Bet Figueras, died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 53. Bet was a pioneer of landscape architecture in Spain. Her work included the Rose Garden in Cervantes’ Park, Barcelona, a private garden for Oscar Tusquet, the Bodegas Bilbainas winery in Haro, La Rioja, hotels in Barcelona, the Barcelona Olympic Village (1992). Her best known project was the Barcelona Botanical Garden (with the architects Carlos Ferrater and Josep Lluís Canosa, the horticulturalist Artur Bossy and the biologist Joan Pedrola). The planting relates to the world’s five Mediterranean regions, with the plants grouped according to ecological affinity. Another objective was to relate the planting to the local topography. For

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Sustainable and theatrical themes at Chelsea help argue the case for an Unofficial Chelsea Fringe Garden Festival

Amongst other things, garden design an arena for fashion. This tempts the critic to look for trends and what I noticed was more an extension of previous trends than anything completely new:

• the visual language of sustainability is becoming stronger, with green walls and green roofs tending towards the norm
• there is more use of food plants each year, as in the above photograph (of a design by Bunny Guiness)
• the interest in green roofs is trending towards high-rise gardens: Sarah Eberle designed an accessible roof garden; B&Q designed a multi-storey garden; Dairmud Gavin hung a garden from a crane [see 2011 Chelsea review]
• the financial trend is to more-and-more money being spent on the show gardens each year

The financial trend reminds me of a previous suggestion: the Official Chelsea Flower Show should be supplemented with an unofficial fringe event.

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This is the gist of my 2/12/11 presention at the San Diego Botanic Garden. What defines art is subjective, and its forms are infinitely variable. But in general, when positioning a delicate sculpture in your garden, silhouette it against a solid surface or the sky. Otherwise, the piece may disappear.  (Photo taken at Taliesin West, near Phoenix.)

So, you dont want a statue of St. Francis in your garden? He

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I’m conducting a free workshop at the Chicago Cultural Center on Sunday October 3, 2010 for the Lurie Garden. The workshop is schedule to run from 10am-12pm in the 1st floor Garland Room, which is closest to the Washington Street entrance and across from the Project Onward gallery. In this workshop I’ll discuss the different content management systems available, how you can create a personal garden journal or use the blog spread local gardening and greening information or socialize with other gardeners around the web. 
Who is this workshop for? Home gardeners who want to journal about their gardening experience, urban greeners, urban farmers, community gardeners, garden clubs or school gardens who do not have a web presence. V Full Post…

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