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Tag: Water Gardens

  • Kendra Wilson: An Interview with the Author of Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden

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    Today, we’re thrilled to open up this column to all R/G readers, not just subscribers, to share the Quick Takes answers from our very own Kendra Wilson.

    Kendra is among the OG Gardenista crew—she’s been a contributor to the site since its launch in 2012. She’s also worked for British Vogue (“my first writing job”), contributed to The Guardian‘s gardening blog, created her own “secret blog” about estate gardening in Northamptonshire, England (it was the era of blogs), and written ten (!) books—the latest being Gardenista: The Low-Impact Garden. In bookstores October 14 and available for pre-order now, it’s the newest addition to the R/G collection.

    We couldn’t have dreamed up a better author and collaborator for the book. Kendra, who was born in Fairfield, CT, but moved to the U.K. as a child (“I’m essentially American, despite the English accent”), is passionate about gardens and the people who bring them to life and is opinionated in the best possible way. Read on to learn what strikes her fancy (including new-to-us, and now must-have, gardening gloves), who gets her goat, and why “gardening for nature is not a trend.”

    Photography courtesy of Kendra Wilson.

    A spread from The Low-Impact Garden.
    Above: A spread from The Low-Impact Garden.

    Your first garden memory:

    Petunias. Exploring the woods and meadows around our house in Weston, Connecticut, always barefoot. The sounds: cicadas, frogs, blue jays.

    Garden-related book you return to time and again:

    I return to these singular voices: Russell Page (The Education of a Gardener), Christopher Lloyd (The Well-Tempered Garden and many more), Vita Sackville-West’s columns for the Observer newspaper (“In Your Garden”). And less imperious: Marjorie Fish (We Made a Garden), Eleanor Peréni (Green Thoughts), and Derek Jarman (Derek Jarman’s Garden). His description of the photographer Howard Sooley is one for the ages.

    Instagram account that inspires you:

    @marcfinds, @idleriver, and @arthurparkinson when he’s annoyed about something. [Find Arthur’s own Quick Takes here.]

    Describe in three words your garden aesthetic.

    Abundant, indulgent, buzzing.

    Plant that makes you swoon:

    Crab apple blossom, lily regale, old-fashioned roses, oriental poppies, very full and highly scented lilacs.

    Plant that makes you want to run the other way:

    Hyacinths—there is no reason to plant them in the garden after they have finished flowering indoors.

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  • Garden Visit: Tour Dovetail Cofounder Sara DeLuca’s Small Garden in Portland, OR

    Garden Visit: Tour Dovetail Cofounder Sara DeLuca’s Small Garden in Portland, OR

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    “Necessity is the mother of invention” is a famous proverb, precisely because it’s so true. If you need proof, look no further than the origin story of Dovetail Workwear.

    The idea for a line of workwear tailored specifically for women, and made by women, emerged when landscapers Kate Day and Kyle Marie Summers were hired to design the Portland, OR, garden of their client, Sara DeLuca, an apparel designer. Kate and Kyle griped about their ill-fitting workwear to Sarah, who, as it turned out, had aspirations of revolutionizing women’s workwear. The connection was immediate and serendipitous. The three started designing stylish, functional, and durable garments for female laborers, from the skilled tradeswoman to the backyard gardener. In 2018, Dovetail was born. “Sara’s garden really is the genius loci of Dovetail—where it all began and the most OG of field testing locations for our products,” says Kate.

    Today, we’re giving you a tour of Sara’s backyard, the garden that launched a clothing brand.

    Photography by Island Farm Studio, courtesy of Dovetail Workwear.

    Above: What started as a water-break conversation about workwear woes on Sara’s back deck soon turned into a design challenge to make the perfect work pants for the modern woman. Pictured are Sara (left) and Kate, both wearing Dovetail workwear.

    Sara had vision and bought her house in inner Portland after it had been abandoned for several years and sat on short-sale. After more than a year of meticulous renovation to restore its historic 1908 charm, she turned to Kate and Kyle to transform the neglected and overgrown mud pit (her backyard) into a sweet outdoor jewel box that highlighted the intimacy of the contained landscape, had ample space for relaxation, and, of course, offered visual beauty.

    A small lawn for Shasta, Sara
    Above: A small lawn for Shasta, Sara’s dog, to roll around in.

    The dream was to create zones that could evolve with time, spotlight the seasons, minimize water demands, achieve a balance of hard- and softscapes, rethink the approach to daily foot traffic between Sara and her brother’s house, and spotlight several visual focal points from and inside the house. Last, Sara wanted rain gardens in both the front and backyard living spaces (because: Portland). “We designed the garden in what we used to say was our ‘Portland Romantic’ style–lots of texture, touches of subtle color, a boulder-filled rain garden, and mixed foliage and forms to make it feel inviting and alive,” says Kate.

    Portland Oregon Garden of Dovetail's Sara DeLuca
    Above: Pacific Northwest garden staples—ferns and bleeding hearts.

    Sara’s yard is a stellar study in considering how yards must evolve over time. Sara’s children were young when the garden was first designed, but naturally the family’s needs changed over time. “Kyle and I took cuttings from a neighbor to build a willow house that the kids enjoyed for years, which was eventually removed to create a seating and reading space,” says Kate. Similarly, the dry river bed in the back of the garden, supported by Fiddlehead Landscapes, who did the stonework, doubled as a place for the kids to climb and frolic, but once they outgrew playing outside, Kate added drought-tolerant plants within the rocks to enhance visual interest.

    caption:
    caption: “The big takeaway is that gardens are not static and how important it is to create zones that can morph and change over time to keep yards compelling and interesting,” says Kate. Here, she’s adding plants to the dry river bed, now that Sara’s kids no longer play there.

    Growing up on a farm, Sara now has her version of a mini urban farm. She has native bees (mason and leaf cutters) visiting her yard, chickadees nesting in the birdhouse, and Shasta, her dog, who loves rolling in the grass. Plus, plants just grow more in the Pacific Northwest because of the lush rains and temperate winters. “Staying on top of pruning the crape myrtle, maple, dogwood trees, and several other bushes like the ninebark and flowering currant helps maintain their structure and health,” says Kate.

    Adirondack chairs in a corner invite lingering.
    Above: Adirondack chairs in a corner invite lingering.

    Over the past five years, Kate has continued to update Sara’s garden even though she now works full-time building Dovetail. “But I’m constantly evolving her yard, and equally as important, wear- testing our apparel.”

    Kate is wearing Dovetail
    Above: Kate is wearing Dovetail’s Freshley Overalls in gray canvas.

    See also:

    (Visited 3 times, 2 visits today)

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  • Tom Massey’s Water Aid Garden at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show

    Tom Massey’s Water Aid Garden at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show

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    One way to get people thinking, when it comes to the environment, is to offer beauty, and this is what Tom Massey and the architect Je Ahn have done on the Water Aid garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Instead of a 3-dimensional check list reminding you how to be a good citizen, they have made a magical space that also happens to be fully functional on an environmental level. This is the best kind of garden design; it is subtle and inviting.

    Rainwater is the theme, and it’s a good one, with many of us experiencing too much, too little or, increasingly, both in any given year. Let’s look at some of the garden’s ideas on rainwater as a resource, rather than just a by-product of weather:

    Photography by Jim Powell for Gardenista, unless otherwise noted.

    1. Your roof can be a sponge.

    Above: Rusted spiral cladding mimics water going down a drain, on a somehow lightweight structure by Je Ahn of Studio Weave. Like plant containers with drainage, the haze around the top is flowers.

    The Water Aid garden commands the biggest plot on the show ground, but it also grew considerably when Je Ahn’s water harvesting structure went up, creating an extra planting plane for Tom Massey’s rooftop garden. The structure is huge but graceful, irrigating the plants, filtering rainwater and using gravity to pull it down for storage underground. It also provides permanent shade.

    2. Mimic the wider landscape.

    Above: Iris sibirica ‘Perry’s Blue’ and Trollius ‘Cheddar’, plants that would naturally live in meadows that have permanent moisture and are occasionally flooded.

    Respecting the lay of the land, and exaggerating natural dips and contours by shaping them into swales, gives rainwater somewhere to go. A flattened garden, especially one that is bone dry, is just another hard plane that adds water run-off to all the rest. Run-off leads to overflowing sewage plants, and washes nutrients (and chemicals) off land, polluting rivers. On the other hand, variations in topography bring a variety of moisture levels, and a greater choice of plants.

    3. Make a flyover.

    Above: A modular boardwalk is made with panels of slatted wood and rusted metal grills that connect with the floating garden plane above. Planting at ground level is mainly green and rust, with clear blue irises ringing out.

    Building ponds and improving streams is another way of embracing the fact of rainwater, rather than fretting about fluctuating swamp conditions. Elevate this, and yourself, with a simple means of getting across; via a boardwalk or bridge. Straight lines and right angles flatter wilder planting that loves the conditions.

    4. Keep it soggy.

    Above: Wet meadow plants Rodgersia pinnata ‘Superba’, Iris sibirica ‘Tropic Night’ and foxglove Digitalis purpurea.

    Make sure your storage capacity isn’t full when rain is predicted; use overflow pipes and backup storage, or “leaky” water butts that slowly release water into the ground, since terrain that is not rock hard has better absorbing qualities.

    5. Choose trees.

    Above: Pollution-tolerant and soil-cleaning alder (this one is Alnus glutinosa ‘Laciniata’) at left, with another British native, field maple (Acer campestre) at right. Pinus mugo, center, has an evergreen presence.

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  • Hardscaping 101: Natural Swimming Pools – Gardenista

    Hardscaping 101: Natural Swimming Pools – Gardenista

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    Have you ever swam in a natural swimming pool? There’s no chlorine, no chemical taste or smell, nothing to sting your eyes. Recently architect Alan Barlis, who designed one for a client in New York’s Hudson Valley, described the experience like this: “Incredibly blissful. Once you swim in one of these things you feel like you’ve been so refreshed. It’s like being in a Brita for an hour. It’s like taking the best shower of your life.”

    It sounds as if we all should be swimming in natural pools, for our health and the environment’s. So why aren’t we? For one thing, natural swimming pools cost more to install (on average 10 percent more than conventional pools, says an industry spokesman). Perception is another problem, because some swimmers equate chlorine with cleanliness. Finally, a lack of uniform guidelines and rules in the US may make the idea of installing a natural swimming pool seem, well, murky.

    On the other hand: incredibly blissful. 

    So read on for everything you need to know to decide whether a natural swimming pool is for you.

    What is a natural swimming pool?

    In Switzerland near Lake Lucerne, a natural swimming pool supported by a retaining wall on a steep slope “appears to almost float weightlessly out over the valley,” the designers say. Photograph courtesy of Biotop.
    Above: In Switzerland near Lake Lucerne, a natural swimming pool supported by a retaining wall on a steep slope “appears to almost float weightlessly out over the valley,” the designers say. Photograph courtesy of Biotop.

    Think of a natural swimming pool as a chlorine-free zone. Instead of relying on chemicals to keep the water clean, natural pools have water gardens with plants that naturally filter and clean the water.

    Industry pioneer Biotop, headquartered in Europe, has installed more than 5,000 natural swimming pools worldwide during the past three decades. Other industry players include Ellicar (formerly Ensata) in the UK, and Bio Nova and Total Habitat in the US.

    How does a natural pool work?

    A natural pool at Plane Trees Lodge in Australia has a water depth of 6 1/2 feet. Photograph courtesy of Biotop.
    Above: A natural pool at Plane Trees Lodge in Australia has a water depth of 6 1/2 feet. Photograph courtesy of Biotop.

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  • Garden Design to Help Absorb Stormwater and Prevent Flooding

    Garden Design to Help Absorb Stormwater and Prevent Flooding

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    As rain events have become more intense and more frequent, you may have noticed stormwater from the street flooding your property, rainwater from downspouts carving gulleys into your yard, or a wet patch that never seems to dry out. All of these issues can be addressed with plants.

    Jeff Lorenz, the founder of Refugia Design in Philadelphia, is known for designing immersive, native landscapes, but he’s also developed something of a knack for creating gardens that effectively manage stormwater. Refugia’s style is naturally well-suited to the task: The native plants that they work with are good at Lorenz’s three rules of stormwater management: 

    1. Slow down stormwater, allowing the ground to absorb the initial surge. 
    2. Spread the flow of water across the surface.
    3. Soak water back into the aquifer with the help of deep-rooted vegetation.
    Above: Refugia’s garden for the Bryn Mawr Film Institute manages runoff from the roof and neighboring parking lot through a mix of diverse flowering perennials and grasses with a variety of root depths.

    Plus, planting densely, as Refugia does, is a stormwater management trick in its own right. “Rain gardens seem complicated, and sometimes they are for good reason, especially in larger applications, but for most residential settings, just creating larger, more vegetated planning beds has a great impact on stormwater issues,” says Lorenz. 

    Below, he offers tips on how to have leverage your garden to help with stormwater management.

    Photography by Kayla Fell, courtesy of Refugia Design.

    Reduce your lawn and increase your beds.

    The site at Bryn Mawr Film Institute before Refugia’s landscape redesign. The first order of business was to reduce the “green concrete” of lawn and replace it with resilient plants with a variety of root structures.
    Above: The site at Bryn Mawr Film Institute before Refugia’s landscape redesign. The first order of business was to reduce the “green concrete” of lawn and replace it with resilient plants with a variety of root structures.

    “Reducing your lawn has a massive impact on stormwater,” says Lorenz. “We call it green concrete because it has very little absorption quality.” Consider expanding garden beds. Fall is a great time to plan for this, as you can pile up leaves on the part of the lawn you plan to turn into new beds come spring (see Why (and How to) Leave the Leaves). Two places Lorenze says you should definitely consider expanding your beds are where downspouts flow out, and anywhere your border beds are close to a low, wet point in the lawn. “Bring your garden bed out to incorporate that low point.” 

    Rethink how your care for your lawn.

    Above: Refugia dramatically reduced the amount of lawn in this front yard, replacing it with plants that will help to soak rainwater back into the ground while simultaneously increasing biodiversity in the landscape.

    For the lawn you do keep, consider tweaking your care routine. Let the grass grow higher and mow less often. “If you have a thicker, taller vegetation above ground, that’s going to help slow stormwater down,” says Lorenz. When it’s time to reseed, consider reseeding with fine fescues (and gradually transitioning the whole lawn), or if you’re open to a bigger change, replacing the turf with a full fescue or sedge lawn. Lorenze notes that in trials at the Mt. Cuba Center wood’s sedge (Carex woodii) was the best performing sedge lawn alternative for the Mid-Atlantic that can tolerate moderate traffic. (For more on this grass-like perennial, see Trend Alert: A Carex for Every Garden.)

    Irrigate less.

    Your irrigation might also need some rejiggering. “We discover a lot of properties that are always at a point of saturation because they’ve got these robust sprinkler systems that are keeping the ground wet,” says Lorenz. The ground loses its ability to absorb water in an actual storm, if it’s already saturated, but if it has the chance to dry out a bit and it has more absorbing capability. Dialing back your watering schedule will also have a positive impact by reducing the water your yard consumes. The ultimate goal is not to irrigate at all, says Lorenz, “We aim to make irrigation systems redundant, by using plants resilient in your area, that don’t require long-term coddling.”

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