Porch Rails. They’ve come a long way, baby.

Last week, my friend Maya at Completely Coastal wrote about Adirondack Chairs.  In her post she showed the following photograph of an image we all think of when we think of the adirondack chair.  When I saw this image, I saw the lovely chair, but I also thought to myself, “whoever sits there will surely have no view of the water beyond as the porch rails will certainly obstruct that magnificent view.”   And this was the inspiration for this post.  Read on.

If you are lucky enough to have a view from your porch, consider this.

Traditional rails made of wood.  Good.

 

 

Stainless Steel Cable Railing systems.  Better.

 

 

Glass railing system.  Best!

 

 

If you’re lucky enough to have a view, don’t obstruct it with the wrong type of railing system!

As always, Friday’s mean it is “Hooked on Fridays” time over at Hooked on Houses.  Take a peak over there to see what others are hooked on today!  Also visit The Inspired Room’s Beautiful Life Friday Blog Party.  Enjoy!

Objects in the Landscape

There are several schools of thought when it comes to siting a house in the landscape.  First, we build a house and then create a landscape to go “with” the house.  It has always been my belief that a home and landscape go together – that one would never imagine the house in any other context. 

Another school of thought is just as valid, however.  The house or architecture becomes “art” in the landscape or an object in the landscape.  In this context, the landscape is so perfect that the house fits right in and needs no manmade landscape at all. 

Here are some fine examples of objects in the landscape.  This is what we would label as Design with Nature.  Click on the captions to see and learn more about the houses.

 Neal Creek Residence by Paul McKean Architecture, Hood River, OR

 Hong Luo Club House / MAD Office, Beijing, China

"Bridge House" by Max Pritchard, Architect, near Adelaide, Australia

Less is more.

Now there is a trend called Cargo Container Architecture where used cargo or shipping containers are being recycled as basic building units for residential housing.  Take a look.

Kit Home by Adam Kalkin

Cargo Container House, Designer Unknown

 

Redondo Beach Cargo Container Residence by DeMaria Design

A clean and green way to live?   In this economy, will less truly become more?  Will we see Americans giving up square footage for a simpler life style?  Building sustainable homes with native and natural landscapes instead of exotic ones that require an unending flow of water and chemicals to be kept alive?

Maybe one day, my friend Julia over at Hooked on Houses will feature an in depth look at some of these homes.

It’s been a while since I participated in her “Hooked on Houses” Friday Blog Party, but I feel social today and I’m hoping you do to.  To see what she and others are hooked on this week, visit Julia's Hooked on Houses Friday Blog Party and then stop by Melissa's The Inspired Room Blog Party.

 

Invasion of the Purple Pixies

You heard it here first.  The Purple Pixies are coming!  Just watch how fast this plant takes over the residential and commercial landscape in the next few years!

Photo from Heinz Nurseries

At long last, here is a plant that we will be seeing a lot more of in the future as it will find a spot in almost any garden in Zones 7 to 10! The plant is Loropetalum chinensis ‘Shang-lo’ commonly known as Purple Pixie Loropetalum.

Like other loropetalums, Purple Pixie is evergreen and has beautiful burgundy foliage combined with showy pink blossoms that almost always repeat bloom. Loropetalums do well in both sun and shade, but bloom best with more sun. So far, the loropetalums appear to be resistant to both disease and insect damage. What more could you ask for in a plant? I’ll tell you. Unlike the other Chinese loropetalums, Purple Pixie is dwarf and has a weeping and cascading habit.  This plant grows only one to two feet in height by four to five feet wide! What a great choice for ground covers for sun or container gardening!

With it’s burgandy color and cascading habit, Purple Pixie Loropetalum will make a striking addition to any planter!

The strong points of the loropetalums for me have been their ability to form a dense architectural hedge. Also, their deep burgundy foliage adds year-round color to the garden and contrasts nicely with other evergreens. Their dense foliage also complements other evergreen plants such as boxwoods and hollies. The downside of the plant is that too many landscapers have planted it without paying any regard to the size this plant wants to grow, sometimes as large as 20-feet tall and wide! Because of this, often times these plants are the victim of the wrong plant in the wrong place. For this reason, I have always specified the “Ruby” variety that only grows three to six feet tall and wide.

 Other Loropetalums grow very large – sometimes up to 20-feet!

With Purple Pixie, this will change. Now we’ve got a beautiful dense groundcover for sun that won’t overtake the garden! My prediction is that this plant will catch on like wildfire!

Furniture

Sorry, I’ve been away. I’ve been on holiday.

Here’s some eye candy for you to enjoy.

It’s furniture from Henry Pilcher and it is cardboard.

Stairways to Heaven

Wooden.

Concave/Convex.

Curvilinear.

Convex.

Retaining.

Married to a Wall.

Concave.

Geometric.

Short-cut.

Natural.

Elegant.

Pershing Park, Washington, DC

Form follows function.

TGIF - Inspiration

It’s Spring and I have found a little inspiration from two of my favorite Landscape Architects Wolfgang Oehme and James VanSweden. This house is on Long Island Sound and they say it was once owned by Charles Lindberg. The job involved a new design for the grounds, a motor court, sensitive seaside planting and shoreline refurbishment. As you can tell from these photographs, they design using broad strokes and a native plant palette.

These gentlemen have written a book entitled Gardening With Nature. To me, all of their work is so natural and harmonious to its existing environment that it is hard to tell where they begin and the natural setting ends.

It is so harmonious, it reads as one with its setting. The grasses and perennials placed in the yard mimic and link to the native marsh grasses beyond.

Wouldn’t you just love to spend your Memorial Day weekend in a place like this?

To learn more about Oehme and VanSweden and their work visit their firm website Here. To see what others are hooked on this Memorial Day Weekend, visit Hooked on House's "Hooked on Fridays" or Fifi Flowers' Fashionable Fridays. I wish you all a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend where ever you may be!

Bloom time, Boom time

At long last, Spring is here in full force.  Take a peak at what’s been blooming in my yard this past month or so. 

It all started with my Prunus mume  or flowering apricot that did NOT bloom in February.  Rather, it waited until April.  This year, it has reverted back to it’s graft plant, a wild cherry.

 

Shortly thereafter, my Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ appear from nowhere amidst the Liriope muscari ‘Evergreen Giant’.  These daffodils do very well in the south!

 

These Narcissus sp. ‘Sir Winston Churchill’ bloom later in the month and are extremely fragrant!  They also have double flowers.

 

Here is an Acer palmatum ‘Emperor’ that has just leafed out with Lychnis coronaria or Rose campeon.

The maple leaf. 

And the Rose campeon flower.   This plant is extremely drought tolerant and produces seeds each year.  The magenta flower is a brilliant contrast to the pale grey/green leaf and stem.

Here is an Acer palmatum dissectum or Laceleaf Japanese maple.

 

Crinum ‘Ellen Bosanquet’ will produce blooms in my garden from late Spring through mid-Summer.   I love Crinum lilies!  They have big beautiful flowers and glossy green strap-like foliage.  These are what I call a ‘Pass-along’ Plant as they are easily divided. 

Chionanthus retusus or Chinese Fringe Tree ranks high on my list of all time favorite flowering Ornamental trees!  See the sidebar entitled “May Plant of the Month.”

Here is the close up of its flower.

 

Azalea indica ‘George Tabor’ grows so well in the south!  This is a plant for the mid-ground or back-ground.  It’s not a plant you want to put front and center because in the off-season they are rather unattractive evergreens.  However, when they are in full bloom, NOTHING can beat their showy habit!

I love the orchard-like blossoms of the George Tabor azalea.

In the middle of my Spring gardening, I came across this little creature.  It is called a Southeastern Crown Snake. 

It really wasn’t much bigger than a large earth worm!

Here is one of my favorite irises - Iris germanica ‘Blue Stellata’.

And the Rosa sp. ‘Knock Out’ Redrazz variety always puts on a show this time of year.

Here is my Loropetalum chinensis ‘Ruby’ hedge.  This plant makes a wonderful architectural hedge and blooms twice a year.  First, in early summer and later in late summer. 

And it’s flowers.

A close up.  There is nothing like a tight dense hedge!

Prunus yedoensis or Yoshino Cherry blooms after the Okame Cherrys.  These trees have made Washington, DC king of the Cherry Blossoms!  They do very well in the south too.

… and a close up of its flower.

 

Trachelospermum jasminoides or Confederate jasmine is in full bloom now and fills my outdoor room with sweet fragrance that makes me want to stop and just breathe it all in.

Camellia japonica blooms from February through April here in the south!  Aren’t we lucky?

And finally, my Rosa sp. ‘Zepherine Drouhin’  or Zepherine Drouhin rose is very fragrant and thornless.  This is a climber and is very hardy in the south! 

Roses should always be bought bare root.  I get mine from Jackson & Perkins.

There you have it.  We are quickly approaching prime-time in the Zone 8  garden!  And I’m just now noticing how my garden overflows with pinks and burgandys in Spring!  Whatever colors are up in your garden now, enjoy!  Happy Spring!  To see what’s blooming in other gardener’s gardens, visit May Dreams Gardens Bloom Day.