Lessons From Legendary Flora Grubb Gardens

Apologies for being a year late with this post . Good intention and all that , but I ’m here to redeem myself .

Last yr , while attending the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show , a Bay Area friend lured me toFlora Grubb Gardens . “ You HAVE to go . You ’ll go nuts ! ” she ’d breathlessly implored me for years .

On my 2010 trip-up , Mara and I hook up at Flora ’s . The place just criticise me out ( which might explicate why I spaced for a year and did n’t blog a word about my sojourn ) .

It ’s about sentence I compensate homage to The Divine Ms. Grubb and her matchless approach to gardening , garden , and the educational time value of inspiring display .

But First, a Few Words About the Show…

If you missed Cool Green Gardens for the past few months , you ’ve break away myincessant badgeringhoping to entice readers to put their lives on time lag for a week and join me at the San Francisco Garden Show . ( I ’m well-chosen to describe that some of you DID ! Nice to suffer you , and I hope you revel your sneak peep at theMay / June issueofFine Gardeningmagazine . )

My chief business at the show was presenting a two - part workshop focusing about how to “ purchase with purpose ” – the idea that plant life can do more than just look pretty . They should do clobber , like mold cooling shade , soften strong winds , or hold a slope . I reinforced the necessity of making sustainable plant choice , promise that plants would thrive where you plant them .

That was the unsexy , but crucial hooey . There were also passel of ooohs and aaaaaahs when I explored the design principles that make gardens into piece of work of art and style . The PowerPoint popped .

So while my nous is still pulsing with great intent ideas , I thought I ’d show you a few pictures I took at Flora Grubb Gardens last Friday , and conk out down what ’s going on , design - wise .

Design Lesson 1: Milking White

When I look at a plant typography that I like , the first matter my brain does is dissect howharmonyandcontrastcome into play .

Maybe it ’s the writer and teacher in me study everything , but it feel like every inch of Flora ’s is n’t intend to just be beautiful , but is set to educate shoppers and to up their biz . It ’s apparent to me that not a pot , plant , or stick of piece of furniture is just “ set down ” somewhere – every plant combination and tableau is an creative idea a customer can try on and bring home .

Like this mating of whiteViburnum tinusflowers and the variegated leaves ofPittosporum tenuifolium ‘ Marjorie Channon ’ . We ’re looking at the effect white has in the garden when it ’s combined with any other gloss . snowy act as as a neutral concomitant that intensifies nearby colors , in this pillow slip fleeceable . This purpose principle translates to any develop zone , since variegate and white - blossom plant are available almost everywhere . Contrast is key .

Design Lesson 2: Heat Seeking Trio

Why does this cause of death combo make me thaw ? I guess it ’s the manner Flora ’s crew pull out off a textbook example of color possibility , marrying the same narrow mountain range of harmonious shadowiness and tints that make declension color displays so exciting . Gold - tinged - with - hydrated lime leave dominate eighty percent of the systema skeletale . The low corner of the report is anchor by a bronzy orange leaf , adding strength and contrast . In pops a shockingly cute cluster of rose - pink flower , made more intense by the sluttish scope leaves . How would you rescale this to be the groundwork of a large composition in your garden ?

Design Lesson 3: Start Your Wining

A few steps by , the Heuchera hubbub continued . As will immediately become obvious , I do n’t know much about wine , but this color mating – call it merlot converge rosé — just speaks of a impregnable oak tree olfactory organ ( aka Pinocchio ) and banker’s bill of Froot Loops . Notice how the vein on the faint leaves ( H. ‘ Pinot Gris ’ , so itisabout the vino ! ) are draw with the same color asH. ‘ Molly Blush ’ , create a bridgework between the two varieties . This is a subtler play of line , specially since the leaves ’ shapes and sizes are selfsame .

Design Lesson 4: Polar Expedition

And sometimes it ’s all about the contrast . When you reckon at a colour wheel , you ’ll see that yellowed - green and ruby-red are nigh polar opposites of each other ( the complement of red is in reality honest green ) . The demarcation is deepened by the darkest shade of red – maroon – and a pale tint of yellow green , accentuating their remainder . The narrow leaves of the midget peppermint Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Agonis flexuosa ‘ Nana ’ ) iterate the people of color at the center of thePelargonium hortorum ‘ Indian Dunes ’ , add another level of involvement with its distinctly different leaf shape .

Design Lesson 5: Kick the Door Open

Sometimes ya just got ta come in with both barrels blaze , like this striking mash - up of a silken green , vary physique ofEuphorbia ingens , and I - forgot - my - sunscreen - coloredE. tirucalli ‘ Sticks on Fire ’ . Other than their shared genus and unsloped architecture , these two plant life could n’t be any less alike : sheer airplane vs. cylindrical branchlets ; creamy vs. smoldering ; spiny vs. smooth .

So stingy rim hats off to Flora Grubb and her sophisticated design crew . If you ’re anywhere near San Francisco , do n’t miss a chance to see this wonderland for yourself – it ’s like winning a full erudition to a masters division in design .

Announcing the winner of Nan Sterman’s book…

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