Miss Rumphius' Rules » Gardens

My Wee Spring Plant Nursery

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:35:50 +0000

Here I go getting all plant-y again…

In January I offered to share a snippet of my favorite Heuchera ‘Molly Bush’ which I’ve grown for almost 20 years back to Allen Bush who bred it to begin with. He graciously sent me a care package in return. I’m excited to see how these gifts fare in my home garden after its makeover this year.

I’m giving them all spots in pots before I set them out into the garden since I’ve just started a major renovation and the clean-up is yet to be finished in my holding areas. I will also pay attention to them since they’re on a table right outside my back door.

What was in both packages:

Stachys ‘Silky Fleece’ (back right) – From Jelitto where Allen works now. I know the deer won’t like that and I have just the spot for it– in the front border opposite a big and hopefully divided super easy to grow Stachys byzantium that a client gave me years ago and thrives in all kinds of neglect.

Arum ‘Tiny’ (back left) – I’m super excited about this one –a dwarf variety that originally came from Monksilver in the UK. I’ve always wanted to grow Arums and just haven’t gotten around to it, so now I have no excuse. Let’s hope I don’t kill it.

Chrysogonum ‘Norman Singer’- (front right) The one you can’t see behind the tag…this is a totally new plant for me. I’ve never grown it. It’s a native shade lover and I have dry shade so we’ll see if it can duke it out! I’m thrilled to have it.

Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchelus ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’–(front left) Another eastern/mid-Atlantic native. I have a soft spot for Erigerons so I have to find a special partially shady place for it. (Why do I always think of swans and teddy bears when I type the workd Erigerons?)

Heuchera ‘Molly Bush’ -In the center of it all from the original plant I bought from Allen all those years ago. It’s been in both of my gardens since then. And no, the few available in the trade aren’t the same…they’re just not.

This isn’t an eye candy type of post…I have to wait for these babies to grow up a bit for their glamour shots!

A Facelift for a Tudor Grand Dame

Susan aka Miss. R — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:31:38 +0000

Some of my favorite landscape design projects involve American Tudors. I love the romance of these houses, their quirky details, their materials and how often they survive the wrecking ball. Many of these homes were built in the 1920s and family needs change with the times. I am currently working on a design for a circa 1929 home and re-imagining the landscape for a young, 21st century family. This will be the first of several irregular posts on the project which won’t be completed until the fall.

The current landscape has outgrown its space and usefulness so much of it will be replaced. Things have been ignored for too long to be simply pruned. Entries and exits, steps and useful areas front and back will be part of an architectural and landscape renovation that will make this grand dame young again.

In Praise of Pieris

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:11:48 +0000

Every March I am enchanted with Pieris japonica and then I promptly forget about it as other more intriguing options catch my attention and it fades into the background. I found three varieties worth planting during a hunt for spring at The Farm, and some that had been planted for at least 40 years at an apartment complex.

Pieris japonica ‘Browers Beauty’

Deer resistant and happy in shade, Pieris japonica can have ivory, pale yellow or pale or deep pink bell shaped blooms that hang in nodding clusters or fans.

Pieris japonica ‘Dorothy Wyckoff’

Pieris japonica ‘Valley Valentine’

Some varieties have boldly colored new foliage, and still others are variegated. All, when mature, have twisting textured trunks that can add structural interest to older, more mature plants.

Pieris japonica ‘Mountain Fire’

image via Mahoney’s

This year I’m going to plant some for both my clients and myself. This evergreen shrub (commonly called Andromeda) is old fashioned and about 50 years ago was overused as an foundation plant, but now there aren’t so many around and the big ‘ole mature ones are super awesome when not much else is happening. They also make a great winter or early spring container plant that can be transplanted into the garden. For cultivation info…click here.

Tuesday’s Find: A set of 10 blue chairs

Susan aka Miss. R — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:02:15 +0000

It’s spring and I’m scouting furniture and accessories for clients’ gardens and patios so I’m reviving Tuesday’s Find. These blue steel Pascal Mourgue chairs from the mid-80s stopped my virtual browsing. I love the color and the styling. They can work as contemporary or in a 1930s Art Deco environment that I’m actually thinking about. Do you like them too?

They’re in London if you want them…at Christopher Jones Antiques or on 1st Dibs.

Design Inspiration: Black and White Stripes

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:34:03 +0000

I’ve become slightly obsessed with black and white stripes. The bold and graphic quality combined with what can be a vibrating optical illusion is energetic and brash…two things that I always like anyway. The really interesting thing about stripey black and white is that it’s occurring simultaneously as a trend across disciplines. I’ve never used them in a design specifically, but would love to.

So here’s to stripes! (There are many more ideas here,,,)

image via Greige: Interior Design Ideas

image via House of Hydrangeas

photo via Que Bueno es Vivir!!

via Traditional Home

photo via KROnPRINSESSENE

Retro Vibe: Aqua and Red(s)

Susan aka Miss. R — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:38:27 +0000

Sometimes I see color combos that just stick in my mind. Lately that’s been turquoise and red(s) that I want to try in my side garden when it’s newly renovated this spring.

image via Cellar_Door_Films

I’m not sure whether this will translate into plantings or some other features yet. Turquoise combined with red or red-orange or deep pink seems retro and new simultaneously to me depending on the context.

image via Obvious State

I don’t know quite how I’m going to interpret this yet, but I’m thinking about it and of course I’ve started a Pinterest board to explore the idea further!

image via Design Seeds

Spring is Sprung with Leaf Magazine

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:19:08 +0000

I hope you’re not tired of hearing about the new issues of Leaf and my involvement with them. I think the latest issue–out today– Spring 2013–is as good, if not better, than those that have come before it.

It’s a great source of professional pride for me that we–Rochelle Greayer and I– continue to publish it and to push the envelope of what we believe a great American magazine focusing on design outside can be.

Our audience continues to grow–our last issue was seen by more than 1 million people. We are actively seeking publishing partnerships (however that becomes defined) and exploring new ways to deliver content to even more readers. So please enjoy this issue and let me know what you think in the comments or email me at scohan @ leafmag dot com.

Witch Hazels…I’m bewitched.

Susan aka Miss. R — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:37:26 +0000

It started out simply. Admiration in a late winter garden.

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’

I’ve planted them for my clients for years, but have never had one of my own.

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Spring Promise’

Then I wrote a piece for the upcoming issue of Leaf. Then I became obsessed. I have to have one–I am bewitched!

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’

Hardy in zones 5-8, Hamamelis hybrids have a rich range of color, fantastic fall foliage, and are generally a medium to large, broadly vase shaped shrub.

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’

The bonuses are the super early bloom time…late January to mid-March in my zone 6 part of New Jersey as well as their deer resistance.

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Sunburst’

As I said. I want one. I really, really, want one.

Wake Up! American Garden Design Enthusiasts

Susan aka Miss. R — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:33:58 +0000

Many of you know that Garden Design magazine has sadly folded. That in itself isn’t surprising given the economic climate for print publications. Print magazines have huge overhead, cumbersome lead times and ever increasing competition from the marketplace. What I found shocking was how small its circulation was- 189,741.

Some will moan about its elitist slant. What is it about our exterior design community that it can’t find inspiration in, celebrate and aspire to the very top levels of design? I doubt if all of Architectural Digest’s 800k regular readers can afford or even want what is in that publication yet they obviously see enough value in it to buy a copy.

If we, as a design discipline and community, want to be taken seriously, then we need to support publications at all levels of the marketplace, not just those that cater to the weekend warriors who relegate us to the DIY sector. Landscape design and landscape architecture are serious, complex disciplines that can inspire within and without. We need American publications that reflect our diverse economy, interests and regions and we need to embrace those that show us the best of design outside at every level.

Garden Trends: Dumpster Style

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:58:51 +0000

If you haven’t figured it out from previous posts, I’m having a visceral and negative reaction to quaint upcycling. Please do not show me something else made out of pallets. Yuck. A good dumpster dive involves a deep understanding of Wabi-sabi and the beauty of objects just as they are, not as we would like to pretend them to be. Dumpster Style uses objects just as they are found, with minimal intervention.

Tape is the only designer additive here

image via Thea’s Mania

Of course Dumpster Style’s found objects (treasures?) can be used for another purpose, but the difference is, is that they maintain their original integrity. There is a romanticism in the purity of these objects. They don’t need to be masked, they can be used with minimal ‘design’ interference from well meaning and overly industrious upcyclers.

Can bottom shingles

image via Pinterest

Somewhat nutty, the roof garden below clearly has respect for what the objects were in a thoughtful and stylized way. Originally from Apartment Therapy, I shared this one on Leaflets back in July and it spurred a lot of discussion.

Rooftop Dumpster Style Edible Garden

Image via Apartment Therapy

As for the Wabi-sabi, a quote from the very first page of Leonard Koren’s wonderful book Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers sums it up:

Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
It is a beauty of things modest and humble.
It is a beauty of things unconventional.

And sometimes it’s just all about the dumpster. Artist Oliver Bishop-Young hasn’t changed much about this dumpster…or has he?

Planted Dumpster Style

Dumpster Planter from artist Oliver Bishop-Young

images via Oliver Bishop-Young

Click for more Dumpster Style on Pinterest.