June | 2013 | Steve Snedeker's Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Quick, dirty and shameless, this ends up being partially autobiographical with the additional opportunity afforded by technology to share art with others. It’s pretty simple in the end.

As a child of the 60’s, having grown up just as Rock and Roll emerged as the social force and general motivator that it did, my musical his-story is studded with some fairly predictable icons. I fully admit that and am delighted, the truth is, that I got to share the experience of this art with so many wonderful friends. The experience of art seems altogether useless at times without including the many shared experiences of appreciating my many wonderful soul mates who took the journey of these deepest forms of Love beside me, from my family to my friends.

Naturally, I have a few of my very own unique aspects which I tend to view as eccentric enough to present as a sort of rating system with indulgent explanation which might or might not inspire others to continue reading and even to listen, all credit going to Youtube Technology as the greatest enabler of all.

Around the age of 8, I learned to operate the family stereophonic record player which I found allowed me to choose my own music at those times I found myself alone enough, or included enough, to give it a whirl. The large tunes at that time – 1956 – ranged from Bill Haley and the Comets to the birth of that amazing phenomenon of Elvis. To say my sister thought a lot of Elvis would be a gross understatement. Which is another factor in my exposure to all music – I had older siblings.

Nevertheless, I had some tasty favorites among which was this which I would turn up loud as possible when alone – hardly rock and roll, but available at home which made it officially “The World” and still moving to me to this day:

Yes, Sibelius. Later, I moved on, quite farther afield. At the ripe old age of 14, I discovered Bo Diddly. This was not as great a departure as one might think, because I and millions of others have always thought Bo Diddly was one hell of a musician. Somehow, he affected me at the deepest levels, all equal parts hormonal, experimental and eager for life itself. I suspect I only sensed rather dwelt on his innovative playing – I just know I thrived on his sound and the simplicity of his spirit.

I got marginally more sophisticated as time went by. Not a lot. But some. In the 60’s one’s choices of music ranged wider than ever, nearing a critical mass in a resounding explosion of genres and styles at the tail end of the 60’s. Leading up to that period was my own deep love affair with Motown, Stax Records, and the moving and so utterly danceable African American tunes of the day. No song moved me more than this one – it was my Monster:

Then the world changed……………whap!

A monstrously deep drink of all music during such heady times as the 60’s – when anything seemed possible – led to what I perceived as a bizarre “flattening out” of modern pop music, probably beginning with the death of Jimi Hendrix, a complete favorite of mine and an innovator whose death implied a redirection of rock and roll, at least to me.

What it did to me was redirect my interest to an interest in almost strictly experimental music. Having relocated to Vancouver, I found myself in basement Jazz Clubs watching Jazz guys like Ornette Coleman, over at LeChat Noir with Gavin Walker and searching for the “still-newer” music. It became rather rewarding in spades as I nearly completely turned my back on rock and roll and pop and thence found my interest exploding with an entire field of experimentation and novel artists. Sonny Sharrock, Weather Report, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis with the electric and controversial fusion creations. blending wild rock and roll principles with Jazz in a movement back toward bass beats, syncopation and outright psychedelic inspiration.

Here is a perfect illustration of my own and other’s fascination with new forms of music:

I also discovered the Lunatic Fringe – at this time Karlheinz Stockhausen, Eric Satie, Philip Glass, John Cage, Edgar Varase – near anti-musical futuristical musicians who redefined everything musical from cadence to melody to a near obscene repitition. I sat listening for hours to these strange compositions. This then led to an abiding interest in some very campy sort of performances, such as Frank Zappa’s or Captain Beefheart’s many surprises on tour, or, eventually, the fascinating Laurie Anderson. 😉

So my musical search for the fresh and new wild caught many successful experiences which rewarded me greatly. I had the wonderful experience of attempting madly to stay on my generation – and even others’ – “cutting edge”. I led myself to believe I actually encountered the monstrous entirety of music – and then found how wildly small my thinking was as I more fully discovered the entire International realm of stuff. No, I hardly got lost – I got inspired.

World music combinations led to an even greater mystery and even more hilarious adventures, bringing me to this very day. I can’t wait now until we hear from the Planets!

My Lily Haydn in space

This is a totally pretentious post on a subject I actually do know something about. Nevertheless, I opine here about matters more serious sociologists among us bring far more to the game with. I have, however, watched landscaping evolve – this I do know and can comment authoritatively on. In the early ’70’s, when I began a career in landscaping, we were called “gardeners” – a catch-all phrase which also described a certain contempt for our trade. How it has changed!! – but, then – it never was different. As I mention below, serious people have been designing landscapes for literal centuries. Anyway, this is my best effort:

Landscaping has become what it once could be. I happen to think it came in at least 3 waves of popularity over the past 100 years- and I understand I am discounting the designers of Babylon, Alexandria and also the Medieval Times. As well, I discount the Bourbon Kings and that fabulous flowering of Chinese, Japanese and Islamic Gardening simply because of what I want to more directly address. I do know that fabulous gardens have always been a human achievement from the organization of the first urban collectives. I also suspect the simple cultivated beauty of flowers actually inspired the beginnings of it all and that those may well have been naturally-occurring owing to their secondary agricultural benefits. Bees don’t go for ugly flowers – they like them hot! Marigolds can keep all sorts of slugs and pests away and even Thistles can deter a deer from munching on a garden’s food supply during those times they were not eaten by hungry lions and tigers and stuff. It’s busy out there and even Troglodyte such as myself and friends will use whatever works. I played softball with a few, so I know them. We are practical. 😉

(left click on all images to enlarge)

At the turn of the Twentieth Century, American cities were experiencing some severe growth issues, calling for increasing amounts of planning. Frederick Olmstead, among others, became much sought-after by far-seeing cities such as Montreal, Baltimore and Louisville. Naturally, Central Park also beckoned from New York City. Urban planning and the hosting of prideful Expositions, Fairs and even World’s Fairs became a currency of not only a city’s proud self-advertisement but also of a method of installing grids and logical street layouts to suit the individual needs of those towns. What came with these plans and people were a further development of a virtual field – urban planning and, by necessity, the study of Parks and Landscaping. There was an explosion of beautification, the installations of fountains and city parks and a sense of community pride vested in a pleasantness which only large scale landscaping and planning could provide. Interesting figures dotted the landscape from Antonio Gaudi in Spain and Europe to the grand figures of Olmstead, Samuel Parsons and others here in the United States. It led to many things but most importantly it led to an overall appreciation of the plants used and the overall concept of landscape design.

The next development for the US was the expansion of the middle class. This occurred after World War 2 when the US became an economic superpower and the economy lifted so many people into the middle class. Suddenly homes were available – self-owned homes, in increasingly large size and variety. This was the second development in landscaping and the one into which I and my current contemporaries were thrown. This element is what I not only grew up in but where I ran businesses and dealt with design. This would be the era we are currently emerging from, in my little analysis of the “Earth As Steve Thinks It”.

I believe we are in a third phase of maturity of the landscaping game, one more of quality and one more of creativity. The passe’ works of the past – decorating front yards to give a minimum of acceptability and of making back yards either basic or else ignoring them – have changed. I honestly believe “statements” are what are next with front yard landscaping and that “Quality of Life” issues will prevail for our back yards. I have watched as my own Baby Boomer Generation matured, asking for bells and whistles in landscaping out back in a more general sense. Secret water features and wondrous constructions now dot the rear yard landscape in a hidden but incredibly creative manifestation of both the landscaper and the homeowner’s sense of style. Entertaining includes not just others, but oneself. This movement into what was once the preserve of royalty has come nearly full circle in the construction of fabulously inclusive private areas where one’s life is enhanced and made more joyous in conjunction with nature and with an artist’s touch.

The challenge for landscape designers and installers now is to – first – understand this development.

Granted, the economy is not what it was at present and this will curtail some of the more elaborate constructions for many of us. It will also lead some to do what I have often observed to be some of the most breathtakingly beautiful work in all of landscaping – doing their own place, with their own labor. But be this as it may, the development of landscaping as a tool for living a fuller life maintains and will not go away. As an ideal, it has many aspirants – plenty of people wishing for it as a priority. When you consider it generally takes from $14,000 – $18,000 to redo a bathroom, imagine what that amount could do in a landscape. Believe me – a lot!

The tools for all this upgrading have developed according to the demands of a voracious commercial market, lending items once considered very exotic – such as brick pavers, basalt columns, water features, fountains and bubble rocks of an amazing variety, iron works, carpentry and maybe especially lighting – to now be regular yard features. The framing of a “nightscape” can be achieved with uplit trees and walls, providing a virtual outdoor room on those gorgeous Spring and Summer nights when going inside just seems so reductive. The soft splash of water can pacify any rear yard so that one can read a book in solitude or just take a nap with the gurgling or splashing sounds of water accompanying it all.

Fire pits can warm an evening around a gas fed grate, providing another element in another season, making the outdoors still more effective as a place to hang out. Blooms, trees, aromas, color, night lighting – the possibilities are endless. Even food of a delicious home-grown sort can enliven and enrich our lives in the everyday sense. Herb and aroma gardens which are inexpensive and which smell like Heaven itself can pervade at atmosphere and make one want to stop while passing by – or waft through an open window. The sensuality of landscaping involves every single sense and can be driven to that end by a studious installation. 360 degrees of fun is the result.

Rebellious, awkward, purposefully funny – there are design themes which also raise the awareness of all who observe them. Kitsch themes such as this picture I mined from Phlip’s Garden Blog (click the link to visit) represents the prior sentence as well as does the entire post he delivers on this marvelous and eccentric piece of Los Angeles landscaping. Please treat yourself to my favorite blogger in the world:

The world is opening to an almost introspective style of representation. The limits are our own but I like what I am seeing and I believe it is a challenge to us all. We can create marvelous things in our very own back yards.

Or our dentist’s office!