The London Lounge

We have been planning a garden, with both productive and ornamental areas, for some time and have come to understand what Francis Bacon had to say about gardens; this is from the beginning of his essay on them:

''God Almighty first planted a garden. And, indeed, it is the purest of
human pleasure. It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man, without which,
buildings and palaces are but gross handiworks. And a man shall ever see that when
ages grow to civility and elegance, men come to build stately, sooner than to
garden finely – as if gardening were the greater perfection.''

A couple of general inspirations are the (lost) gardens at Heligan, in Cornwall:

http://www.heligan.com/

and Sir Roy and Lady Strong's creation at the Laskett:

http://www.thelaskettgardens.co.uk/

However, we are fairly unrestricted in what we can grow, subject to the reservation that the climate is tropical and, therefore, deciduous plants and trees need special care as the seasons are indistinct.

Does anyone else here go gardening?

NJS

In a word...YES! I have to agree with the above, gardening is a completely fascinating undertaking and it is addictive. The joy of visiting nurserys, seeking out plants, making designs, and watching the wonders emerge makes pulling the weeds easy.

I just finished building two very large stone wall planters...and the first things in were lavander, and a few Bouganvillea arborea, Bignonia, lemon grass, a Bergamot tree..you get the idea.


Loads of fun...any others bitten by the bug?

Cheers

Michael

Michael - It is a great hobby. The trouble is that it can become a life's labour! We especially like herbs and scented plants and flowers. I want to wall a kitchen garden with bricks and estimate that it would take a good 120 days to wall in half an acre but we haven't even decided on the plots yet.
NJS

NJS

You will have tons of these in Brazil where they grow to majestic heights.

Jacaranda planted yesterday.



Los Angeles and Santa Barbara are covered with these beauties as well. Fond memories...

Cheers

The three tenors: Ilex, Suber and Sessile. Quercus, that is!





Check back in twenty years for an update on these newly planted Oaks.

For all you wall lovers, you see here my Fall project, a wall that measured 63 meters in length and 120 sq meters overall. Whew!

Cheers

alden wrote:NJS

You will have tons of these in Brazil where they grow to majestic heights.

Jacaranda planted yesterday.



Los Angeles and Santa Barbara are covered with these beauties as well. Fond memories...

Cheers

Yes, they are native to South America and have been taken all over the world but, around this town, the Chilean Fire Tree is more common.
NJS

Michael,

The holm oak (quercus ilex) is the only one that would stand much chance inside the tropics, as it is virtually evergreen, but Brazil is very tough on importantion of plants and seeds so that is a non-starter here; which is a pity, as I spent many happy hours sitting and reading in a magnificent holm oak when I was a boy.

The wall looks wonderful. Planting oaks and building walls is definitely planning for the future!
NJS

"If you want to be happy some hours get drunk
If you want to be happy for a week kill your pig
If you want to be happy two years get married.
If you want to be happy all your life till a garden"
Chinese proverb. (Or so was I told)
Voltaire translation into French of Horatio "sapias vina liques" (from Carpe Diem)
"Cultivez votre jardin", -Zadig, ironical against the catholic idea of all is for the best (for it is God´s will)
Admirable virtue, gardens. Not for my clumsy hands, though.

Castiglione - the best way to go about gardening, in my view, is to do it from a drawing board, in a room with a view!
NJS

the best way to go about gardening, in my view, is to do it from a drawing board, in a room with a view!

Would be nice but you'd miss all the fun....

"The Italians spend everything they have on their clothes,
The French spend it all on their food.
And the English garden."

Out of date Euro proverb

Cheers

alden wrote:

the best way to go about gardening, in my view, is to do it from a drawing board, in a room with a view!

Would be nice but you'd miss all the fun....

"The Italians spend everything they have on their clothes,
The French spend it all on their food.
And the English garden."

Out of date Euro proverb

Cheers

I was only joking - of course, it is great fun being out there!
NJS

alden wrote: For all you wall lovers, you see here my Fall project, a wall that measured 63 meters in length and 120 sq meters overall. Whew!

Cheers

That is indeed a beautiful stone wall and I appreciate the love and labor which went into building it!
Wonderful and well done! It will stand many many years and I do think that it would be worthwhile to erect a plague for future generations to know the builder and designer and details.

UC

From the hillside to the sea...

Thanks. It was a wonderful project to design and help build with the aid of a master craftsman. The wall is just under 2m in heigth on average for the 63 m length for 120+ sq meters. There are two bedroom homes that are 120 sq meters. That is a lot of stone all of which was taken from the property and has the lovely patina of centuries age.



Cheers

NJS

Is your garden /landscape open or woodland? Is the area flat or hilly? Do you have any neighbours?

In my imagination you live in somewhere more akin to Las Pozas than one of Luis Barragan's minimalist city gardens.

My own preference is for a more natural scheme with a small formal area around the house giving way to woodland and parkland. I realise that this is very traditional but it works in a country setting and does not cost a fortune to maintain.

More this


than this


William

alden wrote:That is a lot of stone all of which was taken from the property and has the lovely patina of centuries age.

It looks fantastic. And it's remarkable how well it blends into the surroundings. Thank you for sharing.

Best,
Gido.