“Promenade” is defined by Webster’s dictionary as a leisurely place to walk or ride, especially in a public space for pleasure or display.” It’s french in derivation, mid 16th century, (from "se promener"...'to walk') recalling the actions of people of the court leisurely strolling as if on display, to be seen by all – commoners as well as other gentry/society.
In Paris these leisurely strollers are referred to as flaneurs. Yet, in the Bronx of the 1930's, they are...
Read MoreMost historians would agree that Versailles is one of the most splendid expressions of absolute monarchy in history. A precedent in the history of great landscape design.
There's a marvelous story behind it! ....
Andre Le Notre, (the landscape designer of Versailles) had the good fortune years earlier to...
Read MoreThe urban roof garden in Manhattan and other cities may have a significant precedent in ancient Pompeii!
The landscape design of the Villa of the Mysteries preserved from Pompeii, AD 79 shows an entranceway which led to the peristyle, followed by the atrium and an extensive terraced gardens surrounded the villa on three non-entrance sides.
The desire to create an aerial oasis recreationally at the Villa of the Mysteries could possibly be the same as at a firehouse 2,000 years later. In an article from the year 1912...
Read MoreThroughout the history of landscape design, garden designers have been creating beautiful gardens, designed for entertaining.
There isn't a country or culture that is more synonymous with the garden than the British. English landscapes are among the most beautiful and English gardens designed by Lancelot Brown to Gertrude Jekyll to Tom Stuart Smith are among the most bespoke gardens.
With tea, cakes and a beautiful garden to stroll in...
Read MoreAs far back as the 6th century, grand carpets were depictions of formal pleasure gardens. Landscape design and garden design influenced textile design.
Read MoreA few of our favorite film scenes shot in the garden from major motion pictures. Garden design ideas abound in these scenes. Please suggest a few of your favorite movie scenes in the garden after you enjoy watching...
Read MoreSissinghurst is perhaps one of the most beloved gardens in all the world. For many it is the definitive English garden, evoking the poetic sensibilities of its creators, their deep feeling for history and rural tradition and the influence of their aristocratic upbringing and travels. A labor love created by...
Read MoreGrids have been and continue to be used in all manner of layout tasks from urban design to building construction. For a landscape designer, garden designer, or novice homeowner this method of design can be essential for garden planning.
Read MoreThe issue of where a given plant comes from must be secondary to the issue of its future survival. Again, the sad thing about the debate over native versus exotic species is that it has become so polarized. At its most simplistic level, native is equated with good, exotic with bad...
Read MoreIn 2008, a show garden design at the Chelsea Garden Show envisioned a courtyard garden set fifty years in the future, designed for global warming. The garden assumes a somewhat hotter and sometimes wetter London than today, incorporating lush planting and cooling water canals under dappled shade.
The garden designed by Robert Meyers is assumed to be largely enclosed to the sides and rear by buildings, and visible from the street through implied railings at the front. The 'buildings' are represented by planted green walls divided into panels by strips of pre-cast stone. This references the emerging possibilities of the green architecture of the future. There is a double-layered tree canopy, created with tall palms, smaller sculptural trees, and a high proportion of evergreens.
all photographs ©ToddHaiman2013
According to Cornell University’s agricultural extension office, “a gradual increase in Earth’s atmospheric greenhouse gases is expected to make global weather more volatile over the next century. This might include higher temperatures, less rain but heavier downpours, changing wind patterns, and rising sea levels. Higher temperatures and more turbulent weather will affect everything — from which trees to which wildlife cover the region to what crops farmers raise to how cities allocate water. Weather unpredictability would make dry years more common and wet years less effective. The result could be more reliance on rain-intensive crops or more garden watering."
Extension Horticulturists have urged caution in accepting these new zones, because hardiness is influenced by rainfall, plant vigor, and drought as well as minimum winter temperatures. With global warming comes habitat conversion, pollution, an increase in invasive species. It is the combination of all these stresses that will likely prove to be the greatest challenge to wildlife conservation in the forthcoming years.
comparison of USDA Hardiness maps from their website
Countering landscape and garden risk with evolving climate may be achieved by purchasing smaller herbaceous plants and shrubs that are recommended for a warmer zone.
The use of native and adapted vegetation in the built environment, taking full advantage of the most appropriate plants that increase air quality, conserve water resources, and sequester carbon dioxide.
Traditional turf lawns contribute to global warming in multiple ways through: 1. The decomposition of lawn waste, which turns to methane gas as opposed to composting, 2. Using fossil-powered machinery to maintain it (mowers and leaf blowers), 3. Fossil energy used to pump water to irrigate and fossil energy used to produce fertilizers and pesticides. Native plants are significantly more effective than traditional mowed grass as a carbon sink due to their extensive root systems and increased ability to retain and store water.
I’m curious… how do you envision residential landscapes in the future? Did Robert Meyers accurately portray this? Please leave your thoughts…
