This Pavements to Parks initiative in SF is really interesting. I must see if Oakland has something similar.
I drove by this little parklet on my way somewhere and I came back later to investigate more thoroughly.
Guerrero Park by Shift Studio in SF
This Places for People idea is marvelous. I love how they have created these planting spaces and seating areas on the harsh concrete of this street using recycled materials. I hope people come hang out here!
This is my first trip to DC. I know a lot of folks go to Washington in 8th grade. I’m not sure why I did not. My confession here is that I did not realize that “The Smithsonian” is, in fact, a bunch of museums and they are all free. damn! I need to bring my kid here soon.
I’m here for the APLD Conference. This is my first one and I do not know anyone here. I made my reservations with a little padding so that I can at least explore a little bit. There is so much to do and I am a tad overwhelmed and having to talk myself down from trying to do everything. I can not do ALL THE THINGS. I also do not want to discount the value of vaguely wandering. :D
My first foray from the hotel brings me to this sweet garden and bird habitat! Such luck! Lots of pictures here of plant combos and textures that caught my eye. Also, a mondo grass lawn!? It’s cute!
I went to the Natural History Museum after hanging out in this garden and then headed to the Space one. Along the way there were MORE PLANTS!
Then I went to Washington Station (I think) which is basically a mall because I wanted to go to the Moleskine store. I did buy a new notebook and a little sleeve thingy that goes over it and zips to hold a few pens.
Little Free Libraries are small personally managed 'take a book or leave a book' libraries. They are usually adorable. You can look at their Flickr gallery to see some examples of the awesomeness that people create.If you want to have your library registered and affiliated with the site you need to pay a small fee. They send you an official plaque and list your library on their map so people can find you.I would like to make mine with a green roof! I am not a builder type though and have no tools. I have a couple of friends who are and I plan on commissioning them to make this for me.
Here is my final concept:
The Six Courtyard Houses were designed by Ibarra Rosano Design Architects in Arizona.This archdaily.com article has images and plan views. I'm not familiar with the climate in Arizona. I must say that I wouldn't want to live in the landscape pictured for these houses. It's a bit.. stark and exposed.What was the thought process for it? "I would like there to be a big central platform viewable from every window in the house. Plus, three plants." heeheee. I kid! Or do I?I'm more of a Secret Garden' kinda gal. But I want to learn more about this starker more modern/contemporary style. This Pintrest Board has tons of great examples.Various design concept sketches.I need to pick one to develop further. 1, 6 or 2?
I really love Tilden Botanic Garden. For one thing there are about one million little bridges. And there is just a pleasing variety of microclimates and fab plants.
On our last outing there we sat around and used nature to make some tiny, ephemeral art. The second one is a nudibranch or maybe a paramecium. I realize a botanic garden probably isn't the right venue for this but I did it anyway and it was pleasing.
We have to think about fencing quite often in landscape design. They serve to keep things in, to keep things out, delineate property, to screen views and maintain privacy.
“We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.”
But what is a worm fence, you ask? You will recognize it when you look at my pictures below. It’s a fence made from wood in a zip-zag pattern. I believe it is a mostly American type of fencing. I do wonder why the Americans did not employ the hedgerow as a barrier more often.
As you can see in the example below the worm fence does not need to use posts and instead alternates logs in that zig-zap pattern. I talked before about the serpentine brick wall and how it creates more stability than a straight brick wall, well the same applies to the worm fence.
Check out all these worm fences at Tilden Botanic Garden! In this case these fences are just trying to keep garden visitors from trampling the plants and straying off the path.
I found this book Between Fences in a used book store not too long ago. It is from an exhibit about fences at The National Building Museum (on view from 1996-1997). This is a very interesting book with chapters about worm fences, barbed wire fencing, hedgerows, picket fences, and more.
Oh! I should write a post about the stone walls of New England at some point (makes mental note).
I am focusing in on plant color and texture right now.I have had the opportunity to visit the personal garden of the owners of Potomac Waterworks twice, once in the Fall and once in Spring. I mean, what a lovely garden! My inner 8 year old wants to live there with the fairies and unicorns and so does my outer 40 yr old. :)Not only is it a technically marvelous construction project but it is the most thoughtful and beautiful landscape painting I have ever stepped into.This is a watercolor painting I did based on a photo I took:
While there are many "rules" you can learn and follow around color and texture in the garden you really have to be an artist to accomplish this.
Okay, this contains many of my favorite things.Amazing tiny things!Small animal!3D printing!More miniature things!Art idea that most people would think, "What?! WHY?"
Artist Aki Inomata creates beautiful plastic shell for hermit crabs that are crafted into elegant cityscapes.You can watch a short video here.Reading articles about Ani's work led me to this article on Inhabitat about Maker Bot's Project Shelter and the shortage of hermit crab shells.
I want all children to have access to playgrounds and nature. One of the main problems I see with accessible playgrounds is that the designers lose site of the whole nature part.How do we make sure playgrounds are inclusive of children of all abilities but still include all the the things kids need to play and learn?How can it REALLY be done? Not just following the letter of ADA compliance that result in playgrounds with no nature and too much hot plastic surfacing?I'm reading and thinking on this. Playgrounds can be crazy expensive. Natural elements might seem to imply too much risk, uncertainty and unrealistic upkeep needs. Why? And what to do?Is no playground better than a playground some kids can't access? Both scenarios are disheartening.Some interesting resources:Bay Area Accessible Playground Finderhttp://www.accessibleplayground.net/Magical Bridge Playground in Palo Alto, CA
This garden is in East Oakland and thetiles are by http://www.handcrafttiles.com/
Well, I didn't actually get into an accident while taking this picture and driving. I swear! I was stopped in traffic! I simple had to take a picture of this MONSTROSITY. Who decided on this as a good idea?
In case you can't tell, that is a concrete front yard with 4 holes for shrubs... a single shrub in each hole.I get that planting what looks like a steep slope could be daunting but think of the heinous amount of runoff this landscape is producing!This could so easily be solved with some hardy natives. Even just a nice carpet of ground hugging Arctostaphylos like Arctostaphylos uva-ursi would lessen run-off and be a fine weed barrier.
When I was a kid my Grandmother would take us to The Fantastic Umbrella Factory in Charleston, R.I. Hands down this was one of the things I looked forward to in the summer. It def. counts as one of my childhood landscapes.
It’s was a warren of little stores and walkways and plants and goats and chickens. I would buy candy (made somehow special just by being there. I think I remember buying strings of Zots and Necco wafers with only the brown ones) and I could spend my money on little chotchkies. Later on I went there as a teenager and bought vintage jewelry and clothes.
I went in 2012 with a new appreciation of the gardens and nursery.
Cute little Plectranthus ciliatus. This Plectranthus is a South African plant often used as a ground cover around here. It likes shade but wants a bit of sun to keep the awesome red/purple underside. It is more shrubby right here, is in part sun, part shade and seems to be thriving with little water and on a steep grade.This is our little road cut hike near our house. Actually, I can see the entrance to the path from my room RIGHT NOW. Mr. Who and I go there to inspect the state of things fairly often. Snacks can be the best part of a hike when you are 5. Especially if you have carried them in your very own backpack.
This picture is taken out the window of the Boston Children's Museum while waiting for the tour of the authentic Japanese house (very cool, btw).
I watched the painted hopscotch game get used by several passers-by. There was also a great paver maze at the entrance to the museum. I love using the ground plane as a design element, it's something that kids especially notice and can't resist reacting to.
