I read this morning that Chelsea Flower Show tickets are selling on Ebay for over 300 GBP (that is on the order of $500USD).

The unimaginable has happened….A flower show has outstripped demand for Cold Play Tickets.

The idea of this both shocks and frustrates me.  Much as I love the show….whoa….that is 6 times the RHS price!!!

But the show will wow and awe and inspire me like no place else.  It will bring together gardeners and garden lovers, the chic and the earthy, and simply the best in the business for 4 days, and it will be extraordinary.  And when I am not there, I can’t help but follow every minute online.  I would pay more than the ticket price…but what I don’t understand  is why this can all be so wonderful, when in other places (like here in the US) we are stuck with ho hum or even downright terrible events.  No one would dream of paying this kind of money for one of our shows….not that they should.

Here are some of my thoughts about how to start righting that wrong….

1) Organize a group of industry and event leaders — those that might be able to pull off organizing a show like this, to actually go and visit Chelsea.  We Americans need to know that Philly and Chelsea simply are not the same….not even close… and we need to understand that the bar can and should be set way higher.

2) Designers need to get better at selling themselves as the unique individuals that they are.  They need to be designers — creative, intense, interesting, challenging and celebrated people.   Much as TV makeover shows have a tendency to make me cringe –  primarily because they aren’t usually done in an engaging way –  (I think that  the designs are often benign, the personalities aren’t shiny, and the shows are all formatted in a too similar and formulaic way)  - we need more of them.  We need a few celebrity designers, growers, and gardeners that aren’t Australian or British imports…that are real, homegrown kick-ass cool people who inspire others to want to be the same.

3) More individual garden makers need to start to seeing garden making as a wonderful form of personal expression in the same way that they might see that in interior decor, art making, crafting, theater, fashion and a whole host of other ways that we express ourselves.   We need to stop talking about landscaping…but rather real personal garden making.

I know these are all tall orders…and I’m not sure how to begin to tackle them.  But I would love to start the conversation….and maybe together we can raise the discourse in the USA about garden making and design and we can start to evolve our shows and events.

I am curious, what do you think we need to do to raise the excitement bar and evolve events that are much more inspiring and interesting.   I think a population that has a greater interest in plants and the natural world and the industry surrounding it would serve our country well.   If you understand what it means to cultivate the land, you also grow a greater understanding of the importance of the uncultivated, the wild and the natural.  I think more people need to have a greater connection to our land and I think that from that we will have huge benefits in our health, our environment, our economy, and a knock on to many other areas as well.

So, what do you think we need to do as an industry and a population to inspire, grow and evolve the garden industry in the US? 

p.s. I am headed to London tomorrow to cover The Chelsea Flower Show and the Chelsea Fringe Festival!  I can’t  wait….it will be all Chelsea here for a while as I bring you along with me….

image from the Telegraph.

Some have an affinity for the tiny sweetness of the diminutive, but I (and my kin) seem to obsess over the monstrous, huge and gross enormity of the gigantea plants.

While in general, ‘gigantea’ means giant as in really large, it is sometimes in respect to the regular (so perhaps it is not soooo large when the regular version is small) — but often gigantea really does mean huge.  And that is where things get fun.

Like Colocasia gigantea (above)  and my own homegrown Miscanthus gigantea – which I swear you can watch grow.    I split the giant miscanthus that I got a few years ago into 5 plants this year.   We are all so excited to feel small amongst these towering plumes in the garden.

Check out my Latin Series Pinterest Board for more gigantea plants.

What’s your taste in extreme sizing?  Do you prefer the tiny or the tremendous?  Feel free to share your favorite.

image from Brian’s Botanicals  (where you can buy a baby Colocasia gigantea!)

When I was a new mom of a sweet baby girl — and we lived in England —  I had one of those new mom clothing obsessions.  I went all in on hedgehog inspired baby goods.   Adorable and seemingly so European (I told myself)….I loved the cute details that these small garden rodents brought to dresses, tights, hats…whatever.

So, last week when Roanne told me that you could adopt a hedgehog here in the US, I was instantly intrigued.   Now the last thing this family needs is another pet, but if I could infest my garden with these critters, I would soooo be tempted to throw aside all highly questionable ecological species introducing warnings and cultivate these charming garden guests.   Good thing they won’t survive the wild here so I’m not tempted with such insane ideas….but I’m nonetheless happy to know that should I need a hedgehog fix….it’s not too hard to come by.

Hedgehog breeders list.

image from the berry

There is something quite appealing about these simple shapes.  If I had an extra ~$2100.00 I would certainly buy three.  (Actually, I take that back….even if I had the $$, I think I’d only be in if we dropped a zero off the end).  So until there is a knockoff, my starling neighbors and I will have to admire these beautiful teak, lined with stainless steel, bird sculptures from afar.

Available at Garpa.

Images from Garpa

My MIL and FIL arrive from CA tonight, so this mothers day weekend will be especially mother-ly.   I am particularly grateful for this visit as it will allow me to depart for London next week knowing that my family will not have to endure the stress of a missing mom, chauffeur, chef, laundress, dog walker, chicken feeder, etc. etc.  I’m looking forward to an opportunity to focus on working and making a trip that revolves almost universally around gardens.   But before all that, its mother’s day and the weekend….I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your mothers or those who you mother (or both).   Until Monday….

• I spent much of the day yesterday looking for a couple of great adirondack-like chairs for my garden…I found nothing….but now am wondering if I might be loving this instead.
• Love this post about cheap, easy and DIY-able outdoor kitchens.
• and this one for Sandbox ideas is pretty great too!
• I just can’t ever get enough of ephemeral fashion.
• Cretaceous Garden.
• I think I need this for my shopping lists…
• The Next Gen of String Gardens.
• My new (signed and #’d)  Charley Harper print that I scored yesterday (above) at Brimfield reminded me of these guys!

~Rochelle

Am I the only one who gasped when they lowered the thing out the window? This is gardening with nerves of steel for sure, but I love it and think it a fantastic idea for window gardeners!

Design by Barreau and Charbonnet.

I’m out today at Brimfield and while I am gorging myself creatively (huge antique shows held in giant muddy fields DO fill me up), I hope that these images fill you up a bit.

They are Fashion Designer Dorothee Schumacher‘s garden and menagerie (that animal house is TDF and I want nothing more than an exact replica of that garden oven!) — take by Todd Selby.

images from The Selby – where you can see many more equally fab pics. 

This is what Jamie’s patio look liked before she did this:

Everything about this makeover video is sparking my creative juices.   The video itself with the time-laspe coolness is reminding me to do the same (I actually figured out how to do it last year and played but never produced anything!).  The Budget — $1500 and 3 hours to put it all in place….

Then there is all the DIY projects to pull it together (see Jamie’s website for the full run down on the palette sofa, the tassel garland, the ombre died bedding and more.)

And the final product — WOW!  There is a family garden I want to hang out in!

see more in the gallery and over at Jamie’s website.

images from Prudent Baby.

Weeds are just hardy plants struggling to survive….trying to overcome the obstacles of being ugly, annoying, unwanted, and unloveable for some human deemed reason or another.  Right?

I can’t help but be a champion of the underdog, so I am coddling these two weedy babies.   Even though I have no idea what they are, I think they are kinda pretty, elegant in fact….so I have decided to adopt them and give them a place of permanence in my garden home.

(this one smells so nice ~ kind of clover-y)

I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into one of those adoption horror stories where eventually I will have to abandon them on a plane bound for Russia.

But in the mean time, can you help me name them?  I like traditional names….Latin is particularly nice.

I have a big garden so I am frequently overwhelmed by it.  But I reminded myself recently just how much can be done in tiny spurts of time. (I re-seeded my front lawn in the time it took my kindergartner to get his shoes on and get in the car to go to school).   It had me thinking….what else can I do in mere minutes.

Here are 5 more ideas (besides re-seeding and over-seeding grassy ares) that you can do very quickly.

1) Clean out a container, a raised bed, or anything you didn’t quite get to last year.  It’s all dead it comes away with the quickest of swipes.  Leave your garden gloves by the door so you are ready to go and you won’t have to wash up afterwards.

2) Turn the compost heap — I like to do this when I am just back from a walk with the dog, or yoga…I am already needing a little shower, I am all warmed up — why not add 5 more minutes of physical exercise.

3) Prune something — pick the thing that most recently finished blooming, odds are it is a good time to prune it.

4) Pick a Bouquet — You know whatever is blooming….

5) Clean the ashes out of the firepit or fire bowl….and if you only have a grill….clean the grill.  It will be ready for the next time you want to use it.

Anyone else have a quickie to share?

image from threads and snippets. 

Let me give you this little mnemonic for Fruticosa….The Knights of Ni.

Ok, if that doesn’t do it for you…then you will just have to remember that Fruticosa means shrubby (like shrubbery).   And the often encountered Suffruticosa also means shrubby but with the prefix ‘Suf’ which means ‘under or beneath’.  I am not quite sure what qualifies the fruticosas from the suffruticosas and so far, it hasn’t affected me.

Check my pinterest board for the Latin Series to see more ‘Fruticosa’ plants.

images Paeonia suffruticosa ’Zi Er Qiao’ (from Metropolitan Gardens — a fantastic blog I discovered this morning!)

It’s wedding season and for the first time in a few years I get to think about weddings.   One my main squeeze friends (you know the kind you talk to daily and have done so for a minimum of 15 years)  is getting re-married this fall and we are having so much fun working on the scheme of this fall beach wedding.   So, outside of my normal haunts I have been perusing wedding blogs a bit more than normal and I’m a little surprised at what I have been missing.

My favorite at the moment is Green Wedding Shoes…..check out some of the inspiration that I have found there….

I am finding boundless inspiration for plant partners by looking at wedding bouquets.   Also — can someone tell me what that white flower is that comes out the side of the left hand bouquet (cone-tail shaped with little flowers that bloom up the stalk) ?  I inherited it in my garden, I like it ok (though now that I see it in this arrangement, I like it more) but it is a completely awful spreading garden thug!  Has anyone else had this experience?

And then there is the ‘alter’ — where the couples make their vows.  Look how easy it is to create all sorts of garden scale ‘screens’ to give architectural interest to an area.

read more after the jump…

There are fun ideas for displaying food that can easily be altered to display other things in a garden (plants, containers, statuary, etc.).

and finally…. isn’t this the prettiest way to make a plain hall a whole lot more exciting.  String gardens at their best.

 images from Green Wedding Shoes. 

I am super inspired by the plethora of new publications in the garden and design world.  But I am also left wondering what is driving this new crop?

I know for myself, that my partner and I set out to create Leaf Magazine because we were dissatisfied by the offerings available.  Couple that with the relative in-expense of online publishing as opposed to print, and we went for it.   But  with the introduction of two other publications (that are on paper!), that seem like they are also going to be  pretty great,  I wonder, where are the hearts and minds of all the potential readers of garden and garden design related magazines?

Take Wilder Quarterly – I have to admit, I have not held this publication in my hands and read it front to back (though I plan to) — but from the samples I have seen it is beautifully prepared and some pretty fantastic writers are contributing.  This magazine strikes me as slightly  more literary than your average magazine with a distinct earthy hipster vibe that really draws me in.  There are two issues out and you can purchase them through their website.  (and they have offered Studio ‘g’ readers a special discount — see the bottom of the post for details!)

Taproot Magazine is put together by many New England based neighbors and it also looks gorgeous and seems to present a similar back to the earth vibe.  But from the looks of it, I think it goes a little more crafty, foody, and homestead-ish; encouraging a local story.

Both of these, as well as my own (Leaf Magazine) are filling niches in the garden writing world in a modern way that is not seen amongst traditional magazines.

In this time of rapid change, it has me wondering about the enthusiasm for print done in a way that feels more connected  and online magazines that bring glossy mag slickness with out the actual glossy mag (and all the paper, processing, expense, mailing etc. that goes with it).  It seems (to me) that there is a strong desire for print that has more soul and glossies that are done differently.  Do you agree?

I am curious what you desire in a garden related magazine.  What do you read?  What is your favorite?  Is there any technology that you wish that magazines could deliver?  And how about the format?  Do you prefer something more literal, more local, more lifestyle, pure garden, something else, or all of the above?  

(I personally think I fall into the all of the above category and look forward to the future of all of these (and more) offerings). 

images from Wilder Quarterly and boho girl. 

Get your own copy of Wilder Quarterly with this special offer (enter the code at checkout).

This weekend is all about getting ready for the weekends after that.   I have guests coming next weekend and then I am headed to London for the Chelsea Flower Show the following weekend (I can’t be more excited!)  and then it’s memorial day and summer will have full-on arrived.  The pressure is on….the mulch must get spread, and the pea gravel must get out in place!

I have to also confess, the dream has died…I will not be planting a thyme lawn.  I am disappointed, but it came down to two things — availability of other options (few and far between and less than easy to acquire and research) and that the rain finally came and in less than 10 minutes (while the kindergartner was making his way to the car yesterday morning for school) I was able to take advantage of the perfect planting weather and turf seed the whole thing.   It’s done….maybe if the grubs come back again, I will re-visit the alternatives….but for now I am content, lawns where I live are perfectly reasonable ground cover solutions as they are happy to thrive irrigation and chemical free – and I have something checked off the to-do list.

• Love this idea for  Cheap Cheap containers made a lot more interesting (see burlap)
• We went crazy this week with discussion about Gen X and Gen Y gardeners over at Apartment Therapy.
• In a flashback to my youth (I remember an aunt recommending a soak in it for nearly every ail), who knew that epsom salt was good for even more things!
• I’m all about bringing fashion into the garden.  But the current trend for animal prints (see here and here) is a little  too jersey shore for me. What do you think?
• I wonder if I will catch a glimpse of the queen at Chelsea and what color will she be wearing?
• Someday, when all the my house projects are done, I will return to sewing…and this list will come in handy.
• In honor of Cinco de Mayo —  a excellent collection of Mexican Garden Inspiration.
• and — Stuff it with what you have….this Mexi-inspired portable outdoor chair is awesome.

Image: From Remodelista.  Hundreds of shopping carts full of plants being pushed down the street as Berlin’s community gardeners move the garden inside for the winter.  See the whole story here.

Tomorrow night’s full moon is rumored to be a Super Moon. (great article about this here)

Which, got me all excited to share this garden with you.  The Ginkaku Moon garden is designed for moon viewing.

If you have any interest in Japanese Gardens, you simply must read this.

The Ginkaku garden was designed in 1490 at Yoshimasa’s villa (apparently Yoshimasa is a big wig in the zen master world).  After Yoshimasa’s death, the villa was converted to a temple and during the Edo period (from 1600 – 1828, so 200 + years later) and moon watching parties were often held in the garden….many of which inspired poetry.

Features of this moon garden include the cone built from sand called the Kogetsudai that supposedly served as a moon viewing platform and a ‘Moon Washing Cascade’ pool that was designed to capture the reflection of the full moon at it’s apex.  This thoughtful moon garden goes way beyond the cliche planting of night blooming white flowers, and I kinda love it for that.

More about Japanese Lunar Gardens.

images bowdoin, Kyoto the Jewel in Japan, and travel blog.

We have quite a discussion going over at Apartment Therapy about my column there yesterday.  It has to do with Gen X and Gen Y  gardeners.  I have been at a couple of industry events recently where the lament amongst other industry professionals is that Gen X and Gen Y and not participating in the industry….I shared my thoughts on the subject, and a whole slew of others did as well (pop on over if you have an opinion too — we would love to hear it!)

Anyway, through the course of the comment conversation Rainarana (who is a  Gen X gardener) shared her front garden makeover. Even though it has considerable growing-in to do, I think it is a huge improvement and goes to show that a lot can be done with a little.

images from rainarana.

Nini Andrade Silva is an award-winning designer for hotel interiors.  But she is so much more than just a designer.

As she says: “I don’t have one job. I have a career. And it revolves around creation and creativity.”  Which is why, when she works in an area (she is based in Portugal but works worldwide) she gets more involved that just with the project at hand.

Nini’s style has been given its very own label in the industry: Ninimalist. It is minimalist, but with soul (she says).  “Design is not what you see, but what you feel. Before I start on a project, I would walk around the town. I want to feel the pulse of the place, talk to the people, feel the energy. Then I will incorporate all that into the design,” she says.  Her trademark is to marry her designs and the landscape, or aesthetics and feelings.

Which ties in nicely with the other part of Nini that I admire.  Nini also started a charity called ‘Girl of the Pebble’.

Girl of the Pebble foundation was initially set up to help children in need in Funchal, Portugal (her hometown), but as Nini’s work took her around the world, so to have the funds from the charity gone global. In Brazil, she has helped to set up a school for kids.  She gets involved in this way in every community she works and it has me wondering what designers can bring to a place beyond just their clients designs.

More about the inspiring Nini.

images from mutante magazine, jalou gallery, fickle Cattle, and eageriseager by creative commons.

I am putting the final touches on plans for my next travel adventure.  While this trip will be largely work driven (meeting people, visiting the shows, etc. etc.)  I am reminded of something that I wanted to share with you.   Travel by non-guide book is kinda great.

When we plan a trip, especially to foreign destinations, we buy a guidebook….but we also check out other books and employ other ideas for getting to places that others have not quite discovered (this is important to us -we hate being part of tourist throngs).   We once spent a trip through France with a road map that we had taken a highlighter to, marking a cross-reference between a France photography book that had been gifted to us and the map –  we charted a course from yellow highlighter dot to yellow dot.  (this was great for finding beautiful off the beaten path villages and picturesque places).  We have traveled by patch, taking wild detours to any National Park, Monument, or historic site so that the kids could collect patches from the place. Or the Road Food trip, were where we navigated by the Road Food guide and ate our way through back-roads. (pie, frogs legs, lobster, biscuits and gravy, tacos, etc…). Then there was our famous alphabet trip that started in ‘A’nnapolis, MD and ended in ‘Y’ork, PA with a stop in ‘N’ewport, RI where we got caught in a hurricane.

I’m always on the look out for new ways to navigate….and I have found one.  Between Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World (which I discovered in the kids section of our library) and my copy of Remarkable Trees of the World  I am prepared to navigate by tree.   Now I just wish I could travel also by map. (Muppet-fan reference).

 image from apartment therapy

Fetid, Foetida….you see where this going?  Yes, F is Foetida and it means that the plant stinks in the literal plug your nose sort of  way.

But I find that it is rarely that off-putting….and I happily plant Iris Foetida and Hellebore Foetida, and I am inspired to learn more about Orobanche foetida (because it looks so cool).

What foetida plants do you stinkily enjoy?

Here are few more ideas on my F is Foetida Pinterest Board.

Image of Japanese Serissa Tree (Serissa foetida Variegata) from Ebay.

I’m taking all sorts of inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wrights ‘Ennis House’ that resides in the Santa Monica mountains but I am not sure I could live with the place.

“You see,” writes Frank Lloyd Wright in his 1924 letter to the Ennises, “the final result is going to stand on that hill a hundred years or more. Long after we are all gone, it will be pointed out as the Ennis House and pilgrimages will be made to it by lovers of the beautiful from everywhere.”

Right, and it still stands (after 6.5 million concrete restoration project) — but I kind of feel like it has a face only a mother can love.  What you love about it?  I am fond of the extreme use of anything to gain a unique design point (in this case concrete).  I also love the decorative manipulation of the material.  And the way it sits on the land is completely enviable.  But to live there, I think I might feel like I was living in a tomb….and that it might crush me. What do you say? Love it, hate it, or take it for what it is?

If you think you might be able to be it’s mother…it is on the market…at an easy $15 mil….and with the knowledge that it needs another $10 mil in renovations.

Images from Arch Record and Unique Homes.