Signs of Green--FlowerShow '14

Post 86

The Flower Show in early March is always welcome and usually wonderful. This year the theme was more complex than usual and I was impressed by how well some exhibitors fulfilled their task of creating a garden that took off from a piece of art. Some interpretations were literal, such as those that consisted of shoving distracting motifs into uncomprehending vegetation. My favorites were the few that seemed to catch the essence of their art by subtly translating motifs into the  body and arrangement of their vegetation, with the end product as much an organic unity as its inspiration.. 

Here you see an unmowed autumn meadow surrounding a pool. The meadow looks indigenous to our area. The style is naturalistic. The formal exhibit gets you to look at the dry grasses and  Joe Pye weed and see their splendor, something you might miss when passing by an overgrown field. The shiny silver blue pool within the meadow sympathetically brings out the vegetation's gold.

 

So, here is an exhibit put in by a gardener who values, and asks us to value, the beauty and bounty of nature in decay. One who, it seems, can turn straw into gold and vice versa. For here is the painting the exhibit is based on.

I was really pleased by how well this one worked since for me, both planting and painting were enriched by their relationship.

There was also a much better known image done engagingly by a plant-lover who had the confidence to let her plants go quietly about their work

Yup--the iconic image of Monet's garden bridge, seen so many times you hardly can see it all anymore. Now look again, cause this is not just a replication of the scene in three dimensions, it is something much better. It is a transfiguration.

Instead of a high-upkeep water garden with water lilies that one would expect under the bridge, there is a locally-practical, easily-maintained pattern of shy violets, thoughtful pansies, dark-leaved begonias, golden moneypenny and short-tressed carex. It is so well-done that even after that first moment's delighted surprise, you don't even want water lilies.

This is what I love the Flower Show for. For giving me new insights into ways to present a garden so that the beauties of the plants are best able to express themselves. To not get in the way of the plants, of nature, to make sure that the sum does not degrade the parts but adds to them a glow previously unsuspected-- this is what the best exhibits offer.

Another exhibit I liked had the look of a simple Maine or Nantucket Cottage. I did not see the art is was based on but I would guess might be by Winslow Homer?

I admit to having heavy demands on the Flower Show. I want to be inspired, enlightened and educated. I want to see practical visions that open new possibilities. What I do not go for is to be entertained. But that is all that many of the exhibits supplied. For instance, at the entrance I walked into the main exhibit. It did not immediately woo me, but knowing it was created by people who are better gardeners than me, I wanted to look around.

Then the lights went out.
 Did a fuse blow?

Front display

Nope. The dark was intentional. Slowly a pink glow alighted on a few straggly branches of what seemed to be pom-poms. The pink strengthened and started to flow. Slowly. A few more pom-poms appeared. Let me tell you, this was no Fillmore East kinetic display. Nope, this was a good taste, slow-mo, arty light show.  I bolted.

Seeking refuge in smaller displays I found what I needed . Breathed in the scented oxygen, breathed out my fear that this place could turn into Disneyland. I understand that the Show caters to a diverse crowd. Just hope they never forget the dedicated, naturalistic gardener.

So I went on to enjoy the Horticultural Court

And left with a smile on my face.

I know many people enjoyed aspects of the Show that I found trying. Well, this blog has always been honest about being from one person's very subjective point of view. That's the fun of it, and sometimes, I hope, the beauty.
 

Gardening Paradise

It is my ambition to keep this blog going past 100 posts. In winter this becomes difficult and so, I wander afield in subject matter. See green field above. Covered with living vegetable matter, hence...well, almost on topic?

 Post 85

While we here in the Wissahickon Valley are being Articaly vortexed, there is a spot closer to the Equator that is enjoying 80ish degree days, sun broken only occasionally by quick moments of rain, trade winds, beautiful plantings and heaps of a sophisticated, hybrid culture older and more complex than ours.

I wish I were there now! It's San Juan, Puerto Rico and it's islands, where I was less than a week ago.

There was oh, so much to do. Of course there are beaches, wonderful miles of beaches.

But so much more than just beaches.  There are forts with foundations laid in the days of Shakespeare and which last saw active duty in WWII against U boats--that's 400 years of service. You can see the WWII gun bunkers in the third picture down from here, just under the flagpoles.

From this fort, the largest, you look back at the harbor and old San Juan.

Now old San Juan can be busy, such as when there is a festival,

Or quiet and European-feeling on a slow afternoon.

When people say old world charm, they are not kidding. This is a living museum of gracefully intoxicating Hispanic architecture, ranging in time from the 16th-century to 1930.

 

For shoppers there are lots of shops. What I liked was the wealth of cultural institutions. One can go to museums, the symphony, the theatre, art galleries or just walk around and take it all in.

Plus, if you want to learn more about gardening paradise, you can go to the University of Puerto Rico's Botanical Gardens. You can walk around on your own or get an English-speaking tour guide.

I did the latter and had a lovely visit.

And yes, there is still more. There is eating and drinking.  I loved everywhere we ate but am partial to two places for drinks. One is very old school Caribbean  (I'm can see Grahme Greene having drunk here,) the other is a bar that looks like it was created by daydreaming hipsters of what an old dive bar would/should/could look like. They hit it on the nose.

First, the elegant El Convento situated in, yes, an old convent.

And then, right across the street from it, this. Great jukebox.

Oh, and there is a rain forest that makes the air happy, or something like that.

If too many pics, apologies, playing with the images makes me feel like I'm back there.
I love hot places that do not get too hot because of the breezes, cool mountains that overlook warm beaches, multi-colored waters leading out to more waters and islands, good food, good architecture, good vibes.

But yes, there is also some bad news. It seems PR has overbought bonds and it's credit rating is shaky. I hope it makes it thru this crisis and can sustainably prosper in the future. I think it would be great for the United States if it became a state.