j. siegel designs blog

Pioneers: Jane Addams & Frederick Law Olmsted

2012-01-26T15:22:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow (Friday) will be a sad day in Chicago. It will mark the closing of Hull House, the pioneering social service agency started in 1889 by the extraordinary Jane Addams.

To counter-balance the blues at this news, I am posting some pix of my trip to a structure honoring another pioneer: the landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted. Here are a few views of his House, Office & Garden (Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site - U.S. National Park Service...won't link) from my December 2011 trip to Brookline, MA. We were lucky enough to be the only ones on the tour (a Monday before Xmas) and to have an endlessly patient guide as we snapped tons of pix and asked detailed questions. The place has been closed for years as it undergoes reconstruction, but while not complete, is open for tours. So go make your pilgrimage!

Above, our Ranger (Mark?) points out the Hemlock planted when Olmsted moved into the house in 1883. These two below show documentation of the maturation process of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace around Boston.

The changing technology fascinated us. Here Mark demonstrates the process before Xerox became a generic term. This contraption was used to expose the drawings to light on a rainy day...otherwise they would be set outside the window to be developed by the sun.

I was relieved to see Olmsted's method for storing old plans didn't differ much from mine. Computer storage means that for some future pioneers, we may lose the types of beautiful & historic landscape drawings exhibited in this house and kept in the archives.

Reflections with a Sprained Ankle

2012-01-23T16:11:00.000-08:00

First: I wanted to thank the many of you who sent me healing emails. Since most of you never comment publicly, I don't know that you read this until I get cheerful greetings in my Inbox. Whichever method of communication: I feel surrounded by friends! Since the path to healing is never as fast or as straight as we'd wish (just like the maturation of a garden), support helps!

And, of course, I am grateful that my injury was minor and not during planting season.

I mentioned wishing that, with crutches, I was better at carrying things on my head...which reminded me of last year's visit to Guatemala...see above.

Below you can see the deceptively bucolic path at 10,000 where I slipped off and pulled a tendon last March. I have also noticed that on crutches, one place that's OK, is leaning up against our kitchen counter. But as you can see, not a lot of those in the cooking areas the Mayan villagers inhabit. At the bottom, you can see the types of more challenging sloped paths I will need to navigate when I return this March. If you have any ankle-strengthening tips: send 'em!

Winter Education

2012-01-21T08:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I was so looking forward to giving my PowerPoint on Architecture & Paths at today's session for the Wicker Park Garden Club Home Landscape Design course. Above you can see one of the slides of a courtyard my company made-over last June. I was also delighted we were getting snow (the second since my last post about abnormal seasonal weather). And I looked forward to the soulfulness of walking in the snowfall.

But, since "a funny thing happened on the way to the forum," my colleague Sam Marts, of SMA&P, is graciously playing pitch hitter with my lecture today. And I can now only view the weather from inside as you can see below. Then continue.

Below you can see the reason why my mobility is challenged. A sprained ankle from slipping on the snow-covered ice while dog walking (the ER staff said that is the most common reason they see people with these injuries). Theoretically, I have five total days on crutches. After a half day and a night, I am getting a memorable education on how challenging this is, wishing I were one of those women who was trained to carry things on her head. Meantime, I am grateful for improved hardware (go Air Cast that I can remove at night & showers....I broke my foot when 12 and the technology is so much improved now!). And I am also grateful to live in a community with two decent hospitals and nearby generous friends & neighbors. Finally, it sure helps my healing to be married to an awesome, progressive chiropractor in Applied Kinesiology . So: here's a shout out to Mats! You can also read more about one AK practitioner who is a giant in the field here.

Snow & Cacti

2012-01-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

SAGUARO CACTUS

Yesterday (January 11, 2012), I took a photo one block East of our apartment, 3 1/2 blocks West of Lake Michigan. The photo was lost in the virtual ether so I will describe it to you: it showed a Hamamelis vernalis (a Spring Witchhazel) blooming. Even though this plant is one of our first shrubs to bloom, normally that would be the end of February or early March. Yikes!

So to soothe the soul, I went back to these photos from my trip to Tucson in March 2008...which shocked me because I remembered this great trip with Scott Calhoun of Zona Gardens as in 2010! Check my blog for pix & text for March 16, 18, 22, 24, 29 and 30 of 2008.

CHOLLA CACTUS

New Year's Wishes for 2012

2012-01-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Since I am in the office preparing for a board retreat, I decided to take advantage of the quiet energy with no other sound or activity in the building except my most loyal canine friend snoring at my feet.

After years of searching for a simple incense burner, I found one I liked on New Year's at the Victory's Banner Bookstore.

Then I had to get fire...lucky I didn't live thousands of years ago :)

So today I finally lit some incense (my chiropractor husband muscle tested me at the bookshop to see which scents were OK for me).

Above you can see the slight plume of smoke and below the ash from "Hem Champa" or Masala Incense from India. The package says it "is the most traditional of Indian incenses. It is highly prized for its calming, and purifying effect."

Given that 2012 is an election year, I believe we need that, especially me. Given the global economy, we need all the prayers we can get. Given our record-setting warm temperatures here in Chicago (56F yesterday and only 20% of normal for December's snowfall), I'm not sure what we need. But I always wish for weather that is kind to the plants. And so far this isn't it...

Last night's local t.v. news ran a report from the Morton Arboretum where they showed a Viburnum about ready to bloom! I believe the staff person interviewed missed an opportunity to connect people with the landscape. Instead of explaining how challenging this weather is for our plants, she talked about how great it is for business. Like most others, I appreciated the warm sun on my skin. But I also wonder how many plants will not survive these unnatural conditions. And what the effect will be on our larger ecosystem...of which we are part.

Wangari Maathai

2012-01-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

During the last days of the year, I heard a WBEZ Worldview rebroadcast of an inspiring interview with the great Wangari Maathai. In her early death from ovarian cancer, the world lost one of our visionaries in terms of, not just woman's rights and environmental activism, but in the just & loving practice of humanity.

Since I am already thinking of what books to take on my annual AFOPADI site-visit in Guatemala for Earthways, I decided to get Maathai's memoir: Unbowed. Because I take very little luggage (and half is for my colleagues), I made the big leap last week and bought a Nook. If I take it off Wifi, apparently the battery will last a few weeks. Since I stay in a room with only a single solar bulb with minimal output, I got the cheapest & smallest nook (I don't bring down anything expensive in case it gets stolen, but more importantly: because I don't feel it appropriate in such impoverished communities) as well as the attachable light. You have no idea how exciting this is for me! As a life-long obsessive reader, it was always a challenge for me to figure out what book to take. And then if it turned out to be a lemon...

So I am looking forward to nights spent learning more about and being inspired by the Green Belt Movement. Because, of course, the challenges in Africa are similar to those in Guatemala. And many of those are similar to impoverished communities here in the States.

DO ANY OF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS ABOUT OTHER BOOKS I MIGHT ENJOY WHILE IN GUATEMALA?

A Landscape Designer's Most Loyal Friend

2012-01-04T15:02:00.001-08:00

New Bedford: Whaling & Sustainable Resources

2011-12-29T12:56:00.000-08:00

Maybe I am more of a geek than I imagined, since I was totally engaged by the 90-year-old New Bedford Whaling Museum...or maybe my "inner child" was out playing with the supposed grown-up who obsessively snaps photos. I believe part of the museum's success lies in the different ways different people of different ages can engage with a variety of exhibits. Plus, you can interact physically, climbing stairs & ships or listening to whale sounds.

The massive skeletons of the Sperm Whale were mesmerizing, if not only for their scale, for their ritualized totemic effect. Artful too. Perhaps this is even more true of the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park's affiliated site, the Inupiat Heritage Center in Barrow, Alaska?

Perhaps I forgot, but more likely I never knew that as the whales were hunted past sustainability off our Eastern shores, that commerce moved to Alaska. Until the same thing happened there. Then, around the time of the Civil War, kerosene & gas replaced Whale-oil. It got me thinking about sustainable technology. And how probably no one thing is sustainable for the long-term. And how, though change is almost always disrupting, better usually to be moving forward in the search for new technology or resources or methods.

Whale tail tip.

Starved Rock's Incredible Landscape

2011-12-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

Starved Rock State Park, a 2 1/2-hour drive SW of Evanston was a new delight to me. Imagine: canyons & waterfalls in Illinois!

Trees. Above: Nature. Below: Nature mimicked. Both have their charms...

New Bedford: Landscape of Color

2011-12-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

In light of how our current presidential campaign has brought up covert & overt racism, it was interesting to visit New Bedford, MA and learn of its historically racially mixed communities. From the little I gleaned, this was in part due to whaling, in another part due to the Quakers. It was news to me that part of the town is a National Park and since I have never gotten all the way through Moby Dick, it had not registered that the town figures in Melville's Masterpiece.

Nor did I remember that it was in New Bedford that Frederick Douglass started to come into his own. This combination of escaped & freed slaves; people from the Portuguese colony of Cape Verde and from the Azores; and the nearby native people from Martha's Vineyard, the Wampanoag, made for a community quite unlike any other of its time. Given the importance of whaling in providing the energy for people to see by and the danger of the pursuit, I was impressed by this part of our history.

There was a tiny audiovisual exhibit on the Paul Cuffe Kitchen, as well as some great drawings by school kids honoring his legacy.

More Luminaries: Boston & Environs

2011-12-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to spend some time around Boston last week. We traveled to New Bedford, Brookline & Boston. Gardens, museums and the Olmsted Historic Home & Office comprised our itinerary. I'll try to post details and pix soon. For now, since we are on the verge of the shortest day of the year, thought I'd show some more permutations of light. These from the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, MA.

The Holiday Landscape: all lit up!

2011-12-07T14:55:00.001-08:00

I love this season because I confess: you can't have too many lights at night!

Above: the view down the block as I walked out of my office last night. AND: the Santa yard was accompanied by audio of "Frosty the Snowman."

Below: the Holiday gift from our local Chinese take-out restaurant. More "Lights at Night" (I have a big category of this in my postcard collection) captured on this 2012 Calendar from the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The cartoonish animal depictions below the blue Gumby-like fellow are Zodiac references to our birth years. I always felt a bit disappointed to be a Sheep....although this calendar types me as creative & passionate, so I will take that.

Tired, But Happy...

2011-11-29T13:55:00.001-08:00

A client meeting tonight marks the end of a long & very creative design process. I've been working with a nearby Co-op on a historic, somewhat Arts & Crafts property from the 1920s, doing an updated Master Landscape Plan for the next five years. As I see it: I've been trying to integrate 20th C Design with 21st C Plants & People. It's been very exciting, not to mention the challenge of taking into account the views and needs of many of the owners of the building's 50 units.

As I may have mentioned: I still draw by hand. And I still believe that process is a better connection for my hand & eye & brain and ends up with a better product from me for my clients.

Here are some of the remnants of the Concepts plus the final Drawings scattered around my office as I ready the final Plant List. And think about the themes I will once again try to articulate during tonight's presentation. Having Many clients for one job has its pluses and minuses, but in the end: really stretches me!

November's End

2011-11-29T13:48:00.001-08:00

This is what the ground next door to my office looked like yesterday...before today's almost 50 mph winds. Today the earth is practically bare: time for down.

Swedish Textures

2011-11-26T14:16:00.001-08:00

Gratitude

2011-11-23T12:47:00.001-08:00

I am grateful to all our clients who put trust in us and allow us the opportunity to be creative such as above with a long-term client's Thanksgiving arrangement. Gilt artichokes make my years in close proximity to theater pale. Life is short and so I appreciate having a little fun...especially during the gray days of November as we inch toward the winter solstice.

I feel this same gratitude towards all those people we work with in the NW mountains of Guatemala. They always invite us into their homes with boundless generosity in face of the challenges of extreme poverty. I am daily inspired by their brightness and courage and goodwill.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Swedish Managed Forest

2011-11-22T15:10:00.001-08:00

I learned something new from a friend/colleague who used to be a botanist and has traveled to Sweden. He identified this beautiful light ground cover as Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) found in northern boreal forests. Being a lazy landscape designer, I had always thought it was a moss...it is enchanting and foreign to me!

Below, with slightly-off exposure from my beloved iPhone App., Hipstamatic, is a shot of the nearby forest. You can see how the wood was harvested, but enough trees were left to seed a whole new generation of pines. And pines grow fast.

Lakes

2011-11-21T12:40:00.001-08:00

Today I walked along Lake Michigan. There was a sound of slight surf. I reflected on how still & quiet it had been when we walked along the shore of Lake Siljan just over a week ago (above) in Sweden.

Below is the view we typically see on Siljan around the winter solstice.

Swedish Hoar frost

2011-11-16T14:37:00.001-08:00

Even though our Swedish trip included no snow, we were lucky enough to have hoar frost one morning after a foggy, misty night. We never have this condition in Chicago and I seem to photograph its magical effects endlessly.

Many of the landscapes shown in Piet Oudolf's books sparkle with hoar frost. Also, one of my favorite Swedish garden books, Rimfrost och tradgårds-drommar (Hoar frost and garden dreams) by Hannu Sarenstrom captures its spell.

Stockholm: Children & Nature

2011-11-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

I admire the myriad ways Swedes treat children well. These range from making sure they all have health-care (paid for by the state) to encouraging them to participate, honor and enjoy nature from an early age. Here in Humlegårdsparken in the center of Stockholm, you can see the little warming house. Inside, it is filled with play stations...as in Ping-Pong and a crafts room stocked with everything a child would want to glue, thread or cut-out with scissors. There is staff and of course, a bathroom.

I appreciated that the Swedish manner of recycling is carried through...

As well, this curtain pattern seemed very typically fun & Swedish to me.

Right near the swing set, I spotted this lovely little garden simply made from Viburnum trilobum and supports that apparently sport Nasturtium during the warmer months. And again: such a treat for me to see leaves!

Stockholm: Floral

2011-11-04T02:54:00.000-07:00

Heather and more heather for sale and already potted in public squares.

Stockholm: Raoul Wallenberg Monument

2011-11-04T02:50:00.000-07:00

Berzelii Park, honoring Raoul Wallenberg, is just down from the Berns Hotel and the Royal Dramatic Theater. If you don't know of Wallenberg: do a little homework since he was one of the courageous heroes of WWII and saved many Hungarian Jews. Apparently the monument (below) by Danish sculptor Kristen Ortwed is somewhat controversial, in part due to its abstraction. I found it compelling and the kids loved interacting with its heavy, grounded forms.

Look closely and you can discover Wallenberg's signature embedded in metal.

Stockholm: Trees

2011-11-04T02:32:00.000-07:00

One of the differences I appreciate is seeing mature trees, as here in this allee in Humlegårdsparken. Also a treat in the color of fallen and falling leaves...

Stockholm: Gardens

2011-11-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the fashionable neighborhood of Östermalm (writing this in English, so no Swedish accent marks) in front of the Chinese Theater, above. Very new perennial planting a la Oudolf (whose work I love). Below, we are staring out from the pastry bar of the Berns hotel, famous as (according to my husband) one of Strindberg's hang-outs.

I did not see who this monument celebrates in Humlegårdsparken, but enjoyed the planting. A treat to see some perennials as the ground has been covered with snow during the last decade of my visits over the Christmas holidays.

Trees of Autumn: Some Imaginative & Soulful Varietions

2011-10-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

Took these first four portraits downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue right across from John Hancock Building (the SOM landmark of my youth) in front of Fourth Presbyterian Church. This very fancy church has a very visible Social Justice component. I know it from Guatemala where many members are involved in a non-profit that I have supported for years: Common Hope.

Here in October, you can see how they are using trees to draw attention to Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As well, you can view the forest of t-shirts created to highlight the violence which resulted in 77 Chicago youth killed during 2010 - 2011.

To end on a reflective note: here is the view out of our sun porch showing a Midwestern rainbow of autumnal trees: Oaks, Elms, Serviceberrys & Maples.

Bright Memories in November

2011-10-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Even though the fall foliage is warm with orange, red and gold, we have many gray skies. So, I post these photos from a recently installed client's garden taken in July.
Did I mention that their son started using the virtual water feature for his toy dump trucks? Success.

In the rear near the house you can see three of those fabulous Tiger Eyes Sumac. They will double their size.

Below you can see a close-up with truer color. Its color is emphasized by the contrast of the blue leaves from the plant lower left: False Indigo.

I also love the oomph provided by the Sumac's reddish stems.

Photograph credit goes to my client.

Chicagoland Garden in Fall

2011-10-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Took this at a client's last week during rain. I love the Fall season.

Endless Red Rock Canyon, Vegas

2011-10-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, last post was more photos of Vegas. The pink tree and Date palm were paired at an upscale mall far afield from The Strip. I love the fact that the tree is totally artificial and so is the habitat for date palms...from what I hear. Being a midwesterner, I would never have guessed they weren't indigenous until I began to learn more about the Mojave. It is a gift to me that I connected so much to Red Rock Canyon and this mountainous desert landscape later in life. I am continually surprised, delighted and spiritually renewed every time I hike there. Views are compelling near or far.

Normally the sun shines relentlessly and we see everything against a bright blue sky. The colors are so monochromatic that the harsh light doesn't really diminish the color palette, but it does flatten out the space. Since light so much defines landscape, I was thrilled last week when we encountered different weather...ironically it was colder in Vegas than Chicago. I took these pix about 8 am as a rain storm was approaching. The winds were ferocious and probably brought the wind chill down into the upper 30s.

Guess Where?

2011-10-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

Separated by a half-hour car ride. Let's hope we can honor both sensibilities.

Path Workshop 10/22/11 CBG

2011-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

In preparing for a workshop I'm teaching this month, I came across these path images from about three years ago. If you can tell they're not from Chicago by the shadows of the palm: you're right! I took them at the marvelous, fantastic Lotusland in Montecito, California.

I'm really looking forward to teaching the class at the Chicago Botanic Garden on October 22nd: Path Making: Experimental and Practical Design Workshop. Please sign up soon so you can see more and the class can run. CBG asked me to teach this workshop again and since it's been eight (!) years, you can imagine that it will have many new images. As for focus: it's instructive to me to see where I have changed my approach and what has remained constant. That's one of the perks of teaching: you are forced to review your preaching and see how it has affected your practice. Hopefully, that will be fruitful all around.

Landscape Archeology & Light

2011-09-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

One of our most heroic clients has been removing a good portion of the old plants on his site that will make way for the new. He is only the second owner (for two years) of a ranch home built in the 1950s in a quaint town about an hour west of Chicago. So, many of those plants he took out had put down roots.

The image above shows some of the removal work he did recently in his back yard where we will work on the landscape next year. I found his comment so amusing that I quote him here:

"Attached is a photo of work on the root ball of the burning bush. Is there a school of thought in planting that says "set your plant on a bed of rock at the bottom of the hole"? I pulled more rock, metal and glass out of this hole than dirt. Small artifacts including spark plugs, nuts and bolts, shards of glass
are set on the wall."

I shared with him stories of the underground sidewalks we had found on jobs, one to two feet beneath grade...

So that you can finish with an image of beauty, below is a shot of his front yard the day we finished the landscape renewal. I choose this picture because it shows the spring witch-hazel disseminating the late afternoon light like stained glass.

Since we used the existing hardscape (with only a little tweaking), I decided to shape the mulch bed under the tree in a rectangular shape to better integrate it with the path.

Barbara Geiger on O.C. Simonds

2011-09-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Friday September 15th is your last opportunity to register at the Chicago Botanic Garden for Barbara Geiger's 9/19/11 talk on O.C. Simonds. One of our smart and unique landscape historians, Barbara will also be signing her recent book: Low-Key Genius: The Life and Work of Landscape-Gardener O.C.Simonds. Above is a photo from the tour I gave in Graceland Cemetery in Chicago (my post of 8/16/11), Simonds' longest term project that really made a mark on American landscaping.

Ohio #2: F L Wright's Westcott House

2011-09-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

Who would have imagined that F L Wright's only Prairie House in Ohio is in Springfield, just down the road from one of our stops in Yellow Springs? Westcott House was all the more enchanting because we were the only ones on our tour and we had an excellent docent. Which meant I got to pester her with questions and we could feel what the house might have been like without a crowd: very nice indeed.
On this particular day, I was really struck by the masterful way Wright worked with light & shadow, a concern that I strive to integrate into garden design. Above you can see the effect along the walkway uniting house & garage...which originally was for horse & buggy and had some cool Wrightian invention for turning around. The house is known for knitting together house & site.
Below is the purple martian house that was apparently not constructed until long after the residence was built in 1908. Also, one of the details that struck me was how Wright perched the vases along the walkway below so that when the sun was at a different angle earlier in the day, they throw shadows that provide depth to the otherwise flat perspective of the long outer wall.
The excellent Westcott House website includes many interesting details of how this historic building was rescued from complete ruin. In the midst of a town which has seen its better days, in fact, driving through Ohio which was a tour of that concept, we were encouraged that some people are still committed to preserving the heritage of one of our country's great visionaries.

Last Good Timing: Bungalow Spring

2011-09-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

I am dangerous today. Taking advantage of the AC in the office during another day with temps near 100F, I am working on revising my workshop for the Chicago Botanic Garden on 22 October 2011: "Path Making: Experimental and Practical Design Workshop."

In looking back through images, I found these pix of the Good Timing Bungalow from this spring: right after Memorial Day and our late, cool spring. Above you can see the Deschampsia c. 'Goldtau' in tandem with Alchemilla mollis 'Thriller' (Lady's Mantle) and some daffodil foliage surrounding the wonderful shrub, Heptacodium micronoides (Seven-Son Flower). Not native any of them, but there are other natives in this garden to balance them out ecologically.

Below you get a sense of the spring profile. The blooming plant is Nepeta x faassenii 'Walker's Low' (Catmint) that holds its own against dogs & snow conditions. And you can see the windowbox on the day we planted it. What a difference a summer makes!

Good Timing Follow-up: Deschampsia c. 'Goldtau'

2011-09-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

A faithful blog reader emailed me after the first blog post on this garden (8/31/11). She wanted to know if the Deschampsia caespitosa 'Goldtau' is invasive? My experience is that it is not, but I have only planted this in a few gardens with regional proximity (NW Evanston & Wilmette). So, I asked my main wholesale perennial grower, the awesome Brent Horvath of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens. Brent said: "No, I have seen it reseed some in our wet field but not likely in a garden." I also quote his catalogue for other details: "A unique look for this species, this form has a much shorter habit to around 15"+. Heavy clusters of gold flowers hang on from summer to fall. Prefers moist soil and sun to part shade."

In this planting (below), the Tufted Hair Grass gets exactly those soil and light conditions. I am often looking for shorter plants so they can contrast with larger shrubby forms in the garden...as below with the boxwood and the birch. I took these pictures almost exactly a year ago. Since then we have converted the left corner (above) from turf to plants that better withstand dogs & winter conditions. Because the little bit of turf geometry on the right (above)gets more sun, it is better able to hold its own.

To all those faithful readers who email me: if you have a question or comment like this whose discussion would be interesting to others: please post it so we can share. It should only take signing up once...of course, I do also appreciate hearing from you individually. Thanks!

More Plants & Vehicles

2011-09-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I found myself unexpectedly at this auto shop in Niles. In the midst of the dark, dirty debris from broken vehicles, imagine my delight to see these vibrant veggies! I mentioned the tomatoes to one of the mechanics and he asked me enthusiastically if I had seen their hot peppers.

Plant Indication of Heat & Humidity

2011-08-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Even under normal conditions, grapevine is considered a garden thug...

Good Timing

2011-08-31T11:07:00.001-07:00

Photographing mature gardens is always serendipitious: on the days when I am free to photograph, the weather doesn't always accommodate. This is particularly true of snow while it is still fresh & clean. Light is the other big challenge and of course, rain. Not to mention street cleaning, construction and block parties. I lucked out yesterday while driving back from a current client's installation in Evanston, when I swung past a client's garden that we had installed a few years ago. Not only was it cloudy, but at the end of the day as well, so the light was soft & at a good angle.
Most people know that blooms are often the last thing I contemplate in design (after form, foliage, texture, seasonal interest, movement, frangrance etc.), but here I was pleasantly surprised by the bloom on the native coralbell (Heuchera villosa macrorrhiza). Below, you can see its creamy, bottlebrushy plumes waving around bemusedly.
I also want to point out another plant that delighted me in its seasonal combination: the Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia caespitosa 'Goldtau'). It is a pretty tough grass that takes less than full sun. Its simple, elegant foliage contrasts effectively with the many other larger & rougher leaved plants in this garden.
This spring, these clients had such a busy life that they asked me to plant the windowbox that they usually do so well themselves. I had fun playing with foliage to compliment the home & garden and was pleased by the lushness of the annuals after our summer of heat & humidity. Hopefully, in this space, you will appreciate the subtle play of those many traits I hope to create in a garden to engage the people living nearby.

You mean: I get to do this for work?

2011-08-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

After a long summer of heat and humidity, I took advantage of the gorgeous weather to tag some plants for upcoming jobs at our primary wholesale tree & shrub nursery. How fun!

Rick of the Green Thumb

2011-08-24T09:43:00.001-07:00

I arrived home yesterday to find my amazing plants neighbor, Rick del Vesco, watering his Staghorn fern on the north-facing stairs of our back entry. Aside from helping customers at the great local nursery, Anton's Greenhouses, Rick adds delight to our condo. And I get sanity from him when I am going nuts with our condo's increasing misunderstanding and poorly-directed actions (or inaction) regarding landscape. But that's another story...

Due to challenging lighting conditions, I couldn't get a good shot of his porch. But if you look closely, you can see the hanging Rosemary Rick has overwintered for 5 years.

Graceland Cemetery Tour

2011-08-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Whenever guests visit Chicago, I take them to three places: 1.) Oak Park to see the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio plus walking tour of Wright's creations; 2.) Millennium Park to see the fun and the Lurie Garden (designed by K. Gustafson & P. Oudolf & R. Israel; and 3.) Graceland Cemetery to experience the landscape work of the great landscape designer, O.C. Simonds and to learn Chicago history through the graves.
Last Friday I led a tour of Green Corps staff around the grounds. I could rhapsodize endlessly, but instead will just encourage you to go yourself...
Above: tree-like gravestone. Below: tree damage from recent storms. Below below: some of the Green Corps staff explores the island in Willowmere Pond where Daniel Burnham is buried.

On Road: Ohio (#1)

2011-08-11T13:27:00.001-07:00

Back home from Ohio road trip a while...swamped with design (luckily). No time yet to document the great cultural things we saw. So will start with these images made on my iPhone with super fun App: "Hipstamatic."

Rain & Plants

2011-07-31T14:35:00.001-07:00

Last night we were fortunate enough to be wined and dined by terrific long-term client who is also a superb cook. No photos of food, but we were able to check-in on pots we planted just before Memorial Day, two months ago. With our tropical rains & wild weather shifts, I was delighted to see none of the plants had been damaged.
Here our client mostly desires annuals, though you can see (above) the small Sumac we planted that is showing good signs of growth in the full sun on the roof deck. Below is a glimpse of some of the annuals on the ground in varying degrees of shade.

Next week, we will be on a road trip in Ohio and not posting. We hope to return with decent details of art, architecture & gardens.

Assessing Garden Changes

2011-07-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

On this 28th day of July, we have already surpassed our recorded record for rain with nearly 10 inches...so far. We have had a half dozen tremendous storms resulting in power-outages, floods and much missed sleep because of the dog pacing under the sheets. If you are a weather geek like I am, there is something wondrous about stage effects so other-worldly that they make me marvel & feel like a bit player on the Globe.

Hard to imagine the two weeks of dry, baking heat that followed the removal of the Parkway Pear Tree. But the effects are here. It's interesting to note what is doing OK and what is suffering or thriving.

Above, you can see two plants meant for shade, but happier with more sun: Peking Cotoneaster (left, upright & darker green) and the Arrowwood Viburnum (right front, more chartreuse...not the Annabelle Hydrangea flopping from too much rain). Also, the Autumn Moor Grass below loves the light.

Some of the recently crispy perennials are the Toad Lilies above and below, behind the mint, is a stand of Big Root Geranium (one of my favorites for the spicy scented foliage) that is completely fried. Not pictured here is a great Heuchera 'Brownie," or it was, until its current crunchy self under mid-day sun.

Traveling Vicariously: Rome & Western Civilization

2011-07-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

[While I tried to post this Friday July 22nd, storms and subsequent power-outages made that impossible...so you may have to look on-line for two shows. Actually, I am posting this on Sunday July 24th.]

For those of us with limited time and/or budget for summer travel: here are a few suggestions.

This Sunday 7/24/11 PBS shows the 2nd of a 3-part series featuring the Roman detective, Aurelio Zen.
The series is a good adaption of Michael Dibdin's crime novels and features some great landscape and food shots. Not to mention compelling plot, Italy and gorgeous actresses & actors such as Rufus Sewell above. [Note: I did see him on the London stage in a production of The Scottish Play, but find him better suited for his role in the movie version of one of my favorite comic novels: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.]

Below, you can see the marvelously presented meal celebrating Marcel Proust's recent birthday (sent me by the photographer, Liz Muir, who was also part of her book group's festivities). It reminded me of the only book connected with Proust that I have been able to finish: How Reading Proust Can Save You Life by Alain de Botton. I mean: how could I not be entranced by a well-written, B & W picture-book whose author claims that reading a great novel "can be nothing less than life-transforming?"
de Botton is the Swiss writer (of Sephardic Jewish heritage living in London whose life has "touched" several different European perspectives on culture) whose many books explore the implications of philosophy on daily life. People seem to either "Thank God" for him or dismiss him as pompous & facile. I was taken by his Proust book, am now nearly through Status Anxiety, and just took out his The Art of Travel from the library so (as a serial reader), I will not be faced with an empty nightstand when craving bedtime reading. Status Anxiety references much in Western Civ., and thus is a grand European tour of sorts...especially given its illustrations from Art History. Additionally, it connects to U.S. history in such a way that I had many light bulbs going off in my head.

de Botton has been dismissed by some "serious" philosophers as making easy points and dumbing down philosophy. So I guess, by appreciation, that makes me a dumb snob. Having taken a year of Japanese Literature in lieu of my Western Civ., requirement in college (my undergraduate years at Univ. of Chicago required...and still do...a Core curriculum that ranged through the heavies of Western Civ.), I am definitely drawn to understand more history in context. Because context is all, isn't it? And because context affects values and values: thoughts & behavior.

And whether it is thinking about a garden, ourselves or our culture: I will make a toast to remembering that our cultural values fluctuate and are determined at a specific place & point-in-time by those in power. And what better way to distract from summer temps of 90+ and power-interrupting thunderstorms than to question our assumptions by vicarious travel? Skol!

Summer Cooler

2011-07-18T12:25:00.001-07:00

To all of you under the 17-state "heat dome," I offer these "garden" reminders of our February 2nd blizzard...and I send gratitude that I live in a place that mostly (ah, the utility companies) has the infrastructure so I can sleep tonight under the hum of AC.

The Landscape of a Family Wedding

2011-07-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we celebrated my brother's (Adam) wedding. Everything was amazingly perfect and elegant. Even the weather behaved. But the joy of witnessing the union of two loving people proved the highpoint...
They were married on a best friend's rooftop in Chicago. Here are two shots of the area just behind where the ceremony unfolded. One shows a spruce that had died. The host & hostess were so creative that they painted the needle-less conifer gold and (the next day when the wedding took place) perched a multitude of origami cranes on its sculptural branches.
Below, see the cool shadow...on an unusual marriage of roof, drainage and astro-turf.
Then, look one image further to the elegance of the cakes (two were gluten-free...and yummy: yippee!). They embody the wedding's tres chic black & white color scheme. Well, a few chartreuse orchids did slip in as garnish.

My New Sun Garden Opportunity

2011-07-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who sent feedback (some publicly on "Comments," some privately on email) on the question of what to use in my newly exposed garden bed after the quick & unexpected dispatch of the Bradford pear tree on the parkway...you can see how shady it was from the patchy turf grass near tree roots. I inherited the Annabelle Hydrangeas and basically used the rest of the space, as I do for most of my garden, to test what works under hard circumstances; the Peking Cotoneaster did great but the Carolina Sweet Shrub, couldn't be pushed this much, which wasn't really a big surprise given its native conditions: wetter.
In my perimeters of dogs & salt, full-sun & sandy soil, I forget to mention pedestrians. This rules out the suggested Rugosa roses because thorns might attack said people...a pity when it comes to those dog owners who let their dogs wander into obvious gardens (I'm sure Dante just forgot to include a place for them in his Inferno). Mint is one of the plants that holds its own against critters of two to four legs, but I want a bolder form in this tiny space. One person rightly warned against the invasive properties of Blue Lyme grass, with which I am unfortunately intimately familiar since a previous gardener installed a patch in her perennial bed to the left of the frame. I was actually thinking of the small Purple Love Grass (Eragrostis spectabilis), a native grass that stays low and has the most endearing bloom, like little spider webs in the morn. Keeping low plants is part of my mission as I am pleased as punch about actually being able to design a section of my condo garden.
To that end, aside from the Love Grass and Allium, I am considering Sedum: it starts growing early and has a nice winter shape. After all, I do often design backwards from winter...Bayberry is something I have liked from the start, but I may need two to get proper fruiting and that may take up too much space in such a tight spot.
One of my favorite perennials is Sanguisorba tenuifolia purpurea. I tried some about a decade ago that I think I first saw in a Piet Oudolf book. Clearly, I didn't have enough sun, so we transplanted it to my neighbor's sunny bed where now, despite no longer having a gardener, being on the sidewalk (dogs) edge and supposedly needing moist soil, it has been thriving in sandy without any care except a spring cut-down. So I may try officinalis which seems to like well-drained. All the Burnets have awesome foliage!
Anyway, I am really excited and hoping to have enough time in the fall to re-do this whole area, something I have never done in this garden...mostly, I just kept pulling out what I inherited before it totally died as the previous landscaper put in everything wrong for the conditions except a double-file viburnum and a yew to cover the gas meter. One thing I have noticed over time is that I think I have too much green in the winter (a yew, some boxwood, some vinca, Christmas ferns) and it just feels too unnatural to me in this small Midwestern space. So: we shall see...

Hail Storm Damage Chicago: Jensen's Garfield Park Conservatory

2011-07-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Donate here at Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.

Storm Damage at Home: Shoe Maker's Children

2011-07-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

Our regional hail storm on June 30th, did not encompass Evanston, but we did suffer some dramatic storm damage.
The following afternoon I was returning from a client on the North Shore (which hardly got any rain), when my husband called with breaking news. He wanted to prepare me for the change at home.
For years I have been moaning about the "evil Bradford Pear" tree, in general, but also specifically since we have, or HAD, one mature specimen on our parkway. This is municipal property and thus, basically beyond our control...even more so since we live in a vintage condo. What happened is a textbook case of why liking the flowers that appear for one week is not sufficient reason to plant this tree...ironically I had just returned from aforementioned client whose neighbor had just planted 2 (!) ten feet on center...this for a tree that grows about 40' tall and 30' wide. Yes, I have also cited the fact that being so un-native here, it hardly attracts any insects which would feed the birds. And how its roots reach so far and strong that many municipalities have banned it for the havoc it wrecks on water systems and pipes. But really, the reason you don't want to plant it now is because of exactly what happened to our tree well down-the-road (the arborists guessed about 35 years). This tree doesn't have a strong central leader and that results in many competing branches. That leads to weak crotches and branches that can fall off on cars (what happened here) or people (what luckily didn't happen here).
I assume the storm played a role in helping this weak limb fall, but what was amazing is that in this economy (diminished funds for our municipal forestry dept.), the arborists came out to assess the fallen branch and decided the whole tree was a hazard and had to go immediately. So while I feel a loss, I feel even more strongly that this change was necessary and for the best.

So above you can see the shoemaker's children's garden (mine) on the right running from the double-file viburnum (poorly pruned by some guys who are well-meaning but badly trained) up to about where the tree trunk is down. The surprise for me is that I now have a section of garden about 12' by 2' that is full sun in soil that is basically sand (old lake bed): shocking after years of working in shade. So now my challenge is how to redo that space which will be inundated by dog pee year-round and salt in the winter. I am thinking tulips, grasses, allium and bayberry. ANYBODY HAVE ANY OTHER IDEAS???

Below you can see the nice souvenir one of the arborists cut for me which I plan to display on the back porch.

Milwaukee Art Museum: The Emperor's Private Paradise

2011-06-27T13:12:00.001-07:00

Well, I've been going up so often, I finally bought a membership to MAM...this excursion was to see Treasures from the Forbidden City. Their Summer of China theme includes five diverse exhibits. You can see my companions in fun: Dave (painter, singer & reader), Sam (architect & gardener) and Nick (painter & gardener). The area with the cool sculpture is the first interior space you enter from the garage and normally very static. This installation charged up the space!

I was totally intrigued by The Emperor's Private Paradise, but you can never photograph inside the traveling exhibits. So instead, I have the experience of learning more about gardens, art, history and culture, not to mention awe for the craftsmanship. Maybe the Chinese reverence for poetry, art and certain principals will stand it (and the rest of the world) in good stead as they grow in power...although there is that nagging issue of climate change and how to approach it. Not that the US is doing such a sustainable job on that political front.

It will not surprise you that the daughter of a mostly black & white photographer took many shots upstairs in "Emerald Mountains: Modern Chinese Ink Paintings from the Chu-Tsing Li Collection."

We were going to park in the cheaper lot to the north & east. But the architect amongst us ponied up the extra bucks to park in the MAM garage. To me, it is always a spiritual experience.

Courtyard Makeover

2011-06-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Google uploaded these 5 images incorrectly, so the order is: During, After & Before. Hope that's obvious...

I am going to use this as an example in the class on path-making that I am teaching for the Chicago Botanic Garden on October 22. (Check their website when it's updated.)

Important to take advantage of East/West axis, especially when one side of courtyard is shade, the other sun.

Note how birdbath is near food source (Serviceberry), but away from big branches where predators can hang out.

Well, hopefully you can tell this is how it looked when we BEGAN...but you can't see the fantastic clients (half Co-op & half rental apartments) who made this job such a joyful process.

Bounty of the Summer Solstice

2011-06-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

It's a properly hot summer's day (muggy near 90 degrees with nearby thunderstorms) to mark the occasion. But I am grateful because I celebrated it with my first morning walk down by the lake in....maybe a month & a half. The Cottonwoods had amassed their stash, children's voices denoted summer camp down by the breakwater and I could now see the clearly dead Ash tree next to where the path meets the rocks. Whether it was Emerald Ash Borer, I don't know, but it did make me realize that several of the dead trees I noticed recently were mostly Ash and a few Elms. I confess the Ash don't pain me as much as the loss of the Elms, but a lost tree usually gives me pause.
Since this is a day to do that, I reflected on a few things. Most of them seemed to fit in the category of things or experiences or people coming back into my life, making me feel "rich." Above you can see the literal currency that emerged unexpectedly from a pants' pocket: the Guatemalan 50 Quetzal note (usually about 8Q to the dollar) which I hope had only been there since my March trip to AFOPADI, not the previous one last July. The other reflections had to do with a resurfacing of connections during this past week with three women I met at the Ragdale Foundation (an artist's colony) during the 80s and 90s while I was there on writing retreats: Danielle Sosin, Ronnie Dreyer and Katherine Kadish. Even though I had read about the changes at Ragdale since my last visit in the late 90s, I was surprised to note my response upon returning (for a reading by Danielle from her recent, critically acclaimed novel: The Long-Shining Waters, this year's Milkweed National Fiction Prize Winner).
What most impressed me was the visceral feeling I experienced of how the landscape had changed. How the giant elm tree branches had expanded where they touched the ground like a benign octopus...how the old Arbs had grown leggier and reached out further shading the path down the south side of the garden...how the canopy of over-story trees had been diminished for the construction and made the old house appear immodest...and how the prairie had shifted and consumed what used to be a meeting place beneath several hawthorns.
I have great gratitude for Ragdale as it nurtured me both as a writer and as a future landscape person. For about 15 years, I was lucky enough to roam the prairie during all seasons when I was in a receptive state. I am sure this is part of why I love landscape. You can access that prairie now through the Open Lands Foundation Skokie River Nature Preserve in Lake Forest, Illinois and experience it for yourself...

Trip to Milaeger's

2011-06-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

Last week, one of our clients on the north shore decided she needed some more roses. So, on the spur of the moment, we drove another hour north to Milaeger's family-run nursery (for 50 years!) in Racine, Wisconsin. It is renowned for a reason...We got some captivating roses: 'Cinco de Mayo' and 'Pumpkin Patch'...I was not familiar with either the former, an American Rose selection for 2009 or Pumpkin Patch' which was just introduced last year; here's a video from the growers, although the colors are much nicer in reality...and more orange. You can see from the Lychnis above that I appreciate orange.

So, she got three roses and I bought one plant: Hosta 'Paul's Glory.'

The funky part of me loved photographing these clay mushrooms below:like a wild ride in an amusement park for plants!

But the subtle part of me was drawn to the aquatic plants...

Tropical Plants

2011-05-30T10:18:00.001-07:00

So this is Guatemala in March where the Bromeliads are growing on the trees up in the mountains. We are familiar with one type we eat: the pineapple.

Below is a client's container we planted this weekend. The Bromeliad's tall sculptural form and striking bloom (plus orange Angel Wing Begonia, yellow variegated Impatiens and a wisp of Asparagus Fern) add character to a partially shaded nook when the people read the newspaper & watch birds on the nearby Serviceberry. The bromeliads make good house plants too.

Don't miss third photo of tropical plants below.

For fun and comparison, I am also showing a picture I took of impatiens growing in those Guatemalan villages at 10,000 ft. The canna provide a sense of proportion...

Plants that would survive our predicted hail

2011-05-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

I admired this woman's coat in the lobby of the Milwaukee Arts Museum...which I will visit as soon as planting season calms down in July to see "The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the forbidden city." Not exactly paradise here...what with all the fierce storms (a result of the radical weather shifts from low 40s to 90s within a week: record lows and highs), I just moved all the client plants I am storing under cover. But: can't complain as we are luckily not in Joplin, Misssouri.

A Lot of Annual Fun

2011-05-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here's some of what we did last two days on roof and ground. I will get better photos when the heat finally happens and furniture covers come off & plants grow.

Gardens & Puppies, Continued...

2011-05-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

After I posted earlier today, I received the following comment which my client asked me to post in response to what I had written/shown. At the risk of being immodest, I am honoring her request and also putting up her photo of the previous spirit dog during the garden construction. We imagine he is watching over the garden and encouraging the new puppy to become familiar with the life surround.

"Thankfully, our garden is also infused with your spirit. Four years ago this month, we planted. How did such a tiny urban garden grow to hold so much life? Each year a greater number and variety of birds migrates through, nests, eats and are born here. The butterflies, hummingbird moths, and hummingbirds have found us too. Thank you for creating spaces for us to pause, paths to move along, and giving us views to look out near and far with trees and climbers to make us invisible from city streets and buildings.
Happy Birthday, Garden! Thank you, Julie...."

Thank you to all my clients who let me live vicariously, with gratitude.

Gardens & Puppies

2011-05-21T13:34:00.001-07:00

Why is this client so Happy? Well, mostly because of the darling new puppy that has just become part of their household. But also because he is so creative and sustainable. He is about to recycle this sucker from the Viburnum 'Blue Muffin' in their garden...he will weave it in their porch gate to keep the puppy in.

These clients do a masterful and loving job of maintaining their garden where the spirit of their previous dog still roams...

Plant Heaven on Earth

2011-05-19T09:28:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough yesterday to spend most of it outside transplanting perennials and shrubs. The cool, cloudy, misty weather was perfect. As usual, I learned much from both client and garden in suburban Chicago. Not to mention being delighted by aesthetics (this was designed by an expert LA three decades hence) and superb maintenance.

Because asparagus crop is only second year, she had to stop picking...next year, it can be picked for three or four weeks.

Rain makes Hosta look like Tinkerbell lives nearby.

And woodland below MUST be magical.

The One Thing I Do Like About The Pear Tree

2011-05-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

Which I normally refer to as "the Evil Bradford Pear," so I will spare you that litany again. And instead show you how the fallen petals make even the dullest garden spot shine.

Community Gardens

2011-05-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

These images from wonderful Wicker Park Garden Club's annual plant sale a week ago...

Get 'em involved young.

One of the fearless regulars in Martian disguise (note antennas).

Richard's homegrown beauties sold out early.

Fashionable hat & plants plus winning smile inspire!

Extreme Weather Shifts in Chicago

2011-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

After months of a prolonged wet, gray, cold spring, yesterday we experienced a record-breaking day of 90 degrees. So those fabulous spring bulbs (like the species tulip above), may be transitory. Which made me actually cut one and bring it inside. Vase by the rightfully renowned Swedish company: Kosta-Boda.

Reflecting on Ourselves & Nature

2011-05-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

"Rather than wanting the climate, weather and the environment to cooperate with our personal agendas, we are being challenged and encouraged to cooperate instead with nature."

-- Lena Stevens

So, once again, I am reminded of this gift in attitude I witness down in the indigenous Mayan communities where AFOPADI works in Guatemala. Even though these people have far less shelter from the elements than we Gringos do, they exhibit a reverence for nature that I learn from.

Don't Miss F. L. Wright at MAM

2011-05-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

You have only until May 15th to get to "Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century," the Milwaukee Art Museum's superb exhibit on F. L. Wright. Probably the most interesting I've seen . You can't photograph, but there is a useful, cheap ($5.) publication on Taliesin by the FLW Quarterly.

The whole experience prompted me to start reading T. C. Boyle's The Women.

Plus it was an excuse to see beloved friends [below] and bloggers of Madison, Linda (hat) and Mark (camera). Friends from Chicago are Greg (architect) and Stephanie (vessel of constant good cheer).

Milwaukee Art Museum: Calatrava

2011-05-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Calatrava's construction is always a marvel...

Of form and

light and

space.

Recovering from Natural Disasters

2011-04-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

As our country suffers through the effects of devastating tornadoes, I am once again reminded of Guatemala. Above you can see part of the restored center of the tiny village of San Marcos de la Leguna on Lake Atitlan. This is several years after horrific mudslides and before Tropical Storm Agatha which also wrought tremendous destruction. Those who wish for getting "government off our backs" have only to turn to Guatemala, variously described as from half to entirely a "failed state," where government services are few and far between. And where a huge amount of the majority-indigenous Mayan population barely survives day-to-day.
Below is a view of the enchanting volcanic lake which is what makes this area such a tourist destination. These photos are from March 2009 and courtesy of Judette Kurasz. She traveled with me then on my Earthways site-visit. After meeting the people who run and staff AFOPADI, she said they were the most amazing people she had ever met.
I wish great strength and adequate government resources to those who have lost so much during these recent powerful storms here.

WBEZ's 2011 Global Activism Expo

2011-04-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

This Saturday (30 April 2011) at the UIC Pavillion, Jerome McDonnell's World View will host its 4th annual Global Activism Expo. Be there!
Unfortunately, I can't participate this year with a table for my work with Earthways and AFOPADI in Guatemala...but we will return next year.
Especially with our slow spring, do yourself a favor and go. Most of the serious activists I know realize that you always get back more than you give. Here are photos from last year's Expo.

Objectified: Design & Life

2011-04-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I attended a showing of the documentary film about Industrial Design: Objectified by Gary Hustwit, the director of Helvetica (which I have not seen). Not only was it a joy and a luxury to focus on design with a group of similarly-focused, but differently skilled people (mostly architects & graphic designers from the group, Design Evanston), but as well I found the film thought-provoking. One concept that stuck with me, [illustrated by how the camera has retained its form, originally designed around rolls of film, despite the fact that cameras have gone digital and now no longer need film] is how the old dictum, "Form Follows Function," is no longer necessarily true.
Here is a clip featuring Apple's VP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive. Near the end of it, he talks about how, when good design works well, it "feels un-designed." I usually agree. Often in gardens, I feel spaces are way too over-designed and self-conscious to a degree that you cannot lose yourself in them and connect with nature in a liberating way.
Image of vacated chrysalises above was taken last summer during one of my garden tours. Loretta Downs gave us a demonstration of how she raises Monarchs to support positive experiences at the end of life. Both chrysalises and Loretta's work: good (as opposed to intelligent) design, so to speak...

Movement Towards Spring: Tree

2011-04-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here's a favorite tree down at the lake. I forget what it is...a Cottonwood cousin?

Great catkins & statuesque trunk. I.D.???

A Painting by Adam Siegel

2011-04-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

In today's New York Times...in the Style section. In an article on the fashionable Chicago boutique, Ikram.

Above Adam stands in front of a different painting in his studio during a show last September.

Flower Power

2011-04-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

Foliage an integral part.

Personal Victory in the Garden

2011-04-10T13:21:00.001-07:00

So after weeks of cold gray weather, today it's sunny and 82 degrees. I joked to a friend that usually on this kind of freaky April day, we have to transplant somebody's rose (and that has happened), but luckily today is Sunday. So, for the first time in months of straining at the bit (I pulled a leg tendon hiking in Guatemala), I actually worked in my own garden! You have no idea what a victory this is...
I hauled away the trellis that had blown over in a windstorm, complete with most of the Akebia vine I can't seem to send to the compost pile. I cut back Hydrangeas, Hellebores, Grasses, Mint and Toad Lilies. I moved aside some leaves, pulled out some of the English Ivy that serves its purpose but needs constant vigilance. I cursed all the contractor's debris from last's year's window installation. I noticed the beginnings of Solomon's Seal (burgundy and phallic) and Canadian Ginger (silvery and crumpled like a small young animal out of a children's story). I smelled the marvelous spicy scent of Geranium macrorrhizum and felt soil that crumbled in the perfect way. I communed with neighbors and strangers and small people on tricycles. I experienced my usual gardener's ambivalence over dog owners (of which I am one), rarely the dogs. I appreciated how the blue of the scilla was offset by the orange of the tulips. I got dirty and delighted at the sun on my face and arms, exposed to the sky here for the first time since last fall.
It is good to be reminded of the joy of gardening. It simultaneously connects me to the planet, my communities, myself and the past/present/future in 4D.

A Little Color on a Gray Day

2011-04-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, some friends had a birthday party for their son at a bowling lane in Chicago. Don't the bowling balls and rug look like a wild garden?

By the time I arrived, they had already moved on to the video games...

Memory and Spring

2011-04-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

In Chicago, many people evidence memory lapses around the concept of spring in the garden. Our last frost date is around the end of May, but after a long winter like this year, people's expectations cloud memory. They often recall spring happening earlier than it normally does.
We had an early warm spring last year, so I checked some of my photos from my own garden on April Fool's Day of 2010. Above you can see the Hellbore which today has about one stalk. One of my favorite tulips below (Tulipa turkestanica from the high mountains of Central Asia and usually pretty comfortable with our extreme springtime weather shifts) hasn't even appeared yet. But despite the cool temps, there are signs of growth in the ground...I noticed foliage from Coral Bells, Valerian, Rue, Bleeding Heart and False Forget-Me-Not. The Geranium macrorrhizum (Bigroot) has been verdant for a few weeks.

Guatemala In Context: The New Yorker: Rodrigo Rosenberg

2011-04-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

To get a sense of the Big Picture in Guatemala, read last week's (4/4/11) excellent New Yorker article by David Grann: "A MURDER FORETOLD: Unravelling the Ultimate Political Conspiracy." It provides a window onto the 2009 assassination of Rodrigo Rosenberg, "a highly respected corporate attorney in Guatemala...with master's degrees in law from both Harvard University and Cambridge University." As Grann describes Rosenberg,"Rosenberg had been born into Guatemala’s oligarchy—a term that still applies to the semi-feudal Central American nation, where more than half of its fourteen million people, many of them Mayan, live in severe poverty.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/04/110404fa_fact_grann#ixzz1IfnUpOEC

Since the image illustrating the article is intense, I have tried to balance it metaphorically with my photos. First I show a picture of the good life in Guatemala (flowers in a nice hotel) then we have a shot of a poster for "Plataforma Agraria" taken up in one of the indigenous homes high in the mountains. Plataforma Agraria is their national group dedicated to land reform and environmental protection. This issue is central to the extreme imbalance of wealth distribution in Guatemala. We, in the States, are not that askew yet, but we are quickly moving in that direction. Paul Krugman, among other economists, often addresses this reality more expertly than I, in his New York Times blog: "The Conscience of a Liberal."

Medicinal Plants at AFOPADI

2011-03-31T14:32:00.000-07:00

Medicinal gardens is one of the projects that successfully embodies health, education, permaculture and gender issues at AFOPADI. During my March visit, I was delighted to attend an indigenous woman's fair in which AFOPADI participated. Here are some women selling their medicinal herbs.

I found the product presentation quite elegant. In the close-up below, you can see how the method of preparation & use is described visually since many people are illiterate. The conditions the plant helps are written out.

Some older women have extensive plant knowledge, but without an effort, that may disappear.

Another Guatemalan Tree Nursery: Pisuche

2011-03-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the nursery located at about 9,000 - 10,000 ft. The newly planted seeds are in the wooden construct front right. Wind is an issue and it comes off the mountain on the left side, just beyond the black plastic. There was an opening there which needed to be repaired. This was the first year for this nursery; the seedlings were started in November as I recall.

Here, there is no nearby water source so the little seedlings above, must be kept alive by water hauled from several hours away. Leaving, we saw this woman carrying not one water jug, but two. I could barely propel my body UP the path.

Tree Nursery in T'umiche

2011-03-28T14:02:00.001-07:00

Halfway down the hill, we are closing in on the nursery.

Imagine: Flatlanders like me are "pacing" themselves from the altitude (7,500 ft) and slope.

One reason why this nursery is successful lies in the adjacent water source. This is vital during the dry season (normally: November through April).

The other successful strategy manifests in the protection from the wind afforded the seedlings because this nursery is located in the bottom of a ravine. The other reason for survival can be located in the strong community support.

Guatemalan Textiles

2011-03-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

This post is for Linda Brazill who is my nearby (Madison) "resident expert" on textiles.

I mention a few random observations to keep in mind while being amazed by the variety and skill embodied in the indigenous women's clothing in Guatemala (here in the western highlands of the villages served by AFOPADI outside Huehuetenango).

1.) Keep in mind that these are the real clothes worn by women while they perform their daily tasks.
2.) Below, you can see how the women weave on their backstrap looms in the midst of their family responsibilities which include taking care of children. Here we are in the lovely village of Xacala. The older girls may be home because education is very limited here, only going through primary school. They would need to walk five hours each way to attend higher grades in the town. Or they may be here because their family does not believe in educating girls. It is not the growing season, so I doubt they are home due to working in the fields.

3.) I took the photo below during an AFOPADI Educational workshop in Casaca. Again you can see the kids are always part of any gathering. Not only does this show a range of huipiles (Huipil is the blouse, Corte the skirt), but, as well, you can see the fun these women are having. Every AFOPADI workshop includes games since people's lives are so lacking in leisure.

4.) Given privacy issues, I have many photos of the backs of women's necks. This was unusual, in that it was beaded with an intricate patterns of rhinestones (?). Even though most women wear the patterns from their region and village, each huipil can be made distinct through its creator's imagination, time and means. On that note, it's important to point out two things. The first is how long it takes to weave these garments, up to months. The second is that many women have only two daily outfits (Trajes), with possibly another for special occasions. In an area where it gets down to the 30s (F) at night, you can see why the women wear sweaters. To me, they are not charming, but they are practical as it is usually chilly except when you are roasting in the hot tropical sun. Some women do still use beautiful woven shawls. All of these textiles are made from cotton.When I accompanied one friend to the market to buy thread, she was very particular about the feel.

Guatemalan Spring for Northern Gardeners

2011-03-22T10:38:00.001-07:00

Some sort of Apple Tree

In the past few days, I've been learning about friends and family in (Vermont, British Columbia and Sweden) and their continued snow. So this post is especially for Altoon, Rosa and Sigrid. I took these photos in the higher elevations of the villages AFOPADI serves. The apple is tough and does not surprise me. The peaches did and I assume that the reason they can grown peach trees on this slope at 10,000 ft. is that it faces South and is protected by the opposite slope on which an actual forest still grows.

Peach Tree

As for the banana, it was growing in very exposed conditions near Casaca at 5000 ft. I mean, really: how could I resist?

Banana

Some Images I Like from Guatemala: Quetzaltenango By Car

2011-03-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

Or Xela as it is known, has very dramatic weather and shifts of light.

The nearby volcanoes and their activity also make an impression.

Back Home in the Lap of Luxury, the US

2011-03-17T14:27:00.001-07:00

Here at home in Evanston, we have running water that does not have to carried up mountain paths as in the indigenous communities of Guatemala.

In our kitchens, we use cabinets and containers...

And for most of us, we also have gas, electricity and potable water. Not to mention an excess of food. Because heavy rains arrived last October, at exactly the moment when the corn needed sun for its final ripening, the previous harvest was very minimal. This means that during these last hot months of the dry season, many people will go hungry. Hopefully the real rains will begin on schedule in May...

These photos portray one of the cleanest kitchens I have seen in the villages. It is in the house of one of AFOPADI's health promotores.

Today, I added images to my three previous posts, which I wrote from Guatemala.

An incredible week in the villages of the Cuchumatanes

2011-03-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

We are just back from a week with the AFOPADI projects high in the mountain villages of NW Guatemala. This has been my most incredible trip yet. Because I wasn´t traveling with anybody from the States, my brain switched into Spanish and I believe that helps me remember my experiences more strongly. Although I have to admit, not having been trained in Spanish, listening in Spanish, while taking notes in English is a bit challenging. And then there is the local language, Mam, which I can only barely mimic, let alone understand.

The highlight of this trip was two hot sunny days spent walking up and down the slopes of the higher villages: Xacala, Pisuche and Tumiche. We were only four: one of the promotores in Permiculture, the couple who head up that part of AFOPADI and me. We visited nurseries in two of the villages and ate lunch in people´s homes. It was a very intimate time and I got to feel a small part of life there with no water, no electricity, little education or health care and few rights for women. The men are mostly absent as they are working to harvest products like the melon Mark G. mentioned in his last comment from Madison, Wisconison. Of course, winter feels very distant now even though it is always soooo chilly here in this mountain city of Quetzaltenago. I can´t wait to sleep without a hat! As I mentioned, it is the dry season, but it has rained three or four times this past week. Climate change perhaps. Quien sabe....

As usual, I will start posting photos when I am home some time this week.

Sensory Guatemala

2011-03-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

After taking a 4 hour shuttle from Antigua at 5 am yesterday morning, I arrived in the western city of Quetzaltenango, known by its indigenous name of Xela. We are at about 7500 ft, ringed by volcanos. Brown dust encircles the top of the Santa Maria volcano. It last erupted in 1902 and formed the smaller volcano, Santiaquito. Now Santiaquito is very active every day and people are hoping it won't erupt. Just one more of the natural activities (including Earthquakes, Hurricanes and the resulting mudslides & floods) that make life in Guatemala a challenge.

I fell asleep to the persistent sound of dogs barking and woke to what I later learned was a woodpecker (pajaro carpintero). As I write this on the patio infused with the gentle but heady fragrance of jasmine, the fresh mountain air and birds chirping are dominated by the sermon of an evangelico as it is miked from a car in the streets: I can tell when he turns a corner as his voice mercifully is muffled for a moment.

This is my first visit in a long while when the three couples who run AFOPADI are all present and together. We celebrated when I arrived with a little snack that included my favorite foods: tortillas with beets, avocados and black beans. The papaya here is also miraculous. But the best miracle is catching up with friends, seeing the children grow and knowing that shortly I wil be up in the villages of the Chuchamatantes and learning more about AFOPADI's projects in Health, Education and Agriculture.

Princess Blog

2011-03-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Some of you will want to know that I've arrived safely in Guatemala. Their weather has been weird: extremely variable with some rain. The dry season doesn´t usually end until May. It all feels good to me.
It is marvelous to feel at home amidst the tropical air, flowers and birds. But it is really the people that give Guatemala its special character.
And here´s a shout out to Wesley that I ate two of those tiny special tamales, one for him. There is something magical about unwrapping the corn stalk that ties the husk, peeling open the husk and then when you eat, finding that morsel of whatever is the daily treat (a little piece of chicken, meat or beans).
I am enjoying the princess life for two days at a wonderful hotel in Antigua before I head off to the mountains where conditions are less plush, but the community can´t be beat.

Landscape & Politics Rant

2011-02-25T14:16:00.001-08:00

Linda Brazill & Mark Golbach, people I admire tremendously for many reasons, run the excellent blog:Each Little World. The topics they cover are pretty wide-ranging and include art, gardens, books, food, home-decoration, history,and their relationship around these. For the past week, they have been doing a fascinating, necessary and thoughtful job of covering the protests in Madison, WI: their home town. Many people who have never before commented have been doing so. One person wrote them and said she turns to their blog "for enjoyment and to get away from the conflict and stress bombarding me daily from television and radio these days. Please get back to home and garden topics."

This reminded me of an often-encountered fallacy I recognize in the landscape world. It is the idea that the garden is a stress-free place, free of politics. Well, I beg to differ. Our landscapes encompass everything about nature (not stress-free the last time I watched a National Geographic Special on Predators) and about how we humans relate to nature. I need not drone on about chemicals, class, race, water, health, food, property & labor rights and immigration to make my point.

My comment on Linda's & Mark's blog included a reference to Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, with its recently renovated landscape by the great O. C. Simonds who began to work there in 1883. I said I'd take them there to visit the grave of one of the Illinois Governors whom I admire as a hero (as opposed to Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker, partially funded by the Koch brothers and the reason for all the Madison protests). Altgeld was a champion of child-labor and workplace safety laws. If you haven't made a pilgrimage to John Peter Altgeld's grave in Graceland: Spring is around the corner!

The photo above shows the Guatemalan city of Quetzaltenango during my trip in July. My non-profit work in that country is reason enough never to doubt the connection between land and politics. They do call it "the political landscape," after all...

Sustenance in Guatemala

2011-02-24T14:28:00.000-08:00

Sunny Guatemala on my mind during these gray, late winter days...

WATER (in the form of one of the AFOPADI cisterns)

ORGANIC COMPOST

FOOD (Tamale of corn & black beans)

Life Imitates Art

2011-02-13T19:05:00.001-08:00

Since both the lecture and class I gave/taught at Wicker Park Garden Club this week included the work and concepts of Piet Oudolf, his ideas are on my mind. Particularly his idea of using plants that look good dying. It embodies the idea of fully appreciating plants at different points in their life cycle. Piet also strives to use plants in community, increasing health & beauty.

I was reminded of the human equivalent of this today, when, after a Memorial Service, I realized that several of those I had attended in the past few years moved me much more than many of the other rites of passage we celebrate. Not only did today's service touch me deeply at the level of appreciating somebody who had touched many people profoundly, but as well, I was so impressed by how his community had come together to celebrate him and his life in all its complexity.

One special gift appeared in the form of the nephew whose wonderful Chicago band, J T and The Clouds, performed at his uncle's Memorial Service. You just missed them at Space in Evanston tonight before they head off to the UK. But you can find them now on Pandora or iTunes.

Above is a client's garden in Evanston last October. I hope it contains some of this attention to life lived deeply at many levels...NOTE: No Flowers, but plenty dynamic.

Blizzard Antidote #2: Hans Olsson

2011-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Why not be inspired by those who love winter weather? Like our Swedish friend, Hans Olsson, who skis Super-G. Not much more exciting than that...

Blizzard Antidote: Red Rock Canyon

2011-02-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Lady Luck blessed me last Saturday...O'Hare was cleaned up enough after our blizzard for me to fly out to Vegas for an annual overnight visit to see our brilliant chiropractor, Dr. Timothy Francis.

Not just my body, but my soul too is always nurtured here. I never tire of hiking in Red Rock Canyon, no matter what time of year. Since my last visit, they've redone the interpretive center. It's very kid-friendly and has an extremely useful website with weather, geology, flora, fauna and Mojave Max, the desert tortoise. Not only was it an antidote to the snow still piled high in Chicago, but to the zombies at the slot machines as well...

I found the contrast between these two images useful in thinking about form, texture and perspective in landscape.

Musing on Piet Oudolf and Friends

2011-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here's what the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park looked like this past September when I led a garden tour there to explore some of Piet Oudolf's perennial installations and what they can teach us. It's been a great laboratory for many of us as the garden [also designed by landscape architect, Kathryn Gustafson and light & set designer, Robert Israel] has had to deal with a number of the challenges that face gardeners in this region: extreme weather, increased wildlife, crappy soil.

To see and hear a few of the things I have noticed, please attend my favorite group gathering, the Wicker Park Garden Club next Monday, February 7th at 7 pm. As part of their lecture series, my topic will be: "Piet Oudolf's Influences and Those He Influenced." You need to register first.

Good Design Lasts

2011-01-22T18:26:00.001-08:00

This cup & saucer makes me feel good when I am at home in Sweden. It was acquired by my husband's grandmother; by its design, I assume in the 1950s. It was manufactured by the unique Finnish tableware company, Arabia. Their history page has a fascinating time line of their development and products. I will never forget the deep blue cup & saucer with the modern motif that accompanied me through young adulthood from apartment to apartment.

Architecture at the Green Hotel Art Collection

2011-01-16T14:38:00.001-08:00

Swedish cathedral architect, Rolf Bergh, designed the Greenverket to reflect the nearby mountains. Note the slope of the ceiling. It was a pleasant place to view art.

Art at the Green Hotel on Lake Siljan

2011-01-16T14:12:00.001-08:00

Picasso Ceramics

While in Sweden, we watched tv without cable....which mean only four channels. But they were pretty substantial. One night we saw a documentary on the owner (Hans Erik Borjeson) of the Green Hotel in nearby Tallberg. He developed one of Sweden's most successful tour companies and eventually moved out of Sweden. However, he has a fine art collection which can be viewed for free at the hotel most Saturdays at 3 pm. The Hotel was quite charming on Christmas Day...and we lucked out since Borjeson was present and gave a thoughtful little talk before we viewed the collection.

Max Ernst Drawing or Print

Although he began by collecting a convention Picasso (The Dove), I found other pieces more interesting as his taste evolved. He collected both Zorn and Carl Larsson (Swedes) as well as internationally.

Below are three Swedish works I liked by artists whose names I didn't record...the pieces are not identified except in a few copies of makeshift books that circulate.

Emma Zorn's Life

2011-01-13T13:03:00.001-08:00

Show Poster (reflecting Japanese influence)

Behind every great man...
Really true in Emma Zorn's case, the wife of Anders Zorn.
She was responsible for getting preserved the house & garden and for the Zorn museum happening.

This show was exhibited rather creatively so the small galleries felt like different planets.

Emma's Clothes Through "Forested" Gallery

Her family encouraged her wide-ranging cultural interests from a young age in Stockholm. In older years, Emma became very involved with encouraging local crafts and education in Dalarna. The Zorn Museum website describes her as: "radical, outgoing and realistic."

Young Emma at Play

Several photographs show her with small dogs...

Emma with Furry Friend(s)

Anders Zorn's Palette

2011-01-13T12:44:00.001-08:00

Zorn's Actual Palette

The more I look at work by the great Swedish painter, Anders Zorn, the more impressed I am by his use of white on white. Ironically, it is not so much his paintings of snow, but nudes, church scenes, water and portraits where he employed his masterful techniques.

Zorn's Favorite Palette

While Zorn's Masterpiece Exhibit (show and book curated by the wonderful Museum Director, Johan Cederlund) is on loan in Stockholm, we saw some other compelling things at the Zorn Museum in Mora. Look at their website for some better reproductions of his work.

Zorn Working With His Palette

Partial Swedish Solar Eclipse

2011-01-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are back home in Evanston...with its usual technological challenges and temptations. And lack of my mother-in-law's handpicked lingonberry jam. And no snow: I am in mourning for that beauty.

So I have finally posted photos to go with my posts from Sweden. Though they were the last two weeks of December, somehow most of them (except for December 19th) posted as December 21st; not a bad day, given it was the Solstice, Full Moon and a Lunar Eclipse. Here you can see an image our friend, Elin Ulman, emailed from the beginning of this first week of the new year. It shows a partial Solar Eclipse on their island a bit North of Stockholm...there are so many islands in the archipelago that many people have homes on them. The Baltic is pretty awesome.

Nordic Reflections

2010-12-21T10:20:00.005-08:00

As the slight rays of sun sink below the spruce tops and the snow & sky merge their hues of blue on this last day of the year, I too succumb to the mortal pull of reflection.

Taking advantage of today's heat wave (20 F), I went twice the distance through the forest. Part of me is disappointed that I have yet to make it to the next village. Another part luxuriates in the freedom of not measuring my way by normal criteria. One of the joys of being away from my routine is that I do not feel compelled to break everything up into measurable sections and I do not have to look at a calendar. In the woods I am free to be present in miniscule ways. I notice how the bark differs on the two types of pines. How the tufts of snow melt sporatically and fall from the treetops like little puffs of cotton candy. How the evergreen lingonberry punctuates the snowcover with hidden growth. And how the little prop plane above (the first I've seen or heard since Stockholm more than two weeks ago) reminds me that this is the 21st C and I am not alone in the woods.

This fantasy of how perhaps one could be grounded in the Nordic forest in the same way I felt atop one of the Mayan Temple ruins twenty years ago in Tikal (Guatemala) listening to the sounds of the howler monkeys is a blessing.

I reflect on how different the snow is today: wetter with the warmth and harder to ski on. Each day, the snow has a unique texture and sound and personality. Years ago, reading Smilla's Sense of Snow by the Danish writer, Peter Hoeg, I was impressed by the variety and amount of words the indigenous Greenlanders have for "snow." Now, I am similarily struck by how the Maya have a name for every part of the corn, the plant that gives them sustenance much as the forest does here in Sweden.

I have much gratitute for a life that permits me moments of relection. And with this time in the stillness and spare palette of the North, I have reclaimed the energy that fuels me to work so that more people have the opportunity to reflect and enjoy some beauty & peace.

Happy New Year! We have been invited to fireworks over Lake Siljan just before midnight...

Skiing in Salen

2010-12-21T10:20:00.004-08:00

Typical Ski Cabin

View Away from the slopes in Salen

So, we are back home in Dalarna (it is Wed. Dec. 29th) after a few days skiing in the Swedish mountains. Sälen is an hour and a half car drive from Mora and the closest of the alpine resorts. The spare winter light provides a calm so different from the bright tropical sunlight I am familar with in Guatemala. Too, it is a world apart here in the Swedish holiday world where parents are able to provide everything to their children.

Downhill Helmets

Ski Boot Dryer

While Mats and our friends and their kids conquered the downhill slopes (quite small if you've skied in the Rockies, but still challenging), I tested my cross-country stamina. The 6 k track took me about 1 1/2 hours, that was also the point where my big toe started to get numb. The warmer, snowy day brought out a few skiers, but the clear colder day (-18C) provided more solitude. When I hit the open remains of forest, I turned my face to the sun and felt my eyelashes thawing and felt my chest open up to breathe. Very enchanting! But I find no place as peaceful, energetically, as the forest here in Dalarna.

Cross-country Ski Trail in Dalarna

Today's newspaper reports that all the long-underwear is sold out in Mora. Yesterday I learnt that this is the coldest December here in a century. Maybe that gives me a pass on Ghostbusters...