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Garden Blogger’s Fling: Part 1

July 5, 2013

Last weekend, I had the good fortune to attend the 2013 Garden Blogger’s Fling in San Francisco. It was my first Fling as a blogger, although many who attended had been to all or almost all of the five Flings held since 2008. I can’t say enough good things about the event, the attendees and the women who organized it. Over the course of three days we were bussed to various gardens, private and public, throughout the Bay Area. We had delicious box lunches and catered dinners, did lots of shopping, talking and even a little drinking.

I was nervous that I might come across as too much of a novice, or “not a real garden blogger.” But, although I was the youngest Flinger, the mix of gardeners from around the world meant that we each had things to share and things to learn. And the concept behind Plant Propaganda seemed universally well-received, which meant a lot. I consider these individuals my peers, and some I follow with fervor. It was great to get a chance to sit down and chat with them in person.

All that being said, I can’t wait for the Portland Fling next year! Until then, I’ve prepared a few posts outlining the highlights of the trip.

Mechanical face art in garden on ivy covered wall Mounted staghorn fern in garden Driftwood wind chimes in garden

On the first day, the buses dropped us outside the facade of an enormous high-rise just a few blocks from Union Square, right on the edge of the Tenderloin. Never would anyone aboard have guessed that, after winding down stairwells and wandering through dark, mildewy tunnels we would emerge in an enormous courtyard, shaded by a spreading canopy of trees overhead. The Organic Mechanic garden is the creative brainchild of Sean Stout and James Pettigrew, and features a lush palette of just about everything you could want. There are aeoniums, cacti, dracaena, euphorbia and other drought tolerant varieties growing in beds alongside shade and water-loving perennials like ferns, impatiens

Hindu goddess statue in garden Ceiba speciosa growing in pot Sarracenia growing in garden bog

The garden was full of various reclaimed and mechanic art, like the face sculpture, driftwood mobile, mounted staghorn fern and gorgeous Hindu statue pictured above. And in addition to mechanic finds, there were lots of organic treasures, too. Above left is a Ceiba speciosa, or silk floss tree, planted in a large pot and mulched with corks! Right, I spotted a group of carnivorous plants growing at the edge of a pond, including a butterwort, sundew, flytrap and this pitcher plant.

Sculptures in Mat Gil's garden (more…)

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Gardening / Horticulture

Taylor McKimens’ Psychedelic Plant Paintings

July 2, 2013

I am so in love with Taylor McKimen’s plant pieces. To me, the amount of genius here is just staggering. At Plant Propaganda, we have seen plants tortured, smashed into a million pieces and turned into high art. All of which are, of course, fabulous things to do with plants. But what hits so close to home about McKimen’s work is the honesty. Having hung around plenty of skilled gardeners, I know there are those who share my passion for a well-tended plant. But, having also managed a hydroponics shop in a college town, I am also familiar with the sort of carnage wreaked on plants that exist in the public space and not in the confines of a private yard – chewing gum stuck to cactus spines, broken beer bottles and wadded up tissues stuffed in pots, used Band-aids hidden among the foliage.

Cartoon plant art by Taylor McKimens

These are the plants in McKimens’ world. Growing up in a small California town on the border of Mexico, his work his influenced by his experience of the Southwest. These are the sorts of plants you find in run-down, often impoverished parts of cities throughout America: plants forgotten, sitting sadly on the porch amongst discarded liquor bottles, hung with old socks, covered in cobwebs and planted in all manner of dollar-store pot or soup can. Christmas cacti and geraniums purchased at Home Depot that have been neglected for years, now sharing space with beer cans and candy wrappers.

Paper cactus sculpture, plant art by Taylor McKimens

There are more than just a few of these patio vignettes up and down our street, making me feel a down-to-earth-ness and connection with McKimen’s pieces. And when his plants are elsewhere, they don’t fare much better: indoors, they are forgotten relics sitting atop ancient CRT televisions. In their natural habitat, they struggle up through and grow over the wreckage of a defunct pickup truck. Despite it all, though, the pieces are not depressing. They are just real. Illustrated in the bright colors and cartoony curves of the graffiti McKimens’ grew up around, and with blunt, tongue-in-cheek titles like Cactus Tangle, Tackle Cactus and Ashtray Succulent, there is still delight to be found here.

Cartoon plant art by Taylor McKimens (more…)

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Art

Beth Hoeckel’s Collages

June 15, 2013

Not all of Baltimore artist Beth Hoeckel’s collages feature plants. In fact, most of the best ones don’t. But some do, and that’s enough for me! Throughout all of Hoeckel’s work, there runs a deep sense of being amazed at the grandness of the universe, as evidenced in her Point of View series, which depicts people from all walks of life staring in awe at various natural vistas, be it the moon, a mountain, the sky or the ocean, sometimes larger than the landscape and often times dwarfed by it.

Retro, vintage plant art collage by Beth Hoeckel.

To me, the images below represent our strange, frequently confused struggle to interact with and find our place in the natural world. We are fascinated by nature, but also scared of it. Hence the image of a woman awkwardly kissing a cactus, and three others showing women surrounded by larger-than-life plants, staring existentially off into the distance. How many of us have felt this way, overwhelmed by a simple task such as caring for a houseplant or reseeding a lawn? Daily we are asked to interact with a world that we grow increasingly distant from. Plant Propaganda is about helping to close that gap.

Or maybe I’m just reading too much into all this. But it’s my blog, and I’m allowed to.

Retro, vintage plant art collage by Beth Hoeckel. (more…)

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Art

Laura Hanifin’s “Night Garden”

June 13, 2013

You might not recognize the name, but you’ve probably seen her work on more than a few covers at your local bookstore. What you haven’t seen, however, is the personal work of photographer Laura Hanifin. The pictures below are from a series entitled Night Garden. And while I’m not in love with the entire set, I think these six work well together. I think unintended results are often the best ones, and these photos have a few. Like the fact that Hanifin chose to snap pictures of sunflowers and daylilies during the night.

Globe thistle at night photographed by Laura Hanifin Hosta flowers at night photographed by Laura Hanifin

We tend to think of plants as beings of the light, as sun is so crucial to their growth and development. It’s true that many plants fold their leaves and close their flowers, resting much like we do. But still others have a secret second life when the sun goes down. Take, for example, the night-blooming cereus, a group of cacti whose blooms open only at night in order to be pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats and moths, or brugmansia, which is most fragrant when it gets dark. When I interned at the San Diego Botanic Garden and had the pleasure to live on-site, I made use of the after-hours access to stroll through the garden and experience things like this, and I suggest you consider doing the same.

Daylilies (Hemerocallis) at night photographed by Laura Hanifin Sunflower at night photographed by Laura Hanifin (more…)

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Art

Tuberous Begonias at Balboa Park

June 10, 2013

I have never been a fan of begonias, but these over-the-top tuberous varieties stopped me in my tracks during a recent visit to Balboa Park’s conservatory (which, did you know, is the only glassless conservatory in the world, being built entirely from wood lath). I am in love with these shade-loving giants, and their stunning colors make me reconsider a move back to Portland, where I can see them brightening summer beds.

Yellow and pink tuberous begonias look like giant roses Red and pink tuberous begonias look like giant roses Orange-red tuberous begonias look like giant roses Peach tuberous begonias look like giant roses Pink and red tuberous begonias look like giant roses Orange and yellow tuberous begonias look like giant roses

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Horticulture

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