Gardening

Connecticut's Poshest Private Landscapes

Filed under: Decor, Estates, Green, Books

Twenty-eight of Connecticut's most entrancing private landscapes are featured in a beautiful new book from Monacelli Press. Private Gardens of Connecticut offers a privileged glimpse at the personal oases at the estates of designer Oscar de la Renta, socialite Anne Bass, decorator Bunny Williams and many more. Included are gardens from all across the state, from Greenwich to New Canaan and the coast, many of which have never been professionally photographed. A variety of styles is represented from formal to small, contemporary, wild, and old fashioned. Some, like de la Renta's (on the cover above) are grand in scale and tended by an army of skilled professionals, others modest and easily kept, but all alluring and extremely enviable. Throughout the oversized volume author Jane Garmey recounts the story of the creation of the leafy retreats while John Hall's lavish photographs of sumptuous flowers and luxuriant foliage make them leap off the page.

Tags: books, coffee table books, Connecticut, estates, garden, gardening, Greenwich, New Canaan, Oscar de la Renta, real estate

Lifestyle Expert Mar Jennings' Best Gardening Tips

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Gardening and lifestyle expert Mar Jennings.

Few understand gardening better than Luxist Awards Panelist Mar Jennings. Mar is the in-house lifestyle expert and correspondent for Better TV and is the home expert for the Fine Living Network. Mar also appears on the Today Show, ABC, Fox, CNN, and many other national and local networks across the country. He is also the author of Life on Mar's: A Four Season Garden (S&J Publishing, $39.95).

In an exclusive interview with Luxist, Mar shares some of his best gardening tips. According to Mar, it is not too late to roll up your sleeves and get to work in your garden.

Luxist: It is already late June. What can someone plant now?

MAR: You might be surprised---and I meet many gardeners who think they're too late.

I recommend focusing on accent pieces where the garden seems bare. Ground cover plants and plants that come in small containers are the best options for getting you in and out of the garden quickly when it's so hot out. Any plant that blooms early in the Spring and has spent flowers is perfect for planting in summer because they will be focusing their energy on growing and not on flowering-plus most will be on sale. Another great bet is succulents.

What can be planted now for full sun and what do you recommend for partial sun? How about no sun?

MAR: Your local garden center can further advise you of things that are particularly good for your area, but here are some sure-fie items that I make use of:

Full sun: Decorative vines such as wisteria or trumpet vines, anchors for your garden such as dwarf boxwoods, and ornamental grasses.

Partial sun: Hydrangeas, hydrangeas and more hydrangeas are ideal. (Not that I'm biased or anything.)

No sun: When God gives you lemons, make lemonade. A full-shade garden can be as wonderful as a full-sun garden. Discover the endless varieties of ferns and hostas, intertwined in any shady area. These create height, texture and interest in an otherwise overlooked place. Introduce moss onto garden structures and stone walkways as an added feature that will increase in charm over the years.

Is it too late to plant vegetable plants?

MAR: For some things, yes. But don't give up! Lettuces, tomatoes, peppers and herbs can be started now---but not from seeds, but by planting the small plants already started. Another reason I love to encourage people to plant vegetables in the summer is because children are out of school and can be involved in the process---a learning experience for them and a family activity for you.

Tags: awards-main, decor-pedia, flowers, gardening, gardening-tips, luxist-awards, main-pedia, Mar Jennings, outdoor living, outdoor-entertaining, outdoor-entertainment, outdoor-entertainment-pedia, outdoors

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The World's Most Luxurious Private Landscapes

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Garden, Books

The lush oases pictured in Luxury Private Gardens, the newest title in teNeues' brilliant Luxury Books series, veer between the pleasantly inspirational and oppressively beautiful. In other words, while looking at it made us want to rush outside and start planting things, it also made us despair of ever creating anything one tenth as attractive as the private paradises portrayed between its covers. Much better, we feel, to simply sit back, mix a drink, read the damned book and let someone else do the digging, pruning, weeding and whatnot. But we digress.

Even the most lavish gardens in these pages displaying "the highest standards of horticultural excellence" are founded on simplicity, the book assures us: "Stripped down to their bare essentials, they are like a well-cut couturier's gown - nothing but an utterly simple response to the unadorned landscape or the naked human body they are designed to fit." The incredible Villa d'Este in Lake Como, Italy (where part of Casino Royale was filmed) pictured on the cover, with its elegant, elaborate parterres doesn't exactly scream simplicity to us, but we could stare at it all day. See the gallery for a luxe garden tour.

Gallery: Luxury Private Gardens

Villa Libellule, Terres Basses, St. Martin.

Villa d'Este, Gernobbio, Lake Como, Italy.

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Tags: Casino Royale, CasinoRoyale, Gardening, Gardens, Horticulture, Italy, Lake Como, LakeComo, Landscaping, teNeues, Villa dEste, VillaDeste

The Patrick Blanc Vertical Garden

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Garden

In some places gardens and live plants are a luxury that just isn't realistic because they need soil, water, and most of all they need lots of room. In cities especially, where the green would be most prized amidst the concrete and tile, is where plants and flowers are the hardest to grow, right? Maybe not.

Using a system that allows plants to grow without any soil, The Vertical Garden by Patrick Blanc allows for natural living beauty in the otherwise most uninhabitable of places: the very walls of buildings, indoors or out. Watering and fertilization are automatic, so it's almost completely hassle free. Patrick Blanc has created customized living walls all over the world.

I wonder how my landlord would feel if I had something like this installed in my apartment?

Via CribCandy

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Tags: blanc, garden, gardening, green, grow, growing, live, living, patrick blanc, PatrickBlanc, plant, plants, vegetal, vertical

Wrought Iron Terrarium

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

We've covered a few terrariums but none quite so grand as this one available at Gump's. It is modeled after the antique terrariums originally created by Nathaniel Ward in the 1800s. Ward's This wrought iron terrarium is made of glass and wrought iron with a pointed arch and trefoil details. It stands over five feet tall in total and will cradle your botanical treasures in fine style. It sells for $750.

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Tags: gardening, home decor, plants, terrarium

Smith & Hawken Large Cloche with Saucer

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Garden

It's still too early to head out and plant anything outdoors for spring, but with Smith & Hawken's Large Cloche with Saucer, you can get your seedling off to a good start in the comfort of your own home. The miniature terrarium is ideal for starting seedling when the weather outdoors is less-than-ideal. The mouth-blown glass bell keeps the soil warm and moist, as well as creating a visually pleasing display for the plants it contains. It measures 13 3/4" x 13 1/4". Price: $70.

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Tags: cloche, garden, gardening, plant, plants, snith and hawken

Aerogrow AeroGarden

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

The AeroGrow AeroGarden is a self-watering, self-feeding planter that lets you garden from the comfort of your kitchen without actually having to do anything. Tested by NASA, the planter uses "aeroponic technology," which means that the plants are suspended in a non-soil environment with 100% humidity, similar to an optimal rainforest climate. This enables plants to grow up to 5 times as fast as they normally would and, since no human intervention is required, the plants are guaranteed to thrive.

The built-in lights simulate a full spectrum of daylight lighting, so no natural sunlight is actually needed, and a computerized alarm system reminds you to check in on the plants. It includes a salad greens kit, but seed kits for herbs, tomatoes, flowers and chili peppers can also be purchased. Check out the FAQ for more info. Price: $199.

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Tags: aerogarden, aerogrow, food gadget, gadget, garden, gardening, herbs, plant, plants, salad