Garden Design Hollywood party featured on Garden World Report

Art director Donna Reiss and I are just back in the office after a fabulous trip to Los Angeles last week for the launch party (March 4) of Garden Design's first Hollywood issue. The party was held at Rolling Greens' new location on Melrose, and I have to say, it was a great venue for not just any party, but for OUR party. Guests included many of the celebrities whose gardens we share in the March issue -- Bryan Cranston, R.J. Cutler and Kyle MacLachlan, plus Jon Voight even made an appearance on his way to the Mayor's Oscar party -- as well as garden designers, photographers, writers and other good friends of Garden Design.

Garden designer, television host and new media broadcaster Shirley Bovshow of Garden World Report, brought her crew, adding some extra sizzle to the event. Get a peek at the party by watching today's broadcast (Garden Design is the first segment after the introduction).

Garden Design Hollywood party at Garden World Report.

Photo credit: Victor Boghossian/Garden Design

Delighted to receive this note from Rick Darke, whom we profiled in the March issue in Groundbreaker:

Truly a handsome magazine. Glad to see you're maintaining high production values. Especially enjoyed the piece on forcing. We arrived home from Asheville to find the Corylopsis (pictured) we'd cut from the garden a week ago in full bloom on our dining room table. I look forward to seeing the image gallery when posted.

Best, Rick

Note: Stay tuned. We're on the verge of posting a lovely gallery of Rick's photos along with his observations.

The story Rick is referring to is called Bringing into Bloom: Spring-flowering trees and shrubs can be pushed to blossom indoors early, written by Jenny Andrews and photographed by Jon Whittle and featured in the March issue of GD. Get a sneak peek with this gallery posted online.

Swarthmore's New Greenhouse

At the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, called "the most beautiful campus in America," Archer & Buchanan Architecture has just completed a 5,200 sf jewel of a building - the Wister Education Center and Greenhouse. Despite the snow, the new greenhouse is blooming with plants and programs for the horticulturally-inclined.

The building itself is seriously sustainable. Designed to respect the context of its setting, Wister is the most far-reaching sustainable building on campus and serves as a model for integrating green design with the function, mission and architecture of the institution. It will earn LEED silver and possibly gold, according to architect Dan Russoniello.

Aquaponics

It isn't every garden story that hovers near the top of the nytimes.com "most e-mailed" list day after day. But this one has.

New Awards Program!

The 2010 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards are designed to give national recognition and $5,000 in plants to community groups and organizations that are improving their local environments. The annual award, sponsored by Omaha-based Nature Hills Nursery, will be presented in April 2010 to groups and organizations that are literally “greening” their communities, parks, schools and public spaces by planting trees, shrubs and other plants.

The winners of the 2010 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be those nonprofit groups and organizations that truly are making a difference in their local neighborhoods.
The Grand Prize winning garden project will receive $2,500 in plants from Nature Hills Nursery. The First Prize winner will receive $1,500 in plants from Nature Hills Nursery, and the Second Prize winner will receive $1,000 in plants. The plant materials can contain any combination of trees, fruit trees, bushes and shrubs, perennials and vegetable seeds that Nature Hills Nursery offers.

To apply for the 2010 award online, visit this website and click on the Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards logo.

An Italian garden that's good for you, too

Planted between 1875 and 1890 by the renowned German botanist and landscape architect Ludwig Winter, the historic garden at the Borgo Storico Seghetti Panichi is situated on a hill along the valley of the River Tronto, not far from from Ascoli Piceno with spectacular views of the Adriatic coast and the Sibillini mountains.

Winter was an experimenter famed not only for his beautiful designs but also his love of rare tropical plants. Visitors can admire a great variety ‘monumental’ plants – there are trees planted more than 150 years ago, rare species of palm trees and some remarkable examples of exotic Asian plants. Due to the introduction of these rare plants, many bioenergetic areas were designed in the Borgo’s garden, which makes it the first of its kind in Europe.

A bioenergetic garden is a green space, where certain areas offer particular benefits to the surrounding environment. These benefits are produced by the interaction of the natural electromagnetism of the setting with the plants. With the help of an innovative technique therapeutic areas can be identified. These bioenergetic areas take our guests through a natural journey of well-being and relaxation. The beneficial electomagnesium generated has excellent effects on many organs of our body and specifically the liver, heart, stomach and kidneys, but also generally on the immune, nervous and cardiovascular systems.

Moving the Outdoors INdoors

(Post by guest blogger Anne Robert, founder of TheOutdoorStylist.com)

The past few years have been about abolishing the frontier between outdoor and indoor looks and designs. I think it is now commonly accepted that designers have successfully developed a huge selection of items to match both spaces. The next few years will see the rise of a new challenge: allowing those outdoor items to come back indoors and look absolutely spot on. My bet is that this will happen sooner and faster than anticipated.

In the current economy we all feel that any purchase should be an investment even if a little expensive on day one. Outdoor designs are no exception. Just two examples of basic outdoor items all patios or gardens have: Planters and lights

Planters have become stunning statement pieces offered in a zillions shapes, colors, materials and sizes. They were however doomed to stay put once outside because of their weight. This is no longer a challenge. Designers such as flora-online.de are developing pots and planters on wheels that are either apparent or concealed (lower image).

More often, outdoor lighting is incorporated into furniture or pots. The trick here is to pay attention to the materials, as some do not age well outdoors. And, choose more forgiving colors than white. Another good way to make your selections is to go for pieces that are specifically designed as part of an indoor/outdoor collection. I love these very sculptural planters (top) by Italian brand 21 St LIVINGART.

Read more by Anne Robert at TheOutdoorStylist.com.