HERALDSTANDARD.COM | SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013
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home & garden Rock, bonsai garden relieve stress
Associated Press
This photo shows a living picture made with cryptanthus bromeliads, rhipsalis cactus, haworthia, hoya and peperomi. Living pictures, cuttings of assorted succulents woven together in everything from picture frames to pallet boxes, are hot among garden designers and landscapers this spring as an easy, modern way to add color and texture to an outdoor space.
Garden walls can come alive with ‘living pictures’ By The Associated Press
Cut off small buds of the succulents for cuttings, leaving a stem of at least 1/4inch long. No succulents to snip? You can always buy some at a nursery or trade with other gardeners in your neighborhood. “They grow so easily, don’t feel embarrassed knocking on a door to ask for a few cuttings,” Cornwall says. Make sure any old bottom leaves are removed, then leave the cuttings on a tray in a cool, shaded area for a few days to form a “scab” on the ends before planting. ADD SOIL Set the frame mesh-side up on a table and fill with soil, using your hands to push it through the wire mesh openings. Be sure to use cactus soil, which is coarser than potting soil for better drainage. Some vertical gardeners place a layer of sphagnum moss under and over the soil to hold moisture in when watering.
Looking for a fresh way to liven up your garden walls? Think plants, not paintings. Living pictures — cuttings of assorted succulents woven together in everything from picture frames to pallet boxes — have caught on among garden designers and landscapers this spring as an easy, modern way to add color and texture to an outdoor space. “Living pictures composed of succulents have a gorgeous sculptural quality that work surprisingly well in a number of different aesthetics — contemporary, bohemian, Southwestern and more,” says Irene Edwards, executive editor of Lonny home design magazine. “They’re great for urban dwellers with limited space.” Living pictures are nearly maintenance-free (i.e. hard to kill). So even beginners or those with the blackest of thumbs can look like the master gardener of the neighborhood. FILL IN WITH PLANTS Here’s how you can create your own living succulent Now comes the fun and picture: creative part. Lay out the succulent cutPICK YOUR STYLE tings in the design you want For a larger living picture, on a flat surface, and poke you can use a wooden pallet, them into the wire mesh framing out the back like a holes in your frame. shadow box. You can start either in Large, do-it-yourself living one corner or by placing the wall panels are also for sale “focal point” cuttings in first online through garden shops and filling in around them. like San Francisco’s Flora Waves or rivers of color are Grubb Gardens and DIG popular living-picture deGardens based in Santa Cruz, signs, although Cape CodCalif. based landscaper Jason But going big right away Lambton has gone bolder can be daunting, and bigger with spirals of green and also means heavier, so many purple. newbies like California “We painted the pallet gardening blogger Sarah different color stripes to Cornwall stick with smaller go with the color theme of picture or poster frames. the back of the house,” says Go vintage with an antique Lambton, host of HGTV’s frame or finish, or build your “Going Yard.” ‘’It looked own out of local barn wood. like a cool piece of living, Chunky, streamlined frames reclaimed art.” like the ones Cornwall Using just one type of sucbought from Ikea give a more culent is also a simple yet modern feel. elegant option, says Kirk You’ll also need a shadow Aoyagi, co-founder and box cut to fit the back of the vice president of FormLA frame, and wire mesh or Landscaping. “chicken wire” to fit over the “Collages with some front if you’re going to make draping and some upright your own. plants can create a more First, nail or screw the dramatic look and feel,” he shadow box to the back of says. the frame. A depth of 2 to 3 CARE, MAINTENANCE TIPS inches is ideal. Set the wire mesh inside the frame and Keep the living picture flat secure it with a staple gun, and out of direct sunlight for then nail a plywood backing one to two weeks to allow to the back of the shadow roots to form along the stems, box. then begin watering. “If you hang it up right TAKE CUTTINGS away or it rains a lot, that Almost any succulent can dirt will just pour right out. be used for living pictures, ... I made that mistake once,” though it’s usually best to Lambton says. stick with varieties that stay Mount your living art once small, like echeverias and the succulents are securely sempervivums, says DIG rooted, which can take four Gardens co-owner Cara to eight weeks depending on Meyers. climate. “It’s fun to use varieties After that, water every of aeoniums and sedums for seven to 10 days by removing their fun colors and textures, from the wall and laying it but they may need a little flat. Be sure to let the water more maintenance, as they drain before hanging your may start to grow out of the living picture back up, to avoid rotting. picture more,” she says.
HOUMA, La. (AP) — If you walk over the Twin Spans heading toward east Houma and peer through the chainlink fence right at the end of the bridge, you’ll notice an unusual patch of rocks and plants. That’s A.J. Connely’s rock garden — a 6-by6-foot collection of mulch, sand, multicolored rocks and bonsai trees on top of his concrete driveway. The concept, Connely says, is “no yard needed.” “I describe it as a place I wouldn’t mind being,” he said, combing the garden with a small metal rake meant to level the rocks. Connely, 44, a Houma native, began growing bonsai trees while he was in the military in the early 1990s. Bonsai is an ancient Japanese art form that uses miniature trees grown in containers. A big fan of “Karate Kid” films where bonsai is a theme, Connely thought the idea of maintaining the miniature trees would be an interesting, creative and therapeutic hobby. “I enjoy it,” he said. “It’s not something you normally see. It’s my personal Zen garden. I come out here, rake the rocks, and I calm myself.” A bonsai tree can be created from nearly any
The Associated Press
This photo shows a Bonsai tree atop a miniature hill in A.J. Connely’s rock garden in front of his home in Houma, La.
woody-stemmed tree or shrub species. Connely generally uses holly trees. Throughout the plant’s life it is shaped to limit
growth and developed to meet the artist’s vision. The art of bonsai is important to Connely because it relieves stress and keeps him focused.
“Stress will kill you,” he said, pausing for a moment before returning to raking his garden. “I’m not going to let stress kill me.”
Scandinavian style fits spring The Associated Press
Perhaps to alleviate the dreariness of long northern winters, Scandinavian style tends toward folk-art florals, crisp checks, plaids and stripes, and wood furniture left natural or painted in colors that evoke the region’s natural beauty. The look is casual and easy, with playful touches and a simple yet refined vibe. If all that sounds appealing as you shake off winter’s gloom, you’ll find many pretty, Scandinavian-inspired decor options for spring. Scandinavian style is typically anchored by whites and creams, which provide a light-filled canvas on which berry red, sky blue, forest green and ochre offer pops of cheerful color. Black sometimes provides a dramatic canvas, especially on a rug. But there are also soothing faded pinks, soft stone grays and dusky purples in the palette. This spring, Ikea honors its Scandinavian roots with an extensive collection including designer Eva Lundgreen’s Akerkulla floral motif curtains and rug. The Hemnes furniture collection really nails the Swedish look with a linen cabinet in a deep red, a bed frame in gray and a shelving unit in blue. An airy, pared-down version of neoclassical design was the hallmark of 18th century Gustavian design, which has become popular outside of Sweden in the
This photo shows Oiva Toikkas charming little glass bird. The Associated Press
last 20 years. Ikea’s Isala side table is a great example, in clean white or forget-me-not blue. In textiles, you’ll find a kicky pink gingham check in the Emmie Ruta duvet cover, and a country floral in the Eivor Leva duvet cover. (www.ikea.com ) At The Company Store, there’s the cottage charm of the Carrie comforter cover in an orange crewelwork floral motif on earthy chambray cotton. The tailored yet elegant Hampton table comes in gentle shades of tarragon, ash and tan. (www.thecompanystore.com ) Anthropologie’s got the Amora bedding set with a colorful graphic on snowy white. While South American in origin, the folk pattern is similar enough to those of northern design that it
This photo shows a blue isala table.
The Associated Press
reads Scandinavian. The same is true of the retailer’s Fesi throw pillow from the Philadelphia-based design house Mushmina. It’s a Moroccan-embroidered pattern, yet looks like a snowflake or ski haus motif. The light and airy Speckled Blooms cotton curtain features a hyacinth repeat in rosy pink and green on white. Pair it with a few painted furniture pieces and a striped rag rug in similar hues, and you’re off to a great Scandi-style start. (www.anthropologie.com ) Burke Décor has a charming teapot sprinkled with playful tulips and blossoms, designed by Swedish ceramicist Camilla Engdahl. (www.burkedecor.com ) And at www.finnstyle.com , find Oiva Toikka’s plump little glass birds, made by the Finnish glass house Iitala. Erja Hirvi’s Keisarinna fabric for Marimekko, with white magnolia blossoms and branches scattered on dove grey, is also available here. The Dala horse has long been a symbol of Swedish culture. Originating in the country’s furnitureand clock-making towns, toy horses were made from scraps of leftover wood, and the icon often appears on decorative items. Annika Schmidt, an artist in Portland, Maine, creates pillow covers and ceramic tiles printed with her own version of the horse entwined in flowers, rendered in berry reds or turquoise. “I spent idyllic and carefree summers at my grandmother’s house in Sweden; I’d spend hours playing in her small orchard, surrounded by roses,” Schmidt says. (www.etsy.com/shop/LilleputtStudio )