Pinks in the Landscape

Feb and March (I know, I know, I am posting these kinda late) is MAGNOLIA time here in the Bay Area. This tree is in front of a house we are planting at right now. This dark pink is one of my favorite colors. This front yard will have Achillea ‘Summer Wine’ to start echoing this same dark pink color in the summer time. It also has lighter pink to reds as the flowers age. It’s a pretty plant.

We also added these hilarious Loropetelum patio trees to the entrance. I don’t know why I am so in love with random plants being in patio tree form but here we are. Maybe it’s just the thought of some human thinking, “you know what would be cool? Let’s spend a lot of time and effort making sure this plant has a tall trunk and nice round ball at the top”. LOL. I do also love any kind of topiary for this same reason. Like, “Hey let’s make all these shrubs look like rabbits.” and everyone else is jumps up pumping their fists in the air, “ Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOO.”

Don’t worry, we will be removing the tree stakes soon. I put in some Liriope ‘Silvery Sunproof’ and then Grevillea ‘Mt. Tam’ to get some more pinks draping over the side of the pots. Pink and this coppery red/brown of the pots look good to me.

I aspire to have one of these someday.

More Animals of Landscape Design

Git along, little doggy! Yes I know it is ‘dogie’ and yes, I know a dogie is a baby cow. I can’t help that my brain just says this whenever I see a dog.

I’m not a dog person. I was never around dogs as a kid and dogs always seemed aggressive. The people who HAD dogs seemed aggressive, as well.

I have changed my tune a bit. I had dog neighbors when I was moved in with T. and they were nice dogs and the owners were nice. I enjoy meeting client’s pets. I do stand by the fact that dogs smell bad a lot of the time and you have to wash your hands after touching a dog no matter what.

I will continue to be a cat person.

I don’t see a dog here, do you?

Indian Springs in Calistoga is (one of) My Happy Place(s)

Indian Springs in Calistoga is my happy place. I have a core memory of being in my early 20’s and taking a yoga class - at the end of class during Shavasana the instructor told us to envision our happy place and I though, “fuck, I don’t have one?!” and then I started crying. LOL. Poor baby me!

Anyway, ever since then I have attempted to fix various 'happy places' in my head so that if this situation ever arises again I will know what to do.

I’m amused thinking back to how something as simple as an instructor's suggestion during my crappy 24-Hour Fitness yoga class triggered such an existential mini-crisis. I’ve got a few other places I picture - one and two are Town Beach or Bonnet Shores beach in Narragansett, RI. The other is the beach at Napili Bay on Maui. Hmmm, water seems to be a theme but also the theme is NOT HERE. HERE being my daily life with the regular grind of things to do and remember, etc.

They are really working on the gardens here. I’m in love with this huge stone wall and this concrete fountain. Here you can see someone planted some spring bulbs amidst the agaves. I like this fresh meadowy look.

These olive trees must be very old!

Iresine herbstii 'Aueoreticulata'

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Iresine herbstii 'Aueoreticulata'

This is also called Beefsteak Plant. This particular plant is hanging out outside my hair stylist building. Normally this isn’t a plant that we see planted outside in our Mediterranean climate. But it’s doing quite well in this protected area with reflected heat in a container.

I love how vibrant the variegated leaf and bright pink stems are.

Saxon Holt Photography Workshop

In October I took a Saxon Holt Landscape Photography class through the Sacramento APLD. We had some classroom time, during which I did take notes (which I now can’t find!?!), and we visited two gardens for some field experience.

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It is important to have some photography basics if you are a landscape designer. When I visit a new site for a potential project I have to take photographs to help me understand the site, to look at sun patterns, views, and practical locations of things in the landscape. These photos don’t have to be attractive necessarily but they do have to be informative. Sometimes a project won’t happen for months after I have initially visited the site and taken those photos, so they have to be good enough to help me remember all the details.

Having photography skills is also crucial for getting photos of in-progress gardens and completed and mature garden projects. You want o showcase your gardens in the best way and we can’t always afford a professional photographer.

I also love to go on garden tours. It’s a great way to see and learn from mature gardens designed by the best in the industry. It’s also great to visit the same gardens multiple times to see how they change over time. Having great photos to look back on for inspiration is so useful.

There’s this thing about garden photography during tours though… it is hard to not just end up with a camera roll full of pictures of

  • other people’s butts

  • other people taking pictures of other people’s butts.

The struggle is real and no amount of workshopping is going to help you.

Fortunately, in this workshop, we formed small groups to visit the garden and all felt pretty comfortable saying, “um, could you move your butt for a sec?”

Photograph of a garden with Salvia leucantha in the foreground and light shinning through Pennisetum seed heads in the background. There is also a staked tree with a bell hanging from it.

Photograph of a garden with Salvia leucantha in the foreground and light shinning through Pennisetum seed heads in the background. There is also a staked tree with a bell hanging from it.

The above photo has nice light but really would have been better without the tree stake and rubber. I suppose I could photoshop that out?

Some things to think about while photographing a garden:

  • Time of day - Harsh midday sun is no good for garden photography, early morning or early evening are best

  • Composition - The rule of thirds applies to photography as much as sketching

  • Focal Points - A big -’ole mess of green in a photograph is no good, find a focal point!

  • Long Shots and Vignettes - Photograph your subject from a variety of angles, distances, and lighting varieties.

  • Other Things - You can photograph the non-plant elements of a garden to help with the journy you are taking your viewers on.

Sketching at the Salesforce Transit Center

In September I went to sketch with the East Bay Sketchers at the garden on top of the Salesforce Transit Center. Two weeks later they discovered cracks in the beams and closed it! I hope they figure out what is happening and reopen it soon.

I did not know that there was a little funicular to get to the top. sadly, it was not open when we got there.

We walked around and looked for good views to draw. Somehow, once again, I seem to have not taken any pictures.

I drew the courtyard area. It was a very lively and colorful space!

I was very interested int eh planting plans. There were some trees that I gave the side-eye as ones that get HUGE. like is this really engineered to deal with a 130 ft.dgf Aurucaia araucana? I’m sure they did think of everything.

Garden Tour - Keelya Meadows

I absolutely love the book Fearless Color Gardens by Keelya Meadows. I knew she was a local designer because she has a little exhibit at American Soil and Stone and I knew her home garden was open sometimes but I was not sure of the details. I joined the Garden Conservancy this year and lo! her garden was on the Open Days list! I made T. come with me.

I love all the quirky paving, concrete forms, and amazingly fun use of color. I wish my own garden was just like this. It was a bit over the top for T. though and I suspect he will object.

I’m desperately in love with that leopard-spotted Ligularia and must acquire one for myself immediately.

16th Street Station in Oakland

I went out with a group to explore and photograph the old 16th Street Station in West Oakland. It is such a cool building with a really cool history and it is sad to see it in such disrepair. We lived over in West Oakland for a long time and I used to go over that way to take trampoline lessons.

old postcard of West Oakland 16th Street Station

The station was operating up until the 1989 earthquake and was the end of the transcontinental railroad. It was built in 1912 by the Southern Pacific Railroad with the architect Jarvis Hunt in the Beaux Arts style. It’s so fancy! I love it. And I love how dilapidated it is now even though it is also sad to see it that way. Like, why is this not a building being used for stuff! It has been used for a few things like I’m pretty sure there was an opera preformed there and some other arty things. I’m assuming it is because of earthquake safety.

This is going to be another image heavy post. It was so much fun to prowl around this building and the grounds!

So much neat graffiti.

And then I love to see nature intruding in all the cracks and crevices. Why is it that humans find post apocalyptic, overgrown old industrial sites so fascinating?

I was also excited to see that the surrounding land was being used by an urban flower form to cultivate cut flowers! It is called Wow Farm Flowers and the I think they got a grant to help prep the site and the Oakland Zoo provided soil. How cool is that!?

Some Drawings

I just thought I would post some of the various painting and drawing I have been doing. Some of it is work related and some is not!

Green and gold watercolor swatches.

I did this quick visualization for a client recently. We want to remove this lawn, a little privacy fence (not too overwhelming) and some interesting colorful plants.

Okay, so I also took this irrigation class through the Zone 7 Water Agency. the class was taught by Lori Palmquist, who is an irrigation WIZARD. She’s a good speaker and a good teacher. I may also have accosted her about some APLD stuff and she was like WhoTF are you?!? LOL. No worries, Lady, I’m just a stranger asking you for access to this website you used to work on. Don’t mind me! Anyway, here is an illustration of an irrigation manifold. As you can see, I am an excellent student who does not struggle to pay attention.

I should be learning about what these things are and do but instead I am drawing them. Don’t come at me, I have ADHD.

We had a little field trip to Drake’s Beach and I did a quick vignette.

Some other sketchy doodles for work:

Some plants and a visit to American Soil and Stone

I like the textures in the photo I took at American Soil and Stone. So stripes, much vertical! I find visiting stone yards to be very satisfying. Magpie-like I usually want everything there.

Two plants I am enjoying in my own yard right now. This yellow lotus plant and my Spraxis bulbs! Aren’t hey pretty?!

What else has been happening? We have been doing a few small plant installs at work.

Oh and I kind of love this picture of J*** buried under plants in the car. LOL.

Norcal Landscape Trade Show

I went the NorCal Landscape Trade Show this year. I do find wandering around looking at all the plants to be very useful and inspiring! They have this trade show in San Mateo every February.

This Lomandra Platinum Beauty is so pretty ! and I love the Pittosporum Silver Sheen as well. And there is something about the Acacia ‘Cousin Itt’ plant that is so satisfying. The name is good and so perfect for it!

I just want all these plants for my own yard. LOL. Also, I am in love with all these tiny conifers from Iseli Nursery. Behold this tiny baby!! There is no way they stay this size though, right?!