Futurescapes: Designers for Tomorrow's Outdoor Spaces

Futurescapes: Designers for Tomorrow's Outdoor Spaces by Tim Richards (Thames & Hudson, 2011) showcases some of the most current and exciting landscape designs from designers around the world. The designs were chosen for being significant, distinctive, and innovative, and the landscape design companies range from large, established firms, to small or single-designer shops.

Futurescapes includes three essays that discuss "landscape urbanism" (already rebranded as "ecological urbanism"), and two forums where multiple garden designers weigh in with their ideas (including one of our favorites, Penelope Hobhouse). The goal of ecological urbanism is to provide a holistic approach to the design and management of cities that is more than buildings and transportation systems. (Although, so far, I haven't found a definitive description of what this means)! Still the book is filled with wonderful descriptions and beautiful photographs of landscapes, so I can envision it means that people and sustainability are part of the equation.

My favorite entries include the vertical gardens and living walls of botanist Patrick Blanc (Pershing Hall Hotel in Paris); the naturalistic plantings of Piet Oudolf, a pioneer of the New Perennials school of naturalistic planting (High Line aerial railway line in New York repurposed as a park); and the 2.5 acre green roof of the California Academy of Science by Sasaki Walker and Associates, which is integrated with the surroundings and is environmentally sustainable. Many of these designs require a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, architects, and planners working together, and look to meet human needs as well as functional needs, as cities and towns become denser and more complex.

The Huntington

The Huntington is located on 207 acres in San Marino, California. It is situated on the former site of the sprawling San Marino Ranch that was owned by businessman Henry E. Huntington from 1903 until his death in 1927. Now The Huntington is the site for the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, and is managed by a non-profit organization.

Statues and fountains at the Huntington Garden

My husband and I had two hours to spend at the Huntington, so we each designed our own whirlwind tour. With limited time, I used the What to See page to plan mine. I honed in on the rare books in the Library Exhibition Hall; a fast view of Mary Cassatt's "Breakfast in Bed" (1897) in the American Art Gallery; and a brisk walk through the Japanese Garden and Chinese Garden. Of course it's good to have a general plan, but then be prepared to be spontaneous if you discover something interesting.

The Huntington Library

I love books, so it was a treat to see the collection in the Library Exhibition Hall. Some of my favorites, relating to this blog, include The Birds of America: From Original Drawings by John James Audubon (1827-38);  A Niewe Herball, or Historie of Plantes by Rembert Dodoens (1578); and a sampling of travel brochures and postcards designed to lure visitors to the West and California in the early twentieth century. (We learned a little about this early marketing strategy in History of Sunset Magazine). 

Life-sized illustrations of American birds by Audubon (1827-38)

Botanical drawings in A Niewe Herball, or Historie of Plantes (1578)

I stopped briefly in the American Art Gallery to see "Breakfast in Bed". It was luminous and seemed to float in midair. I could have spent hours in the gallery to view beautiful paintings, installations, and artifacts. The warm golden lighting really enhances the art displays, and I never felt crowded, even with quite a few people in each room. It was difficult, but I tore myself away and stuck to my schedule – on to the Japanese Garden and Chinese Garden!

Travel brochures promoted the West in the early 20th century

Statue of Diana at the Virginia Scott Steele Gallery

Henry and Arabella Huntington were devoted collectors of books, art, and plants, and had a vision for making their collections available for research, study, and enjoyment. One hundred years later, we are still reaping the benefits of their collections. We definitely need to return!

We parked in the Agave lot

Winter Travels

My husband and I recently took a quick trip south to visit long-time friends from years ago, when we lived in Southern California. We traveled over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday during a break in the winter rains that swept through Northern and Southern California in January. Fall is our favorite time to travel, with fewer crowds and crisp, beautiful days. But, traveling in  winter also has its benefits and pleasures (except for the threat of snow)!

At the base of the Grapevine

We left the San Francisco Bay Area early on Friday afternoon, and headed south listening to The Sins of the Fathers (part of the gritty Matthew Scudder series, written by Lawrence Block). We enjoyed the wide vistas along Interstate 5 and monitored a weather app for signs of snow on the Grapevine. We spent the first night at Days Inn at the base of the Grapevine near Lebec.

Distant hills through a frame of leafless trees

Pastoral scene

The next day the golden hills and bare branches were beautiful. There was a dusting of snow on the mountain tops, but the freeway over the Grapevine was clear and dry. We ate breakfast and spent a little time exploring the "new" outlet mall and eating places of Tejon Ranch, then crossed over the Grapevine into the sprawling LA basin and heavy traffic.

Snow on the hills of the Grapevine

Chinatown

Decorations for the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival

We checked into our hotel in Tustin, and then enjoyed a wonderful family-style dinner with our friends and their extended family, with lots of conversation to catch up on each other's lives. On Sunday our group made an excursion to Chinatown to feast on Dim Sum at Ocean Seafood, and purchase decorations for the Lunar New Year (Year of the Rat). On the way home, we stopped at Portos Bakery in Buena Park for coffee and Cuban pastries (sweet and savory). We drove by our old home in Garden Grove, where we spent many happy years living in a roomy, ranch-style house, complete with an apricot tree, a Japanese-inspired garden, and fantastic soil that could grow anything.

Shopping in LA's Chinatown

Porto's Bakery in Buena Park

Our old home in Garden Grove

On Monday, my husband and I said our goodbyes and headed north. We stopped in San Marino for a quick tour of The Huntington library and several of its gardens. We only stayed a couple of hours (you could spend days), but we each felt satisfied with our time in the beautiful surroundings. We spent the night in Lebec again, and enjoyed our view of the mountains, and the black cows standing in contrast against the golden fields and foggy hills.

The Fern House at The Huntington

Vines in Winter

The weather was cold on our final day of driving, but we were snug in our car enjoying the audio book, Eight Million Ways to Die, another Matthew Scudder story. It was interesting to see the farms and ranches along Interstate 5, with many almond orchards alongside fallow land from the drought a few years back (see Living with Drought). We stopped for an early supper and a quick stretch at Pea Soup Andersen's. By the time we arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area, clouds had moved in and a heavy rain had started. We were happy to return to our cozy home, and glad that we didn't have to worry about driving in snow over the Grapevine!

Beautiful hills of the Tejon Ranch

A quick bite at Pea Soup Andersen's

Forcing Bulbs: Hyacinth

I love forcing bulbs to bloom out of season especially in January when the weather can be dark and gloomy, and the fun of Thanksgiving and Christmas has passed. Bulbs are easy to grow outside, and inside with a little knowledge and preparation. Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) are native to southwestern Asia, southern and central Turkey, northwestern Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel.

Unlike paperwhites and amaryllis, these bulbs need some advance preparation. The bulbs must be kept at a cool temperature for about six weeks to trigger the conditions needed for blooming. I typically purchase a bag of bulbs in the fall when they are available in hardware stores or garden shops, and push them to the back of my refrigerator where they remain through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. By January, they are ready to force. If Easter is early enough, you may even be able to time them to bloom for the holiday.

Hyacinths bulbs (Hyacinthus orientalis) – day 23

For this project you'll need:

• Bulbs that have been prepared as described
• Special bulb vases, which are available from a variety of sources 
• (Optional) Shallow bowl or tin 

Tooling up – day 1

To grow:

1. Fill the bulb vases with clear water.
2. Optionally, place the root end of the bulbs in a low pan of water for about 20 minutes. Typically the roots are dry, so this helps "wake them up".
3. Place a bulb in each vase with the pointed end up and the root end down and submerged in water.
4. Place in a sunny or bright location, such as a kitchen window sill.
5. Watch and enjoy as the bulbs take root, and the stems and flowers emerge. Add water as needed.

Roots appear – day 3

Stems and buds appear – day 14 (and brighten a gloomy day)

Aftercare: 

When the flowers are spent, remove them from the bulbs, and move the vases to a location where the plants can finish their life cycle. Remove the bulbs from the vases, and let dry. Plant the bulbs outdoors or in containers, 4-8" deep, 6" apart.

Instructions are a combination of info from Van Zyverden, Inc. literature, and personal comments.
www.vanzyverden.com (product of Israel)
www.digdropdone.com