These vignettes suggest water—flowing, tumbling, cascading, splashing or dripping water—yet there is none. Each illustrates the ingenuity of a garden designer in the dry, hot Southwest, where water is scarce. Yet the same concept, of creating the look of water, might apply to any garden. In this composition, by Akana Designs for the San Diego [...]
San Diego Botanic Garden
Treasures of the San Diego Botanic Garden
April 6, 2011 – Posted in: Garden AdventuresOf the dozen or so botanical gardens I’ve visited, San Diego’s singularly lacks conservatories. It doesn’t need them. Its coastal location has an ideal temperature range for plants as well as people, seldom going below 40 or above 90 F. I live half an hour’s drive from the San Diego Botanic Garden, so I [...]
Art in the Garden
January 17, 2011 – Posted in: Garden AdventuresThis is the gist of my 2/12/11 presention at the San Diego Botanic Garden. What defines “art” is subjective, and its forms are infinitely variable. But in general, when positioning a delicate sculpture in your garden, silhouette it against a solid surface or the sky. Otherwise, the piece may disappear. (Photo taken at Taliesin West, near Phoenix.) Substantial art [...]