Posts Tagged ‘gardens’
Chihuly’s art at the Missouri Botanical Garden
Dale Chihuly’s art is executed in glass. His blown glass shapes are original and otherworldly. Chihuly pieces grace high rise buildings and casinos, theatres, museums and churches. But my favorites are the botanical garden installations, such as the New York Botanical Garden and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Chihuly’s generous practice of putting together teams of artists with excellent glass blowing skills has led to the development of unusually large, complex multipart sculptures of dramatic beauty. The integration of his art with plant materials shows respect for both his art and the gardens. My personal experience with his art is that it looks so alive!
Dale Chihuly pieces
On the web:
11/20/Saturday: The Harvest Table and Wreath Workshop, $55.00, Rancho Los Alamitos, (562) 431‑3541
For SoCal event information:
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s new pieces are being presented by London Gallery Victoria Miro. This is an excerpt from the catalog:
Victoria Miro is delighted to present an ensemble of three new flower sculptures by Yayoi Kusama: The giant triffid-like flora will unfold in all their psychedelic glory, against the backdrop of the Gallery’s canalside garden creating a surreal landscape of nature and artifice. Enormous clusters of sinewy stems in bright shades of pink, green, blue, red, and yellow — polka dotted and netted — anchor enormous multihued blooms. These massive sculptures are fabricated in fiberglass-reinforced plastic and painted in high impact-hued urethane to shiny perfection. Kusama’s preoccupation with the infinite and sublime to be found in pattern and repetition date back to her earliest paintings from the 1950s. However, it is in these most recently developed works — which encapsulate the surreal and the instinctual within the pop and the decorative — that we find an extension of Kusama’s practice into her ninth decade that is as fresh and provocative as ever.
These gorgeous pieces would be a glorious antidote to the gloomy weather we’ve been having all year here in our SoCal gardens. I love the size! To check out the unique art of this Japanese sculptor and painter, go to . The gallery url is .
On the web:
Saturday, Oct. 23, 9 — 4pm: Fall plant sale sponsored by the California Native Plant Society/OC chapter @ Tree of Life Nursery —
Sunday, Oct. 24, 9 — 4pm: Harvest Festival and Plant Fair @ Descanso Gardens — www.descansogardens.org/
Thursday, Oct. 28:Less-known and less-grown bulbs talk @ Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden — www.arboretum.org/
For an ongoing catalog of SoCal garden events go to : www.pacifichorticulture.org/
Altadena garden tour, 2009
More websites worth clicking on, continued from the previous post…
San Diego:
- : a section showcasing “real gardens”, book reviews, recipes
- : They offer a variety of classes, notes from past classes, offer a sharpening service.
- www.Laspilitas.com: Chock full of planting, design and maintenance information for native plants; California climate info.
- www.Missionhillsnursery.com: Really nice blog
- www.Simpsonsnursery.com: If you like to combine gardening with vintage cars, this is your website!
- www.walteranderson.com: classes, events, newsletter
- www.MBnursery.com: A fun website to experience and see what is possible.
Ventura County:
- : in depth information on Australian plants, photos of design projects using Australian plants, resources for Australian plants, custom plant lists
- : classes offered on California native and drought tolerant plants
- : for all things rose!
On the Web: Thursday, Sept. 16, 9:30am — noon: Great plants for fall planting with Matthew Roberts. Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, call (626) 821‑4623.
Inside Rolling Greens
Scrolling through the nursery websites on Socalnurseryplants.com, I have come across some terrific content in unexpected places that I would like to share. Always remember that nurseries often put coupons and sale notices on their websites. I’m dividing the sites into two sections; the first one follows:
East Valley:
- (San Gabriel Nursery): a newsletter, monthly advice, photos of exotic plants they carry
- : see the great classes they give on native gardening
West Valley:
- : videos on how to prune specific fruit trees like curry leaf and cherimoya; “ask Alex” feature; in the news/miracle fruit; guide for choosing rare fruit trees for your yard.
Los Angeles:
- : Gardening from A to Z answers many of your questions; a Save Water feature; Garden Guides help gardeners at every level; a garden forum.
- : a beautifully designed website with music that will take you to the tropics; check out the links, you will be surprised!
- /: a gorgeous website with music.
Orange County:
- : news and events; owner Ruben Flores offers a free walking tour in the Laguna area most Saturdays at 10am.
- (Tree of life nursery): Guest speaker series, lots of native plant information.
- : Lots of information on palms, and their selection and care.
To be continued.….….
On the web: Potted storewide sale; 9/10 — 9/19; 20% to 75% off;
