Schefflera

Since I've somehow stumbled on the topic of "mall plants" (yikes), here's some Schefflera, growing in Puerto Rico.  My students already know how I feel about variegated plants, in general (double yikes), but the white and green variegation isn't all THAT bad.  It does brighten up an otherwise dark corner. 

The yellow and green however...Not so much.

Schefflera is an easy genus to make a guess on its etymology -- it's named for a German botanist, Jacob Christian Scheffler. 

Lincoln Center Benenson Grove

When I was approaching the David Rubenstein Atrium space at Lincoln Center, I came across the new Charles B. Benenson Grove, near the south end of Lincoln Center.  The grove officially opened in May of last spring, and if you go to this link, you can see photos of it with the trees in leaf.  

From a distance, I immediately, unenthusiastically assumed that these trees were Carpinus betulus - the go-to plant for 'architectural' or 'contemporary' landscapes.  But the green-hued bark and the smaller buds quickly corrected that assumption.

 

A dried leaf - triangular in shape - was a clue that this was a species of aspen and indeed the literature on the aforementioned link names them as quaking aspens or Populus tremuloides.

  

A strange choice to me, since the trees (though lovely when the leaves flutter so easily in a summer breeze) are relatively short-lived and prone to pests and disease.  A colonial species, it's a tough survivor in its youth but as the plant ages it falls suspect to various problems.  Their placement also seemed curiously close together, considering they quickly can reach spreads of twenty feet.  As you can see, they are placed barely more than 5' apart.

Of course, I've already ranted today about overplanted areas once, so I don't want to belabor this point.  But, I think this planting could have been sufficient with probably half the specimens, unless of course the designers (uncredited in the link I posted above, but here Mathews Nielson is credited), anticipated that a percentage of the trees would fail more quickly than others. 

 

Indeed, wear and tear is already showing - I am really hoping that this damage occurred after construction and the construction administrator didn't miss out on rejecting such a rough-looking specimen! I'm curious what readers think -- I like Mathews Nielsen's work very much but am puzzled by this particular layout and species selection. 

Lincoln Center Facelift

I have to say, it's so nice to have Lincoln Center back, after what seemed like ages of construction! Here's a few shots of the pubic outdoor spaces. 

 

The steps now have lighted welcome messages.  If you've ever been to the Metropolitan Opera, you'd recognize the font below matches the subtitles you can opt to read during a performance. 

The plaza and fountain have been upgraded.  If you've never seen this plaza in person, you probably would recognize it from The Producers (go to minute 3:30 or so), Ghostbusters (go to 1:07) or Moonstruck (go to 4:56). 

The fountain is significantly different in that now a black disk hovers above the ground plane, where previously the fountain was in a black tub.

Water skims over a weir that is located directly underneath the outer edge of the disk.

Okay, so let's talk about the planting.  Below, you have - in a space not much bigger than 25'x25', THREE Taxodium distichum and a Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis.  Too much!

I sympathize with the pressure to make a landscape look established and mature when there is a high- profile public opening, such as Lincoln Center's.  But, to see a strip like this so overplanted frustrated me. It happens more often than not and even with private clients, there is a demand for a garden to look instantly-established.  It's my hope that as landscape architects, we can continue to try to educate our clients, and the public at large, that a landscape takes years to come into its own and to exhibit a touch more patience!