Why Pathways Are Such A Compelling Element In The Garden

When I began learning about garden design, I became intrigued with paths – no – make that obsessed. Maybe it dates back to my childhood memories of The Wizard of Oz. Who doesn’t remember when Dorothy reaches a crossroads on her journey to the Wizard and is confused about which way to go ~ and how the talking tree chimes in with his opinion?

Fran Sorin garden

Fran Sorin Garden – top level in backyard

 

Fran Sorin garden- front pathway

Fran Sorin Garden- Front Pathway

The dictionary describes a path as:

~ a way beaten, formed, or trodden by the feet of persons or animals.

~ a narrow walk or way: a path through a garden; a bicycle path.

~ a route, course, or track along which something moves: the path of a hurricane.4.

~ a course of action, conduct, or procedure: the path of righteousness.

Paths are a lot more than that. They can create a sense of mystery. Or a feeling of excitement, anticipation and fear ~ even a journey into the unknown. And when it comes to garden making, without well laid out paths, our gardens are chaotic.

Comments { 31 }

Photographing Grasses

Toe Toe Grass in the garden of Linda Cochran

Toe Toe Grass in the garden of Linda Cochran

More than any other group of plants, I love to photograph grasses.  They bring light, motion, and texture to gardens.  They range widely in size and color, and mix well into all garden styles, from beds and borders to meadows and in containers.  Because they are so versatile in blending into gardens they can be hard to photograph.

I began to understand how to capture their ornamental effects years ago while working on my Grasses book with Nancy Ondra.  Of all the pictures in the book, the one above in Linda Cochran’s garden, of the tall arching Toe Toe Grass (Cortaderia richardii) was to define how I saw grasses and how I photographed them. Continue Reading →

Comments { 20 }

Living Rocks (Pleiospilos nelii)

IMG_1399

These odd little African succulents start out egg-shaped, then split open to reveal a smaller capsule that in turn splits open at right angles to the first.

Pleiospilos 'Royal Flush'

In spring, being ice plants, they produce neon-bright, multipetalled, daisylike flowers. Continue Reading →

Comments { 9 }

How VIADUCTgreene – An Elevated Urban Garden – Is Going To Change The Face of Philadelphia

In the past few years since I first heard about VIADUCTgreene, it has gone from being a nascent organization with hopes of developing Philadelphia’s own version of The High Line to a pulsating, vibrant not for profit that is going to change the landscape of Philadelphia~ transforming it from being a terrific city into an extraordinary one.

Paul vanMeter is the visionary and force behind VIADUCTgreene. His love of gardening and history and his knowledge of garden making combined with what he experienced when walking the unused Philadelphia railroad tracks proved to be the perfect ingredients for him to give birth to what will be a garden like no other in Philadelphia and surrounding areas.

A few words about Paul  – He is a landscape gardener whose work ranges from intimate private to expansive public places.  His passionate interests and lifelong studies of urbanism, landscape design, ethics and management, railroad history and culture have collided in his co-founding of VIADUCTgreene. – Fran Sorin

Can you describe what VIADUCTgreene is?

VIADUCTgreene creates a garden of intersecting culture and wildness along the soaring and submersive landscape infrastructures that are the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad 9th Street and City Branches.

photo courtesy of VIADUCTgreene

photo courtesy of VIADUCTgreene

VIADUCTgreene (VG) advocates for the creation of a linear gardenpark in Philadelphia along the former 9th Street Branch and City Branch of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad.

What was your inspiration for it?

So many wonderful postindustrial places turned garden!  From the Crowinshield Garden built over the ruins of the DuPont Powder works at Elutherian Mills in Delaware to the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Mass to Natur Park Südgelände in Berlin, Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, also in Germany, the Promenade Plantée/Viaduc des Arts in Paris. I guess it nearly goes without saying the High Line in New York.  Friends of the High Line, organizationally especially, has been tremendously inspiring.

Photo Courtesy of VIADUCTgreene

Photo Courtesy of VIADUCTgreene

Continue Reading →

Comments { 25 }

Seeing the Garden 2.6 – Details and Vignettes

frost leaves on meadow lawn

When you set out to photograph a garden, don’t miss the details and vignettes. Often the essence of what you see can be distilled down to distinct details, details that tell the story of what you feel.

This is the last lesson in “Seeing the Garden”, chapter two of the PhotoBotanic Garden Photography Workshop.  Throughout this chapter I have been talking about seeing the garden with a camera, how to compose, how to use focal points, space and shape, points of view, leading lines when you go looking for photos. Continue Reading →

Comments { 15 }
Older posts Newer posts