A Gardener's Notebook » Design

Video: Peaceful Garden and Home Office

Douglas E. Welch — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:10:00 +0000

A short montage of an amazing peaceful garden, home office and waiting area. This amazing Asian-themed garden is a joy to visit and also to work in. Once ensconced in its small, private world, you would never expect that you are in the middle of the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.

Can’t see this video above? Watch “Peaceful Garden” on YouTube.

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Photos: Peaceful garden, home office and waiting room

Douglas E. Welch — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:18:09 +0000

One of my client’s has an amazing home office set amid this equally as amazing garden. I was visiting for a computer support call today and asked if I could take a few pictures to share with you.The garden is Asian-themed and is such a peaceful spot even in the midst of the San Fernando Valley. I could imagine myself working quite happily in this garden.

Click for larger images

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Photos: Engaging Nature Design Garden at Southern California Spring Garden Show

Douglas E. Welch — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:28:12 +0000

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Garden designed and created by:

Sarah’s Gardens
Sarah’s Garden 714.916.3106

Garden Pros Landscape & Construction 714.387.4753
714-397-4753 or 714-387-4753

See the complete set of photos from the Southern California Spring Garden Show.

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Gardens of LA – Huntington Library, Art Galley and Botanic Gardens, San Marino, CA

Douglas E. Welch — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:43:09 +0000

Now that Google Maps and Google Earth have such great satellite and aerial imagery, I am revisiting some posts that I made many years ago. I am dubbing this series, The Gardens of LA. Here I will highlight one of the many gardens that can be visited — or at least viewed — throughout our area. I will also be branching out to gardens around the world eventually.

#2 Huntington Library, Art Gallery and Botanical Gardens

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Arguably one of the best known gardens of all of Southern California, the Huntington is indeed amazingly impressive. Originally the home of Henry Huntington, railroad magnate, Huntington Gardens now covers over 200 acres in gardens of different styles. My favorite is the Japanese Garden, which can be seen on the oval on the left of the of the map above. (Use the + icon to zoom in on the map) although the cactus and succulent garden is also quite striking. One can easily lose and entire day wandering the grounds and always find something amazing to view.

Link: Huntington Library, Art Galley and Botanical Gardens

Previously features on Gardens of LA:

#1 Greystone Manor, Beverly HIlls, CA

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Video: What Douglas Dug – Show 001 – Podcast

Douglas E. Welch — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:54:37 +0000

This episode of “What Douglas Dug” is the first in a series of shows where I highlight some of my most recently shared gardening items to my Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest accounts. When I share something I don’t often get much of a chance to tell you WHY I found something interesting or useful, so I am taking this opportunity to show some items to you along with a bit of commentary.

Please let me know what items you find most useful in your garden.

If you don’t see the YouTube video above, please view the What Douglas Dug – Show 001 directly on the AGN web site or YouTube.

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Photo: Healing Waters Design Garden from SoCal Spring Garden Show 2012

Douglas E. Welch — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:11:09 +0000

These photos show the “Healing Waters” Design Garden at the Southern California Spring Garden Show in Costa Mesa, California.

It was striking in its use of massive stone elements that then integrated water into their design. This huge stone table had a rivulet running its length which then emptied into a large ceramic pot. Another fountain sculpture was a stone column split into two pieces allowing water and light to flow between the pieces. (See lower picture)

“Healing Waters” was created by The Garden Gallery Design and Consulting in Orange, California.

Click photos for larger versions

There was much to see and learn and I also took a host of photos, which will continue to appear here in A Gardener’s Notebook over the next few weeks.

You can view the entire collection of photos in this Flickr set - Southern California Spring Garden Show.

Photo: Healing Waters Design Garden from SoCal Spring Garden Show 2012 is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Gardens of LA – Greystone Manor

Douglas E. Welch — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:23:00 +0000

#1 Greystone Manor, Beverly HIlls, CA

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“The creation of the grounds began in 1926. A three-leveled gardens designed by German born landscape architect Paul Thiene, mixed a variety of garden styles and themes based on Italian and English gardens. There were nearly 100 different species of plants and flowers on the property, representing every continent. Incorporated in the gardens, were two cascading waterfalls, two lakes, and a green house. The estate included a swimming pool and pavilion, tennis courts, kennels and a charming playhouse, as well as stables and a gatehouse.”

– from The Friends of Greystone web site

Complete information regarding Greystone Manor is available from the The Friends of Greystone web site.

The gardens are open daily, except when closed for filming or private event. The mansion itself is closed except for special events.

Parking and Admission are FREE.

One interesting item from The Friends of Greystone web site are detailed plans of the various areas of the garden. Here is an example.

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“For the love of trees”‘ design garden at SoCal Spring Garden Show

Douglas E. Welch — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:57:49 +0000

This photo is my impression of the “For the love of trees” design garden at the Southern California Spring Garden Show in Costa Mesa, California. This garden was created by Essence of the Tree: Trees for Gardens, Containers and Bonsai.

Click for larger image

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Interesting articles from Houzz.com – Grasses, ornamental trees and raised beds

Douglas E. Welch — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:56:23 +0000

Recently from the Houzz.com newsletter…

Build a Raised Bed to Elevate Your Garden

A bounty of homegrown vegetables is easier than you think with a DIY raised garden bed to house just the right mix of soils

8 Ornamental Grasses for Coastal Gardens

These hardy seashore plants evoke the ocean, sway in the breeze and help prevent sand erosion in the landscape

6 Unsung Spring-Blooming Trees

Billowy blooms and rare fragrances will make you wonder how these flowering trees could ever have been underused in landscapes

Interesting articles from Houzz.com – Grasses, ornamental trees and raised beds is a post from: A Gardener's Notebook

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Project: Steel pipe garden edging

Douglas E. Welch — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:09:24 +0000

You have probably seen my photos and videos of our wine bottle garden edging project. This photo shows a similar approach using an entirely different material. I am not sure where you would source enough of this pipe cheaply, but obviously this person did.

One issue with using unique items for your garden edging is that their small diameter means you need A LOT of them. The wine bottles are probably 4″-5″ in diameter but that is still much smaller than a brick, a stone or using some bender-board edging. This also means it takes more time to install, as you have to lay each piece separately.

I like that the gardener filled each pipe with soil and stones and then planted small succulents. I think this is a great use of otherwise wasted space in the edging.

Still, I really like the look of our wine bottles and these steel pipes. Click through on this Pinterest link for more garden photos and ideas from the original blog.

Source: floradoragardens.blogspot.com via Douglas on Pinterest

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