Botanica Atlanta Landscape Design

The native azalea is something of an exotic in the woodland garden, but many are native to Georgia.  They are uncommon enough in the “civilized” landscape – one that is conceived in full or in part by man – that they are often misidentified.  Looking more like rhododendrons but blooming before, with and later than azaleas they are also the victims of second guess…surely that can’t be an azalea?!

Photo credit: Donald Hyatt

Native azaleas grow from Florida to the northeastern Unites States, but most are found in the southeast.  They are most commonly found in higher elevations where temperatures are cooler, but several thrive in the Atlanta landscape if sited properly and well maintained.  Here are three that are in bloom now:

The Oconee azalea (Rhododendron flammeum) blooms orange to red from mid-April to mid-May.  It is able to withstand heat and drought and is found only in Georgia and South Carolina, according to the USDA Plant Database.  It appeared on the scene sometime during the late 1700’s.

Photo credit: Donald Hyatt

The Alabama azalea (Rhododendron alabamense) is found in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee Georgia, South Carolina and Florida.  Its fragrant blooms are white, with a bit of yellow towards the center.  It also blooms from mid-April to mid-May. It was first recorded in 1883.

Photo credit: Donald Hyatt

The Alabama azalea self-propagates by underground stems or stolons and softwood cuttings can be successfully rooted.

Photo credit - Steve Baskauf, courtesy of University of Tennessee Herbarium

Pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) blooms pink to white, also mid-April to mid-May.  The blooms are somewhat fragrant.  

Photo credit: Thomas G Barnes

Pinxterbloom azalea stands anywhere from four to ten feet at maturity.  It was first introduced in England in 1734.

Photo credit: Donald Hyatt

If you have shade, a soil pH of about 4.5 to 5.5 and a slightly to moderately moist site (or a legal source of water during drought), consider some native azaleas in your Georgia landscape, and keep the neighbors guessing.

Author: Cloud Q. Conrad

It doesn’t really matter what else is going on in the world, or the size of the national debt or how our daily stress ordinarily weighs us down. When gardeners’ early favorites are in bloom, worries seem to fade into the landscape and hope comes as fresh to our hearts as the first spring grass to our nose.  Three early favorites are tulip magnolia, lady banksia rose and phlox.

Tulip magnolia (Magnolia soulangiana) is a deciduous magnolia used not nearly enough in the Georgia landscape as an ornamental tree.  The tulip magnolia is suited for sunny, high visibility locations in the garden, such as to mark a mailbox, front walk, or garden patio or thoughtfully positioned in a scene viewed from the family room bay window.

Photo courtesy of habitas.org.uk

Lady Banks' rose (Rosa banksiae) is a climbing rose with miniature yellow blooms as pale as butter.  It is perfect for a trellis or iron fence.  This rose is virtually care-free, so long as the soil is generally moist and well drained.  Pests and fungus are not generally as prevalent on climbing roses and Lady Banks' is quite cooperative. Other than tying up her stems, and pruning if/as desired, she makes few demands.  Low maintenance tip: Site Lady Banks' by entry ways or other high-visibility spots close to gutter downspout outflows and/or shade her roots to reduce the need for watering.

 Photo courtesy of Cloud Conrad

Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) - A shot of magenta phlox is sort of like an espresso for the eyes in the early spring, when not much else is blooming and if it is, it’s usually of a pale color.  Creeping phlox grows in full sun to partial shade, with a height of about 4” and a spread of 1 – 2 feet.  Creeping phlox also comes in white, pink and purple.

Photo courtesy of greenwoodnursery.com

Between now and Memorial Day is the ideal time to plant new shrubs and ornamental trees this growing season.  If it isn’t in the ground by the end of May, you should wait until the fall to add these beauties to your Georgia landscape to maximize your investment in plant material.

 Author: Cloud Q Conrad

The vernal equinox will occur this Saturday at 1:32 pm EDT. This is the “precise” moment that the earth is closest to the sun in its spring orbital path, and also the exact point in the spring when day and night are of nearly equal lengths at all latitudes. (“Nearly” is in part due to the fact that a year is 365.25 days but we'll not digress.)  The dichotomy of this statement is in itself symbolic - there cannot be balance without distinct and opposed things, concepts or feelings.  In this case day and night. 

As it relates to the landscape, we have sun and shade, dry and moist, and deciduous and evergreen.  Mark Rothko's abstract paintings symbolize this notion of distinct and opposed elements and the minimalist style suggests horizons where earth meets sky....the most basic of dichotomies in the landscape.

“Equal”conjures up thoughts of balance, and this is a welcome idea. Balance is fleeting, of course, because we are crossing the point of equilibrium in a path towards the opposite extreme. Still, after this unseasonably cold winter there is more than momentary comfort in the prospect of the other side. The side that offers warmth and light. The side that offers abundance of bloom, fruit, vegetable and seed.

Today’s collage (all photos courtesy of ArtRepublic.com) is a colorful rendering of balance as an abstract concept, each painting selected to represent the nearly balanced – within itself and relative to the others...just how nature is, imperfectly balanced.

Maybe it’s just the time of year, but the collage began to suggest seed packets to me as I was writing this.  If you are the sort of gardener who collects seeds to perpetuate your garden or trade with friends, make unique, memorable seed packets by downloading this seed packet template and accessing images of art masterpieces on the internet.  With scissors, glue, a printer and your computer’s picture manager software (for image re-sizing and cropping), you can easily make your seed packets works of art.  Use the template as a stencil, by placing it under a piece of clear plastic cut from a gallon milk jug and tracing the seed packet outline onto the plastic with a permanent marker.  Carefully cut out the plastic seed packet stencil.  Then, use the stencil to trace the seed packet outline onto printouts of your images.  Cut out the seed packet, label and date them with the marker, and fold and glue three sides closed.  Allow to dry.  Fill, then fold and tape the top side shut.

- Author: Cloud Q. Conrad

The time has come.  Winter is not behind us. Daylight savings and the vernal equinox are still a few weeks away.  But we can indulge our impatience with the seasons by planning our vegetable gardens, shopping for seed and setting up an indoor grow station.  If you want to get the greatest and most steady yield this year, start your first wave of seedlings indoors now. 

There are acres of information about this on the internet including videos, downloadable pdfs and blog entries. A couple of the references you might want to hit:

Seeds: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has an incredible variety. Shop online, but be sure to sign up for their catalog, which is coffee-table worthy and filled with eye-candy for gardeners.

Videos: For a basic primer in starting seeds from a common-sense Cajun, check out these YouTubes

1.   Part 1 - How to Start Your Seeds Indoors (The Bayou Gardener) 

2.   Part 2 - How to Start Your Seeds Indoors (The Bayou Gardener) 

Timing Chart: Use this downloadable worksheet to plan your seed starts for each variety you chose to include in your 2010 vegetable garden.

All photos courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Author: Cloud Q. Conrad

Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia) is one of those unsung heroes in the landscape. Through the year forsythia fades into the background. After all, its foliage isn't very exciting and its form unremarkable. And it's so low maintenance that it is easy to forget. But in late February and early March, forsythia is once again valued for its role in the garden - to brighten up gray winter days and to remind us that spring is just around the corner.

Photo credit: Susan Schurr

Forsythia is named for William Forsyth, one of the founders of the Royal Horticultural Society. Native to Asia and the Orient, forsythia has about a dozen species and many hybrids.

Photo credit: The Gardeners' Network

Site forsythia in full sun to partial sun in zones 4 - 8. Forsythia makes no particular demands on its environment or owners. Forsythia will thrive in average soil, in drought and in pollution. This shrub does not typically have pest or fungus problems. Reaching average heights of 6 - 8 feet or more, forsythia grows about a foot or more per year and benefits from pruning to shape, promote bushiness and blooms, or confine to a particular size. Forsythia blooms on old wood, so prune just after blooms are spent to get the most color from your shrub. This is also the best time to fertilize with an all-purpose 10-10-10 garden fertilizer. New plants can be propagated by cutting or layering.

Landscape designers use forsythia to screen a view, draw attention to other plants with winter interest, mask electrical poles and guy wires or electrical boxes, or create a hedge. But the real payoff comes in the dead of winter, when the days are short and the skies are bleak. Forsythia is a ray of sunshine and a vision of hope for the coming of spring.

Author: Cloud Q. Conrad

“A plant is only worth growing if it looks good when it’s dead.” This wisdom is from the father of the New Perennials movement in landscape design, Piet Oudolf (pronounced "Pete"). With so much influence over the evolution of landscape design the Dutchman has a lot to say about contemporary design principals in the landscape.  Oudolf is also credited with the prairie-style of landscape design, emphasizing the use of ornamental grasses and native plants in an effort to not copy nature but to suggest it in contrived compositions.  His innovative style challenges our time-worn perceptions of what a beautiful garden is.  Oudolf helps us to find hidden beauty in common plants combined in unexpected pairings.

We feature photography of Piet Oudolf’s winter landscapes in these first days of winter to celebrate the passing of time as it is marked in the garden.

 This photo is from a public park in Rotterdam. Photo credit: Piet Oudolf.

Photo credit: Jo and Rob Whitworth.

This photo is from a private park called Wisley.  Photo credit: Piet Oudolf.

Notice the vibrant hues these two autumn landscape displays (pictured above).  Dried and dormant plants and spent seedheads combine for an unexpectedly lush post-season compositions that remind us in beautiful yet subtle ways that time passes inevitably.

Photo credit: Jurgen Becker.

The overlapping of seasons is most prominent from autumn to winter and winter to spring.  Oudolf upholds his ideal of using plants that only look good when they're dead.The snow layer on spent grasses and native plants lends a fantastical quality to what we would otherwise view a "graveyard". 

This photo is The Battery in NYC. Photo credit: Piet Oudolf.

Oudolf's genius for combining natural and man-made elements is on display at The Battery in NYC (pictured above).

Oudolf is currently working on the Gardens of Remembrance, just a few blocks from the former World Trade Center site.  Here is an interesting NPR piece on Oudolf.

Are you looking for something different for your holiday centerpiece this year?  Here are some inspired ideas to help get your creative juices flowing.

Alameda, CA floral designer Ron Morgan, included this photo in his coffee table book on centerpieces, The Center of Attention.  These vibrant -- and no doubt fragrant -- fruit topiaries celebrate the abundance of the season in a back-to-basics kind of way. 

Photo courtesy of Save-on-Crafts.com

Notice how Morgan has used the squash and fruit mingled at the feet of the topiaries to tie them all together.  Here is another set of centerpieces, tied together in the same way.

Photo courtesy of Save-on-Crafts.com

This tabletop panorama is brilliant in its use of variegated, mottled, flecked and striated patterns to unify a variety of 2- and 3-dimensional forms.  It also demonstrates that provocative designs can be conceived from the most elemental tools.  Aucuba, sweet flag, nandina, lenten rose, florida anise, autumn fern, hawthorn, waxleaf privet, mahonia, magnolia and other foliage perennials, shrubs, and vines can combine with fruits and vegetables in unusual ways for inexpensive yet dramatic fresh floral centerpieces this holiday season.

Experiment with new ideas for combining form, color and pattern.  Where you offer a broad variety in one aspect, limit the variety in the others.  To apply this statement to the photo above, Morgan succeeds with his design despite the fact that five patterns and four shapes are used because unity is achieved by the discipline of a two-color palette.

Take pictures of your creations and send them to us.  Happy designing!

If you are looking for inspiration to create a really unique outdoor holiday lighting display in your landscape this year, the 29th Sapporo White Illumination is currently on display in Sapporo, the capitol city of Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture, located in the northernmost portion of the main island. This fantastically artful installation is on exhibit every November through mid-February in downtown Sapporo. While most of these examples are too grand a scale for the Atlanta landscape, the concepts can still be applied for an elegant and colorful holiday lighting display.

This effect is achieved by using different “gels” (tinted acetate layers) on flood lights. If you have deciduous ornamentals in key focal points at your home or business, consider adorning them with tinted light for the holidays.

Photo courtesy of Sapporo Tourist Association

You can find gels online by searching for “theatrical light supply”. This is a stunning way to feature your landscape in the holiday display, rather than just having trees and shrubs act as armatures for miniature lights. And with some seasonal adjustments to the colors, your flood light system can also be used to celebrate Halloween, Easter, July 4th or any event.

Photo courtesy of Sapporo Tourist Association

For the most powerful statement, spray paint the reflector portion of the flood bulbs with black heat resistant paint in order to eliminate any backlighting.

Photos courtesy of The Haunted Driveway

The above photos illustrate, from left to right: The bulb without the paint, the bulb with the paint, and which part of the bulb to paint.

Light Sculpture: Wrap individual light strands around 9’ bamboo stakes or, defoliate bamboo on the front of a stand that is visible from the street or a key window in your home. This concept will be most successful if wrapping five or more stakes. The greater the number of illuminated stakes, the more effective the statement will be.

Photo courtesy of Sapporo Tourist Association

I have also seen dead trees, and those whose removal due to disease or re-design is planned for the spring, painted and wrapped with miniature lights. If you paint a tree, be sure to spread an old tarp below beforehand. You may also selectively prune before painting to modify (clean up) the overall form. Do not paint a tree that you want to survive!

Does anyone have any unique holiday lighting ideas for the landscape to share?  Please share them here!

Great backyard landscape plans make the most of a home's deck - after all, this is a great place to enjoy the landscape and gardens through most of the year. Your landscape designer might suggest subtle or more extensive deck improvements that will enhance the aesthetics of your garden plan while complimenting the architectural style of your home. When the deck and other landscape elements like gazebos and potting sheds coordinate aesthetically with the home, the landscape can reach its maximum potential. Here are some ideas to personalize a standard builder's-issue deck and better link the deck, the landscape and the home, all without changing the deck footprint.

Change the deck balusters. Decorative steel, aluminum and wood balusters can have a huge impact on the personality of your deck and there are many styles to compliment virtually every architectural theme. It is remarkable how this single change can transform your deck into an outdoor room.

Change the deck post caps. Metal, wood and ceramic post caps and finials are available in an endless array of styles. Low voltage and solar lighted options are available for visual impact, mood setting and safety at night.

Change the deck rail posts. Post covers can be installed over 4x4 and 6x6 posts to give a whole new look to your deck. Ornamental wood and metal sleeve styles or brick and stone veneer systems, even high density expanded polyurethane sleeves for no maintenance applications, are available in a variety of patterns and colors. Upgrading your deck posts can change a ho-hum deck into a stylish outdoor living retreat and frame your professional landscape design in the most complimentary way.

As a routine maintenance task that will enhance your deck's appearance, fall is a great time to pressure wash, stain and seal your deck. Protecting the deck's wood from the elements is a practical way to extend the life of your deck maximize its value. Since stains and sealers are best applied below 80 degrees, fall applications help insure an even coating that doesn't show overlap. Combination stain and sealers are available in natural wood colors like cedar and walnut, and can be applied easily and at low cost. The visual impact is big however - your deck will appear years younger. Best of all, the fresh stains provide a great color contrast to the landscape plantings beyond your deck and help them pop forward visually.

You and your landscape designer can find myriad ideas on how to dress up your wooden deck by doing a photo search on decks.com.

It seems more people are becoming interested in growing their own food and I try to promote that interest whenever possible. However, most property owners still think that they must choose between a beautiful landscape and a productive one. That is certainly not the case as many fruiting plants, medicinal plants, and culinary herbs have aesthetic characteristics that make them desirable for ornamental landscaping. 

For example, the perennial plant purple sage (Salvia officinalis 'Purpurascens') is a flavorful culinary herb with medicinal properties which also happens to have beautiful gray-green and purple foliage. Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) is an evergreen shrub that not only bears a delectable small fruit which tastes something like a mix between a pineapple and a guava (hence, the name) but also displays flowers with fleshy pink or white petals and showy scarlet stamens that are themselves edible. The native pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba) bears a fruit that tastes like a banana flavored custard and has large glossy obovate leaves giving it a handsome tropical look. And there are many, many more plants that are both useful as food or medicine and have an attractive appearance in the home landscape.

Below are two examples of designs I have done recently which incorporate edible plants into a typical residential landscape design. Play "spot the food" and see how many edible plants you can find in each! C'mon, it'll be fun!

(Click on the image above to open a larger version)

(Click on the image above to open a larger version)