Just Pictures – Archives And Recent

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Steve

Gleaned over the years……… and some very recent – as in last week.

😉

A somewhat perfect Vertical Garden – from Portland, Oregon.

(click any image to enlarge)

The lasting virtue of this relatively new technology is in its space-saving reclamation of Nature over Cement – among other things. Of course, who doesn’t like the otherwise fascinating look at small works of art hung on a wall or hallway?

Roses called in – said “Get a load of us!”

The Portland, Oregon Rose Garden proves yet again why Portland calls itself “The Rose City” – not that I doubted its claim.

Such a gorgeous setting, overall……

This humongous Weeping Beech always captivated me. It just keeps growing, too, quite happily. The entire “weeping” element of trees has captivated me for some time –

I began using them shamelessly in my own designs after seeing them in such circumstances – and in such profusion as exists around Portland.

I even remember when the picture above was looking like this:

But, yes, the fascination with Weeping Trees stayed. There was always something “sympathetic” about the downward direction of limbs and the coursing water looking so “in place” beside it.

It became something of a trademark in my water feature constructions –

But weeping trees may also claim their very own environment and stand gorgeously on their own in a soft, appealing gesture.

Did someone say roses? Let’s get drunk on some.

On my most recent visit to the Portland Rose Garden, my wonderful friend Annette and her family accompanied me – or I them – Annette played with her filter on a few –

to interesting ends……….

Of course, some require No Filter – Nature does it for us……

For some supremely stupid reason, I often laugh when I see this picture:

My Current Quandary Is What To Like Most About Spring??

Which blooms rock most?…………..Is it the Rhododendrons?

The absurd profusions of the Spring-blooming Crabapples and Cherries?

Or did we miss something?

Dogwoods, for example?

Speaking of “absurd profusions”…………

This is an excellent method of exposing some archives………..Hope you enjoyed it!

😉

A Summer Visit To Portland, Oregon – Part 1

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Steve

I got a huge break in the timing of this event. At the time of my departure from Louisville, the temperature was an unbearably high-90’s phenomenon, complete with a humidity which drove the “feel’s like” temperature (an excellent and appropriate categorization, I must say) to an unlikable 110 degrees or so. Even breathing the air was hot on the lungs. The stillness of the air added a completely intolerable element, lol, particularly for those – such as myself – stupid enough to try working in it.

Ah, blessed Portland. 😉 Rapidly becoming an alternate Urban Universe and my definition of a very ideal habitat for countless reasons (which I aim to address at another time), the city still has some of the greatest-ever hanging baskets spread through town, hanging from lamp posts and the likes – always absurdly full and cascading down in these wild floral masterpieces.

(click any image to enlarge by one or two times)

Old Town, hard by 2nd Avenue and Burnside contains gorgeous 19th Century designs on those few buildings which survived the numerous floods, fires and various and sundry vicissitudes of early Portland.

This is the neighborhood bordering on – or composing – “The Pearl District”, Portland’s historic Chinatown, and it was my destination this beautiful, fresh early morning. This is where Portland’s now-famous Chinese Garden is located. The Garden has a very special meaning for me inasmuch as I figured somewhat in the installation of the irrigation system which feeds it all. I was also connected with overseeing some of the gathering of plant materials and liaising with the Union company which did all the foundation work and original excavations. I also spent ample time with the Chinese fella’s themselves who composed the 150 person workforce, sent directly over from Zou Chou for the construction. They did amazing work – much of which was fully fabricated by them in China prior to coming here.

Such as this stunning piece of woodwork which has always simply blown me away:

Which is all to say I went to a few fascinating seminars, worked on the job next to the contractors on every side of the construction and that I also shared my smokes with some pretty cool Chinese craftsmen. Big smokers, these guys. 😉

So I had a chance to watch this edifice from the ground – up and I can assure you, it was totally fascinating. I don’t think I had a bad day. I recall watching the guys using these monstrous 2″ thick hemp ropes, suitable for circus workers, hauling around the very first basic products – chiseled granite – hand-formed into hard rectangles used as walkway borders, bridge spans and even railings as the picture below reveals. Granite was everywhere and formed to make an absolutely perfect fit where ever it was used. Absolutely everything one sees in this picture below the level of the buildings is granite, topsoil or water. Based on the fundamental solid concrete framing below all the posts and floorings, the entire edifice itself is from Chinese Granite – that is to say, everything visible.

Prior installations of Chinese Gardens by this particular group had taken place twice: In Sydney, Australia just prior to the Olympic Games held there and at the Museum Of Natural History in New York, New York. Since Portland had a Sister City relationship with Zou Chou, I believe it became a natural fit to use these absolute experts for the celebration and admiration of some of the very greatest Chinese contributions to architecture – and more specifically, to Landscape Architecture.

Man, it sure worked. Let’s view some random shots of this precious resource.

Below is a view available to pedestrians outside the garden via a few well-placed windows inside the containing network of walls, engineered to relish a little bit in its own right, and to excite visitors enough to check it out.

A sense of unlimited space and upcoming mystery is what these interesting openings are all about:

Even small windows are engineered to provide a big barrel’s worth of exceeding interest as we gaze at complexity and robust health – the ultimate Feng Shui.

Windows and doors perform vital functions as true “Gateways”, producing and solving mysteries as we sojourn through these artful passages –

Sweet views – magnificent surprises – gently surround us as we suddenly realize how rich a relatively small space can really be.

One third water, one third plants and landscaping and one third buildings of ineffable delicacy the entire place simply redounds with a passion of ultimate competence and plain great sense. Yes, things make sense in this Garden – of course all those small stones should be arranged this way – it’s what the Nature of Beauty is all about, isn’t it? Using natural elements in novel and beguiling ways?

These stone pathways massage a passer-by’s feet. They perform a literal function aside from just sitting there like me – all dressed up – pretty as heck – and no where to go. Truly, the functionality of garden paths in the lore of Chinese Garden Architecture is deeply embedded in the notion of providing pleasure sensually and not merely visually. It’s hard to imagine a deeper regard for the body in simple architectural terms.

They added fish, finally!!

Always a sure winner for me, these little guys ought to find themselves a bit bigger in due time. You have to appreciate their organizing impulses in this cute picture:

I’ll return for another post about this gorgeous place in a day or two. For now, I’ll close with just a couple shots from a larger perspective. The Willows are doing well!:

The “Mountain” looming over the enclosed water fall has filled in magnificently:

The Chinese Garden has most definitely improved with age. My respects are freely given to the stewards of this gorgeous place and certainly as well to those splendid early designers. Everything has gone a bit beyond perfect, marching right on into the Sublime.

Drunk on Fountains – Part 2 of The World Tour

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Steve

Who cares if fountains only serve water?

Actually, some do better than water. Check out this fountain and guess what material the Bellagio Casino is featuring………..

Yes, that would be four different varieties of……..Chocolate. 😉

What a Hijack! I admit I tried breaking in but was caught, handcuffed and led to the Pay Section where they only had 450 different chocolate items. They mentioned the scores of Choco-holics who gathered around this fountain and that my behavior was not the slightest bit unusual. They have a Drool Patrol who are often called in for clean-up purposes.

So where were we? Oh – sure! Lawns. No? Oh, fountains again? OK, just to say we did, here’s an unusual one, found right smack in the middle of Chicago:

Spanish artist Jaume Plensa designed the Crown Fountain to be a tribute to the people of Chicago. The faces that appear to spit streams of water out from the towers are those of 1,000 Chicagoans rotated at random. Though water only flows from mid-spring to mid-fall each year in consideration of Chicago’s often nasty winter weather, the LCD screens are on full time. This one and the next one – Andres Heller-designed – have been shown in here before, but their fascinating uniqueness deserve a reprise. In my opinion, there are some things which never get old. This is from the entrance to the Swarovski headquarters in Wattens, Austria.

William Pye – a killer website here – is another searcher taken from among the multitude of artists featuring water in fountains as well as in actual works of art – or both. His work typically is most identified for his incredible Vortex Water Sculpture called Charybdis – here it is:

Other works of Mr. Pye are clearly constructed by someone who is utterly fascinated with water and its effects, such as this gorgeous work below and a more distant perspective of the same work taken from farther out. This work is called “Canyon” and it fits:

Please enlarge these to get their fuller effect –

Other William Pye works include this gorgeous metal piece outside of Lloyd’s Shipping in London, a work entitled “Argosy”:

Pye’s ultimate fascination did indeed result in ways and means to watch the kenetic properties of rushing water as it appears as a flowing entity over different surfaces and at different pulsations. He was also hugely interested in how light performed in and through water, a gift he dealt out very lushly.

Below is a 6 story drop of a cascade which is attached to a wall. It’s pretty long but totally worth the look in here:

The cascade consists of a vertical rill of water flowing down six stories of bronze panels that are sculpted to create a ripple effect in the water. Four glass panels forming the water wall are suspended from a cantilevered tubular structure, which both holds them in place and acts as a conduit for the water supply. Water is distributed evenly along the length of the panels and flows over the back and front surfaces of the glass. The water is caught in the shallow granite pool into which fibre-optic lights are set. These pick out the colours in the bronze backdrop and highlight the shapes created by the rippling water.

Pretty cool! 😉

Back to chocolate………………..

This “Chocolate Fountain” you can actually dip from. It is from a place with the Other-Worldly title of the “Cologne Chocolate Museum” which, in itself, is enough to drive certain persons I know to light-headedness. I have therefore supplied a link here – Chocolate Museum – so that they can verify its existence and plan accordingly.

My advice is to wait a week.

A small bit of distraction, first……….. I always hate omitting Tivoli, simply because I think rather ancient stuff rocks:

But then, I was in Korea for a while in another life and what they did to this bridge I can’t help but be proud of and to absolutely adore:

Here is a very cool video of this – Banpo – bridge in operation:

Pond and Fountain World – My New Buddies

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Steve

Pond and Fountain World (link)

I have a new bff. I think that’s the Internet term, for new bestest friends. 😉 When I first moved to Louisville, almost a year ago now, I kept noticing this place with all the fountains, their big ol’ sign sporting their name and logo. Well, it didn’t take long for me to visit, needless to say. It’s not as if that’s not completely right up my alley or anything. Wow – I was pretty stunned. They admit they are crowded but who cares? What a treat. They have Koi!

(click images to enlarge)

Browsing Pond and Fountain World’s headquarters was a wonderful refreshment for me – they display a phenomenal number of their products but they have far, far more. There are water pumps pretty much everywhere, running the fountains they feature – we’re talking well-hidden electrical cords galore. But the incredible water falls, ponds and constructed displays are also off the charts. We’re talking “The Natural Look” side of things, ala this blog’s many water features. These guys are brothers.

I rudely introduced myself and dropped my name and this blog’s presence. I actually got to speak with the owner, George, at that time, but he was as distracted as any landscape business owner would be at that time of the year. He did, however, say he knew of me and wanted to speak further. I was intrigued. Finally, we actually produced a get-together and they mentioned they might want me to blog for them as well. This could happen. There is a definite synergy of interests there.

What I was really interested in was selling their products in other blogs and George mentioned his eBay page and such, which would work just fine for me as an affiliate of eBay. This I intend to do unless we produce a blog together – which we are talking about now. We’ll see. In any event, I like the place and the folks there.

It’s a fascinating resource so close to home for me and they do so many things I have done. It’s also wonderful to watch someone else deal with the stress of business, I confess, while I now possess this newer identity as a “blogger” who can stay in his pajamas all day long if he wants. I suddenly feel like The Grateful Dead. 😉 Or is that Cheech and Chong?

It’s definitely crowded. It reminded me of those cemeteries in New Orleans, with all the closely-clustered and sculpted graves and statures. Ironically, it’s still possible to imagine any fountain or feature sold there on its own, at the same time. Plentiful, gorgeous and quite satiating for the water fanatic in us all. Check out these two Bronze items from Italy:

At any rate, they reminded me not just of the glory of fountains, per se, but also of the human love affair with water itself. Water as art, water as a movable feast for the eyes and the ears and for the soul – and all the different ways the civilized human species has devised to present water as a kinetic art form.

Me likey. 😉