Garden Gate as Sculpture

Artist Albert Paley’s concept of a garden entry gate is considerably beyond what most of us usually conjure up when designing a garden gate . His creativity, craftsmanship and attention to detail elevates the status of this garden gate to a work of art.

This gate is located at the Cleveland Botanical Garden and was installed in May of 2004. A generous gift from the Donna and Stewart Kohl Fund at the Cleveland Foundation made the gate a reality. Standing 15′ in height and running 60′ in length, the Kohl Gate depicts stylized leaf shapes found in the varied plant collections of the Botanic Garden.

What is amazing to me is how every element of this piece has a very fluid and curvaceous feel to it….incredible given the 1/2″ – 3/4″ thickness of the Cor-Ten steel.

I just love how the natural patina of this gate gives it a such a simple, dignified look.
The abscence of a low, clean groundcover on the bottom of it would be my only criticism.

What’s your opinion of this piece?

Sandstone Sculpture

Sited directly in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Cleveland, this massive traffic median landmark can’t help but get noticed by those who pass by it.

The sculpture is located on Euclid Avenue, a six mile stretch of road that connects Cleveland’s two largest employment centers–Downtown and University Circle. Recently, everything along this road underwent a major transformation. Reconstruction included new utility & transportation infrastructure as well as store, housing, and entertainment fronts.

Known as the Euclid Avenue Corridor Project, this urban renewal effort skillfully integrated public art into many of its components. Artists worked in collaboration with the project’s design team to develop amenities along the corridor such as benches, guideposts, crosswalks, planters, trash receptacles and major sculptures.

Cleveland Public Art, a non-profit organization, worked with the corridor’s design team to identify potential public art opportunities within the project and to set up a strategy for implementing them.

The artist for this sculpture, Scott Murase, got his inspiration by investigating Native American markers and overlooks in the region which were often sited around stone outcroppings. He was also inspired by the serpentine forms of the mound building cultures of central Ohio. The installation is titled “Osmosis”.

The sculpture was constructed with native sandstone. It repeats the existing stone composition of some of the surrounding buildings and loosely ties the sculpture to the neighborhood.

For whatever reason, my eye sees an abstraction of human muscle in this piece. The world renowned Cleveland Clinic is just up the road from this installation, so I may be just connecting the two in my mind.

Starting at grade, the sculpture rises smoothly to about 4 feet. From this vantage point, you can see how Murase referenced a serpentine burial mound.

The closer you get to the end, the more pronounced each individual stone piece becomes. The height of the stonework also helps screen the oncoming lanes of traffic.

The sculpture’s rythm is abruptly broken here, almost as if it had been stretched too far and tore apart. It is this portion of the compostion that seems to relate most to the muscle fiber thing…or is it just me?

Seperated a bit from the above stone formation, this stone cairn ends the entire composition. This structure easily rises to about 8′ in height.

I really like how juried artists were used in this urban renewal project to weave artistic expression into every aspect of it.

What’s your opinion?

Coreopsis, ‘Full Moon’

I have been very impressed with the look and performance of a (new to me) perennial plant this year called Coreopsis ‘Full Moon’. After becoming increasingly disappointed in the reliability of ‘Moonbeam’, and the enormously disappointing ‘Limerock Ruby’, I was hesitant to subject myself again to yet another hyped-up coreopsis. The mildew issues, overwintering problems, etc have all but convinced me to remove it from my plant pallette.

All that changed after discussing the plant with local perennial growing expert, Jim Brady over at Sunbeam Gardens in Avon, OH. He convinced me to give ‘Full Moon’ a try.

I reluctantly planted them in unamended clay loam out in the garden. The container grown plants initially flopped a bit, but quickly recovered and filled out nicely. Waiting patiently all summer for a bloom, I was pleasantly surprised when they finally did bloom in late August.

The yellow flower production has continued to this day. Evenly distributed around the plant, they provide a consistent pop of color to any fall garden. Not as pastel as ‘Moonbeam’, the flower color can best be described as a soft yellow. No gold undertones, thankfully, as I find gold aesthetically difficult to work with.

The plant topped out at about 24″ with an equal spread. Flowers are about 1 1/2-2″ across, leaves are 1/4″ across by 1″ long, lanceolate. If it opens or flops a bit, it quickly shoots new growth upward to fill any void. Stems are woody, but surprisingly flexible. I would describe the overall look of the plant as coarse, even though the foliage is on the small side. It has stayed fully foliated, no mildew and no sign of declining bloom even as October comes to a close.

Here are some pics of these first year plants:

I’m anticipating the vigor of this plant will pull it through winter effortlessly. With fingers crossed, I will wait expectantly for its foliage to emerge in spring.

Creative Brick & Sandstone Sidewalk

How often have you come across a trampled landscape that lies at the intersection of two converging sidewalks? You know what I’m talking about, it’s that well-intentioned landscape bed that was supposed to “control the flow of site visitors” and “direct pedstrian traffic”, but now is nothing more than a lifeless, well-worn game trail. Or how often, at the intersection of two walks, do you see that famaliar triangle of bare soil that used to be turf?

I think we all have heard the story of the college campus that planted only grass between the buildings and allowed the student’s daily circulation routes to establish future pavement location. When pedestrian paths were fully worn in the turf, concrete walks were installed in their place. The designers wisely anticipated our human tendency to take the route of least resistance, even if it that means cutting through landscape beds. Allowing the students to naturally define pedestrian walks was a logical design decision.

So just how do you best disuade pedestrians from “cutting the corner”?

How do we best design that awkward space where two sidewalks meet?

It seems the most practical solution is to expect and anticipate (like the college did) pedestrians cutting through our work. Rather than block their goals of getting from point A to point B quickly, should we just expedite it with clear, generous walks?

This public park example shows how an ample amount paving has completely filled the sidewalk intersection. What would eventually have become just a muddy eyesore, is now creatively paved with classic brick and sandstone. The “cutting corner/bare dirt” issue has been solved. Yeah, big deal, so what.

Take another look, though, at how this paving solution accomplishes more than one purpose. Yes it fills out the sidewalk corner, but the orientation of the brick and stone also aligns visitors with the axis of the park. The integration of the stone into the brick allows the stone to direct the eye further, around the raised stone planter, and out to the grassy center of the park. Attention to detail makes this work. I just love how the materials are married together, especially the banding of brick in relationship to the width of the stone. It’s unfortunate that minimal park maintenance standards detract so much from an otherwise innovative design.

The staggered placement of the sandstone allows it to graciously leave the brick paving, weave around the planter and gently enter the lawn area. The curious and intermitent stone placement casually invites visitors to follow its course.

What has happened here? What can we learn from this?

A common landscape problem was solved with a simple, practical solution. Ordinary materials were used. The genius of differentiating this designer’s (or architect’s) work from others is that these common materials were used in a unique, different and creative way. Further, the creative solution serves more than one purpose and is fully integrated into the design.

Variety is the Spice of Life, Even for Dogs

This fun scene was captured at Stan Hywett Hall and Gardens during their Barkitecture Exhibit this summer. I guess even Fido needs a little variety… a different color for each day of the week.

If any of you have clients that love their dogs, this salvaged hydrant idea might be one to keep in the idea box.

From Architectural Salvage to Garden Bench

What can one do with a really great, hand-carved sandstone block? One idea is to make a garden bench out of it. This former architectural element was clad with wood to fashion a fine looking bench.

Such a simple solution!

What a great way to repurpose material, especially when the detail in the carving is so spectacular.

Simple Plaza Fountain

I discovered this fountain the other day and was intrigued, not by the fountain, but by the spectacular mossy stone that was in it.

The fountain jet splash keeps the moss on the stone hydrated. The original limestone boulders have plenty of little indentations on them for the moss to take hold and thrive.

The simplicity of the stone arrangement and the beauty of the moss makes this fountain really work for me aestetically. The dated exposed aggregate perimeter and lack-lustre fountain jet are obvious faults, but I think that you might be able to overlook these and just enjoy it for what it is.

Here is another close-up of the moss.

It’s All in the Details (Small Deck Construction)

Detail is the name of the game when it comes to building a small deck or landing. Tight joints, screw spacing as well as and consistent board spacing are all-important elements that can make or break the project. Any mistake or evidence of sloppy workmanship will be evident and will quickly diminish the overall sense of quality.

A high-level of craftsmanship allows the ‘deck to be the deck’. How quickly can one detect a brown patch on a small area of grass versus that same patch on a football field? Simply put, you don’t have the advantage of scale to compensate for errors, so every element is critical to a successful design.

I really like mounting the corner railing posts with lag bolts run directly through (and recessed in) the post edge….a nice and clean
detail.

With regard to steps, I like to see a generous tread depth, sometimes as much as 14″. This extra depth allows a gentle descent or ascent and eliminates that steep, ladder-like feel too often applied to a staircase.
The open riser will allow future plantings to run beneath the stairs and will soften the bottom edge of the deck. Skirting and enclosing the stair sides would make the steps feel a bit too monolithic for my taste. A little semitransparent stain/sealer and this one is wrapped.

Beauty of Nature

In my daily travels, I like to take my camera gear along with me to record natural features, plant groupings or other interesting anomolies that I happen across. This photographic study of nature has certainly helped me to become a better designer. When I mimic, stylize or interpret nature, I usually can come up with some exciting design solutions.

This rocky cliff I discovered, appeared at first to resemble an ordinary outcropping. Upon closer examination though, it revealed some awesome looking features. This is a great example of what you can “see” when you slow down, look, and observe all that is around you.

The above photo looks like it could be a close up of a coral reef! If it were possible to remove that stone, the honeycombe formations on the bottom (with a little imagination) could make a fabulous water feature or how about utilizing all those planting pockets for a vertical garden!

For all you bark lovers out there, I found these on a hike last week. Is it just me or do you also see some skull-like formations there?

Then there is this poor fellow, looks like some fence wire got the best of him!

Japanese Beetle Invasion

A few tweets ago, I commented on the recent invasion of Japanese Beetles here in N.E. Ohio. I just wanted to share a picture of how many I collected in about 15 minutes. Yuk.

Appetizer anyone?

Contemporary Garden Gate

The sight of a garden gate can heighten the anticipation of what treasures lie to be discovered in the garden beyond. A gate instantly adds sophistication and intrigue. It is the “front door” to the gardener’s private world that begs to be opened and walked through.

It’s not very often I have the pleasure of incorporating a gate into a design, but when I do, I like to marry the gate to the site so it feels like it naturally belongs to the project. Anything too flamboyant and the gate receives all the attention, not the house and garden.

A contemporary gate would certainly complete the design intent of this project’s boxwood hedge planting. The gate (along with the step & change of grade mentioned earlier), is the final piece of creating a true doorway through this living fence.

The 4′ century-old stone columns could probably stand alone assuming that, at one time, there once was once a gate spanning between them. However, I felt it was important to actually include a gate to fully complete the look I was going for —a process that turned out to be a bit harder than I first imagined. Traditional wrought iron didn’t feel right. Neither did wood. Lots of internet searching provided a few possible ideas to borrow from, but none really hit me as the answer. What should it look like? What design cues can be borrowed or included with the gate? How would the gate relate to the modern feel to the garden?

After much mental wrangling and lots of sketching, I couldn’t come up with anything original or cool enough. Then it finally hit me; why not use the home’s street name (Falling Water Circle) as a basis for the gate’s design? By asking questions, being patient, and not settling for just an okay solution, I was able to come up with the concept below:

The “falling water” is represented by the cascading waterfall and the “circle” is represented by the sun. The curvilinear rays of the sun terminate into smaller circles. The latch seamlessly follows the curvature of the top of the gate. The house numbers would be mounted such that they protrude out from the stone. The angled pieces in the gate (representing earth under the waterfall) repeat the angle of the numbers. The gate is purposefully transparent so the garden can be clearly viewed from the public side of the garden.

Another concept for the gate was to continue the “water” feeling right onto the stone columns by grinding a 3/8″ groove into the stone with a standard angle grinder and masonry wheel. The subtle shadow line created would really give the grooves dimension and be easily seen in full sunlight. I really like how this subtle repetition marries the stone columns to the steel gate. The latch was moved to one of the circles to make its location a bit more obvious. I also enjoy how the flowing lines of the gate repeat the flowing lines of the hedge. Here is the concept sketch:

Neither one of these gate concepts has been crafted yet. Which one deserves to be built? What changes would you make? Take a minute and leave a comment. I would appreciate your input!

Front Yard Sidewalk Ideas

Front sidewalks have been designed in just about every configuration imaginable and with just about every material imaginable. My first material choice for a walk will usually be sandstone or clay paving brick. But, when a project budget is tight, concrete is my “go-to” substitute for conserving dollars.

Concrete has a modern feel that easily goes with any newer home and can be a wonderful medium to work with. In this project, I dyed and stamped a 14″ border on the walk. The colored border runs from the driveway to the bottom step of the porch in a beautiful sweeping curve. Its color coordinates closely with that of the front door.

Here is one of my initial concept sketches of the walk. I often draw several thoughts or ideas out so I can evaluate each of them to determine the best solution. Nothing fancy; just quick perspective gestures. Once I’m satisfied with the concept, I will draw it in plan view.

Here is the walk as drawn on the landscape plan. By placing your eye close to the paper, you can see how well the concept sketch translates to the plan view:

Here is the walk after it was poured:

Here is an aerial view of the walk looking toward the driveway. The strong linear edge line of the walk (right side) parallels the design axis I described in an earlier post.

In addition to following the design axis, these sharp angles needed an obvious reason as to why they exist. Large fieldstone pieces were strategically placed close to the walk to imply that the stone was there first and the concrete had been poured around them. Here is a close up of stone/sidewalk area:

Creeping Thyme ‘Elfin’ was used to soften the transition between the stone and concrete. I do like the way your eye is “caught” or slowed down by these indentations in the walk.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

I believe the discovery of this native wildflower back when I was a kid ignited a curiosity, respect and reverence toward Mother Nature that has continued to this day. Everything about ‘Jack’ is just plain cool. I am fortunate to have a small group of Arisaema triphyllum growing in my garden. I rescued the original from a new home development site and he has since seeded and spread into a fine grouping. Couldn’t resist sharing this spring ephemeral.

Barnstone Wall

For those of us who must endure long, cold winters, flower shows offer a temporary glimpse of hope that spring will eventually arrive. The best attended show in Northeast Ohio is the Home and Garden Show held at the Cleveland IX Center.

Last year, I captured a few photos of a display garden that utilized repurposed material. The prominent feature in the garden was a wall built from salvaged, barn foundation stone. The way the stone was utilized was of particular interest to me. Instead of just plopping the stone back down in an expected horizontal fashion, it was placed vertically. This small creative effort (utilizing common materials in a different way) was enough to set this garden apart from its competitors.

By simply asking yourself a few questions such as “How else can this material be used?” or “What is the opposite of this stone’s original use?” can redirect your thinking to come up with new ideas.

Here is a photo of the wall:

Original tooling on the barnstone gives it a nice texture.

Here is another shot showing a few steps that were built into the wall. It might have been nice if the bottom step was positioned on the outside face of the wall. Nonetheless, it was a fun concept.

The flagstone patio also had an interesting shape and multi-level design. The lower level swept inward in a small arc as it intersected with the show floor….a purposeful feature that allowed the sales team to stand comfortably during the show and not get trampled by the crowds.

Companion Plants for Boxwood

Boxwood ‘Wintergem’ has a glossy, medium-sized leaf that is very similar in size and appearance to many other ornamental plants we all typically work with. When using the boxwood in a composition, it is important to remember that companion plants need to contrast it texturally. If boxwood is paired with Veronica ‘Waterperry Blue’ or myrtle, for example, the foliage ‘visually melts’ together because of their similar leaf size and shape. A big blob of foliage is the result. No variation, no significant color change, and perhaps most imprtantly, no textural change.

However, using a very fine textured plant such as thyme or rupturewort or a very bold textured plant like hosta or lady’s mantle provides adequate variation and contrast to visually seperate them. The photos below illustrate what I’m referring to:

Fine textured rupturewort fills the ground plane at the bottom of the boxwood hedge.

Liriope's form contrasts the boxwood and the hosta's leaf offers a bold textural contrast.

Lady's mantle, with its bigger texture and fuzzy leaf, stands apart from the boxwood.

An added benefit of the lady's mantle is its ability to bead water. What a nice effect to enjoy after a rainshower.

Stepping Stone Pathways

Stepping stone paths are a charming element in the designed landscape. They are a low cost way of providing access to various parts of a yard. I really enjoy planting the spaces between the stones with lots of low, creeping plants to soften all of those hard edges. A barefoot stroll down a stone path interplanted with a soft groundcover such as Mazus or Thymus is a true sensory delight.

I find it best to utilize stone that is native to the region in which a project is located so a path feels like it actually belongs there. Sandstone is suited to this project’s locale, but just 30 miles west, limestone would be a more appropriate choice as it is the predominant native stone.

My naturalistic pathway designs usually follow these guidelines:

1. Individual stone sizes should be varied so the path has variety and visual interest.

2. The path shouldn’t dominate a composition but rather be simple and understated element of it.

3. The outside edge of a path should be somewhat irregular to allow for planting space. Plants can then easily spill over the edge and soften it.

4. Spacing between stones should be proportional to the amount of use the path receives. The more often it is used, the easier it
should be to navigate and the closer the joints should be.

The project walkway below is made out of 2 1/2″ thick sandstone. Note how the path edge juts in and out of the surrounding bed.
The amount of use the walk is anticipated to have warrants a somewhat fitted installation.

The picture below shows how I’ve allowed only two corners to adjoin, much like a two over one, one over two methodology often seen in stone wall construction.

Here is another shot showing how, at the intersection of three stones, that the angles at which they meet are greater than 90 degrees. The size of the stone is varied for interest and each stone’s edge was hand-chisled for a relaxed feel.

Siberian Iris, ‘Caesar’s Brother’

One of my favorite plants to use for vertical form in the garden is the iris. Especially effective emerging from a low groundcover, this plant is a trouble-free performer. Beautiful purple flowers, clean grass-like foliage, and long-lived. What more could you ask for from a perennial? Even the fall foliage color is great!

About every 2 years, I like to divide the maturing clumps. I do not dig the entire plant up, but prefer to slice or chunk out a section with a sharp spade. I backfill the resulting hole with soil. What a time saver.

They are peaking right now and thought I’d share a few photos with you.

After flowering, the iris foliage remains strong and upright. Here, I repeated the iris on the other side of the walk, at a different level within the stonework.

Repurposed Materials

Utilizing old, weathered artifacts in a new landscape project is a fantastic way of recycling our past. Old mill stones, barn foundation stone, stone street curbing, and old road pavers are just a few examples of material having great usefulness in the contemporary landscape. Their marvelous patina adds instant age to a garden. Knowing the history behind a specific material is relevant because it gives the artifact(s) a “story” and elevates its stature. It also adds perceived value to a project. What client wouldn’t boast to friends and neighbors about the orgin or history of an object set in their landscape?

How many of us, though, have used old, weathered stone or an artifact in a design without even recognizing where it came from, or how it was historically used, or what purpose it served?

One of my favorite books offering some insight and answers to these questions was written and illustrated by Eric Sloane and is entitled “Our Vanishing Landscape”. The numerous line drawings and sketches contained within the book are more than just “drippy nostalgia”. They are a mirror to the past and capture the essence of an era gone by. Short and concise verbage throughout the book supports the illustrations nicely.

Careful study of his drawing style, perspectives, lettering, and cut-away illustrations has improved my own technique and has increased my effectiveness in communicating ideas and solutions to clients. Mr. Sloane’s work should be a reference on every designer’s bookshelf.

Ballantine books published a whole series from Mr. Sloane including: “An Age of Barns” and “A Reverence for Wood”.

L.A. Hybrid Lily

The Lilium L.A. Hybrid was introduced commercially in 1992. I only learned about it from a local grower several years ago. This particular plant has been a brilliant performer and I find myself including it frequently now in my garden designs.

The L.A. hybrids are a cross between the longiflorum and Asiatic hybrids (the best traits from each give it some warmer colors, upward facing flower heads, and more of a trumpet shape). Hardy to Zone 5, they bloom early to mid June. Stiffly vertical, they provide great punctuation.

Here is one at first year planting.

Here is a second year plant that is budding quite nicely.

The flower colors available for the L.A. hybrids are red, orange, yellow, violet and pink. This one is orange, but I would consider it more of a mango or soft apricot.

Here is a shot of a second year clump.

I like to use this plant as a stand alone, emerging as an architectural statement out of a low groundcover. I would encourage everyone to add this one to their plant pallete. Here is another close up shot.

Alternative to Traditional Groundcovers

The most widely used groundcovers in the Midwest seems to be English Ivy, Pachysandra, and Myrtle; the ‘Big Three’ if you will. Although they hold their value as dependable, evergreen performers, I’m not always thrilled about using them. I find myself searching for something new, better (or perhaps) more exciting!

Having experimented with some alternatives, I’ve been most pleased with the look and hardiness of Veronica peduncularis ‘Waterperry Blue’ (common name is Speedwell– good for zones 5-8). With its short height (about 4-6″) and spreading habit, it forms a nice mat that other perennials easily push through.

Early spring brings a heavy flush of light blue flowers on Ms. Veronica. The foliage is medium textured and about the size of a boxwood leaf. I like to see it skirting bold textured plants such as Hydrangea or long needled evergreens such as the Dwarf Mugo Pine. Vertical perennials, such as iris or lily, look great jumping up through it.

Here, it softens the stone work and sprawls beneath the Iris.

Toads even seem to like it and find solice beneath it.

Ms. Veronica’s blue flower is similar to myrtle. Here, the L.A. Hybrid Lily pushes through the Veronica mass.

Pictured at the top center of the photo below, Veronica contrasts the bold textured Stachys ‘Helen Von Stein’ and dwarf white pine foliage.

Veronica ‘Waterperry Blue’ will begin to root as elongating stems maintain contact with the ground. Planted on 1′ centers, this plant will touch in about a season. Veronica is by no means evergreen, but it will hold it’s foliage well into late fall/early winter. Try a drift of it…I think you will like it too.

Stachys ‘Helen Von Stein’

This perennial workhorse can be used with confidence in the landscape. Vigorous, bold textured, and neutral in color, it can be placed just about anywhere and combined with just about anything. Hardy and dependable, this non-flowering form of stachys excels in stone wall planting pockets.

It’s a great plant for masking or softening the intersection of differing materials like the stone steps and fieldstone pictured above. During construction, purposefully leave large enough planting pockets at these types of intersections to accommodate a plant such as this one. I especially like the grey on grey combo with the creeping thyme here.

The Bark is Greater Than the Bite

Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark located in Akron, Ohio. On a recent tour of the 70-acre property, I discovered some very unique and beautiful features in the landscape such as this maple tree and its amazing bark.

Almost looks like the work of Andy Goldsworthy!…maybe it is.

Stone Wall at Stan Hywett

Exploring the gardens at Stan Hywet Hall and Garden was a great experience. Lots of landscape features to be studied and admired. Take a gander at this stone wall that borders the street. It must stretch a thousand feet or more. Looking down the sides of the wall reveals a perfect and consistent batter….nothing but true craftsmanship. If you like stone walls, this one is a must see (looks like the chipmunk liked it enough to take up residence!

You will see in this shot that virtually every stone has been chisled and worked as evident by all the tooling marks.

Gotta’ Love the Allée

One of the most well-known landscape features at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens is the Birch Tree Allée that leads visitors down a beautiful walkway to the Tea Houses overlooking the lagoons. I understand that this particular allée consists of more than 100 Silver Birches (Betula pendula) growing from the original root stock.

This is the view out from the covered side porch that extends out to the allée. A gravel path extends a hundred yards or so, ending at a huge stone fountain:

Incredibly powerful, this is one allée worth visiting. Here is another shot once you’re on the path:

Extending from the south end of the house is a stone terrace that leads to the Plane Tree Allée. The best feature of this allée is the hidden stone tunnel that cuts underneath it. This clever passage is not immediately apparent from the terrace and the long view down the allée is not spoiled by its presence. Here is the view from this feature looking back towards the home:

A natural stone outcropping (remnant from former quarrying activity) was incorporated into its construction. This is a great example of seamlessly blending existing, on-site features into a design.

Here, the existing exposed stone was left and serves as one of the walls of the tunnel:

Beautiful stone walls were built to retain the slope on either side. Here, modest sized sandstone was expertly laid: