Ringing In The New Year

Though I have not posted  as much as I would have liked to, 

wanted to,

 planned to,

 and wished to this year,

 it has been a GREAT design year for me.

Not only was I able to offer E-Designs, I was able to juggle and design both in New York 

and in France.

Along the way I met some of the nicest clients a designer could have hoped for,

 making this year all the more rewarding. 

Your comments and suggestions as well as friendships have been a big part of why I continue, 

and I thank you all for sharing with me and for being a part of my year.

I am looking forward to the new year with a

 renewed sense of purpose as well as a

New Blog Format.

 We will be exploring new and upcoming designers,

 new design styles, 

and some new and old design theories.

 New plants available at market as well as new products I have been working with this past year, will also be included.

 A New Web Site,  

Question and Answer Column 

 Newsletter & Reader's Gardens

will also be included.

 Book and garden accessory 

Giveaways 

will happen at the end of each month for those who have joined the site, so do sign on and leave a comment.

 Making 2015 a year to remember.

Wishing you health,

 happiness,

 creative genius,

peace

 and love,  for the coming year.

Maryanne

Berries To Reconsider

carolynerohm.com

When designing a garden I always add is what I call "cuttables" , to any planting list I create. Those wonderful evergreen boughs and berries we all seem to decorate with come the holidays.

wikipedia 

Nothing gives me more satisfaction than being able to stroll through my gardens clipping and gathering an assortment branches, be they needled conifers or evergreen leaves such as hollies and box woods, all for indoor display.

carolynerohm.com

 As gorgeous as the blog post have been these past few weeks, with all the wonderful winter arrangements, please remember that the majority of  colorful berries being used are poisonous to small animals as well as children. Once cut and brought indoors these berries become dry and easily fall off their branches.

carolynerohme.com

Treehugger.com did a very informative post on poisonous berries a few weeks back, that you can read here. Though not a complete list it will give you a good idea as to what to avoid when building your display.

Alternatives?  You might want to consider the following,

 Nandinia domestica 'Alba'

Junipers, for their berries as well as foliage

Pyracantha, in wonderful shades of reds as well as oranges and yellows 

Or better yet try mixing faux berries with your fresh cut evergreens, as Cindy Hattersley of Rough Luxe Lifestyle did in this charming basket.

If you would like to add a more Classical Contemporary feel to your garden please contact me about e-designs  at mwhite8410@gmail.com

How A Garden Came To Be.

As most of you know I offer e-design on a regular basis. I love the idea of being able to connect with clients  on the east coast as well as across the country and Europe. It makes for  interesting work ......as well as great friendships.

Last year I was fortunate to be able to collaborate ................I believe good residential design involves both the designer and the homeowner............with Maria Killam and Terreia Raufman.  Many of you know Maria from her color and design blog "Color Me Happy" . if not, stop by. You will be amazed by what  you will learn from each and every posting. Not only does she go into detail as to the whys and hows of color and design, her upbeat positive nature will inspire you.

And inspired we were. After our initial contact, it was decided that the gardens should have a loose, relaxed, almost country feel to them, with a bit of sophistication thrown in for good measure. Preliminary designs were created.
Rather than work with color,  we agreed on a white garden, this way we would not be competing with the interior colors but rather complimenting them with hints of yellow and green in the design.

With very little coaxing Maria realized certain major changes would have to take place before the design fun could happen. This of course would cut into the budget but sometimes "ya gotta do what ya gotta do"............ and so the backhoes were called in and the sea of concrete ripped out. Plants we were saving were relocated, grades were shot.....a term in the industry for checking the levels for water run off as well as sitting water and erosion .......and a rich top soil installed.

Once the not so pleasant work was over, walks were installed

Patios laid

Plants were planted

and a vegetable garden was born. 

Because the vegetable garden could be seen from the front entry, decorative fencing was installed to soften the view. The same fencing design was then carried to the front of the house as well, creating a transition from the driveway to the front and rear walks.

A good example of plantings being "worth their weight in gold"......This tree not only adds visual interest in the rear yard but from inside the front hall area as well.  If you look closely you will notice the hollies along the fence, They were used as vertical elements along with hiding the view along the studio from the kitchen window and when walking into the rear yard.  When planting, especially major elements  always walk around looking from different angles and views before deciding on the permanent local 

The ranch house itself had very little architectural detail we could work with..........so what I call accessories were added . Bits and pieces of architectural elements some classic some whimsical,  adding not only character but the warmth and charm the house first lacked. 

The landscape now compliments the existing structure, blending almost seamlessly into one impressive picture.

And so a Garden came to  be

All photos courtesy of Maria Killam

If you would like to add a more Classical feel to your garden please contact me for further information at mwhite841@verizon.net

Thoughts.............

If you would like to add a more Classical feel to your garden please contact me for further information at mwhite841@verizon.net

Neat, Orderly & One of a Kind

With carefully chosen plantings and ordered geometries the design company of Zaremba & Company has once again created a winning combination.

Asked to create a garden that is neat and organized yet be "one of a kind", the design team came up with a simplistic, elegant, contemporary landscape. Deciding to use right angle shapes and to mass plant with texture and subtle color changes rather than a riotous of color, a sense of calm is created. The designs energy comes in the movement of the plants.............a gently swaying of a mass planting of grasses can animate any design......as well as the water features through out the gardens.

This type of design can be repeated in most any garden setting whether it be traditional or contemporary. Just keep in mind the fundamentals applied in this landscape, straight and right angled planting beds as well as low layers of mass planting. Here boxwood, ornamental grasses, sedums, hostas, ferns.and ajuga were used to create this setting.

If you would like to add a more Classical feel to your garden please contact me for further information at mwhite841@verizon.net

Conifer Gardens

 image tex-oregongarden.com

As with all garden design, form, color and texture always come into play.

 Conifer Gardens are no exception. Where some fall short is not allowing shape to be the first and main element of the design,  followed by color and then texture. 

 image via flicker

 image via finegardening

 image via finegardening

 image via greatplantpicks.org

image via sunsetmagazine

 image via kellypinterest 

image viacarlazeilmann

If you would like to add a more Classical feel to your garden please contact me for further information at mwhite841@verizon.net

Painting With Plants

Henri Rousseau, French, Post Impressionist, Primitive Painter

Conrad McCormick "Coast of Northern Ireland"

image via Carolyn Mullet

Landscape design an art form using plants as the medium of artistic expression.