garden design – Page 136

Vintage landscape: bush-houses in Australia

January 17, 2013August 20, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ure7 Comments

Bush- or shade-house at Toowoomba residence, Roslyn, ca. 1900.

I recently came across these photos of an Australian vernacular garden structure: the bush-house.

Fernery at ‘The Hollow,’ Mackay, ca. 1877, by Edmund Rawson.

Bush-houses (also called shade-houses or ferneries) were built to protect tropical plants from the sun. By the late 1800s, many Australian gardeners were as enthusiastic about amassing and displaying these plants as Victorian hothouse collectors in Great Britain and North America.

Florence Reid in a bamboo bush-house at Bainagowan Station, ca. 1900.

The bush-house was modeled on the English glassed-in greenhouse or conservatory, but built with less costly, local materials.

Gardening at the front of Aloe Villa, Toowoomba, ca. 1900. There is a bush-house on the right (and a massive agave on the left).

In a 2003 article for Queensland Review, “Tropicalia: Gardens with Tropical Attitude,” Jeannie Sim wrote that, by the end of the 19th century, a number of international exhibitions in Australia were showing off “high-quality examples of tropicalian gardening” in bush-houses.

Fern-filled conservatory at Bowen Park, Brisbane, ca. 1890, by P.C. Poulsen.

Merthyr Hse, Brisbane — Shade-house in the garden at Merthyr House, Brisbane, ca. 1908.

“The most extraordinary of these kinds of structures,” she wrote, “[was] arguably the one built in 1897 for the Queensland Colonial and Indian Exhibition in Brisbane. . . . Covering the walls and pillars of the bush-house were more than 3000 staghorn, bird’s nest and elkhorn ferns collected from the Blackall Range . . . . The exhibition guide [noted that] . . . Queenslanders ‘could gain a more vivid idea than ever before of the unequalled luxuriance of their scrubs.’ These horticultural displays marked both local pride and individuality, and promoted the use of native plants and bush-houses in gardens.”

Bush-house at the Townsville Botanical Gardens, ca. 1900.

According to Sim, many of the plants cared for and protected in the bush-houses were also displayed in popular verandah gardening. “The verandah was the public showcase for the gardener’s bush-house skills.”

Milton residence, Holly Dean on River Road, Milton, ca. 1900. While it’s hard to see any plants, there is an interesting lath structure on the left side of the porch.

Judging from these photos, bush-houses seem to have been frequently constructed of panels of wood or bamboo lath set at decorative angles.

Bush-house at Greenmount Station, ca. 1927.

It also appears that many bush- or shade-houses were used as cool(er) places to entertain and relax.

Fernery in the Clayfield residence, Elderslie, in the Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, ca. 1900.

All of these photos are via the Commons Flickr photostream of the State Library of Queensland, Australia.

Garden of the old prison superintendent house, St. Helena, 1928. There is a small lath summer house in the center of the path and trellis around the perimeter of the home behind it — perhaps enclosing a verandah around interior rooms?

To scroll through larger versions of the pictures, click on ‘Continue reading’ below and then on any of the thumbnails in the gallery.

Continue reading “Vintage landscape: bush-houses in Australia” →

(A bit belated) Bloom Day for January

January 16, 2013November 1, 2013 Cindy at enclos*ure18 Comments

Here are a few of the flowers blooming in our garden this month.

This beautiful light orange tropical hibiscus — this large shrub is growing on the middle level of the retaining walls along the front lawn.

Below: Rudbeckia laciniata or cutleaf coneflowers — this is a double variety, possibly ‘Goldquelle,’ ‘Hortensia,’ or ‘Goldenglow.’

This 3′ to 5′ rudbeckia — usually seen with single coneflower blooms — is native to eastern North America. A double variety appeared in 1897 and became popular as an “outhouse flower,” planted to shield privies from view.

When we arrived in Rwanda, there was one clump in the garden. I divided it, and now, because it is a “vigorous spreader,” I have about 25 plants.

I’m pretty sure the plant below is another American native in our garden: Datura stramonium or Jimson weed or Jamestown weed.

Because all parts of the plant can produce delirium or bizarre behavior if ingested or smoked, it played a small role in colonial American history when it drugged British soldiers sent to quell a 1676 uprising in Virginia.

The James-Town Weed . . . , being an early plant, was gather’d very young for a boil’d salad, by some of the soldiers sent thither to quell the rebellion of Bacon; and some of them ate plentifully of it, the effect of which was a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows [grimaces] at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.

In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves. . . . [A]fter eleven days [they] returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed.

– The History and Present State of Virginia, 1705

Below: Salvia leucantha or Mexican sage — when we moved in over a year ago, there was one clump near the driveway. I divided it, and now we have the purple and white flowers all around the semi-circle of pavement.

I like its tall, twisty, rather floppy nature, but I think those same attributes annoy our gardener, who keeps trying to stake it upright.

The driveway area is mainly planted with the sage, ‘Fairy’ (I think) roses, yellow daylilies, Jimson weed, and orange lantana. There are also several palm trees, which will eventually add some vertical interest. I’m thinking of adding either some tall, dark pink celosia, burgundy sunflowers, or cranberry-colored hardy hibiscus.

I am not responsible for the bright yellow and white paint on the curbs, by the way. I go back and forth about whether I like it or not.

Below: We have finally stopped using the cutting garden as a holding area for various plants being moved from one place to another.

It is now planted out with zinnias, borage, and cosmos seedlings, as well as some perennials, like the pink chrysanthemums below.

I have really tried to like those acid yellow dahlias in the background, but I just can’t, and I think they are going into the compost pile quite soon.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is the 15th day of each month. To see what’s blooming in other garden bloggers’ gardens, check out May Dreams Gardens.

Foliage Follow Up

When we were at my parents’ house in September, I went around the garden and gathered seeds from their purple coneflowers, lamb’s ear, and wild mullein. I put them all in one baggie because I thought I would recognize the seedlings as they emerged. Of course, now I have no idea whether this is lambs ear or mullein. I hope it’s mostly lamb’s ear, because I should only need a few of the tall, wide mulleins.

My mother also gave me some kale seeds, which I forgot about and then mixed in with all the other seeds. Then I went and bought a packet of kale seeds and planted them. So now my vegetable garden is about half kale. Oh well, it does seem to be the vegetable of the moment.

Thanks to Digging for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow Up the 16th of every month.

Beautiful dreams

January 10, 2013April 13, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

Last weekend, we spent a night at the Virunga Safari Lodge in northern Rwanda. While there, we took the village trail to Mwiko Primary School, a public school that receives support from the hotel.

There is an inspiring mural of the students’ hopes for their school on one of its buildings.

Below, on the right side of the mural, there are classrooms and well-built latrines* with a hand-washing station.

There is also a computer, a teacher talking about HIV-AIDS, and students and teachers joined by love. The organization Mothering Across Continents mentors teachers at the school and sponsored the mural.

Below, in the center of the mural, there are solar panels and tanks to catch rainwater runoff from the classrooms’ roofs, a grassy playing field, a smiling graduate.

The mural was painted by Igala J. and Kabuye G. working from ideas from 50 paintings by the children.

On the right side of the mural below, there are chickens and rabbits, hills terraced for planting, the mountains, and Lake Burera.

The children currently raise rabbits in pens behind the school.

The school’s motto is “knowledge, wisdom, hope.”

Below is a photo of the school, which serves over 800 children and has 12 teachers. You can see more pictures here and here. There’s a video of a class singing here.

*More information on the importance of adequate latrines in schools in developing countries is here and here.

Vintage landscape: tranquility

January 7, 2013January 30, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

The photo shows Tranquility, the rented summer home of the Theodore Roosevelt family at Oyster Bay Cove, New York, in 1872. The photographer is unknown.

Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt — the parents of future President Theodore Roosevelt — lounge on the verandah; Edith Kermit Carow (later Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt) and Corinne Roosevelt are on the lawn. The house was demolished in the mid-1940s.

The picture is from scrapbooks Eleanor Butler Roosevelt, daughter-in-law of the President, via the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

. . . so sweet as drowsy noons,
And evenings steep’d in honey’d indolence;
O, for an age so shelter’d from annoy,
That I may never know how change the moons,
Or hear the voice of busy common-sense!

— John Keats, from “Ode on Indolence“

A look back

January 4, 2013April 13, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure3 Comments

This blog in 2012:*

I posted 173 times and received 39,923 views from readers from 147 countries.

(I do, however, take WordPress’s “My Stats” with a grain of salt. A few mornings ago, it showed me with 10 views from 4 visitors in 6 countries. Maybe one viewer was on an airplane?)

Posts with the most views: “Enclosures of the kings” and “A garden in the Virunga hills” — both in February and both after enclos*ure was featured on WordPress’s “Freshly Pressed” and Fine Gardening’s “Garden Photo of the Day.”

Most viewed individual photos: Japanese Tea House (below)

Japanese tea house with mid-century garden chairs. — The Japanese tea house at Tudor Place with mid-century garden chairs.

and Tanner Springs Park (below)

A summer camp visit to Tanner Springs Park in Portland, Oregon. — A summer camp visits Tanner Springs Park in Portland, Oregon.

Thumbnails of both are featured on pages one and two of Google Image Search for those topics.

Search term bringing the most views to this blog: “Chateau Gaillard.” I have never posted about Chateau Gaillard.

Strangest search term bringing (2) views to this blog: “why would someone enclos [sic] a front porch and make their side entrance the main address.” Please, I would never do that.

Best blogging lesson learned: In a country where the power goes off several times a day, click on “save draft” constantly.

Most popular enclos*ure photo on Pinterest:

from “A visit to GOFTC.” “A pole is placed in the middle of the [compost] pile so it can slide in and out. If it is pulled out warm and damp, the pile is in good shape.”

Most annoying WordPress feature: a spellcheck that changes ‘enclos*ure’ to ‘enclose*ure.’ Also, quote marks are frequently facing the wrong direction — see just above.

My own favorite image this year: I really couldn’t pick one, but I did love the pouring teapot in the garden of the Sowathe Tea Factory last January (below).

Thank you all for visiting enclos*ure in 2012.

I leave you with this interesting quote:

People often ask us, in an amazed way, “how do you possibly garden together?”. . . [O]ne person’s strengths fill in for the other’s weaknesses. The human eye contains two kinds of receptors: rods respond to light or darkness; cones are sensitive to color and detail. Men’s eyes have more rods, a thousand times more sensitive to light than cones, so men wait for low light, often seeing better in the dark. With a plethora of cones, women may stumble in the dark but are better able to respond to the subtle blush of a rose. It doesn’t stop there. Men and women process the information that comes in through their eyes differently. Women store visual information on both sides of their brains, men on one side only: this give men better depth perception, but at the price of color recall, which is easier for women. Ten percent of men are functionally color blind, and almost none have the selective capacity of a woman’s eye, well trained.

— Nori and Sandra Pope, from Color by Design: Planting the Contemporary Garden

*according to my WordPress.com Annual Report and “My Stats.”