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Modern Landscape Design Ideas for creating your own modern garden

If all you do while watching AMC's Mad Men is lust after their homes, furniture and clothing then a modern landscape is for you. Modern garden design has its roots in the 1950s and '60s, a time that was all about bold geometry and linear designs.

Modern landscaping is known for its streamlined aesthetic and sleek sophisticated style. Overall the garden will feel controlled and organized. Typically, the focus is heavier on hardscape and structures than it is on plants. Modern plants are usually green and selected for shape and texture. Pops of color are then added with furniture cushions, planters or a painted wall.

Popular materials used in modern landscaping include concrete, metal and wood. Many designers opt for leaving concrete surfaces their natural grey, however it can be stained a variety of colors. Metal, especially weathered corten steel, is a common accent in modern gardens. It can be used as planters, as a privacy screen or even as small retaining walls. Wood decking is also common in modern yards. The wood of choice is usually Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood with a rich color.

One of the main goals of modern design is to create contrast. For example a large massing of ornamental grasses pops out against a grey concrete wall, orange cushions draw your eye when placed on otherwise simple patio furniture and a fire pit filled with colored glass demands attention when set amongst a bed of bluestone. It is important to be selective when creating contrast, too much can be overwhelming and make the space seem disjointed. Pick two or three spots in your yard and focus on one contrasting element for each.

A trademark of modern landscapes is a paved area planted with a grid of greenery. This can be paving stones with grass growing where the grout would traditionally be, or concrete poured in sections that allows thyme to grow in between. However, grid patterns are not the only way to achieve a modern look. Landscape designer and author Maureen Gilmer suggests using plants that are architectural and have interesting textures as well as using containers.

Plants with (Those) Benefits

 

 

 

The last two things a woman puts on before meeting her date for dinner is a touch of perfume and a smile. We want to be attractive to our evening companion. Even Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, more than 2000 years ago, felt the same when she got ready to meet her man. To ready herself, she used plants with benefits.

I didn’t set out to write a botanical Kama Sutra. I am a gardener. I write about designing gardens that are in harmony with nature. Then I got intrigued when I learned of the lengths Cleopatra and others throughout history went through to ready themselves for an evening out. Turns out our forefathers and mothers knew the value of aphrodisiac plants.

In the beginning

Since the deep past of history, aphrodisiac plants have been identified and sought out as a remedy for various sexual anxieties and to increase fertility. Procreation being rather important to the continuation of the race, fertility has long been an important moral, religious, and societal issue. Enter the aphrodisiac plants – nature’s little helpers. The aphrodisiacs featured in Plants with Benefits have been known to act as catalysts for fertility and, yes, sexual performance due to their physiological and psychological effects. Aphrodisiacs are based on the principle that what a person eats, drinks, rubs on the skin, inhales – or simply views – can have an impact on his or her sex life, whether direct or indirect.

How a plant made the list

Clockwise from upper left: Saffron, Garlic, Lavender, and Sage.

As I got seriously into my research, looking for possible explanations for various plants’ aphrodisiacal reputations, a pattern presented itself. To make my list, the “O” list, a plant had to have one or more of three qualities that could affect our pleasure centers. But I also couldn’t ignore the importance of a fourth.

Quality #1: A plant is psychologically suggestive because of aroma or shape. Sometimes, just thinking that something is an aphrodisiac is enough to make it work as one. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck… The classic example is the banana. Good for you, and also good for a bit of sophomoric humor. The banana looks the part, so your mind can’t help but go there.

Quality #2: A plant affects brain chemistry by directly increasing blood flow to sex organs or contributing to other pleasurable sensations. I think of these are heat generators or warming agents. Celery, that otherwise benign plant, has benefits as a warming agent. It was so believed that celery was an aphrodisiac, that Casanova regularly ate this plant before hooking up with his mistress. He believed.

Quality #3: A plant’s hormones mimic human hormones – like a tonic to ignite your own hormones. Researchers are finding that some foods do stimulate the production of hormones that affect our libidos. As an example, the Kama Sutra of ancient India speaks of fennel as a sexual stimulant. The Egyptians also regarded fennel as an effective libido booster, as did the Chinese. Even today, fennel soup is served in modern Mediterranean culture to strengthen sexual desire.

Quality #4: A plant promotes health and vigor. We know that good nutrition is linked to good health and high energy levels – which admittedly can help set the stage for an active sex life. On that basis alone, hundreds of healthy foods would have made the list for this book; however, I limited my plant list to ones that had an aphrodisiac history–arugula comes to mind. Its nickname is The Rocket and for good reason. 1st century A.D, Pliny the Elder cited that arugula increased libido, along with other health benefits. Arugula was thought to clear the mind while increasing power and energy. Virgil wrote, “The rocket excites the sexual desire of drowsy people.”

So what did Cleopatra use to get ready for an evening out? First she bathed in water steeped with saffron, then doused herself with lavender.

How to Choose Plants for Container Gardening

Container gardens offer you the ability to garden in a small area and the flexibility to rearrange your plants in countless interesting variations. Container gardens also give you more freedom in choosing your plants, since you can take tropical plants inside during freezes and cool weather plants in during heat waves. The downside to having so many options, however, is that it can be difficult to choose your plants. Carefully consider your space, climate, gardening skills and decorative needs to pick the best plants for your container garden

Instructions

1. • 1
     Choose plants that fit into your space requirements. For a windowsill container garden, you may be confined to herbs, air plants, small cacti and other small plants. In a living room container garden, by contrast, you may have room for ferns or even small trees and, on a patio, you may be able to accommodate medium ornamental trees such as Japanese maples. Also, consider whether you plan to move your containers around frequently. Large plants in large pots will be much more difficult to rearrange than smaller ones.
   • 2
     Pick plants suitable for the microclimate you are growing them in. Water plants, fruiting vegetables and flowers require eight hours of daily sunlight, rooting veggies need six hours and leafy veggies, four. Other plants such as ferns and other understory plants require indirect or filtered sunlight. If you are growing your garden indoors, the window space you have available for your garden will determine what plants you should grow there. Also, consider humidity. If you live in a climate with cold winters, your house will be dry inside during the winter. If your garden is inside, you will have to run a humidifier or build a miniature greenhouse to nourish plants that crave moisture.
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   • 3
     Choose plants that fit with your diligence and skill as a gardener. If you tend to forget about your plants, restrict yourself to plants that handle neglect well such as cast iron plant and mother-in-law tongue. If you are a more attentive grower, however, you can chose plants that require frequent watering, fertilizer and care as well as plants that don't.
   • 4
     Chose plants that complement each other. The University of Illinois Extension, recommends that a container garden have a combination of tall plants or "thrillers," round plants or "fillers" and overhanging plants or "spillers." In addition, chose plants with different leaf shapes and textures. This variety will provide visual interest in your container garden. Also, choose plants with pleasing colors. Use an indoor container garden to accentuate the colors used to decorate the room, and an outdoor one to harmonize with the landscape.

 

Espaços de contemplação

Um Jardim Japonês ou Nihon Teien é parte integrante da tradição nas casas do Japão, nas proximidades de parques, nas cidades, em templos budistas ou xintoístas, e em locais históricos, tais como antigos castelos. Muitos dos mais famosos jardins japoneses do Ocidente, e também no próprio Japão, são os jardins Zen. Como a tradição da cerimónia do chá, os jardins japoneses constituíram uma característica bem peculiar, uma reminiscência do Japão feudal.

Os jardins japoneses e os seus desenhos intrigaram e foram objecto da curiosidade dos visitantes ocidentais desde que os portugueses visitaram o Japão pela primeira vez, no século XVI. Os jardins de pedra e sem água inspirados em Zen são bastante conhecidos, mas não são a única espécie de jardins nipónicos, pois já existia um conceito estético do jardim muito antes de terem sido introduzidos no Japão os ensinamentos Zen. Este movimento apenas acrescentou novas dimensões estéticas.

Um convite a contemplação, o jardim japonês transmite paz e espiritualidade. Os aspectos visuais como a textura e as cores, num jardim oriental são menos importantes do que os elementos filosóficos, religiosos e simbólicos. Estes elementos incluem a água, as pedras, as plantas e os acessórios de jardim.

Para a cultura japonesa, o paisagismo é uma das mais elevadas formas de arte, pois, consegue expressar a essência da natureza num limitado espaço de forma harmoniosa com a paisagem local.

With climate change; Britain is warming up, and more people are taking another look at that long abandoned swimming pool in the back yard. It could get more use in a warmer future.

And with that new look comes a new way of thinking about a swimming pool. Instead of fighting nature with chlorine and harsh turquoise concrete surroundings, as we did back in the 20th century… how about a a 21st century retrofit that makes a pool into a natural one.

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