Hi all, Recently I took a two day landscaping class at the Tower Hill Botanical Garden. Unfortunately I had limited time between the end of the class & the dusk rolling in. I did manage to get a few photos of beautiful small trees.
I love the colours of the dogwood and the witch hazel. I'm still waiting for my trees to starting sprouting their new leaves.
Great foto's of the shrubs and trees. I personally find the Cornus group interesting for their bark colour in the winter time. The colours are varied. We see them here as plantings in municipal spaces although many gardeners in our complex have them. Impressive that you have some landscaping credentials. What sorts of topics were covered in the two-day affair? The Hamamelis are also a family which the council guys favour. Some have already bloomed here. Tell about your course please.
We might make it over there when the daffodils are in bloom. Monday is the annual IFS, I will take pictures. Jerry
Okay, @Jerry Sullivan, I give. What is the 'annual IFS' at Tower Hill? I checked their website & am still clueless. My husband & I like to take a trip over there every so often. The gardens are gorgeous & they often are doing something very interesting with plants/landscaping. Plus they have some pretty good concerts of an evening. @Sjoerd I just took a two 1/2 day class entitled "The Brass Tacks of Landscaping". It was actually quite informative. The instructor clearly was a good teacher, very engaging. Also surprisingly knowledgeable. She was able to answer all kinds of questions, some of which I hardly understood the question, let alone the answer! She has her own landscaping firm and brought those skills of client engagement to the class. She had us state why we were taking the course, what we wanted to get out of it, had us succinctly identify the problem. She taught us about infrastructure (utilities, irrigation, grade & landform, etc) structure (fences, hardscape features, hedges, lighting, etc), what enhancements we wanted (sculptures, perennials, shrubs, furniture, low voltage lighting, etc). She showed us how to lay out our design on graph paper, using scale, templates, etc. She got us thinking about layering in a landscape: from the height of 100+ foot trees to an understory of 15-20 foot trees, to shrubs, to plants & paths, etc. She was also good at responding to us individually. For example, I told her my problem was that I was more of a plant collector than garden designer & my attachment to plants got in my way. She gave me a suggestion for how to deal with that that was helpful. ("Be ruthless!"...... but she gave me a suggestion for HOW to do that that seemed possible). She told us that every landscape design must answer the following questions: Purpose Function People Pets & wildlife Terrain Soil Water Exposure Style Follow up care Etc, etc. I am sure I told you more that you bargained for, but the class was a lot of fun! As I move towards retirement, I hope to take more classes like that one. On a personal note, I went around the classroom too, talking to others about their plans. That was a lot of fun too.
Please do not be mislead The poster has lost his head the IFS is the (Inexpensive Flower Show) The authors name for it takes place at Mahoney's in Winchester Past event: https://www.gardenstew.com/threads/the-garden-center-awakens…-the-annual-ifs.32419/ There is another one but I'm cooking tonight and the food is calling me. Jerry
Not more than I bargained for Cayu. I was genuinely interested in the structure and content of your courses. Thanks for taking the time and trouble with the explanation. I'll bet that it was interesting to walk around and engage with your co-students. Yes, lots of fun and packed with knowledge.
@Cayuga Morning, that sounds like a very interesting class to take in. It covered things I have not considered like layering from 100’ down. I usually think from like a 6’ fence down and not about the wider picture of the entire landscape at once. Food for thought for sure. Red twig dogwood is native here and grows wild all over the mountains around me there is even quite a bit growing around our house in the untamed areas of our property. It is not really cultured like the pic you have though. We had some at our old house and the best way to deal with was to cut it to the ground in early spring and let it grow up to 2’-3’ during the summer and repeat, or it would take over the landscape. I am going to look around my area for a similar class or seminar to join.
What a wonderful opportunity, and you took full advantage of it. We now expect you to answer any and all landscaping questions. Your photos are marvelous and thank you for taking them and sharing!
SJ...glad it wasn't too much. I am still considering taking a Master Gardener course once I retire. I discovered this instructor teaches the classes on design. If the other instructors are as good as she, it would really be worth it. @Tater yes, wasn't that a helpful suggestion? To use as your frame the whole composition from 100 foot trees on down. I have trouble thinking/looking at the big picture and that suggestion was helpful. I did not know red twig dogwood was native anywhere. I thought it was a cultivar! I really like that Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire' and will look for one in the nurseries. I am sure that is a cultivar. You are right too, cutting them back restrains them but also gives the best twig color. @marlingardener You are so sweet! I wish I could answer design questions but I truly am a plant collector who has trouble thinking in the big picture.
I hope that your retirement day comes soon. Just imagine..........Cayuga Morning, Master Gardener. ...it sorta has a ring to it, doesn't it.
