Ooh  Ooh Ooh — look what Susan Cohan just found and posted on twitter.

A beautiful and imaginative cross between chain link fencing and lace making.  Lace Fence is a design of Dutch Design House Demakersvan.  It is  metal fabric that can be customized to the project and “shows how something which was meant purely functional can also be decorative. Hostility versus kindness, industry versus craft.”  I love it!

Is it me, or is colorful garden furniture very of the moment?   Jason Champion’s outdoor collection is another in a long line of interesting pieces that are available in a variety of bright vivid colors.

Jason’s’ collection also has some very handy pieces,  I think the freestanding screens could be very handy to allow gardeners and landscape designers to move around as needed to hide areas under construction, break up spaces in a new ways, change the traffic flow for a garden party, or even use as a trellis.   Also, the cage-like pot holders are interesting too as a nice way to punch things up with out having to replant.

I am intrigued too by the poof like  things. I hope they hold up in weather.

Have you ever perused the online stores of garden centres far outside of your own regional boundaries?  I find it really interesting as, I think garden knowledge can be quite localized and trends, styles, products and ways of doing things can range widely in different regions even if their growing climates are similar.   For example, I grew up in Denver, the daughter of a fierce gardener, and so was pretty in tune with the seasons, cold winters, and the drastic change gardens go through every year so New England would not seem so different (more humid yes, but otherwise similar) - but what I have never been able to explain is the New England fascination with mums in the fall.  OK, beautiful, but no place else has such an obsession with mums in the fall like New England.  Why is that?  I have no idea.

Back to my point though, I am always curious about what I will discover about a place by visiting their garden centers.   Like this morning Patrick Fitzgerald tweeted about some products at the  Johnstown Garden Centre in Ireland and I followed along for a peruse.  Happily, I discovered some fun things.  I love these seed packets, and think they would be great travel gifts.  I have a meadow planted with New England wildflowers, wouldn’t it be fun to plant the Irish one nearby to compare side by side?

Johnstown also has a special area of their website that features rare ‘plant hunter’ plants.  I have seen the Blue Poppy (Meconopsis sheldonii) many times before.  When I lived in the UK, there seemed to be somewhat of an obsession with the plant.  Oddly, that obsession hasn’t quite translated to the US.  Maybe it is like most fashion that I noticed living in two countries, things that were hot in London, would generally not become a trend in the US until much later (sometimes years).   Maybe that means the blue poppy will take off soon?

Here are a few other interesting plants that I am now obsessed with.

The Handkerchief Tree (Davidia involucrata) is so beautiful. I can’t think of a garden where this wispy dreamy tree wouldn’t be a more interesting substitute for a more regular Dogwood.

The Wollemi Pine has been found in fossil remains dating from the Jurassic period. Forget deer, can you imagine — these trees survived dinosaur munching. The tree was recently discovered in Australia and is now available worldwide in an effort to save this rare specimen (only 100 trees exist in the wild). It’s shape and leaves are beautiful and I think it has proved it’s hardiness.

1. My Wollemi, 2. Wollemi Pine, 3. Wollemia nobilis 071226-1009, 4. Wollemi Pine, 5. Wollemi pine!, 6. Leaf_Ball

I am also loving two twists on old favorites.  The double decker Echinacea is much more eye catching (a little like Bee Balm) than the original and this  evergreen Clematis also blooms in the winter!

Unless otherwise noted, all images from Johnstown Garden Center.

And finally — I saw these excellent little resources on their website.  Really, to me they are the clearest most easily read depictions of all that could ail you (or your plants) in the garden.  I think they would make any novice feel like they could effectively, and with some authority, go to a pro and describe their plant issue and get the right help.

Anyone know of another great garden center worth cruising on the internet?

Do you know what you are looking at?   Yes, that’s right, no longer available just for the basement destination ‘game room’….this foosball (or football) table can sit right out on the patio….maybe right next to the grill.  The man-cave is about to get some fresh air.

Available from RS Life.

This has me thinking….what would I put in a Man-Cave garden….ideas?

Gutters! Perfect for a small area, or a warm wall.   Grow Vegetables or perhaps some pretty dangle-y flowers (can you imagine nasturtiums?)  Found via Katy Elliot and originally at Juneau Empire.

p.s. apparently this has made the blog rounds…please accept my apologies for being a johnny-come-lately, but it is just such a great idea!

It’s time for another garden inspired by fashion, and once again, I have found something that I think is really fun by my new favorite fashion illustrator - goodyfinch at Can’t not Know.   Really, almost all of my inspirations lately are coming from this amazing artist.  This one is titled  Christian Dior 08 and I think it evokes a mid century feeling with an Asian, south beach touch.   Don’t you think?  For some reason I feel like this girl lives in Copenhagen and visits Tivoli Gardens for afternoon walks with her chi-poo (cross between a chihuahua and poodle). Would you agree?

by Can’t Not Know

Lighting is the first things that comes to mind. I kind of think this collection of lighting for an imaginary garden might just be my favorite of all time.

From the Top, a vintage Verner Panton Flower Pot Lamp….I think a series of these would be most exciting.  A bit of a hunt, but worth it.  This picture came from the Furniture Store Blog.   Event lighting or just for some summer fun, these fish bowl lanterns capture the colors of our girl (from Luna Bazaar) .  I think they would be perfect draped over a sparkling pool.  At the bottom (for around the pool edge and sitting areas)  the La Lune light complete with its Spanish moss lampshade that I found over on Gaspard Live.

This is how I would hang the lanterns…. Lots of them…

Spirit Lantern Festival, Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh by photojenni

Because she seems so euro chic, I imagine her in a modern home - though not today modern…really, mid century (it’s the hat right?).   Her garden should be textural and sophisticated like this one.

Image by Photo: Steven Gunther found at Sunset Magazine.

Ok, from the top….that awesome image of Agave americana is from G Living - a totally cool blog about green living.  The Agave and the Trumpet vine would be my planting focal points in a sea of textural interest. The stackable planters and the one with the metal base (bottom left) are both available from from Nova 68.

The bamboo parasols (which are made of water proof fabric) are from Jedi Creations. I have mentioned the  awesome spindle planters before, but was reminded of them when I saw them again at Modern Design Interior. And finally, the trumpet vine image (Campsis) was taken by clione

She is missing furniture…I am looking for a sleek white metal bamboo inspired set with a sofa that looks like this chair that I saw at Girl Meets Glamour,  (available from an amazing looking store in Atlanta called Pieces) but haven’t found it….seems I have seen something like it somewhere though…

Anyway, What do you think?  Love this garden? What would you add?

I am researching ideas for my next version of Can You Make This Into A Garden…but I am giving you a sneak preview because I just can’t help myself. I once again picked a Fashion illustration by Can’t Not Know (a favorite of mine) and coming up with my garden I came across the Strange Wonderful Things website. Strange Wonderful Things is an Ebay shop that sells really interesting and rare plants - most of which I have never seen before.
Do you think it is possible that this dress design wasn’t inspired by these flowers? I am in awe of the colors and wish that some of these were currently available to buy. If you are into the unique and extraordinary, then you should take a look at some of the other offerings.

So you have a sneak peek at what is coming…I have lots of ideas to share, but if you have something you think would be great in this ladies’ garden…let me know and I will work to include it!

Plants pictured: Turquoise Ixia, Ixia viridiflora from South Africa
Turquoise Puya, Puya berteroniana from Chile and
“Fiesta” Bomarea from Ecuador

I love the fresh summer vibe of this little garden. The kids are out of school, I am thinking about summer relaxing (though - I don’t actually end up ever relaxing) and this garden seems perfect.

Garden design by Molly Wood Garden Design.

Seibert and Rice, makers of beautiful terracotta pots for the garden, have created the interesting American line. The American line is a collection of terracotta garden pots created by a variety of top American designers and artists. One of the designers that was commissioned is famed interior designer Charlotte Moss. I love seeing what inspires designers and how they take the inspiration, internalize it and create something new. Charlotte was inspired by the fretwork of the Pagoda at Chanteloup in France’s Loire Valley. The Chinese fretwork patterns and ideograms that embellish the pagoda, represent love, wisdom, and friendship. I love how Charlotte took this inspiration and worked them into a pretty planter.
Each of the other pieces in the collection is similarly interesting as their creators and well worth checking out. Reading through them all, I am contemplating what I would use for inspiration should I ever be asked to create something like this…..what would be your muse?

Sandra Miller is a remarkable photographer. Her images are a vivid colorful collection and perusing them feels like a walk through a designers dream candy shop. Making her photography even more remarkable, is the fact that Sandra considered legally blind. Her own garden is an inspiring place, obviously created by an artist and a plant, color and animal lover. It is a place that is uniquely her own and I hope you find it as inspiring as I do.

Are you fascinated by the unique, the exotic, the strikingly different? I love discovering and exploring new things, so Plantwerkz, a blog created to catalog all architecturally interesting plants, is fun place for me to visit. When I travel, I always notice the plants around me and the differences from what is familiar to me. Perusing Plantwerkz collection has me longing for trips to new places for the sole reason of checking out new trees, flowers and shrubs. (Maybe in my next life I will be a plant hunter?)

Anyway, there are some amazing things to discover … it is a website well worth checking out.

Ancient dracena tree forest

Baobab tree in Madagascar.

Wow, what a day…really, two such big stars gone in a day. I feel their absence already.
I like thinking about people in relation to flowers and both of these icons were such easy and obvious plants choices for associating with a flower…in an honoring tribute.
As a young girl of the seventies, I had Farrah hair, and took from her a sense of empowerment; I could be a crime fighter spy, I could be beautiful, smart and strong; I could be anything. Red and strong, simply beautiful and memorable, the scarlet mandevilla vine is iconic and as a plant, a little bit retro. Farrah was beautiful, strong, and a legendary hero for girls of the seventies.

1. red pinwheel, 2. MANDEVILLA, 3. Like velvet…., 4. Red Mandevillas

Micheal was an icon of my time. I love his music and while never a glove wearing, tearfully spastic fan, I have always recognized his amazing talent despite his alleged unforgivable flaws.
Micheal is clearly prized by some and considered a weed by others - like the moon flower…which reminds me of the white glove, the walk, and the dazzling glory. He made an indelible imprint on pop culture.

1. Moon Flower, 2. Moon Flower, 3. Three Jimsonweed Flowers, 4. Moon Vine bound in its own sepals till they burst open and the flower unfurls

With all this rain, my own garden is in desperate need of weeding and mulching (no, I haven’t had a chance to take care of my own property this year yet, as always, too busy with everyone elses). Anyway, this before and after by Gary Rochowis inspiring me to just get out there and pull some weeds, prune some shrubs and lay down some mulch. Remarkable what a difference it can make don’t you think?

Sprout home always carries interesting items and my visit to their site today turned up yet another great item. Yesterday I was talking about the trend to incorporate worldly influences in the garden. Chinese and other Asian inspirations didn’t make it into my collection (I just didn’t find anything) but Foo (fu) dogs might just be a perfect accent. Foo dogs are highly symbolic in Asian cultures and Buddhist religions. Fu means happiness - so they are happy dogs and their purpose is to protect sacred places and ensure tranquility.

These little guys are charming at $60 a piece and in such pretty colors I think they could be a fitting protector of your garden.

Whew, that last post took forever…and I SO need to walk away from the computer…but for one more thing.
You know how I loathe plastic playground equipment right?…which is why I have to share this with you…I just saw it at Readymade magazine. Get that ugly yellow playground slide thing out of you beautiful garden and re-purpose it into a chair. Ok…so it doesn’t actually look that comfortable, but really, I think it is better as a chair than as an eyesore in your yard don’t you? Designed by Evan Dublin.

Ok - so I am coming clean, I lost track of this series somewhere around part 5…..and to be honest, I am not sure I will complete parts 5-9 and 11, I have simply lost interest….but I really want to do part 10.  We will see what happens, but when something starts to feel like a struggle, then I just can’t justify forcing my self to continue….so if one of the undone trends starts to strike my fancy again, I will give it a go.

So what was trend # 10 according the Garden Media Group?  It was called ‘Worldly’ and was described as
an embracing of the world of  ‘bazaar’, vibrant colors, textures, sights and sounds. Asian, African, Indian, and Mid-Eastern influences showing up in patterns, textures, colors and styles through out the garden.

I collected together some pictures of beautiful gardens, events, and accessories that can inspire you to create your own worldly garden.

Images from top to bottom. The first four images are from E-Mosaik a store in LA that sells and rents furniture and accessories and plans beautiful Moroccan styled parties. The Hammered Table is available through West Elm . The orange Indian garden wedding image is from Style Me Pretty. The lights are from E-Mosaik and the Parasol is from The Indian Garden Company and the bench is from GI design.
The Persian water feature is from this website.
And finally at the bottom, if you don’t have the energy to create your own worldly garden you can visit the Moroccan garden of the Figueroa Hotel in LA.

I wanted to quickly share with you a link to Nan Quick’s coverage of the 2009 Chelsea Flower show for the New York Shopping Diary.  Nan was an exhibitor at the show which gave her excellent access to the show without the crowds, so her pictures are among the best I have seen….plus she just has a great eye for what is interesting and exciting about the show.  — To the point, I think she might share my obsession with highly organized vegetable displays — I can’t explain, but they are truly awesome.

Anyway check it out.

All images by Nan Quick, the creator of a great line of furniture that I featured here.

So I was cruising around this morning checking out what some of my favorite online friends and are doing, when I stumbled onto Ketzel Levines Flickr page and saw these great shots of her dogs in the garden.

Zoe Mae in the Oregon Veldt

Pugsley in the Stipa both by Ketzel Levine

I was inspired and went on a hunt for other pets in the garden.   Really, our pets enjoy our outdoor spaces as much as we do and it is so much fun to see them taking it all in.   Here are some of may favorites ….both gardens and animals.

Ginger and Wiggley from Two Guinea Pigs.

Chumchum in the garden.  I love the collection of terracotta here. by rumana husain

Marley has one of the best views from her garden don’t you think?….oh to ponder the cows on the distant hillside…. by Annmaxine - Back & catching up!

Chey n Caloi posing on a bridge. Happy dogs. by blackdogwhitedog

Song Birds in the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.  by my_soul_insurance2004

And Finally Midnite, practicing stillness in her  Zen Garden. by keepapozatude

have a great shot of  your pet in your beautiful garden?…send it to me, I would love to do another great collection.

Suzman Cole has one of the most beautiful and varied design portfolios I have seen in a while. Perusing their website, it is difficult to pick just one garden to feature…(in fact I have no intention of this being the last Suzman garden featured)… But I picked this garden today because I love how the garden is so perfect in it oceans edge location. The curving walls and the curving bench are a beautiful compliment to each other and while modern it happily maintains a comfortable natural appeal.

Juxtaposing the strong clean lines of the wall with the earthly natural stone walkway strikes a perfect balance making sure it the garden stays relaxed and natural.

Imagine sitting here.  I love how the upholstery and the planter material are almost an exact clean modern match.

The Conch shells are actually carved from solid blocks of onyx and are lit with fiber optics from within.   They were designed by SCDA.  I am looking forward to sharing more of this firms beautiful work….aren’t you?

I am so uninspired today, I am forcing myself to cast about for things that might get my creative juices going…..when I remembered that I visited one of my favorite nurseries a week or so ago and saw these. They literally made me gasp.

Jim at Select Horticulture where I saw these told me that these were planted in 1950, so they are about 60 years old. You may not be able to tell but these are 8+ ft tall and about 6 ft wide. Not for the fainthearted, these are quite expensive, I would love to see the lush green garden that they eventually make their way into.

A visit to Select Horticulture always excites me, do you have anything you do when you are in need of a jolt of inspiration?

Louise directed me to Gilly Browns beautiful website last week and I love it. This picture is so beautiful to me. The pencil thin fence coupled with the elegant trees, the under planting of pretty blue flowers, the wild meadow and the mown path with nice box hedge in the back is a perfect mix of totally cultivated wildness. A look that is very hard to achieve, Gilly is definitively a master.

My husband and I were victimized for the first time yesterday by deer. (I am ignoring my hopelessly denuded rhododendrons). They had never bothered to go over the 3 ft fence that we have around our veggie garden and I lived with a false confidence. But yesterday we lost all our cucumbers, soldier beans, soybeans, parsley, lettuce, tomatillos, eggplant, spinach and romaine. My blood boils and my heart breaks! So we quickly extended the height of the fence with deer netting, wooden poles and zip ties. Zip ties have become our go to gadget of choice for solving all sorts of garden and home problems. We think it might be our joint IT backgrounds that make us quickly think - zip tie … we buy them at micro-center rather than Home Depot. Zip ties not only hold together our garden fence now, but also our guinea keet enclosure.
So happy I am about using zip ties, I decided to pull together this ‘Ode to Zip Ties‘ - in my opinion they are able to solve a ridiculously large amount of problems, they can look beautiful (or at least invisible) and they they are so fast, simple and cheap.
This sketch is for a floating island that can be constructed from floating garbage - zip tied together - using the island, floating plants can be protected to create an island — the roots of the plants will purify the water.

From Green Earth Journey.

I love the idea of decorating garden walls with art, but how to hang? Here is a great idea for using zip ties as hangers from a post at Apartment Therapy.

Plan to throw a big party in your garden…maybe with the waste (pull tabs) - and handy zip ties, you can make a chair cool such as this.

Created by designer Carlos Alberto Montana Hoyos and Found via treehugger.

Or if you don’t do canned drinks, maybe you could create this sea urchin chair. Zip ties come in a rainbow of colors, so I am thinking something like this could be a perfect canvas for some color exploration.

found via make via Notcot via Atelier29

Steven Haulenbeek creates these lights from zip ties. I think they are so interesting with a earthy natural look.

Found via Inhabitat

Some other interesting usages… I am intrigued by this story from Mendocino County California where police are considering a zip tie plan for identifying marijuana plants being grown for medicinal uses. You can apply for your serial encoded zip ties before you plant so police will know that your plants are legal.

There is a great article about building an inexpensive hoop style greenhouse - using zip ties at Alberta Home Gardening.

I am brainstorming zip tie garden uses….here is my list….do you have any others to add?
- make a trellis from interesting materials (rebar, bamboo, twigs etc)
- hang a birdfeeder
- install deer fencing
- stake plants

let me know what you have to add to the list.

Two daily gardens in one day! - though I am not sure I can fully call this a garden as it is actually all plastic. Though after Chelsea, maybe plastic gardens are a new trend? (i hope not!)

Anyway, it is hard for me not to love this billboard ‘garden’ — I am a lifelong samba wearer, I garden in my sambas, I love the idea of the samba vertical garden (now vertical gardens are definitely a trend - don’t you think?).

found via tillandsias via booooooom

I love this idea for a meditative garden. Walking the labyrinth, this small space is so interesting and simple.

This garden was designed by Beth Mullins of Grows Green Landscape Design. I wonder if this was done using products from the Labryinth Company?

do you know about the Labyrinth company? They sell templates - printed on landscape fabric - of labyrinths, so that you can easily plant, or install paving in a perfect pattern. I am so inspired by them, I am going to make another post about just them.

Even more so than normal, my clients want to explore cost alternatives.  Understandable. So when I saw this clever design, I immediately filed it away in my possible garden design savings ideas folder (in my brain).

Poured concrete is by comparison to others, a rather inexpensive paving option.  But poured concrete looks like, well, poured concrete.  Yes, I know it can be stamped and stained and all sorts of things, but it is still concrete and I personally prefer a material to celebrated for what it is, rather than to try and make it resemble something it isn’t.   I have yet to meet a client that doesn’t prefer the look of natural stone, so this seems like a great way to rein in costs that looks great too.

The mix of concrete with squares of slate actually makes the slate look better, don’t you think? I am trying to envision this with all slate and I really think it would not be as nice. Having the break between the slate and the containers make you notice more how well they play together. Yeah! for Nicholas Forbes Thayer at Late Afternoon Gardens for a great design.