforts to this project ourselves.<br /></span> <div style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" >"For more than 200 years, The Alameda has been one of </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" >San José's premier gateways," said Mayor Chuck Reed. "The Alameda Business Association, through partnership with neighboring community members, has helped preserve this grand boulevard's historic identity, while also ensuring a vibrant place for residents and office workers to shop and dine."</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" >The Governor's Award annually recognizes outstanding grassroots organizations, and private and public agencies that creatively preserve and present California's historic resources, and make meaningful historical contributions by increasing public awareness, appreciation, and support for historic preservation. This prestigious award was presented at a special ceremony on January 20 in Sacramento.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" >"I want to congratulate The Alameda Business Association on winning this prestigious award," said Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio. "It has taken many years of dedication from volunteers and funding from the San Jose Redevelopment Agency to be able to restore and strengthen this amazing area."<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXSzEI5kMXhBBkQfju3CC3YGE9K4_l4sApjX4by0-BS1HGrvRsx0Dh1bjeyApTD2WRN0jJOYzqqEIfnNHxglVmS6_0jBDm_xGjQONW9rlNX1SeVakImOxJNXHoRSZhbe1YJo_pK6S2dE/s1600-h/book.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXSzEI5kMXhBBkQfju3CC3YGE9K4_l4sApjX4by0-BS1HGrvRsx0Dh1bjeyApTD2WRN0jJOYzqqEIfnNHxglVmS6_0jBDm_xGjQONW9rlNX1SeVakImOxJNXHoRSZhbe1YJo_pK6S2dE/s320/book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429290374856531634" border="0" /></a> <div style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div> <div style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Alameda Business Association, which is composed of neighborhood-serving businesses dedicated to the revitalization of the Alameda Neighborhood Business District, was recognized for several historic preservation projects. These efforts have included: publishing the historical book, The Alameda, the Beautiful Way, the first book to document the 200-year history of The Alameda, launching The History Festival on The Alameda, and creating The Rose, White and Blue 4th of July Parade whose origins can be traced back to 1896. www.rosewhiteblueparade.org</span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"> </span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">"The ongoing efforts of the Alameda Business Association, local residents and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency are now recognized and celebrated by the Governor's Historic Preservation Award," said Larry Clark, Treasurer, The Alameda Business Association. "We are currently making our own history by planning for the future of The Alameda thanks to our CalTrans sponsored Community-Based Transportation Planning project. If you liked where we have been, you'll love where we are going - here on The Alameda!"</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /></span> <div style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"> </div><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"> In 2008, the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and The Alameda community were also awarded a $250,000 State Caltrans Community-Based Transportation Planning Grant to begin The Alameda: A Plan for "The Beautiful Way, a visioning process for The Alameda to become a transportation-oriented corridor. The project covers approximately 1.5 miles between Diridon Station and Interstate 880 and will focus on making a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly environment. Key elements of the project will include traffic calming, crosswalks, and the preservation of the area's historic elements. To learn more about the project, visit </span><a style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102950940404&s=365&e=001ygG4rHfjYiMKiUUVb4eK_lCOvoHBKpe-N3L8fVJk8ap_IWS-8253_hHLzQGnyRGI-y3JUQHqyWOPL879zxXw_2oPnevgPSfpCEUYe31iP6LI6VjRFTQm_87LattCwI-JhVcCgmhDjAWu4Zfiz7Wzk9XhfplaM-Iedf5Nprqnc0Xbizx3_QHVUA==" target="_blank" shape="rect" track="on" linktype="link">http://www.sjredevelopment.org/TheAlamedaTransportationImprovements.htm</a><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LwGgbyXvVD3uhcCf6o0EfsoXq1SIVx0zg8JZIVpWqBXaRN1kfbUd5xD2aV0Sb3Q_uAbSNQ1L4A8g-9UR0YZ9Khe1dl869YV7D_NDLGyBWkC6hNXTdCD5-0Of8dLXfdwLoeH0SGDVBhI/s1600-h/gateway+planting.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LwGgbyXvVD3uhcCf6o0EfsoXq1SIVx0zg8JZIVpWqBXaRN1kfbUd5xD2aV0Sb3Q_uAbSNQ1L4A8g-9UR0YZ9Khe1dl869YV7D_NDLGyBWkC6hNXTdCD5-0Of8dLXfdwLoeH0SGDVBhI/s320/gateway+planting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429290380738924626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />As planning efforts proceed, improvements have already begun with the installation of the first of several historic gateways into the Shasta Hanchett neighborhood, just off the Alameda. We were so happy to join forces with the Alameda Business Association and the Shasta Hanchett Neighborhood Association (SHPNA) to develop this historic gatewa<span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">y. We volunteered the planting design and installation labor, working closely with Lorie Bird of SHPNA. This was a very rewarding project with many constraints, but we're so excited to see this installation in the spring, as the waves of color emerge. If you are in the neighborhood, do stop by. It is on the corner of The Alameda and Hanchett.<br /><br />We are truly thankful to the many dedicated neighbors and neighborhood businesses who contribute their efforts to develop the beauty, comfort, and neighborliness of our dear neighborhood.<br /></span></span><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102950940404&s=365&e=001ygG4rHfjYiN80hGTLxv5CxZMM_ZWy9U7imLJmAXKDEcpP6qGd6cqydCmxIUxC9m3wW-YEOl6Afj6Lrwt3bYf4nBM_bPJjBdzQlTj9Cn1KXzCH8uNy2T9Yw==" target="_blank" shape="rect" track="on" linktype="link"></a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-37982799963161459642010-01-07T21:50:00.000-08:002010-01-07T23:11:46.178-08:00Plant Persona<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhriqaynmKR8oJFTfN_5OkN3sDw4U8PaYqPf-65x89b17femnOVE-qMrhc9HQExcwJi9Oc2GLIc9f2jmj-CDkXGJkalWjZrfUudQNyceBeDBNs0iDaQmy7s1IBSgjDuOzgnE6VVkLL5laY/s1600-h/253.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhriqaynmKR8oJFTfN_5OkN3sDw4U8PaYqPf-65x89b17femnOVE-qMrhc9HQExcwJi9Oc2GLIc9f2jmj-CDkXGJkalWjZrfUudQNyceBeDBNs0iDaQmy7s1IBSgjDuOzgnE6VVkLL5laY/s320/253.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424245206119690546" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CLisa%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0pt; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><o:p></o:p><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">When I’m in my garden, I surely talk to my plants. I refer to them as “he” or “she,” and I always inquire how they are “feeling.” When they are feeling unwell, I am pricked with the guilt of an inattentive caretaker, and I promise to be more attentive. In the presence of some plants, my heart races, others I find soothing. Old trees are wise, rambling vines are rascals who continually get out of control. And the Chinese Elm has always been a giraffe to me.
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<br />Many cultural tales speak of plants’ power to enchant, charm, or work miracles. Plants are believed to have spirits and souls, acting as metaphors for human feeling and behavior, and possessing powers of transformation when consumed or employed in specific ways.</span>
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<br /></span> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">For example, the ancient Greeks believed that the consumption of thyme brought bravery and life energy, while borage gave courage.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Native Americans have traditionally believed that yucca made into a hoop or hat can render the wearer invisible.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Burdock, sorrel, and chamomile are thought to attract money.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In Medieval Europe, leeks were worn as protective amulets; and when bitten, leeks broke hexes.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The Roman emperor, Nero, believed that leeks improved his voice, so he ate them before giving oratories.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The orchid, bamboo, pine, plum and chrysanthemum are considered by some Asian cultures to be lucky and virtuous.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The plum is like a superior human being, undaunted and unobtrusive.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The bamboo is gentle, hardy, flexible, straight and humble.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Orange blossoms recall the past.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Cherry blossoms offer happiness and hope.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">An Oak is strong and enduring, an orchid infrangible.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p>Irises are said to free the soul from the body, and are thus popular in cemeteries.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Since the 19<sup>th</sup> century in <st1:place>Europe</st1:place> and <st1:place>North America</st1:place>, poppies have been associated with war and those who died in battle.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">This association was first documented in 1815 after the Battle of Waterloo.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Because poppy seeds sit dormant in the soil for years, and then sprout when the soil is disturbed, red poppies painted the bloody field of <st1:place>Flanders</st1:place> after the field was plowed.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">In <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> poppies were believed to give headaches, earaches, nosebleeds and blindness.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the language of roses, pink is simplicity and happy love; red is passion and desire; white is innocence and purity; yellow is jealousy and perfect achievement.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0); font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">In my own garden, I have found that I rarely fall in love with plants for their flower color or masses of flowers. More often, it is the persona-- a striking profile, a delicate leaf, an arching or crooked stem, its texture or a bizarre flower-- that speaks the loudest to me.</span>
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<br /></span></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-67322856611150599652010-01-07T14:18:00.000-08:002010-01-11T17:19:38.779-08:00JANUARY MAINTENANCE TIPS<span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">Although many of us don't make it out into our gardens much this time of year, there is plenty to do. For a splendiferous Spring and Summer display, a bit of work now is well worth the effort. Or better yet, call us, and we'll do the fine gardening work for you!</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">FROST PROTECTION<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1tcsKtmTWxKsJGGJO9WDYxFPmfztCNFD6w4vPK__jmodjTi5ZV1qIS6jvwFoXkOf2GWte9KtxrKZ-TCGlTbITusUVfSD-XFcbxGtlqbZLMjGHE8mEOj2hYNegOlmRTZS9ZaSHHPYgh8/s1600-h/frost+protection.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1tcsKtmTWxKsJGGJO9WDYxFPmfztCNFD6w4vPK__jmodjTi5ZV1qIS6jvwFoXkOf2GWte9KtxrKZ-TCGlTbITusUVfSD-XFcbxGtlqbZLMjGHE8mEOj2hYNegOlmRTZS9ZaSHHPYgh8/s320/frost+protection.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425653702041267602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ When hard freezes are expected, protect tender plants from potential frost by tenting with burlap, a blanket, or Easy Gardener’s Plant and Seed Blanket. Be sure to keep the cover off of the foliage to minimize damage to branch tips and flowers. Cloudcover, a polymer that prevents desiccation during frost, protects plants to abo</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">ut 28°F. Pull potted plants under the eves of the house and if you expect a big freeze run an extension cord out into your citrus and put a 60 or 70 watt bulb under the cover. Be sure to remove the covers first thing in the morning as </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">temperatures rise.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDSl-q3XXcVT84qw6FTzl1VrlsAwzQDlZN5I6IwecpuyJnOCHpOSPkewllXtYVI_lBD2ZK-gq48rXVv3-HdGTmzWZkNTtYIsFIo_JGAFivScyJ4OdYyPL3ZVt59dus72WU6u4oadBKHk/s1600-h/DSCN0074.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDSl-q3XXcVT84qw6FTzl1VrlsAwzQDlZN5I6IwecpuyJnOCHpOSPkewllXtYVI_lBD2ZK-gq48rXVv3-HdGTmzWZkNTtYIsFIo_JGAFivScyJ4OdYyPL3ZVt59dus72WU6u4oadBKHk/s320/DSCN0074.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424145667369848690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ If you haven’t done so already, move your containerized tender and tropical plants close to the house during the cold months.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">PEST PREVENTION</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Apply dormant spray to deciduous trees and shrubs if aphids, scale or whiteflies have</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">been a problem in previous seasons.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />_ Apply tri-basic copper sulfate or lime sulfur for peach leaf curl now into mid- February.<br /></span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5ufkWM-897jN-dkzXf2PmOWg2fFoJ7zK8GW_uTTLknDhdWiTYwItKpHDDGDX8ExurRlDiXQMv9XbXPSZqeay1DG1-tzAnp7wxMiiRwdTI5gm-vUMT1uxEmKTuwzqOn9P1sU6fum7Eao/s1600-h/petal+blight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu5ufkWM-897jN-dkzXf2PmOWg2fFoJ7zK8GW_uTTLknDhdWiTYwItKpHDDGDX8ExurRlDiXQMv9XbXPSZqeay1DG1-tzAnp7wxMiiRwdTI5gm-vUMT1uxEmKTuwzqOn9P1sU6fum7Eao/s320/petal+blight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425654016185181746" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ As camellias begin blooming, you may notice brown splotching on petal margins of open flowers, partly open flowers and flower buds. These are characteristic symptoms of</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">camellia petal blight, a fungus for which there is no cure. Sanitation is the key to reducing</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">symptoms: Remove infected flowers and buds and try to not let infected petals hit the</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">ground. If they do, gather and place them in the trash immediately - do not compost!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Azaela flower blight has similar symptoms as camellia petal blight, but it can be</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">controlled with a fungicide applied before the buds begin to show color. Use Rose Pride</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">(Fuginex) or Garden Disease Control (Daconil).</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">HARVEST</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Harvest citrus. 'Eureka' lemon, mandarins, 'Washington' navel orange, and several other</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">citrus trees are producing now, so pick while fruit is ripe. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">If you have more than you can</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">use, we at Botany gladly collect surplus harvest and distribute it to families who will make good use of it or donate the excess to a food bank</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"> (for a list, visit cafoodbanks.org). You can also contact the non-profit Village Harvest (888/378-4841) to send a team of trained and equipped volunteers to harvest and donate the fruit for you.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />_ Pick up fallen fruit, remove dried fruit on trees (“mummies”), and rake leaves, placing all debris in the trash. Do not compost! Fruits and leaves may harbor overwintering insect</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">pests and fungi. Removing both decreases the incidence and proliferation of pests and</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">diseases the next growing season.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />PRUNING</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />_ To keep fruit and shade trees, grapes, and berries shapely, prune them while they're</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">dormant. It is advisable to use pruning shears to make cuts up to ¾ inch in diameter,</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">loppers for cuts ¾ to 1 inch in diameter, and a pruning saw for branches more than 1 inch</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">in diameter.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Prune evergreen perennials such as Penstemon, Chrysanthemums, lavender and Salvias</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">now, if you haven’t already. If they’re still in color, you can wait to cut back absolutely</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">no later than Valentine’s Day. Pruning your evergreens keeps them compact and dense.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">New growth makes the plant appear fresher. DO NOT prune lavender all the way back</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">into wood with no leaves. It will not recover.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Ornamental grasses should have been cut back by now. Some gardeners appreciate the</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">ornamental effect of the dried seed heads through the winter months and those can be cut</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">back as late as Valentine's Day but no later.<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Time to prune garden hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla). This species blooms on</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">new growth from one-year old wood -- aim your pruning cuts just above the largest pair</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">of buds on this wood. Hydrangea bushes often need to be thinned out by removing some</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">of the old gnarly stems right to the ground. Each year one-quarter to one-third of the</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">stems should be removed to permit new ones to grow. All stems pencil size or smaller</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">should be removed. If powdery mildew has been a problem during the summer months,</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">spray them with Microcop or Liqui-Cop after pruning as a preventative; and during the</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">summer spr</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">ay with sulfur if mildew appears.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Wisteria should be pruned before it blooms; cut the new whippy, vegetative growth back to within two buds from the main stem. Be sure to leave t</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">he fat, elongated buds that will produce flowers.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />_ Roses should also be pruned now. If you wait until later the plants have often started to</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">sprout out lots of new growth. The main purpose of this pruning is to clear away</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">diseased material. Dead leaves should also be picked up and the ground covered with a</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">fresh dose of mulch to seal in the fungal spores. As much of the introduction of the</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">disease organisms to the plants comes from splashing raindrops, cleanliness matters for</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">the more disease prone roses. Try to refrain from any pesticide or fungicide spraying</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">unless the bu</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">gs are just too thick for the plants to survive.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Look for broken and torn branches on trees after storms. Prune to healthy tissue, using</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">heading cuts if parts of branches have broken or torn and removing entire branches if</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">needed. Consulting a simple, informative book such as Ortho’s All About Pruning will</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">help you determine where to prune and how to make the proper cut. If severe damage is</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">done to older, mature trees, we strongly encourage you to seek the services of a certified</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">arborist. While you may pay more for their work than you would for a non-certified</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">pruner or gardener, you can be assured that the health and longevity of your trees will no</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">t</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">be compromised by poor practices such as topping and incorrect pruning cuts.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLT6013ALU_0C6QxEVO4o2yD40evSS1e8q41INcRLPhpWaPuxs6aJFiteO0WOJMXCuupKHFmzUgeRPQI0_sG0mpZlLmADytTwWqLjaiNQTSlV5EbO5FBkxM8eRsbvwC4hHVsrOti71_q4/s1600-h/hydrangea_macrophylla_blue.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLT6013ALU_0C6QxEVO4o2yD40evSS1e8q41INcRLPhpWaPuxs6aJFiteO0WOJMXCuupKHFmzUgeRPQI0_sG0mpZlLmADytTwWqLjaiNQTSlV5EbO5FBkxM8eRsbvwC4hHVsrOti71_q4/s320/hydrangea_macrophylla_blue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425655795642292674" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhHfd9RAcBq1nHcCk8Op94pqvuU48XGyJaFs_lEgyItc9tsuHKiTIfz9otQvHJrezpcbHmknnhg9z2nIJ4VjQy4XUWXRQv8rrL9IMXsxnZgZtLuaPRU3svVrHQnlim4UrEIXWVWH3Q1A/s1600-h/hydrangea_macrophylla_pink.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHhHfd9RAcBq1nHcCk8Op94pqvuU48XGyJaFs_lEgyItc9tsuHKiTIfz9otQvHJrezpcbHmknnhg9z2nIJ4VjQy4XUWXRQv8rrL9IMXsxnZgZtLuaPRU3svVrHQnlim4UrEIXWVWH3Q1A/s320/hydrangea_macrophylla_pink.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425656025439484530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ To intensify the blue or pink coloration of garden hydrangeas, apply aluminum sulphate</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">(for blue) or Oyster shell lime (for pink) in December, January, February, and March.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">Use oyster shell lime, which contains calcium carbonate, an excellent addition to our</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">soils. Dolomite lime, on the other hand, contains magnesium, of which we already have</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">plenty in our native soils.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /><br />COVER CROPS</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Consider planting cover crops in unused garden spaces. Cover crops keep soil from</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">compacting during winter rains and add much needed nitrogen to the soil when turned</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">into beds in the spring. Popular cover crops include fava beans, which are also edible,</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">and strawberry or red clover. Winter Cover Crop Mix, available at garden centers, which</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">includes bell beans, magnus peas and purple vetch is another good selection. You can</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">also plant dwarf snap peas from cell packs about nine inches apart. The peas can be</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">harvested and eaten and still provide all the soil benefits listed.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /><br />COMPOSTING<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ To find out how to compost in Santa Clara County contact the Master Gardeners of SantaClara County at (408) 282-3105 or online at http://www.mastergardeners.org/scc.html.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /><br />CLEANING</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">_ Clean and service lawnmowers.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br /><br />HOUSEPLANT CARE</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />_ Consider watering indoor plants with 2 tablespoons of vinegar per 1 gallon of water once a month to reduce salt-build-up and to lower pH.</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);"><br />_ Tune up your house plants a couple of times a year. Wash dust and dirt off the leaves,</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 0);">check for bugs and flush the soil by running one or two quarts of water through the soil.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-4789298240951090812010-01-06T15:39:00.000-08:002010-01-06T15:58:53.220-08:00Prosper and Grow in the New YearTo Our Dear Clients and Friends, <br /><br />As you'll note, much time has passed since our last posting; and as determined as we are to regularly update you all with our current events, the times does always seem to slip by... For now, here are some updates, and plans for the future. Please do keep in touch!<br /><br />Well, 2009 has come to an end, and what great memories we have created together! We wanted to share with you, our lovely friends and clients, what we’ve accomplished together this past year, and to give you a glimpse into what we’re planning for the upcoming year. We’ve created healing gardens, we’ve expanded our xerophytic landscapes, we’ve created gorgeous gateways, we’ve struggled to bring parks to the neighborhood, and we’ve designed and installed a permeable space on our roadways. A downsized budget lead to a flourishing dry streambed garden with so much rhythm we gasp each time we see it. We’ve had so much fun creating container gardens, and we’re even working on a fantastic vertical garden. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvo6xHQKTEWE7X14C3T39b1O1xEJLw_auHE730hKcWkVCDxixYD7vTFy_88SmaDOn6e3POtTZTlwLU6paW9nHjX5ZP6h2X0iDBWDAPhpH_RRez9W4o2bURtkIwrzIwfRrtj3KG7TE8dyI/s1600-h/IMG_9113.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvo6xHQKTEWE7X14C3T39b1O1xEJLw_auHE730hKcWkVCDxixYD7vTFy_88SmaDOn6e3POtTZTlwLU6paW9nHjX5ZP6h2X0iDBWDAPhpH_RRez9W4o2bURtkIwrzIwfRrtj3KG7TE8dyI/s320/IMG_9113.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423779473519896098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqRJGMyJli5RX_cAOTxGWsfo7S8auk7h5GbSy3yjIhUMfIjshli0m1WmWJUmAeRsSS_rBQejUu5NoRs0xOrYtcBcqltboffwSxWuh4pUXsCs6yXm4QpsUuJbqOd8msT60jC4g2tp-A7A/s1600-h/IMG_9106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqRJGMyJli5RX_cAOTxGWsfo7S8auk7h5GbSy3yjIhUMfIjshli0m1WmWJUmAeRsSS_rBQejUu5NoRs0xOrYtcBcqltboffwSxWuh4pUXsCs6yXm4QpsUuJbqOd8msT60jC4g2tp-A7A/s320/IMG_9106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423779461341586434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgWl-sLO5s6cqnVK0dU3tG9ct5coQOcQO2LMV1t58Dw4s_uvADoXjl_Hsrl03aZjxolmZ0Tq2zZWT79aBNpYd7cm3ZwzSRONEqEDPF5ZRPonsKHfPRXXonKqye33J7UK4VAvq3OvjxaU/s1600-h/IMG_9126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgWl-sLO5s6cqnVK0dU3tG9ct5coQOcQO2LMV1t58Dw4s_uvADoXjl_Hsrl03aZjxolmZ0Tq2zZWT79aBNpYd7cm3ZwzSRONEqEDPF5ZRPonsKHfPRXXonKqye33J7UK4VAvq3OvjxaU/s320/IMG_9126.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423779459452369522" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPZVee48-hNX9dWi3WWd49fvuwSq0VE7YPJ9b_-yseLeXfHCmAGR9J8gL2sFz2A7hTOFF_SlKGVIGsfUW1dk1vrU7ayUN3lC0f8opeBR1gXRrWR64vEwGAF7p3qx9LBLBPpEatpAAdqc/s1600-h/CHONDROPETALUM.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPZVee48-hNX9dWi3WWd49fvuwSq0VE7YPJ9b_-yseLeXfHCmAGR9J8gL2sFz2A7hTOFF_SlKGVIGsfUW1dk1vrU7ayUN3lC0f8opeBR1gXRrWR64vEwGAF7p3qx9LBLBPpEatpAAdqc/s320/CHONDROPETALUM.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423778087504217362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPtNRdm7yW0zj2LJMv6lgDJ2YFLu3XUl3GfqeK2fesunFDR56EPx0vLx81cO4oJLkAw3tImQnGfJMcCiWqvNIfFsXx8I24Mlg8a7PMeXprZDqpdem-sfJ7gJwVdg8KUt00QGozHTDD50/s1600-h/DSCN0081.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFPtNRdm7yW0zj2LJMv6lgDJ2YFLu3XUl3GfqeK2fesunFDR56EPx0vLx81cO4oJLkAw3tImQnGfJMcCiWqvNIfFsXx8I24Mlg8a7PMeXprZDqpdem-sfJ7gJwVdg8KUt00QGozHTDD50/s320/DSCN0081.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423778078403566994" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReBODNeRJFGIjOFGlJSAKslmOxUq_CW-s_HpaV3hT5C93VTpmnQAHrO78V4QnMUYW7udMXKVdHpwEcBKrhaAxjYFpp_NkR2sLF99O56x2iFE32yEfqU2SfjFzJ8Hrv69BELIohDqcWxs/s1600-h/DSCN0071.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReBODNeRJFGIjOFGlJSAKslmOxUq_CW-s_HpaV3hT5C93VTpmnQAHrO78V4QnMUYW7udMXKVdHpwEcBKrhaAxjYFpp_NkR2sLF99O56x2iFE32yEfqU2SfjFzJ8Hrv69BELIohDqcWxs/s320/DSCN0071.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423778076467194562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yoJ_9axGZa3nW8qNofo0_u7uxytp9A9zitfB5xMW8saBYgoETlRnDHaOiGhuoblcLWibDe3kRDhHg31MZ7SAJ5Y0vpAOXVyBYIZWAQFDBzB1awEB2W1fLDmcDfn2QqgEacEKfj1yRW8/s1600-h/DSCN0066.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8yoJ_9axGZa3nW8qNofo0_u7uxytp9A9zitfB5xMW8saBYgoETlRnDHaOiGhuoblcLWibDe3kRDhHg31MZ7SAJ5Y0vpAOXVyBYIZWAQFDBzB1awEB2W1fLDmcDfn2QqgEacEKfj1yRW8/s320/DSCN0066.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423778070731721266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmojR0D5A-hDdjjCKKgxZkMFtRAhl0F7nIdnx3jR0-WMg0Po_EGFVOtP7SOaToccoaF-AEcauU7WtFG0-eXb_mljoxq4idecuRsGbLgBsb1ZdNvWrfFDs_08JFA0FSwN-OOYKqqYWQUc/s1600-h/DSCN0001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqmojR0D5A-hDdjjCKKgxZkMFtRAhl0F7nIdnx3jR0-WMg0Po_EGFVOtP7SOaToccoaF-AEcauU7WtFG0-eXb_mljoxq4idecuRsGbLgBsb1ZdNvWrfFDs_08JFA0FSwN-OOYKqqYWQUc/s320/DSCN0001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423778067929934354" /></a><br />Each year we feel so fortunate to have made so many new friends, and it is wonderful to be a part of your lives. Truly, each garden is a metaphor for the evolution of a life. We see it happen so many times to so many of our lovely friends and clients, and we are so happy to be on this journey with you. We thank you for this partnership, and we are eager to transform more lives, one garden at a time. In the upcoming year we plan to expand our planting installation services. When a garden has been designed and planted by Botany, we are always so pleased by the outcome. We also intend to do more fine gardening. We often have clients contact us when their beautiful new garden is struggling because of a maintenance disaster. Sometimes it takes a visit or two to bring back the beauty to the garden, and sometimes a little more work is needed, but it is always gratifying to etch out the beauty lying within the poorly maintained garden. Vertical gardens are all the rage, and we intend to do more—please do contact us to learn more about this striking and fun new twist on gardening. We’d also love to get more large pots into your gardens— we’ve never had a disappointed client after we convinced them to go with large pots! We’re working with a lot of new texture and form ideas; a garden with great texture and form calls you to come closer and experience the garden more intimately. Several new services are on the horizon, so keep your eyes open for these. Most importantly, we hope to keep adding beauty to the lives of our friends, old and new. If you or a friend might benefit from a lovely new garden, please contact us soon. This is the best time to plan for a beautiful new garden to enjoy in the spring or summer of this year. And if you already do have a beautiful new garden that we’ve designed for you, please get in touch with us and let us know how you and your garden are doing! Best wishes for the new year from your friends at Botany of Design!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1801303463109566221.post-67184260767472349072009-06-01T15:07:00.000-07:002009-06-01T15:25:44.222-07:00From There to Here<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2wPrHO0qrOIrMrEJRNZ0twC2pEXvHBaGVpHAyY8QI7B3TWxQUZI9_328CQ0_Ucb0wUU2Fc0dc6TNG5X24b5ePhqtJTmA4pGKPfjYmRkkNAPUFV73TOp08hRUFp5S3hJvEnzhJiyALFY/s1600-h/02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs2wPrHO0qrOIrMrEJRNZ0twC2pEXvHBaGVpHAyY8QI7B3TWxQUZI9_328CQ0_Ucb0wUU2Fc0dc6TNG5X24b5ePhqtJTmA4pGKPfjYmRkkNAPUFV73TOp08hRUFp5S3hJvEnzhJiyALFY/s320/02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342488108279045986" /></a><br /><br />As a busy mom, there is so little time to be contemplative, reflective without direction. Yet, when I do manage to find myself in such a mental space, it is always productive and refreshing. Look at your past to find your future. Well, this is one of those rare moments.<br /><br /> I found myself looking back to my formulative years, seeking how these times may now impact my sense of design. Which place most strongly formed who I now am as a designer, and instilled within me my design foundation? Without a doubt, I would say that this special place for me is our family’s ranch. I spent my entire childhood on the ranch, and, for me, it was magical. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtsT-M21kbV_-nNMxADAJjfcU7uu8yHPquWP24k0mNRa_eUKY56Ry5EGxxYws5CU-APDPd8QqSPbI1LEJ6ygmwirquXhbhc4fuofsSHBDlaftIAfw9w1tRc3o8rEabpxDrb7YnhhqHkE/s1600-h/01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtsT-M21kbV_-nNMxADAJjfcU7uu8yHPquWP24k0mNRa_eUKY56Ry5EGxxYws5CU-APDPd8QqSPbI1LEJ6ygmwirquXhbhc4fuofsSHBDlaftIAfw9w1tRc3o8rEabpxDrb7YnhhqHkE/s320/01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342488101045601714" /></a><br /><br />It was a childhood spent in a small town. And in that small town there was a long, winding dirt road. At the end of this road there was a main entry court, encircled by our guest house, barn, shops, and corrals. Beyond this, my grandparents’ house was to the right, and my house was to the left. Further yet, were acres of alfalfa fields.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CVqojiK5HSVT8lQ6WifPS5RW3uEi2Ce4UR4j-keySKuJezjmREKZPt5DOtDhHegTb4rCn6DKzmKbTVnd3WZxE7CypXSr2VEHz13TF3nr-xlPAVdd5V6Be0i5bV3rqjPQQT1G8MzH7WE/s1600-h/327_lisa_alvin_kenny.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7CVqojiK5HSVT8lQ6WifPS5RW3uEi2Ce4UR4j-keySKuJezjmREKZPt5DOtDhHegTb4rCn6DKzmKbTVnd3WZxE7CypXSr2VEHz13TF3nr-xlPAVdd5V6Be0i5bV3rqjPQQT1G8MzH7WE/s320/327_lisa_alvin_kenny.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342484930452152482" /></a><br /><br />This environment made such an impression on me because I was so involved in it. I often awoke early in the morning to feed the cows and cut the fields with my grandpa. Throughout the day, my brother and I would explore the river or hike out in the fields. Our play was imaginative, always exploratory, always adventurous. In the summer, when the haystacks mounted, we would make forts within the stacks, and run, and jump, and hide in crevices. My grandpa always had a large garden. When my brother and I were young, my grandpa would carry us out into the garden. As he watered the plants, he would lift us up to pick cherries or a pear. He would then pull out his pocket knife, and carve right into the pear, and hand us little bite-size pieces. We would also eat fresh raw corn—sweeter than any candy.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKYC_pZBRVLoozl7pTIla65BDjFKMqqWbJTgIREB66gI4vDQfMHskTlt-MGa_uA9082WmXTV0SkmPF9c1MukkizxV8riWF1aasvzTNivX3mgC3zjuvhxhzAnJYe6KefqPFI2lcVSergY/s1600-h/175_grandpa_and_alvin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCKYC_pZBRVLoozl7pTIla65BDjFKMqqWbJTgIREB66gI4vDQfMHskTlt-MGa_uA9082WmXTV0SkmPF9c1MukkizxV8riWF1aasvzTNivX3mgC3zjuvhxhzAnJYe6KefqPFI2lcVSergY/s320/175_grandpa_and_alvin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342484928854368338" /></a><br /><br />Clearly, the strongest element of this childhood home was my grandpa. For me, the ranch was my grandpa. It cradled me in its arms as did he. It provided me shelter and warmth, as my grandpa did. It taught me and inspired me. It was the place where I felt distinctly at home, like no place since. Because of this connection between my grandpa and the ranch, the places which made the strongest impressions upon me were those where I spent the most time with him—the garden, his home, the fields surrounding his lake, the swimming hole.<br /><br />Surely this place lingers within me, and finds its way into all of my designs, and in most that I do. Because this place has so strongly influenced me, I do now realize that as magical as this place was and still is to me, it might not be to others. Yet, I can still use its influence to help others; because in this place, I have known a place of magic. And knowing this feeling of magic, empowers me to create that for others.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09475247954819052428noreply@blogger.com0