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.   

Spiraea thunbergii

Here's another shot of one of the moongates in the Enid Haupt Moongate Garden at the Smithsonian yesterday.  Breaking up the mass use of Magnolia x soulangiana, we have a very lovely spring shrub that is stealthily eating visitors as they walk on the adjacent sidewalk.

Well, probably not, but you can probably guess from this pic that the plant is a "vigorous" grower.  It's Spiraea thunbergii or Thunberg Spiraea.  Most hobbyist gardeners know Spiraea but are probably more familiar with the summer blooming S. bumalda.  S. x vanhouttei is another popular species.  But I have a soft spot for this plant. 

(By the way -- see something familiar peeking behind this plant??) I love the long slender stems that are densely packed with miniature rose-like flowers (indeed, this plant is in the Rosaceae family). The plant's been in bloom for a week or two now and the leaves are just beginning to emerge.  Narrow and lanceolate, they are also a great chartreuse shade of green that's much lighter than most shrubs. 

Spiraeas in general are bulletproof; they sustain drought easily and don't have any major pests or diseases.  Really the biggest hazard of having one is that it does need to be maintained.  If left unpruned it will get very scraggly and the inside of the plant will die off from lack of sunlight.

 

Below is one of my favorite uses of the plant -- it's a hedge at the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park.  It prunes easily and is so floriferous, that no matter when you prune it, it will still have a heavy flower set.  You can see that it's been probably a month or so since it was last pruned and the soft, fuzzy texture is such a nice change from yew and holly hedges. The shot below was taken in mid-summer and as you can see, the spring-green hue of the leaves has not darkened. 

Carissa macrocarpa

Carissa macrocarpa or natal plum is a plant you're likely to encounter in the tropics as it's unusual in fulfilling various purposes.  One, it's quite thorny and is often used as a barrier.  Two, it takes to pruning very well and can be trimmed into a hedge shape without much trouble.  Three, it's absolutely salt and wind proof.  If you've ever been to the Halekulani in Waikiki, or walked past the beachfront restaurant, you've passed a manicured hedge of  Carissa.

Finally, reason number four is the plant is quite attractive, as far as somewhat stiff hedge-like plants go.  The pinwheels of white flowers look almost like jasmine and are faintly faintly fragrant. 

All the time I spent walking past the specimen at the Halekulani, and damn if I can't find a photo of the plant's habit.  I only have these close-ups from Puerto Rico.  Next time, I promise.