THE GARDEN AS ART

While I'm working on my next tutorial (hopefully out later this week), I'd thought I'd share another surprise. Several of you have asked about whether I planned to sell garden prints in the future...specifically my tutorials.  I've finally pulled some together in both digital and hard-copy format.  These are perfect for tacking up on a studio wall as reference or for a uniquely framed {educational} garden print.  Click on the links below to find out more:

DIGITAL GARDEN PRINTS 

(print these out yourself)

HARD-COPY GARDEN PRINTS 

(these are a high quality print that I sign and send to you)

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THE BEAUTIFUL TRIM

Today was our first warm day this spring and now I have flowers swirling in my head. I thought this was the perfect time to share one of my favorite plants, paired with a planting design hint.

An essential part of the perennial border often not given the deserved attention is the front...the extreme front. Often we jump into plants that are 18" to 24" tall in this location, but what makes this part of the border special is the beautiful trim of really short plants...those 12" or less. I especially love when they spill over onto the sidewalk. 

I've been experimenting with this living trim for a few years and have discovered a few beauties.  One of them is Veronica x 'Waterperry Blue'. This plant only grows 4-6" tall and has an amazing blue flower in the spring (zones 4-5).  The foliage also has a slight burgundy tinge making it extra nice throughout the growing season. Oh, I can't wait until the snow is completely gone!

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A GARDEN IN A POSTCARD: Allées

My husband and I love antique shopping.  Some of the things I enjoy searching out is anything garden-related: books, tools, fabrics...and even postcards.

Oftentimes the garden image is just a secondary bonus to whatever tourist site the postcard is depicting.  What's fun for me is finding something teachable in those images. Does it show a landscape design principle, a garden term, or a certain plant?

The two postcards below are fabulous examples of allées. An allée is a walkway or road lined with trees or tall shrubs. This term originated from a French word that meant alley.

The second postcard's allée is formed by pepper trees. Being from the Midwest I was not familiar with this plant, so I looked into it a little more and found an intriguing story. This beauty has a slightly shaded past.  If you'd like to read more please jump over to this article. 

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THE WELLIE RAIN GARDEN

Last week I wrote a post on rain gardens and thought it would be fun to use my theme garden design process to add a little more punch to this type of landscape.  I've been thinking about using Wellington rain boots as a theme for months and this was the perfect opportunity.

I followed my theme garden design process to whip up my Wellie Rain Garden Plan:

1. PICK A THEME. Wellington rain boots!

2. BRAINSTORM. These are the words that pop into my head then when I think about rain boots: colorful, fun patterns, rubber, polka dots, red, yellow, rain coat, puddles, umbrellas, storms, wet, showers, wellies, Britain

3. RESEARCH. To find out a little bit more about Wellie rain boots, I dove into the internet.  This is what I found:

• The Wellington boot was invented by the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, in the early 1800s in Britain.
• Wellesley was considered one of the greatest defensive commanders of all time.  He beat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
• This time period was also the height of the English landscape style.  This style broke away from the formal gardens of the Renaissance into expansive informal landscapes with large lawns and curving paths.

4. TRANSLATE TO PHYSICAL FORM. After looking at my brainstorming and research lists my plan evolved this way:

• Colors: bright, mostly warm colors that make me think of fun rain boots.  I threw a little bit of purple/blue in there to signify rain, but focused more on the reds, oranges and yellows.
• Shapes: The circles are inspired by umbrellas and polka dots, plus the rectangle and rows of plants symbolize the Duke of Wellington's marching army. Though these are both strong, geometric shapes they are placed informally like the English landscape style (yes, I know I'm stretching it here on the English landscape style, but decided to just focus on the informal/asymmetrical aspect of it).
• Furniture: Of course, I included a bright colored umbrella. Wouldn't it be nice to sit under the umbrella during a spring shower and watch the rain garden do it's magic?
• Plants: All of my plants are recommended for rain gardens in US zone 5.  When designing your own rain garden, just Google rain garden plants for zone # and a myriad of sources will pop up for you. Think about height, textures and colors.  I kept mine to 3' or less.

5. CREATE THE PLAN.  See above.

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A PEEK BACK AND FORWARD

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I can't believe the whirlwind I've been through the past year.

At the beginning of 2013 I was uncertain about which direction I should head with my writing and illustrations. I ended 2013 with a wave of unexpected accomplishments that ironically steered me in a new direction.  It's a direction towards merging my divergent talents into a focus that creates energy and hopefully breathes a fresh perspective into something I adore: garden design.

Though I am still trying to figure out where all this is leading, I truly appreciate so many of you jumping on this crazy garden bandwagon. It has been such a joy meeting so many passionate gardeners.

Some things I accomplished in 2013:

• Made a big decision to combine both my food and garden blog, then...(only a few months later)...
• Decided to just focus on my garden blog (jeez, was that a relief).
• Finished my theme garden eBook (and eventually made the even bigger decision to give it away, which has been worth every copy).

What do I want to accomplish in 2014? Besides continue sharing garden design tips in my own illustrative way, I'd like to focus on a short, important list:

• Figure out where am I going with all of this. I've made some big shifts this past year, but I'm not quite there yet.  I love teaching, drawing and garden design, so will continue to explore that combination to hopefully educate you, while also filling both our hearts with sunshine.
• Identify that next big book idea (something is brewing inside me right now).
• Find out what you'd like me to share and explore with you. If you have a moment, would you mind taking this short survey (only four questions), to help me get started on this last goal?

2014 FEEDBACK SURVEY

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TOMATOES TO TOPIARY

In 2009 I began my blogging career with a goal to paint one food illustration a day for an entire year. That adventure was coined THE LUNCH BOX PROJECT.  It was a thrilling joyride to create daily, learn about the ins and outs of food (since I'm not much of a cook), and become part of the welcoming food blogging community.

While I whipped up delectable dishes each night with my paint brush, I continued to work my "full-time job" at a university botanical garden as an educator, planner, and designer, then later teaching in the horticulture department. I loved both parts of my life and continued this parallel activity for four years. I even began another blog for a short time, TOPIARY & TIRAMISU, to help fulfill that need to talk about gardening.

In 2011, when I shifted to teaching landscape design full time in our university's horticulture department, I found the career of my dreams. I was now able to share my love of garden design with talented students everyday. This joy was so powerful that I wanted to start sharing my tips and tricks with gardeners outside the university too...but it was exhausting trying to keep up with both my former garden blog and my food blog. Someone suggested I combine both focuses into one blog, which worked for awhile, but my love of garden design took over.

So this week I finally made the decision to finish THE LUNCH BOX PROJECT (after all, it really is a project that has been successfully completed). I will continue to draw food as it relates to the garden (because my husband is a crazy vegetable gardener and I can't ignore that part of my life), but my new focus will mostly be garden design. Through all of this I am still an illustrator and that will never go away. I hope my illustration background and quirky way of looking at design will pop a breath of fresh air into our beautiful, manipulated, plant-filled outdoor spaces.

Thanks to those that have supported me through THE LUNCH BOX PROJECT and a big welcome to all my new readers that yearn for a new perspective on garden design.

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DETAILS IN THE GARDEN

A couple of months ago I visited a small, yet amazing garden in central Iowa.

I learned something that day: size doesn't matter...it's all in the details.  

That same day we also visited a landscape much larger than the one below. It was beautiful, but lacked the engagement. I saw everything at once, rather than enjoying the thrill of mystery.

Always think about the details of your garden, including furniture, ornamentation, architecture, paint, and sweet plantings.  How can you surprise your visitor rather than just giving away all your views in one sweep?

 

If you'd like to explore this landscape more, here are the last two posts I wrote on the same garden:

A Dog Friendly Garden
Texture in the Garden

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DRAWING A TREE

A fun way to design a landscape is in elevation - or a straight-on view as if you were standing and looking at it (vs. a plan view that is looking down from the sky). When designing in elevation take note of how all plants have a unique form. Some are circular, oval, columnar, pyramidal, weeping or even irregular. You can read more about plant forms here.

Take a photo of your house, lay tracing paper over it, then try drawing a composition of different plant forms in front of it. Think about accentuating your entry, while also framing your house overall.  Mix different forms, plus layer them (2-3 rows of plants is much more interesting than one). Click here to see an example.

Below is a simple tutorial of how to draw a tree, so you can focus on designing, rather than worrying about your drawing skills (anyone can draw a tree, really).  I also have a slightly different format of this graphic tutorial available for purchase as a digital file here or a hard copy here.

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GARDEN SPRINKLES

For the past few days I've had the pleasure of taking a hand-lettering workshop through Skillshare with the talented Mary Kate McDevitt. We had to pick a quote, go through a series of warm-up exercises, then finally create a final hand-lettered composition. I created three, then plan to create a print with one of them. Let me know if you have a favorite.

You may wonder about the garden sprinkles. Sprinkles are those sweet details that you place throughout your garden to make it extra special.  These may include art, lighting, paint, furniture, wind chimes, etc.

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KEEP IT POSITIVE IN THE GARDEN

Let me tell you a little secret about garden design. It's important to keep your livable spaces positive.

What do I mean? Often we'll lay out beds, think about their shapes meticulously, plop them in our yard, then fill them with plants...creating a negative space for our main livable area. This main area becomes leftover space, even though it should be the main focus of our garden. The main space is often the lawn (though it could be a patio or deck too). This is very similar to rooms in your house.  Each room has a strong shape with walls that reinforce it.
Try designing this way instead...

1. Identify where you would like your main lawn area.
2. Determine what shape it should be...an oval, square, circle, kidney bean, etc.
3. Keep the bed lines clean and/or in broad strokes (not a lot of small wiggles).
4. Place planting beds and plant materials to reinforce your shape (along the outer edge, not in the middle).
5. Now you have an amazing garden where you can place garden furniture, read a book, have a picnic or play a little croquet.

A couple of thoughts...though the positive garden I'm showing you above is formal, your garden does not have to be.  This process works for both formal and informal gardens.  Also, your lawn shapes do not have to be totally surrounded by plants.  You can place them sparingly to still give the idea of a lawn shape, without totally enclosing it.

In the end, I want you to remember that garden design is about creating space.  This space is formed by plants and hardscapes, but you must always remember to create the space first.

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HERB PRINT

Making all that pesto inspired me to pull all my recent herb illustrations into one print. You can find out more about this print in my Etsy Shop.  I also have a digital version available here.

A FEW GARDEN BLOGS

As you may know there are hundreds of gardening blogs. I love sifting through and collecting them onto my official garden blog Pinterest board. Here are a few that caught my eye lately that you might also enjoy:

Fine Foliage

Growing with Plants

Thinking Outside the Boxwood

View from Federal Twist

A LINDEN FAR AWAY & CLOSE UP

Though we've lived in our current house for over five years, this is the first summer I noticed the beautiful seeds on our linden tree (I'm embarrassed to admit).

I've always noticed lindens from FAR AWAY...for their beautiful pyramidal shape, but really never looked at it close up.  The seeds are simple little spheres attached to small stems, but the stems are attached to the middle of a narrow, light green leaf.  It's a beautiful contrast against the dark, heart shaped linden leaves. I'm assuming the seeds are attached to this additional leaf to help them glide farther from the tree. A functional element, made so beautifully.

For those that would like to take a stab at learning plants through drawing, I've created hedge note sheets for everyone that signs up for my newsletter. You can print these templates, then fill in each one as you take note of favorite plants. It's my way of getting you to love plants more.

This post is part of Susannah Conway's August Break.  Everyday she inspires us with one word.  

Today's word is FAR AWAY.

FREE eBOOK FOR 24 HOURS

UPDATE: I'm sorry to say this wonderful offer is no longer available. The magical 24 hours has come and gone. I'd like to thank everyone that wrote in! It was an absolute pleasure meeting you.

For those unable to check in with me...the good news is that you can still purchase my eBook for half price through August 2013 by signing up for my email updates:

Lisa Orgler Design Email Updates

Find out more about The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden here.
--------------------------------------
I am so excited about my new eBook, The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden, that I decided to do something a little quirky today...offer it free for 24 hours.

May I ask for a couple of things in return?
1. Please tell me what you think.
2. If you like it, please tell your friends about it.

That's it!

Please email me directly at lisaorgler@huxcomm.net for your free copy now through tomorrow, Saturday, August 10 at 8 p.m. (central time). I look forward to hearing from you!

THE PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY GARDEN

Woo-hoo! I can't believe it! I finally finished my first eBook: The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden! Ten years developing an idea, then one year writing it. I'm feeling a little exhausted and exhilarated all at once.

A NEW WAY TO DESIGN GARDENS
What is it all about? Developing an out-of-the-ordinary theme garden, of course!  




The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden reveals the unique process of how to create a theme garden about anything through five easy steps that lead to an out-of-the-ordinary, personal, and exciting garden design journey.

It is chock full of illustrations and garden design ideas all aimed at encouraging you to look at the landscape in a new way. To show how this process truly works, I use peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as my theme. I have to add some challenge, right?

For new designers, I hope this gives you some encouragement and guidance to begin a new project and for experienced designers, I hope it inspires and rejuvenates your design approach.

You can purchase The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden for only $10 below. You will receive a .pdf file instantly once payment is made. 

Here is a little peek inside:

GARDEN DIAGONALS

Today's word is DIAGONAL, so I challenged myself to find three diagonals in the garden.

This month I'm following Susannah Conway's August Break which includes a word a day for inspiration.

A CLOSE UP OF MY NEW eBOOK

The magical word for today's August Break is CLOSE UP.

I've been head deep finishing my new eBook, The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden, so thought it might be nice to give you a little close up of two pages. I hope to have it officially out by the end of this week and will give you more information then.  A little surprise to those on my mailing list...you'll have first dibs at half the price for a limited time. If anyone else is interested in this perk you may sign up for my email updates here.

UPDATE: My new eBook is now available!  Learn more here!

LOVELY PEANUT BUTTER

Today's word is LOVE.  Oh, what is it about peanut butter that makes me love it so much?