Staddle Stones

How a toadstool-shaped stone transformed itself from utilitarian farm object to coveted garden ornament.

 

The Gallery- Art and Nature

During the depths of winter a gardener can find himself with too much time on his hands.  And if you don't believe me... well, you will after you read this post.  But let me back up a bit. The other day I was looking at a painting by Braque that reminded me of an image I saw just a day earlier on Flickr's Horticultural Art photostream.  Do you know about Flickr's Horticultural Art?  If not, you need to take a look at some of the beautiful natural images there.

The painting on the left, by Georges Braque, is Trees At Estaque and the photo on the right, that I saw earlier, is of Syringa vulgaris (Lilac) leaves from Horticultural Art.  I was struck by the similarities I saw in these two images--one a painting from 1908 and the other a photograph from 2011.  Both, of course, are works of art but the common thread that holds them together is clearly the attempt to depict nature in a new and different way.

Friends of mine are fed up to their transcendental back teeth with me quoting Thoreau but it seems appropriate here so I'll do it one more time.  Thoreau once said that..."Art is not tame, and Nature is not wild, in the ordinary sense. A perfect work of man's art would also be wild or natural in a good sense."  With Thoreau's quote in mind, and the lilac leaves reminding me of the Braque painting, I wondered what some of the most famous artists felt about the relationship between art and nature and so I went digging for a few of their thoughts.  I also went back to the Horticultural Art photostream to see if I could come up with a few more examples of "nature's art" that I thought might resonate with some of the artist's "fine art," like the lilac leaves did for me with the Braque painting. And so, a few of the pairings I put together, along with some artist's musings on art and nature, appear below.  I hope you enjoy them.  You can click on any of the images to see a slide-show of all of them in larger format.

Gardening? Are you serious?

Maggie Smith has had some great lines in Downton Abbey as the inimitable Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham and she didn't disappoint us this past week in episode 3 of the third season.  The gardener in me loved a scene in this episode when the Dowager Countess sat down with her granddaughter, Lady Edith who, shortly after being jilted at the altar, was not at all sure what to do with the rest of her life:

Lady Edith:  There's nothing to do at the house, except when we entertain.

Dowager Countess:  There must be something you can put your mind to.

Lady Edith:  Like, what?  Gardening?

Dowager Countess:  Well, you can't be as desperate as that.

Maybe this explains why, as a gardener, I suffer from bouts of desperation. Nevertheless, even though the Dowager Countess couldn't begin to imagine her granddaughter's hands in the dirt, I'm sure that among those in service at Downton, she must have held the gardeners in fairly high regard.

Guest Blogger- Gordon Hayward

Woodcutters by Thomas Hart Benton, 1948

Firewood

When we bought our 200 year old farmhouse here in southern Vermont we knew we wanted to heat with wood. It was a New England tradition; it was cheaper than oil or propane; any house heated with wood seems to feel warmer than those heated by oil, electricity or propane; it felt like the right thing to do ecologically; and then there was simply the romance of the thing.  An old place like this deserves wood heat.

The Gardens of Mount Desert Island- Thuya Garden

The Thuya Garden, in Northeast Harbor, Maine, was created by landscape designer Charles K. Savage in 1958, shortly after he created nearby Asticou Azalea Garden (see this earlier post).  However, where Asticou Azalea Garden is styled after a Japanese stroll garden, Thuya has a completely different feel.  Here, Savage gave a nod to the English style of gardening when he created an artful blend of semi-formal herbaceous borders framed by native eastern woodlands.  Like Asticou, some of the impetus to create Thuya can be attributed to Savage's efforts to save a part of the collection of plants belonging to landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand when her Reef Point estate in Bar Harbor, Maine was dismantled in 1956. Many of the original trees and plants in Thuya today were purchased from Reef Point and when you walk through the garden you can feel the influence of Beatrix Farrand as well as Gertrude Jekyll, the English gardener she most admired.

Guest Blogger- Tovah Martin

Think Snow

All gardens are created equal under snow. A dusting doesn’t do it, but when we really get dumped on—hallelujah. Because there’s nothing between my garden and Juniper Hill that three feet of white fluffy stuff won’t obliterate.

Design Elements- Garden Hideaways

Do you wish for a special little hideaway in the garden where you can get away from it all?  A place where you can put down the trowel for a while, forget about the weeding, and simply settle in with a good book and a cup of tea.  If so, here are a few garden houses that perhaps will give you some inspiration to construct your very own.  And, if you already have your own special getaway spot in the garden, or have a favorite that you'd like to replicate someday, I would love to see photos!

Seasons Greetings

Happy Holidays to all of our Juniper Hill 

blog readers, Facebook and Twitter friends!

from

Joe, Paula...

Farm Manager, Caleb Corgi...

Assistant Managers and Vermin Consultants, Chelsea Cat and Wendellberry...

Our legal team, Louisa Goat, Charlotte Goat and Emily Goat from the law firm

Oberhasli, Oberhasli &Oberhasli...

the woolly Baa-Ram-Ewe Board of Directors...

and all the barnyard employees at Juniper Hill.

A Winter Tour of Juniper Hill

 

If you are fortunate enough to walk in a garden which looks and feels good in mid-winter, you will realize that it does so because of its use of space, the patterns created by its paths and walls, the shapes of its shrubs, the shadows of its evergreens and the silhouettes of its tree trunks and twisted branches.--Rosemary Verey, The Garden In Winter.

I love the garden in winter!  You get to enjoy all the beauty without any of the work.  The bright flower colors of summer are gone, replaced by a much more subtle and earthy palette of tans, beiges, and reddish-browns, which appeal to me.  And if your garden has the good structure that Rosemary Verey talks about, evergreens can look stunning, so dark and deep green, especially against the backdrop of a gentle snowfall like the one that occurred here this week. That first real snowfall is special and I couldn't wait to grab my camera and snap some photos around the garden.  To join me on a winter tour of the gardens here at Juniper Hill, 

just click on the photo of the gate below.

Wait, Wait...I'm Not Ready!

Every year at this time, the holidays seem to run together
and Christmas sneaks up on me.
Its an old trick of Saint Nick, I think.
And before I can say "just charge it on Visa,"
It's time to hang the holiday wreaths...
and then it's here.