Arch and Gate
Looking for the Pond
April 10, 2012 | 1 Comment
"Jeremiah" by Roger Martin
“Jeremiah” is no small amphibian– he’s a little over 36″ tall and almost two-feet-wide. He was displayed in the garden of the Grovewood Gallery, which is on the grounds of the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.
For more information on Roger Martin’s work, check out his website here.
Walking the Highline
February 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment
'Jelena' Witchhazel on the Highline
I was transported (in my mind) to lower Manhattan, New York City a few weeks ago. My friend Lea sent photos from her stroll through Highline Park, an angular, edgy, public garden created on an elevated railroad line built in the 1930s. The tracks, designed to avoid safety hazards of freight cars crisscrossing street-level traffic, were threatened for demolition when a group of community residents began a dedicated process of restoration. Section 1 of Highline Park was completed in 2009 and another section opened in June of 2011. The park has become a vibrant part of NYC and community life.
The ever-changing urban garden includes an array of plants (many native), including trees, shrubs, bulbs, vines and swaths of grasses and perennials. This vibrant witchhazel –Hamamelis ‘Jelena’– blazes with winter color against a backdrop of industrial buildings near the Highline boardwalk.
Bands of Color
December 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Vegetation near The Battery, Charleston
During a walk on a post-holiday vacation in Charleston, I saw this soothing winter canvas of water, sky, and plants. It reminded me that simple landscapes are often the most beautiful.
Milepost 384. Come Visit.
November 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center
Yesterday was a beautiful day in the mountains, so it was with some reluctance that I left the panorama of blue skies and flaming red, orange, and yellow foliage to go into the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center just off milepost 384 in Asheville. Although the center is close to where I grew up and now return to whenever possible, I had never taken time to visit the new building. (Well, not exactly “new”, since it was built in 2008).
It was actually a sensory treat to walk into the Visitor Center. Everything, from the multi-textured structural materials to the artistic displays and interactive media stations, encourages visitors to “stay a spell”. It’s easy to spend an afternoon learning about the culture, history, and natural resources of the surrounding mountains – from the Cherokee Indian heritage to the blight that led to the loss of the American chestnut, and much more.
If you go, do not miss the high definition movie (big, big screen) that’s shown every thirty minutes or so. The aerial photography – especially the part about a biologist who scales the side of massive cliffs to check on the health of rare, native plants – is just breathtaking.
Monet and the Spiders
October 29, 2011 |
Let Us In!
It wasn’t until I downloaded some photos from my camera that I saw the swirling, Monet-looking reflections on the glass panels of this appealing front door. Before, the spiders were just whimsical attachments to the side of the house. Now, they seem to be in limbo between the world outside and the green and gold one waiting beyond the door.
Where’s My Raft?
July 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment
The Big Crafty show was downtown at the Asheville Art Museum on Sunday. Vendors (mostly local) displayed their homemade creations inside the museum, as well as outside under tents on the adjacent Pack Place plaza.
It was a hot, humid day and the fountain near some of the outside booths proved more enticing to these young folks than arts and crafts.
