If you and I were to walk up and down the sidewalks of the city or streetsides of suburbia, it is likely we could give a pretty good listing of the personalities of the homeowning folks who live there. Many years ago I taught landscape classes at the University of Minnesota's Extension Service. For the winter landscaping class, we added a bus tour to drive along many communities to tell my story about the art of...
Read More >>Masterpiece Landscaping has started a three session class to acquaint homeowners to the art of the landscape garden. The class is led by Glenn Ray, co-owner of Masterpiece Landscaping and former instructor of class sessions, "Landscaping the Minnesota Home Grounds" and "Beauty in the Bleak Season", through the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Glenn was Executive Secretary of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society from 1974 to 1988. The class sessions will be held on Saturdays...
Read More >>The 2010 Minnesota spring is almost back to its normal time frame. In my grounds today's May 18th garden usually occurs about May 26th, so now spring is only about 8 days early. Last week's cool, cloudy and rainy weather, made the adjustment. Still, eight days of a better Spring is much appreciated. I usually use Azalea bloom as my standard for comparing Spring's timing. My grounds are designed as a landscape garden....not a staged garden...
Read More >>Mulch, soil, leaves, river rock are all ground covers. Each have there own place in Earth's landscape with river rock probably best located at the river. The ground covers honored by this article are the ones which produce flowers and the coniferous evergreens that like to spread. Have you ever seen a Japgarden juniper over fifteen feet wide. You've missed a beauty if you haven't. Ground covers provide the negative space among upright forms in the garden...
Read More >>I have a bit more homework for those of you who are studying landscape gardening with me. Of the two pieces of classical music I asked you to review at home, I wish you would pay particular attention to a Beethoven composition, his 3rd piano concerto, the first and second movement. You will remember I offered the analogy that much in classical music is to the ear as classical landscape gardening is to the eye. Beethoven's...
Read More >>In every topic of life there are potential problems with language. I am a language aware person. One of my favorite courses of study ever was trying to learn Latin in High School. I learned to love words, their mysteries and meanings. In landscape gardening we have troubles with the word "garden" and all its relatives. "Landscape" gardening has meaning, but I am not certain very many Americans know how to define it. Let's try,...
Read More >>Landscaping is primarily an art form. One might not recognize the truth of this statement while touring neighborhoods looking for creative ideas to use for home or business grounds. There is very little of the art of landscape design to be seen. Landscaping as generally practiced in this part of the country, and perhaps throughout our nation, is the business of covering the ground usually with lawn and a few shrubs somewhere, and in some areas...
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