Hilarious Advice from my Aunt

Dumbarton Oaks Art Installation

It's pathetic how many photos I have of Dumbarton Oaks in the fall and winter, and how few I have of the spring.  I suppose it's indicative of how busy folks in my field are each spring.  But yesterday, for Easter, I actually took the afternoon to enjoy a visit.  

Perhaps the most lovely surprise was the new art installation, Cloud Terrace, by Andy Cao and Xavier Perrot.  It's placed on the Arbor Terrace and composed of chicken wire and Swarovski "Elements" (according to the info sheet the Gardens' provided).

On such a bright sunny day, seeing the dense gray "clouds" of the wire made a marked contrast.  But sadly, photos don't accurately capture the dazzling rainbow of colors reflected by the crystals, which are tethered to the wire.

The black reflection in the pool highlights some of the ruby and sapphire hues that were twinkling when a breeze lifted, but photos don't do it justice.  Definitely check it out between now and autumn!

Leucojum aestivum

I was at my folks' place yesterday after doing some site work in a nearby town.  I wanted to check up on the garden and see how things were looking.  I have to say, I was pretty pleased!  The whole front looks like we're almost in May, rather than just in the first days of April.  The boxwoods are growing like mad, and the Chionanthus virginicus has tons of buds on it.  Iris germanica is in full bloom, but no sign of the Allium giganteum, which, last year, was blooming at the same time as the irises.

Dotting the garden, in little pointillist spots of white, were the blossoms of Leucojum aestivum or spring snowflake.  

This is a great go-to bulb in this area (Virginia).  The deer stay away from it, it multiplies like crazy and it's perfectly lovely.  The tall stems of white blossoms remain visible over the burgeoning perennial foliage and it adds a lovely sprinkling of botanical salt (or as the common name suggest, snow) on a spring garden.

Magnolia acuminata

This, reader, is your first peek at where I am living now.   It is also the only peek you are gonna get of the grounds, as the lawn is ridiculously bad (and I don't really care about turf) and the plant collection is pretty typical.  But I did notice this specimen walking the other day and was excited to introduce to you (at least via this blog) Magnolia acuminata or Cucumbertree Magnolia. 

As a straight species found in its native habitat of the Appalachian, M. acuminata is not very showy.  It's one of the largest of the Magnolias and one of the most cold hardy, but the flowers are typically diminutive. Cultivars like this one have been bred for better display of the creamy yellow blossoms that occur in early/mid-spring.  A popular cultivar these days is 'Yellow Bird.'

It's called Cucumbertree Magnolia because the seed heads when they are still ripening, resemble cucumbers.  I'll try to be watchful for them on this specimen and share more photos then!

Vernal Resolutions!

So....

It's been a while.  I know.  And it's been such a fascinating spring, it's killed me that I haven't been blogging.

No excuses, simply an explanation:

I closed on a condo in February and have been deep in renovations, packing, moving and unpacking since early February.  I have had a ton of fun at it and have become pretty decent at wiring light fixtures, installing plumbing, demolishing tile, salvaging tile, installing baseboards, etc.  I'll post a few before, during and after images of my projects but for now I need to talk about THE WEATHER!

Goodness.  This week, I saw the following in bloom:

Daffodils
Tulips
Hyacinths*
Grape Hyacinths
Leucojum*
Scilla
Redbuds
Crabapples
Cherries
Plums
Dreaded Bradford Pears
Forsythia
Spiraea thunbergii
Star Magnolia
Saucer Magnolia
Witch Hazel
and Dogwoods are just about to open up!

It's pretty heady.  If you check out the links above - linking to PC and NYPAOS archives, you can see how typically there is a bit of breathing room from one flower display to the next.  But not this year.  (Of course many NYPAOS posts will run a bit behind what blooms here in DC.)

I'm not in full chicken little mode on this.  Yes, this weird weather is absolutely related to some degree with climate change, but I also think that flukes like this happen.  Selfishly I'm enjoying it, and as long as next year we are back to a slower pace for spring, I will be happy to enjoy this weather oddity.

There's been a lot of coverage about how quickly the flower shows come and go (indeed - my aunt is visiting this weekend and on Sunday we're supposed to see the Cherries and I only hope they'll still be here!), but what I'm most curious about is how this will affect summer flowering plants.  Plants that bloom after a required number of growing degree days maybe premature as well.  We could be seeing Oxydendron in May, or Lagerstroemia in June.  Which would, for me, be really weird!

I hope that now that most of my work on the condo is done and some key deadlines have been met, I will be able to blog on a more regular basis.  More to come!

*Guess I owe you posts on these plants!

High Line Phase II

So despite the fact that the second phase of the High Line Park opened last summer, and I have been to NYC probably dozens of times since then, I had yet to visit the newest leg of the park, extending from 20th to 30th Street.  I finally got there last week (though sadly, idiotically, I forgot to bring a decent camera, so these pics are with my very old, very slow iPhone 3GS). 

For the most part, the second phase is more of the same, though there are some unusual changes to the previous plant palette (more on that in a future post).  But what I enjoyed seeing most was this fantastic bird coop/co-op.

Built with steel wires and rods, the structure most be relatively heavy (and thus stable) and no doubt it's on footings.  But yet the whole thing looks quite light.  It provides ample opportunity for perching and the assortment of small stakes and boxes allow passersby to deposit apple cores for the birds and for small amounts of water to collect.

My only frustration was that the bird apartments (there were two, on each side of the path) were placed, no: squeezed, on a straight and narrow part of the park, creating bottlenecking and traffic.  Not only does that placement stifle circulation, but I kinda want to see this structure over a larger area so that there's more opportunity for birds to visit, deposit seeds and create a more complete model of urban ecological succession, which is of course what the park is all about.  

The somewhat clumsy placement makes me wonder if this was not an add-on.  I can imagine a city agency or organization bringing this to the program after design was already complete, and the designers needing to struggle to find a place for it.  And don't get me wrong, I love the structure!  I just wish it didn't feel like it was shoehorned onto an existing design. 

Scrambled Egg Tree

Well, first off the requisite apology for such irregular blogging.  Sorry!

Okay, onward -- last spring, my Aunt sent me a bunch of images of plants, taken on her annual Florida winter vacation.  This morning, I received another dispatch from warmer climes with this photo attached:

As always, I had a quiet little thrill to immediately recognize it (since tropicals are relatively new additions to my plant palette) as Senna surattensis.  Of course, I didn't immediately remember that name, I recognized the tree by its common name, scrambled egg tree.  I just kinda love the Dr. Seussian quality of that name, though of course the eggs in question are not green.  It can also be referred to as bush senna, golden senna and glaucous cassia.  (Previously, the plant belonged to the Cassia genus, though has since been re-named Senna).  

Above, a grove of S. surattensis in Lanai.  As you can probably guess, this plant is in the Fabaceae/Leguminosae families -- the pinnately compound foliage and presence of long, flat pea pods are clues.  The tree is a tough species and does well as small street trees or works in smaller residential spots.  It blooms relatively easily though when it is not in bloom the plant can become a bit messy due to fallen flowers and pods.

Quercus...hemisphaerica?

More often than not, I find specimens (like Monday's Erica) while on a run, and I snap photos of them on a older version iPhone that is painfully slow and takes somewhat fuzzy pics.  Recently, on a run past Arlington Cemetery, I noticed these trees and decided to return with an actual real camera. 

The habit of the plant made me certain it was an oak, though I was surprised to see any evergreen oaks in our climate.  I had heard rumors that live oaks (Quercus virginiana) can survive up here but wasn't quite convinced this was that species.  (It should be noted that the use of virginiana as a species name doesn't literally mean of the state of Virginia, but simply of the colonies.  Canadensis is used for a similar purpose as well as occidentalis, which means 'western' and indeed the new world was west of Europe.)

Upon further look however, of photos of this plant and of Quercus virginiana, I became certain that they are not a match.  A quick look at my post on NYPAOS would illustrate how different the bark is on this species.  On Q. virginiana, the bark is corky and blocky, whereas this species has the shallowly fluted bark similar to a red oak (Quercus rubra). This was a great clue that perhaps this mystery species was in the red oak (or Loboatae) section of the genus.  After a bit of investigation, I'm tempted to identify this as Quercus hemisphaerica or laurel oak.  Everything I read on Dirr seems to help confirm this.  The plant is marginally hardy, loses its leaves around February (depending on the severity of the winter - and this one has been mild) and is generally a tough plant, used commonly as a street tree further south. 

Finally, as the common name implies, the leaves do look like laurel leaves.  I will have to watch this plant and take more pics when it forms acorns which should help confim the species. 

Heather

I mentioned last week, when I blogged about my whale sighting, that I had gone for a run north to the neighboring town and had gotten a few pics of a plant in bloom. The plant in question is a species of heather, or heath, though I won't guess which species it is.  I'll only give you the genus, which is Erica.  

Erica is, quite obviously, in the Ericaceae or heath family.  I also often refer to it as the blueberry family, as Vaccinium is a member as well.  Other popular relatives include Rhododendron, Kalmia, Leucothoe, Eurobotrys, Pieris and Oxydendron.  (By the way, I CANNOT believe I haven't written about Oxydendron yet.  Shameful!)  Similar to many plants in its family, Erica prefers acidic, well drained soil.  Genera native to the US are often found growing in shady wooded mountainsides, whereas Erica species (over 700 of them) are typical to locations like the fynbos in South Africa or the moors and heaths of the British Isles.

Depending on your exposure to romantic English literature, you probably remember references to the moors in books like Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë.  The moors of Dartmoor are also featured in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Sherlock Holmes story. 

Finally! The USDA Hardiness Zone Map Changes

When I teach certain plants, I often find myself qualifying their hardiness.  I'll say things like, "Well, when I was in college, we were taught that Crape Myrtle would never survive in NY.   It's considered a solid zone 7 plant.  Yet, more and more, we see it in Manhattan gardens and in the Hamptons."  This was perplexing because New York was considered Zone 6 until yesterday.

On January 25, the USDA introduced an updated hardiness zone map, showing an upward shift of average lowest temperatures and thus generally making each zone shift north.  For example, whereas New York was Zone 6, it is now marked as Zone 7. 

The map itself debuted in 1960, and was revised in 1965.  In 1990 the map was updated, using data from 1974-1986.  This revision actually caused zones to skew lower, as during those years winters were particularly colder.  The current edition includes data from 1976-2005, and thus should have better average temperatures reflected in the map. The map is also clickable- so you can view insets of your state.

Finback Whales

Yesterday, I was in Ocean City, New Jersey for a meeting regarding the rain garden I'm designing for the intermediate school.  I actually spent the preceding weekend there with friends, as there's nothing better than a wintry weekend at the beach in front of the fire.    Yesterday morning, I finally mobilized to go for a long run.  While normally I run along the boardwalk, I feared the damp rainy weather would make the boards too slick, so I opted for running north along through the salt marshes north of town and to the neighboring town beyond (I took a photo on the way, and will post on an actual plant tomorrow or Wednesday). 

It's probably just as well I avoided the boardwalk, as I would have only had my iPhone when encountering this:

This is a fin or finback whale, which washed upon the shore of Ocean City, New Jersey early yesterday morning.  I heard the news at my rain garden meeting and quickly went to see the whale myself when the meeting concluded.  

Authorities from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center identified the species and estimate that this animal measures approximately forty to forty five feet long.  That makes it an juvenile, as mature fin whales reach lengths of seventy feet, making them the second longest whales and the sixth largest living animal in the world (after other whales, of course).  Their narrow bodies account for their discrepant rankings in length and size, it also is why some refer to them as 'greyhounds of the sea' -- they are incredibly agile and fast. 

Unfortunately, this whale washed to the shore dead, which anyone could surmise the instant they got of their car a few blocks away.  The smell hung in the air, and yesterday's heavy fog almost seemed like tangible evidence of the odor. A similar whale was sighted a week earlier in New York harbor; it's likely that the whale was struck by a ship in the harbor, died and slowly drifted with the currents until it ended up in Ocean City. Fin whales are endangered.  Like many others of their relatives, the fin whale was heavily hunted during the 20th Century.  Wikipedia cites that between 1904 and 1979, 750,000 species existed in the southern hemisphere alone.  Today the total fin whale population is closer to 15,000.  Though the International Whaling Commission bans the hunting of fin whales, Japan, Iceland and Greenlanders continue to hunt the species. 

Despite the odor, I'm pretty sure every year-round resident of Ocean City (and perhaps others from further away) made it to the beach at one point yesterday, in order to see the whale.  Parents brought their children, excited for them to see such a large living thing.  Of course, some kids (like the boy two photos up) are more interested in playing with the sand -- some people are just never impressed. By the way, that cop in the foreground, on the right, yea... he's totally yelling at me to get off the jetty.

I thought it was literally awesome to see such a large animal, particularly now that I know it was barely over half its mature size.  We all learn that the ocean is inhabited by strange, massive animals and certainly that's why there is no shortage of wonderful organizations to preserve our ocean ecologies, but to really witness, with my own eyes, physical proof of such a massive mammal is moving.

I've already linked to a few organizations that make it their mission to protect whales and or the ocean, but let's not forgot Save the Whales - even if the pins aren't as popular!

Latin Making an Exit in Botanical Descriptions

Some of you may have noticed Adrian Higgins' piece in the Post yesterday -- frankly I'm surprised more people didn't send it to me, especially current and former students who loathe using botanical nomenclature during my classes!

Since the modern binomial system began (remember Linnaeus?) those wishing to document discovery of a plant were required to write the descriptive text in Latin.  As of January 1, those descriptions can be written in English.  It's a good change and on January 5 the New York Times issued an editorial supporting it.  That does not mean though that plant species will abandon their botanical names (I am always reluctant to refer to as 'Latin names' since just as often the botanical name is Greek, or derivative of ancient Greek).

I have to admit, when I first heard about this, I panicked, thinking that they were abandoning scientific nomenclature which would have been a major change for designers, nurserymen, botanists, teachers, etc.

Higgins adds that the change will also affect, 'the pretentious gardener who, trug in one hand, pruners in the other, can wax on about the Syringa (lilac), Salix (willow) or Solidago (goldenrod), et cetera,' which I think is a little cruel, since there are 25 species of Syringa, 400 species of Salix, 100 species of Solidago, et cetera.  In many cases, the species refers to critical differences among plants of the same genus.  Not to mention that, to many, understanding what's behind the nomenclature can be fascinating - otherwise my etymology tags on Planted Cloud and NYPAOS wouldn't be so highly viewed!

The Senator Falls

So, those of you who are up to speed on your big tree news may already know this -- but one of the world's largest trees collapsed in flames last weekend.  It was one of those news oddities that got picked up on morning radio stations and when I heard the story, you can imagine I went straight to the interwebs to investigate more.  

'The Senator' as the tree was lovingly nicknamed, was a baldcypress growing in Longwood, Florida.  Today I was on the National Mall and snapped a few shots of The Senator's genetic cousin, Taxodium ascendens. Baldcypresses can be the East Coast's largest trees and The Senator was designated in 2006 as the largest tree (of any species) east of the Mississippi.  It was estimated to be about 3,500 years old, ranking it as the fifth oldest tree in the world.  

While this species on the mall is probably about 50-65' high, The Senator was 165' high until 1929 when a hurricane topped it.  Shortly before its demise the plant stood at about 125' - just 25' shy of the Statue of Liberty.  The diameter of the trunk measured at just over 17'.  That's probably about 5-6 times bigger than the tree in these photos.  Those dimensions are quoted in this article, though it should be noted that arson is no longer being considered as a source of the fire that ultimately felled the tree.  

Balcypresses are given their name since they are deciduous cypresses, losing their leaves in the winter, which is a rare occurrence for a gymnosperm (i.e. non flowering plant).  The habit is upright and conical.  The plants thrive in swamps and saturated conditions.  It's this tolerance to anaerobic conditions that have lead to its more frequent use as street trees (since the conditions under concrete sidewalks are similarly limited in oxygen).

MANTS, 2012

Last Friday I attended MANTS, 2012, or the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show.  It had been a few years since I'd been to one but if you are interested in plants, there's no better place to connect with growers and plant care specialists.

The Baltimore Convention Center was filled with booths representing different nurseries and as you make your way through the space you can amass a very heavy load of plant catalogs.  Since I design from catalogs, quite regularly, it was great to find special growers like the one below - who has an excellent Camellia selection. Of course, there's also no shortage of candy at things like this -- jars filled with mini chocolates, luring you towards the booth, are ubiquitous!

The University of Maryland and the USDA also had booths, keeping interested people up to speed on local insect threats such as Emerald Ash Borer and Asian Longhorned Beetle.  It's always good to check in on their literature and get up to speed on another disease currently receiving a lot of attention: sudden oak death. 

VOGUE: Houses, Gardens, People

This book - which weighs in on the portly side, as far as books go, is another source for ideas I would regularly visit at my old office.

It is 100% lifestyle porn, with great photos of interior decor and garden design ideas for residential or small scale gardens.  I finally ordered a copy this week, using an Amazon gift card that had been burning a hole in my wallet.  The book is edited by Hamish Bowles, Vogues go-to man for character driven profiles of designers and celebrities.  He's also the writer that profiled my former boss a few years back.

Evidently, though, the book wasn't a best seller, as new editions are heavily discounted on Amazon.  My copy arrives soon and hopefully it will still be a great place to visit when I have designer's block.

Jacques Wirtz

Back when I used to work for other design offices, one of my favorite "down time" activities was to grab a book and lazily leaf through the images, mining the text for design ideas.

One of my absolute favorite books was The Wirtz Gardens, chronicling the designs of Jacques Wirtz, a Belgian landscape architect and horticulturist.  The book has been out of print for years and last Christmas, when my folks asked for gift ideas, I hopefully nominated this item.  I was delighted to unwrap it on Christmas Day.  

If you're unfamiliar with Wirtz's work, he is most known for his luscious cloud hedges, typically made of Boxwood.  

These images are taken from his own garden, in an area that was for some time his laboratory.  Over the years, this boxwood allee almost took shape independently.  You can read more about the garden here.

 

If you want to read more about cloud hedges, check out fellow Arlingtonian Thomas Rainer's blog entry here.

...As designers, I don't think we're ever 100% satisfied with a 'finished' product -- there's always something we wish we could add, subtract or alter.  Similarly, our libraries are never finished -- there's always a new book we are lusting after!  This week - and perhaps through next week - I will be highlighting a few of the design books I love.  Some of them are in my library, while some are still on the wishlist.   

Fairytale Architecture

In case you missed it a few days ago The Design Observer Group posted a series of renderings by architects developing designs for various Fairytale structures.  It's a fun link.

The first is a house that should look like a chicken and thus is on impossibly high 'legs.'

The second installment is my favorite -- a drawing of Rapunzel's tower, complete with performance specifications like "Thorn Bushes Will Be Large Enough to Prevent Climbing by Infatuated Princes."

Finally, a very modern interpretation of Jack's Beanstalk House.

A fun exercise, I'd love to see more design studios have levity in their projects by incorporating something like this.  And those of us who have taken design studio courses know that, with an absence of budget or client, many of our studio projects already have a fairytale quality as it is!

Early Winter Textures

I was in Tenleytown in DC the other day and was struck by the combination of textures in this relatively ordinary urban garden. Unfortunately I only had my iPhone 3GS, which is beginning to feel the effects of 2 years of abuse (well...Not quite 2 years -- my contract is up in March at which point I can get a new phone at a discount!).

In any case, the Spirea thunbergii looks beautiful in autumn and it's easy to forget what lovely fall color it has.  The toasted honey hue looks perfect with the grasses flanking it on both sides.

As much as I love the look now, I'm not sure I'd ever combine S. thunbergii with grasses due to the way they'd look in spring or summer -- I'm not sure I'd buy that they'd look good together.  But I'll have to keep an eye on this garden come spring to reconsider.