Saturday, March 8, 2014
Who wants to be the Mayor of Leicester
This post gives me a great excuse to indulge my inner school boy and repost the story of former Mayor of Leicester, Colin Hall, whose trousers fell down whilst giving a talk to a primary school. See below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10465457
For those who don’t follow current goings on in the East Midland’s capital metropolis; on May 5th Leicester residents will be voting for their first elected mayor. Front runner is Labour’s, Sir Peter Soulsby, who recently resigned his position as MP for Leicester South to run for the job. I think this decision rather highlights how much power local government has to influence an areas development, particularly when compared to Members of Parliament. Contrary to popular belief, MP’s often have comparably, very little local input or influence. This is one of the reasons I’m broadly in favour of elected mayors, and believe it will give some much needed accountability to local politics and associated development.
From a planning perspective, the Conservative’s ‘Open Source Planning’ green paper, which forms the foundation of most Coalition Government planning policy, made a big deal about accountability for planning decisions and bemoaned that “...the vast majority of application decisions are made not by elected councillors, but by salaried officers.” I.e. by professional Town Planners and not local councillors. Stepping aside the issue of the legitimacy of decision maker, I would take issue with how accountable local councillors really are. I consider myself to be reasonably interested in politics, and obviously have a professional interest in planning. I’m vaguely aware of who my local councillor is (I’m thinking it’s an old chap in a blazer), but I have no idea who makes up my local planning committee, and these are the people who will actually make the big decisions on planning in my area.
My personal experience of dealing with Councillors on planning committees is hugely variable. Some committee members are knowledgeable, considered and balanced decision makers, a few of them are utterly clueless, whilst the vast majority of councillors will often vary between rational and irrational depending on the perceived, political ramifications. I have seen some absolutely shocking decisions made on several occasions and can therefore understand why the general public are often outraged and resentful about planning.
I do think it’s something of an irony that many of the important decisions which actually apply the planning system, are not made by planning professionals. As a consequence, people often blame the failings of the planning system when things that they don’t like happen, rather than looking at who made the decision, and why it was made (on the whole, I think there is very little understanding of the function of local government). More generally, it seems that local elections are mainly used as a way of displaying dissatisfaction with National Government, and that the performance of local councillors and controlling parties receives very little scrutiny.
My hope is that by appointing an elected Mayor, it gives everyone a point of account for what goes in an area, and leads to better local governance and yes, more accountability for planning.
FOUNTAINS
Once upon a time it became the fancy for many of the ruling class in Europe to include concealed fountains, controllable at a distance in their ornamental gardens. Seats became flooded, grottoes became showers, trees sprouted a shower of water, water jets would spring up under ladies dresses and statues would spray passing visitors from their body parts… including (the statues’) private parts. These amusing “joke fountains” were used to provide entertainment for the visitors and guests at significant estates and castles.
Was that anyway to treat your guests?
1.Robert W. Berger, The Chateau of Louis XIV, University Park, PA. 1985, and Gerald van der Kemp, Versailles, New York, 1978
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Water had originally been used in Rome within sculpture as a way to animate these allegorical figures. This evolved as fountains created in medieval times (overflows from spring-heads) were in the shape of an animal heads spouting water. (Windsor Castle had a stone fountain on its grounds in the mid 1200’s). A popular feature of the Italian Renaissance garden (including Villa d’Este) was these hidden fountains, which could be turned on to drench unsuspecting visitors.
Among the fountains of Peterhoff Palace, one of Russia’s most famous tourist attractions a joke fountain was constructed -- one which sprays passers-by who step on a particular paving stone. The Palace is sometimes referred to as the Russian Versailles, built and primarily designed by Peter the Great, beginning in 1714. Peter had visited the Garden of Versailles and had been so impressed by the fountains there that he was inspired to make the fountains in the same cascading style. Subsequent Russian rulers and regimes had augmented it up until the Second World War when the German Army essentially destroyed it. Thankfully, restoration work began immediately after the war, and continues today where it has become a UNESCO World heritage site.
The Bench Fountain - walking on the cobblestones initiates the spray of water
images: flicker.com
The water for the Peterhoff fountains is drawn from springs and aqueducts at a higher elevation, thereby creating the technological achievement of eliminating the need for pumps by the use of a gravity fed system! All the fountains run simultaneously. As a contrast… there were so many fountains at Versailles that it was impossible to have them all running at once; when Louis XIV made his promenades, his fountain-tenders turned on the fountains ahead of him and turned off those behind him. “Louis built an enormous pumping station, the Machine de Marly, with fourteen water wheels and 253 pumps to raise the water three hundred feet from the River Seine, and even attempted to divert the River Éire to provide water for his fountains, but the water supply was never enough.”1
Young Princess Victoria, who was to become Queen of England, was particularly fond of the artificial willow tree at Chatsworth Gardens, originally created by William Cavendish in 1693. Cavendish hired Grillet, a pupil of Andre LeNotre to design it. It was composed of 8,000 pieces of copper and brass and had 800 jets of water hidden in the branches and leaves. Supposedly, it would spurt into life squirting water from every branch and leaf over the unsuspecting passer-by. To be soaked to the skin in the early 1700s was generally no laughing matter, as fine clothes were very expensive and not usually washable.
Spouting Willow
image:www.linklux.com/rosemaryvereyfavourites.htm
1.Robert W. Berger, The Chateau of Louis XIV, University Park, PA. 1985, and Gerald van der Kemp, Versailles, New York, 1978
Landscaping Designs For Your Backyard
To the majority of Americans, Backyard landscape Designs are sort of a new thing. Most of them have a boring and a non-descript Backyard that, in more than one way, resembles their neighbors.
Granted, Backyard Landscaping tends to be a little more complicated than front yard Landscaping but this is no reason to leave Backyards unkempt.
Front yards generally follow a purpose of invitation and accessibility. The notion behind this is that the front lawn will initially be seen by people before they enter the house and thus it should be inviting and direct the guests easily through the front door. The same however, cannot be said for the back yard. Backyard landscape Designs tend to centre on appearance and appeal for entertaining and relaxing with friends. This is the simplest reason why Backyard landscape Designs are gaining so much popularity these days.
Before you decide to take on Landscaping, you must remember that everything in this project needs careful planning and decision making. While most consider Landscaping as a way of leveling the ground, it is also another way of revamping your garden and giving it a brand new look.
Before you can commence on Backyard Landscaping or any other Landscaping for that matter, you need to do a thorough assessment. Be honest about what you see. When it comes to Backyard Landscaping, look at your home garden objectively and judge it as if it belonged to your neighbor. This exercise is encouraged above all else because it portrays Landscaping, not only as an art that requires imagination but also as a science that requires observation and data collection.
After the assessment, you are now free to choose the style that best suits your garden. The style you adopt should be based on the prior assessment that you carried out.
Many people prefer hiring landscapers to do this for them. However, if youre the kind of person who takes pride in designing his own home then here are some tips that might be of interest to you.
It is almost impossible to talk about Backyard landscape Designs without mentioning plants. In this text I will mention Designs that are friendly for all types of Backyards.
To begin with there is the Holly, Coral Bell and Yew design.This simple design easily embellishes and adds flavor to your yard. It especially has a reputation for bringing out the best features in your garden specifically the eastern side. These plants have been known to send subtle messages of warmth throughout the year and hence can be spotted flourishing in many back yards.
There are also landscape Designs for sun perennials. This design is very useful if youre looking to fill a hot sunny area of your Backyard. Many landscapers recommend it as a fun sun specialist that requires very little watering. They say it is easy to set up and will provide color from spring to fall and even into the winter.
There are also landscape Designs that are meant to hide ugly foundation walls. In Backyard Landscaping, plants have been used to create an environment of solitude and hide unwanted features such as unwanted Landscaping rocks and unpleasant foundations. Such a design uses only two plants that are perennials namely; the Burning bush and the Globe blue spruce.
The Globe blue spruce is used because it stays the same color throughout the year while the Burning bush, which is green in spring and the summer, has been known to explode and become bright red in the fall. These plants act as perfect camouflages and they obscure any areas that you may feel are unpleasant and wanting.
Lastly, there is also a landscape design for specimen plants. These Backyard landscape Designs are meant to highlight a particular tree or bush that you love. Many adopt this design for Crabapple trees and burning bushes although it can be used for any plant that you adore.
The trick with Landscaping is in your skills. Try as much as possible to become familiar with the principles of Backyard Designs and keep in mind that the style you choose will determine the level of beauty of your Backyard.
Friday, March 7, 2014
backyard landscaping pictures
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| backyard landscaping pictures |
Dare being different with many fresh backyard landscaping ideas. Backyard landscaping ideas are generally legion, which enable it to be used to enhance a common previous block involving land in to something fairly marvelous.
Backyard Landscaping Ideas One particular - Spanish language Style Up and down Garden
A new vertical back garden will really you could make your backyard landscaping ideas come to life. You can now look at an empty wall as you are a designer about to produce a work of art. The particular blank walls is your empty canvas you may transform in a beautiful existing picture involving pots and also flowering plant life that can put on a huge range of coloration all many years round.
Speaking spanish style flowers weed holders can be purchased that are engineered to carry plastic-type or clay pots and even wicker perform conical baskets. Spanish language style flowers marijuana holders will offer a real tastiness of the Mediterranean sea. Spanish fashion flowers pot members are encouraged by the filter, winding alleyways regarding Southern Italy.
The Best of Spanish language style flowers container holders:
Strong (staying made of slight steel as well as last for years)
Available in various sizes
* Quick and simple to handle
Backyard Landscaping Ideas Two - Feng Shui Type Garden
Throughout Chinese landscapes feng shui is an fundamental factor during many Oriental gardens. Feng Shui garden landscape designs generally incorporate huge batch (Shan) and drinking water (Shui) energy because the basic regarding Chinese landscapes originated from the actual art form named Shan Shui, meaning mountain-water
Huge batch energy represents good health, tranquility and stableness. It is yang, solid, hard, high and up and down. One can recognize this vitality in genuine mountains, greater terrain as well as mounds. Electronic mountain electricity can be recognized in rocks, raised growing beds along with walls.
Backyard Landscaping Ideas Several - Deck Backyard Design.
There are 3 type of Terrace Backyard Design - Wide open patios, outdoor patios that are surrounded and deck that is positioned right outside the house or related right your house. Open terrace utilized your own homes back yard by adorning it with some other materials sufficient reason for furniture while in shut patio generally use surfaces commonly cups wall as well as sliding wall structure. The last certainly one of patio design ideas - terrace that is inserted right outdoors or attached right your own home. The good thing about this kind of patio design is you can effortlessly transfer in your house then for a patio and also vice versa because it is very accessible.
Backyard Landscaping Ideas Four - Japoneses Backyard Garden
Western water landscapes are widely called as koi fish ponds. Prior to building these kinds of gardens consider the material to use for developing them. Many of the great developing elements that can assist you throughout designing an enjoyable natural yard are Bamboo bedding screens, substantial stone wall space and endured wood. In addition to that, you can pick miniature horticulture which include bonsai and drinking water elements (waters).
Backyard Landscaping Ideas 5 * Foliage Backyard
Foliage Backyard is the flowerless yard. Do you realize which flowers usually are not the only issues that can bring shade to your garden? People usually talk about your rose back garden, the dahlia your bed, the wildflower field when they acknowledges garden however they ever usually talk significantly about the foliage. But, should you look back with the woodland yard in summertime, no plants, there are merely ferns and heuchera as well as other leafy points. The fact is Leaves garden could be beautiful option of yard which contain flower.
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| backyard landscaping pictures and ideas |
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| backyard landscaping pictures free |
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| backyard landscaping pictures with a pool |
Front Yard Ideas
Here is one project I worked on last Fall with the design and earlier this Spring with organizing the plantings. The backyard is currently in the process of being completed... those pictures will have to wait till next season.
Landscaping a property is never a quick and instant process... There are budgets that can keep projects from full completion...and then there is plant material that needs a few years to mature while filling in their spaces according to the visions I have created in my mind...
Anyway, I went by the other day to take some pictures of how things filled in over the summer. The client was looking for a very clean and organized feel to the front yard...nothing that would be overly messy and need a lot of maintenance throughout the growing season.
The standard driveway lines up from the garage to the street curb...the pathway can double for the odd secondary car that may park there when guests are visiting. The whole idea was to not make the front yard feel like one big driveway...
The knee-wall in front of the stairway defines a gathering area for visiting guests...and functions as a seating space as well. The wall is made from the same materials as the home so as to tie it in properly to make it look and feel like it is part of the house.
One of the unfortunate things with this project is the Eastern White Birch tree that was planted by the municipal forestry people... We could not prune it, cut it down and simply replace it with a strong and healthy looking tree. Birch trees are not the best street trees suited for urban areas as they are not a very long lived tree. They are also much happier trees in the forests where the air is usually cooler in summer. They are also better suited to the ground being moist and shady for most of the growing season...
What inspires part 5
Inspirational words...."The old Lakota was wise. He knew that mans heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew the lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence."
Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX
(Picture: taken during one of my many walks in the woods in Northern Ontario)
" When we live in nature its like constantly being in school. We are in an environment that is always teaching. We are constantly being reminded that there are laws, Natural Laws, which are running the universe. Once we know these laws and we drift from them, we start to live our lives in a different way. Soon we become discontent, selfish and disrespectful. Then, we get in trouble. If our lives have become this way, it can be reversed by going back to nature to be among our teachers."
The above quoted paragraphs are inspirational words taken from the website: www.whitebison.org
Nature will always be my greatest teacher... as I walked through the forest the day that I snapped the above photo, the words came to me in my mind, that I was to walk tall, but with respect in the forests of the Elders ...
Psychotopia
While waiting for a table at Adams Book Stores Coffee Shop I usually look for new landscaping books that will have something new or interesting in. Its not very often that I find a book that I can justify buying, but this last week I found a book that will definitely be on my list for Santa this year. I know you shouldnt judge a book by its cover, but I knew I would love it when I saw it.
Avant Gardeners
"gardens, ..... must move you on a deeper level than just being visually pleasing..."
A lot has been spoken about the ability of the more traditional arts, movies, architecture etc. to effect change in the people or society that experience them. Gardens have the ability to change people in ways we havent even begun to realise. They can be explored, moved through, discovered. They create a constantly changing scenery, opening up new vistas or creating new intimacies in a far more real way than traditional art has ever been able to.
It really is time that gardening begins to be understood as an art-form rather than just a past-time.
Read More..
Avant Gardeners
"gardens, ..... must move you on a deeper level than just being visually pleasing..."A lot has been spoken about the ability of the more traditional arts, movies, architecture etc. to effect change in the people or society that experience them. Gardens have the ability to change people in ways we havent even begun to realise. They can be explored, moved through, discovered. They create a constantly changing scenery, opening up new vistas or creating new intimacies in a far more real way than traditional art has ever been able to.
It really is time that gardening begins to be understood as an art-form rather than just a past-time.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
WHAT SHOULD I PLANT
Jens Jensen, an early practitioner of the use of native plants and prairie restoration was influential at the turn of the 19th century –his perspective promoted reconnecting people to their landscape in the face of rapid modernization and homogenization.
As early as 1924 The Garden Club of America published a booklet by Edith Roberts and Margaret Shaw on the Ecology of Plants Native to Duchess County, which led to the publishing of their book American Plants for American Gardens. This was one of the first books to promote the use of plant ecology and native plants in gardening and landscaping. According to Darrel Morrison, (former Dean + Professor emeritus at the University of Georgia) who wrote the introduction to the reprinted copy in 1996, “utilizing patterns and processes that are intrinsic to naturally evolved landscapes, we can create designed and managed landscape that are clearly “of the place” and approach the ideal of sustainability.” We can also “protect biological diversity in the human developed landscape”.
Equally influential in this discussion was Ian McHarg’s, Design with Nature, the seminal text written in 1969 and consistently reprinted every decade since. It stressed the importance of considering ecological and environmental factors. According to Time Magazine, which labeled him “ an apostle of using ecology for planning”, he “cries that man is poisoning the very biosphere that sustains him and calls for a new ecological religion based on living in harmony with nature rather than on conquering it.
Janet Marinelli of NYBG writes that “biologists consider invasive species to be one of the two greatest threats to native plants and animals, second only to the outright loss of habitat to suburban sprawl, agriculture and industrial development.”
Within the last ten years the argument for planting natives over exotics has become heated. Virtually every garden magazine writes on natives, garden shows promote it and design competitions award methods of sustainability, inclusive of which is planting natives.
Currently, academics such as Doug Tallamy (Professor and Chair, Department of Entomology and Ecology, University of Delaware) write and lecture about the link between insects and native plants. In his most recent book “Bringing Nature Home” he exclaims that as biodiversity depends upon native plants, invasive turfgrass lawns limit the “carrying capacity” – that is the amount of species and foods available in a healthy ecosystem. The challenge is to recreate foodwebs in our gardens as some plants (natives) are significantly more effective that non-natives.
For millions of years these native plants have co-evolved with the native insects, and most insects can only reproduce and feed on the plants that they share an evolutionary history with. Wildlife is threatened when suburban development encroaches on once wild lands. As these beneficial insects are deprived of essential food resources when suburban gardeners exclusively utilize nonnative plant material. This leads to a weakened food chain that will no longer be able to support birds and other animal life. As we’ve lost 40% of all bird life in the Northeast over the last fifty years, this presents a compelling argument.
** It is important to note that native is not necessarily of the same country or continent, rather part of the same plant community or the same evolutionary background. Interestingly, a plant that is moved outside of its “native range” can still perform similar functions within this new ecosystem if it is linked genetically to a relative that typically exists within that new ecosystem. “Animals adapted to using/eating one member of a genus are often able to use a ‘congener’, (a member of the same genus) even if they have never interacted with that particular plant species in their evolutionary past. Traits such as leaf chemistry, shape, toughness can be so similar among cogeners that adaptations enabling an insect to grow and reproduce on one member of the genus predispose that insect to using other members of the genus.” 1
An example below...
Rhododendron periclymenoides (Pink Azalea)
photo: ctbotanicalsociety.org
Rhododendron viscosum (Swamp Azalea)
photo: plantsmen.com
Tallamy urges readers to do what they can to eliminate invasive alien species, to use native plants, to replace sterile lawns, which consist of two or three alien grass species that support little more than Japanese beetle grubs, with sustaining native plant refuges.
“There is no redundancy in plant species here, and consequently no redundancy in the community of natural enemies that can survive in lawn based habitats. There is no hope of controlling the millions of Japanese beetles being produced in our neighborhood lawns each year. The balance to control Japanese beetles can be achieved through well designed landscapes founded on a diverse array of native plants.” “Planting one type of crop typically favors only a few types of insect herbivores – not enough to support a diverse, redundant community of predators and parasites. Under these oversimplified conditions, herbivorous insect populations typically escape the control of their natural enemies and explode. This is good for the pesticide industry but little else.” 2
1 Doug Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home
2. Ibid, D. Tallamy
Loquat
Eriobotrya
A small genus of 10 species of evergreen trees and shrubs native to Asia.
They are grown both for their fruit and the attractive lush tropical looking foliage.
The Loquats prefer subtropical climates and full sun and prefer moist soil that is acidic to slightly alkaline. Loquats are drought tolerant however plants grown for their fruits should be mulched to protect the shallow roots and fertilized regularly.
* photos of unknown internet source
Eriobotrya deflexa ( Bronze Loquat )
A moderate growing small tree. Some records include: faatest recorded growth rate - 3 feet; 10 years - 16 x 13 feet; largest on record - 40 x 25 feet.
The leaves, up to 10 x 3 inches in size, are coppery-red for the first 2 months, turning to glossy deep green.
Hardy north to zone 8b ( reported of 7 on protected sites ) in sun to partial shade. Very salt and moderately drought tolerant. It thrives in milder parts of the southeastern U.S. from Savannah, GA and south.
Eriobotrya japonica ( Japanese Loquat )
A rapid growing, dense, bushy, small to medium size evergreen tree to around 30 feet, native to southeast China and Japan where it has been cultivated for over a thousand years. Some records include: fastest recorded growth rate - 4 feet; 8 years - 20 feet; 20 years - 20 x 17 feet ( average ); largest on record - 80 x 35 feet with a trunk diameter of 2.2 feet; largest in North Carolina - 18 + fee.
The large, prominently veined, lance shaped leaves are up to 12 x 5 or rarely 20.5 x 6 inches in size. The wrinkled thick foliage is glossy deep green above, brownish fuzzy beneath. It has also become naturalised in the entire Mediterranean Basin, Pakistan, India and many other parts of the world.
The tough leathery leaves are typically whorled towards the branch tips.
The flower buds are woolly and open to fragrant creamy flowers borne in erect panicles up to 6 inches in length during autumn and winter. The flowers are prone to frost damage in harsh climates which will thus reduce the crop.
The fragrant. fleshy, sweet, juicy, edible, yellow-orange fruits up to 2 are sometimes 3 inches in length are produced in early spring.
It bears fruit at as early as 3 years with up to 50 pounds of fruit per year. Up to 100 pounds of fruit have been known to be produced on trees as young as 5 years. Mature trees have been known to produce as much as 300 pounds of fruit. Fruits may be damaged during the winter at temperatures below 20 F even if the plant itself suffers no damage at all.
Japanese Loquat is self fertile and does not need a pollinater.
The fruits are sweetest when soft and orange.
Eaten in large quantities, loquats have a gentle sedative effect, with effects lasting up to 24 hours. The fruits are excellent eaten fresh, in jams and canned, they make a great addition to fruit salads and pies. Wines can also be made from fermented fruit.
The stout twigs are densely covered in brown fuzz.
Hardy zone 8 to 11 preferring full sun and a light well drained soil. The leaves are damaged at 3 F and the tree is killed to the ground at 0 F. If not grown for its fruit, it may be hardy in zone 7 if summers are hot enough to ripen the wood and protection from excessive wind is supplied in the winter. It can also be used in zone 7 against warm sunny south facing walls.
Grows well in both the southeast U.S. and the Pacific Northwest.
Young trees need an inch of water every 2 weeks for the first few years.
Mature trees are very drought and moderately salt tolerant.
Trees used for fruit production are typically grafted as seed grown trees tend to be variable. Generally easy to grow, fireblight may occasionally be a problem.
* photo taken on October 17 2010 @ U.S. National Arboretum, D.C.
* photos taken on Jan 4 2011 @ Deerfield Beach Arboretum, Florida
Big Jim
Upright in habit. Has large orange fruit with sweet orange flesh.
Read More..
A small genus of 10 species of evergreen trees and shrubs native to Asia.
They are grown both for their fruit and the attractive lush tropical looking foliage.
The Loquats prefer subtropical climates and full sun and prefer moist soil that is acidic to slightly alkaline. Loquats are drought tolerant however plants grown for their fruits should be mulched to protect the shallow roots and fertilized regularly.
* photos of unknown internet source
Eriobotrya deflexa ( Bronze Loquat )
A moderate growing small tree. Some records include: faatest recorded growth rate - 3 feet; 10 years - 16 x 13 feet; largest on record - 40 x 25 feet.
The leaves, up to 10 x 3 inches in size, are coppery-red for the first 2 months, turning to glossy deep green.
Hardy north to zone 8b ( reported of 7 on protected sites ) in sun to partial shade. Very salt and moderately drought tolerant. It thrives in milder parts of the southeastern U.S. from Savannah, GA and south.
Eriobotrya japonica ( Japanese Loquat )
A rapid growing, dense, bushy, small to medium size evergreen tree to around 30 feet, native to southeast China and Japan where it has been cultivated for over a thousand years. Some records include: fastest recorded growth rate - 4 feet; 8 years - 20 feet; 20 years - 20 x 17 feet ( average ); largest on record - 80 x 35 feet with a trunk diameter of 2.2 feet; largest in North Carolina - 18 + fee.
The large, prominently veined, lance shaped leaves are up to 12 x 5 or rarely 20.5 x 6 inches in size. The wrinkled thick foliage is glossy deep green above, brownish fuzzy beneath. It has also become naturalised in the entire Mediterranean Basin, Pakistan, India and many other parts of the world.
The tough leathery leaves are typically whorled towards the branch tips.
The flower buds are woolly and open to fragrant creamy flowers borne in erect panicles up to 6 inches in length during autumn and winter. The flowers are prone to frost damage in harsh climates which will thus reduce the crop.
The fragrant. fleshy, sweet, juicy, edible, yellow-orange fruits up to 2 are sometimes 3 inches in length are produced in early spring.
It bears fruit at as early as 3 years with up to 50 pounds of fruit per year. Up to 100 pounds of fruit have been known to be produced on trees as young as 5 years. Mature trees have been known to produce as much as 300 pounds of fruit. Fruits may be damaged during the winter at temperatures below 20 F even if the plant itself suffers no damage at all.
Japanese Loquat is self fertile and does not need a pollinater.
The fruits are sweetest when soft and orange.
Eaten in large quantities, loquats have a gentle sedative effect, with effects lasting up to 24 hours. The fruits are excellent eaten fresh, in jams and canned, they make a great addition to fruit salads and pies. Wines can also be made from fermented fruit.
The stout twigs are densely covered in brown fuzz.
Hardy zone 8 to 11 preferring full sun and a light well drained soil. The leaves are damaged at 3 F and the tree is killed to the ground at 0 F. If not grown for its fruit, it may be hardy in zone 7 if summers are hot enough to ripen the wood and protection from excessive wind is supplied in the winter. It can also be used in zone 7 against warm sunny south facing walls.
Grows well in both the southeast U.S. and the Pacific Northwest.
Young trees need an inch of water every 2 weeks for the first few years.
Mature trees are very drought and moderately salt tolerant.
Trees used for fruit production are typically grafted as seed grown trees tend to be variable. Generally easy to grow, fireblight may occasionally be a problem.
* photo taken on October 17 2010 @ U.S. National Arboretum, D.C.
* photos taken on Jan 4 2011 @ Deerfield Beach Arboretum, Florida
Big Jim
Upright in habit. Has large orange fruit with sweet orange flesh.
West by Southwest continued
Little Venice: never been here before but it was an idyllic spot hidden only 10 mins from paddington station, an ideal spot to enjoy an over=priced coffee.
There was a range of materials and sources of inspiration for future works to be found around the Basin, ive included pictures above, as this blog doesnt seem to let you put them in between the text.
there were some pretty rubbish designs along the way too such as the green glass pillars seen above.
Public Spaces the Martha way
I would start by urging anyone with an interest in the design of public spaces to read the following article recently published in Building Design:
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=427&storycode=3133930&c=2&encCode=0000000001901978
The title of the article is ”Are the British any good at designing public space?”, and it has internationally renowned, landscape architect Martha Schwartz arguing ‘no’, whilst CABE Space Director, Sarah Gaventa makes the case for ‘Yes’. Actually both have some interesting views, which aren’t necessarily opposing.
Schwartz doesn’t argue that we can’t design public spaces, but she makes the point that the British as a nation have only a limited and romanticised view of what constitutes ‘landscape’. She argues that many people (the public, clients, politicians, architects?) don’t really appreciate the value of well designed spaces, unless they are green. The result is that many of our incidental spaces are unloved and poorly designed. Certainly there is little public acknowledgement of landscape architecture as credible or worthy, in the same way that the design of buildings is regularly celebrated.
On the other hand, Sarah Gaventa makes the point that things are improving and that the recent public realm works in Sheffield are a good illustration of this. The suggestion that we should look at “place making” rather than dealing with “left over” or “between buildings”, is a very good one and certainly laudable. However, I suspect that the vast majority of designers dealing with external space, will find that their starting point is invariably the left over bits between buildings. In all honesty, architects unilaterally accepting that landscape architects have a valuable role shaping the spaces around their buildings, would be a big step for the profession.
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=427&storycode=3133930&c=2&encCode=0000000001901978
The title of the article is ”Are the British any good at designing public space?”, and it has internationally renowned, landscape architect Martha Schwartz arguing ‘no’, whilst CABE Space Director, Sarah Gaventa makes the case for ‘Yes’. Actually both have some interesting views, which aren’t necessarily opposing.
Schwartz doesn’t argue that we can’t design public spaces, but she makes the point that the British as a nation have only a limited and romanticised view of what constitutes ‘landscape’. She argues that many people (the public, clients, politicians, architects?) don’t really appreciate the value of well designed spaces, unless they are green. The result is that many of our incidental spaces are unloved and poorly designed. Certainly there is little public acknowledgement of landscape architecture as credible or worthy, in the same way that the design of buildings is regularly celebrated.
On the other hand, Sarah Gaventa makes the point that things are improving and that the recent public realm works in Sheffield are a good illustration of this. The suggestion that we should look at “place making” rather than dealing with “left over” or “between buildings”, is a very good one and certainly laudable. However, I suspect that the vast majority of designers dealing with external space, will find that their starting point is invariably the left over bits between buildings. In all honesty, architects unilaterally accepting that landscape architects have a valuable role shaping the spaces around their buildings, would be a big step for the profession.
A rather poor image of Sheffields Gold Route
For those who weren’t aware, CABE is the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, a Government quango which gives advice and provides guidance on architecture, urban design and public space. CABE Space deals with the non-architecture bits. Personally, I think CABE have produced some excellent guidance in recent years and done a lot to promote and provide justification for the design of public space, and by association landscape architecture.
By contrast, Martha Schwartz is often as seen as something of a pariah within the profession, but is almost certainly the most famous landscape architect in the world. Being a famous landscape architect is something of an oxymoron, akin to being the world’s tallest pigmy or the world’s thinnest sumo wrestler. If you were to ask me to come up with other famous landscape architects, I’d probably be scratching around to come up with Katherine Gustaffson, designer of ‘Slab Square’ in Nottingham and the Diana Fountain (what a resounding pr success that was), and at a push Peter Walker (aka Mr Martha Schwartz), who is currently designing the remembrance garden at the site of the World Trade Centre and is a genuine design hero of mine.
Martha Schwartzs scheme as featured on Big Town Plan
As it happens, you may have recently seen Martha on TV, cast in the role of pantomime villain on the Grand Designs spin-off, Big Town Plan. She was the highbrow, urbanite American designer (naughty Kevin McCloud never used the term landscape architect), who went against community wishes for a place to play bingo and walk their whippets, to force ahead with an art/paving/big-coloured-stuff fusion, which pretty much everyone else hated.
Certainly, Ms. Schwartz has her detractors and her most recent high-profile scheme, Grand Canal Square in Dublin, caused the usual flurry of publicity and criticism. Generally comments revolved around the fact that it is abstract, expensive and, I suspect, goes against the expectations of both the public and what many landscape architects, think landscape architects should be designing. From a personal perspective, I find it hard not to feel pangs of jealousy when I see the many bespoke elements, which frequent her designs, but perhaps more importantly the trust, scope and shear free-reign clients give her to create. How many other projects could have benefited from the budgets and creative freedom that Martha Schwartz enjoys? I also feel that perhaps her designs seem to work better in theory than in practice, although I’d caveat that by saying this feeling comes purely from looking at the initial visualisations of the project against press coverage, rather than having visited the scheme.
Grand Canal Square, Dublin - Finished image
Grand Canal Square - Initial Visualisation
But why is it that she is so unpopular with many landscape architects? In my opinion, to get the answer to this you need to have an understanding of one of the fundamental elements of design. For me, there is always a spectrum of how much your design inspiration comes from within a site or it’s context, and how much you bring in from outside. I don’t necessarily believe that either end of the spectrum is intrinsically right or wrong, but landscape architecture always begins within a site, in a way that the building doesn’t really have to. I suspect that many of the great works of architecture were actually dreamt up independently of their sites, and for want of a better word, ‘imposed’ upon them. Landscape architecture always begins with a site. For a variety of reasons, (such as legislation, poor standing with clients and a focus on landscape character assessment), many landscape architects see landscape design as valid only when it is realised in the character or context of the site. Thus, I believe that many see Martha Schwartz’s designs as being imposed. Ironically, I suspect that she herself sees the designs as having originated from within the site, only that they have been extracted and elaborated beyond where it is easily understandable.
Now at this point, I had meant to write about Martha’s conversations with the architect Will Alsop, however I think most people will have read enough by now. Needless to say, I’ve been impressed by Martha Schwartz’s recent comments to the press and think that she has articulated the difficulties faced by landscape architects in the UK better, and more intelligently than, anyone other else you could care to mention. I’ll finish with a comment someone left on a website regarding the Grand Canal Square scheme:
“awful BS. it does not look a like a sensual work to me, not what I would call landscaping, more like terrible art work.”
The mere fact that Martha Schwartz is there stretching peoples definition of landscape is the best justification of her work possible to me.
Go Martha!
An Interview by the Boulder Food Examiner
I was contacted this week to do an interview with Stacey Rose for her week long focus on gardening. Her bio reads As a life-long foodie who endeavors to bring culinary flair to the common cook, Stacey Rose has traveled far and wide to build her recipe repertoire, learn the latest in food trends and fads, and find exotic flavors to spice up the ordinary plate. A perfect combination to my focus as a person who loves to grow her own food, buy fresh local food and integrate edibles into any landscape. This year is the first year that most of my clients want to add a vegetable garden to their landscape design! Click here read the first part of the interview. Enjoy the week with Stacey and helpful gardening tips!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Four thousand years in the making of Sissinghurst KGT Talk on December 3rd
Four thousand years in the making of Sissinghurst
3rd December 2009 7pm
Tom Turner, Landscape Architect and Garden Historian teaches at Greenwich University and is the author of many books including Garden History – Philosophy & Design 2000 BC to 2000 AD. He will talk about the garden at Sissinghurst and the origins of the ideas it represents. Tom is also author of the excellent GardenVisit website.
Venue in Lenhman, Kent. Tickets and info can be obtained from the Secretary
Tel. 01233 811611
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