Garden Follies

folly |ˈfälē|

noun ( pl. -lies)

1 lack of good sense; foolishness : an act of sheer folly.

• a foolish act, idea, or practice : the follies of youth.2 a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, esp. a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park.3 ( Follies) a theatrical revue, typically with glamorous femaleperformers : [in names ] the Ziegfeld Follies.

By the photo you would assume that we were abroad at some famous Greek Doric Temple ruin. But no, we were in Calistoga, California visiting Villa Ca'Toga the home of  world-renowned artist Carlo Marchiori. His villa is littered with cement and recycled rubble follies. http://catoga.com/

Set inside a tree ring in the woods of this Monastery in Tuscany, is a solitary table made from a millstone, boulders as it's chairs. Dripping with symbolism one could not stumble upon this site without acknowledging that it was made to impress to the visitor a different time and place.

The lakeside gardens at Villa Cipressi in Varenna, Italy are impressive. When constructing the garden  an opening to a cavern was chiseled out to create a grotto where none had existed before.

The Venus Grotto, Linderhof

On a grander scale, follies can be all consuming. Consider Ludwig II of Bavaria. He acceded the throne at a mere 18 years of age and created a fantasy world in the mountains far away from Munich and his responsibilities. From age 28 he would sleep during the day and live during the night where he would dress in historic costume and ride around in elaborate coaches and sleighs. Linderhof in the Graswangtal, was considered his home. He had the Venus grotto fabricated on the property as an amusement.

Follies reached a zenith in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many European estates had ruins of monastic houses and Roman villas; others, lacking such buildings, constructed their own faux versions of these romantic structures. Today, in the U.S., you might be hard pressed to find examples except in large botanical gardens, but I believe that a little whimsy makes a garden enjoyable. So how can you go about adding such "ruins" to your landscape?

Redwood Stone of England offers fantastic Folly designs from small to large. You can order pieces or the whole design which are shipped to specific partners in the U.S. I like looking through their website to get inspiration on how to incorporate a folly into a landscape. If you are handy enough you may even be able to construct one of your own out of used bricks and reclaimed windows from the salvage yard. 

I took this photo in a village along las route des vins d'Alsace in France. The rest of the building was gone, only one weathered wall with a window still stood as a reminder of what once was. This would not be hard to replicate especially at a smaller scale as follies usually are.

Besides buildings, follies can be eye-fooling installations such as this elk.

 An existing rock was given a concrete head and a real pair of antlers. Put a few cows around him and you have a heard of bedded down elk on your back forty (or what seems to be). 

Let your creativity take a long stroll down the folly path. I'm sure, if you're determined to have one, it'll come to you. 

Garden D'Lights!

The pond garden complete with cattails, water lilies and frogs. 

Each year during the holiday season Bellevue Botanical Gardens in Bellevue, Washington puts on it's acclaimed Garden D'Lights exhibition, a truly marvelous display of gardens made entirely of colored lights. It's a "must see" if you are in the area even if it's raining, as it often does, this time of year.

Crops flourish in this country garden plot. Corn, tomatoes, peppers and trellised grapes.

The craftsmanship is so meticulous that identifying each plant is effortless and with each discovery you'll find yourself more amazed. Listening to conversations around us was like visiting any other garden in summer. "Did you see the delphiniums? Aren't they gorgeous!", or "There's a turtle on that rock! Do you see him?"

As you walk through the paths of the display you come upon themed gardens. There is a perennial border, a pond, tropical waterfall, and new this year to the Asian garden, a dragon and waterfalls. Children are encouraged to find all the animals on a list, frogs, turtles, parrots, slugs and more.

A parrot perches in a tree overlooking the tropical garden.

Us adults had just as much fun as the children trying to spot the animals amongst the flowers.

This dragon is outfitted with a smoke machine for optimal effect.

Pergolas were covered in vines of wisteria and, my favorite, the golden chain tree covered walk was fabulous!

I pondered the rain and decided that the wet surface actually enhanced the beauty.

The lowly gardener tending her pots.

The "aquarium" was located inside the visitor center.

Even though the cold, wet winter of the Pacific Northwest had descended upon us, our spirits were lifted by the reminder from Garden D'Lights that spring, followed by summer, was just around the corner.

I'd like to make mention of my photographer, Mary Hattfield, and thank her for making this post possible!

Puerto Rico Pleasures

Nature's design. It's where I find so much inspiration.

Here are some inspiring photos from my recent trip to Puerto Rico.

 

We spent a day at the Jardin Botanico de Rio Piedres 

Are they leaves or a butterfly? 

 

Forms mimicking one another.

Nature's design can instruct us in our own plant choice decisions. Look around your landscape and repeat forms to add continuity and cohesiveness. Your mind's eye will remember and subconsciously relate the forms weather plant, animal, or man made.

 

Sculptures dot the gardens.

 Color and abundant foliage bring vibrancy and lushness to this tropical garden which attracts butterflies, birds, reptiles and amphibious wildlife.

Sparkling in the sun from a short downpour gives this flower a fluorescent appearance. 

I also found some wonderful design at the Castillo San Felipe del Morro the 16th century citadel in old San Juan.

We incorporate nature's designs into our architecture and landscapes...bringing nature to the city reminds us of the wild and bringing architecture into the wild reminds us of civilization. The juxtaposition of free flowing lines against formal structures brings balance and that is why we bring the two together so often in landscape design.