http://philipsgardenblog.com Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:21:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In comparing the portrait of Marisot by Manet and the artist's own self portrait, important differences can be discerned. Manet (not to be confused with Monet) depicts a woman of direct charm and beauty; a woman whose compelling qualities are set off by her costume all in black. There is an ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/07/17/berthe-morisot-an-impressionist-in-the-garden/ Le harem dans le Kiosque  Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1870 In the vast estates and gardens of the European nobility, "follies" of Turkish tents and pavilions studded the landscape. Bal masques and tableaux vivants with Europeans in "Tatar" costume were among the lavish garden entertainments. Academic painters of the 19th century found a ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/07/10/garden-retreats-v-turkish-delight-the-romance-of-the-levant-in-european-gardens/ I would love to share one of my favorite neighborhood walks.  My family has a house on Depot Hill, above the village of Capitola. This neighborhood of cottages, some from the 19th century, is perched above the Monterey Bay. Surfers lay on their boards and sea kelp drifts in the calm water below the ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/07/03/gardens-by-the-sea-i-the-cottage-gardens-of-depot-hill/ The garden retreat prior to the 19th century had been for the most part the province of the priviledged nobility. Solitary intellectual pursuits were not excluded, but the forms were generally of convivial pleasure. The industrial revolution of the 19th century led not only to an evolution of the social order, but coincided ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/06/27/garden-retreats-iv-a-room-of-ones-own-the-writers-hut/ When we hear the word "casino" today, we naturally think of gambling. The weird cacophony of slot machines comes to mind, as does the marketing phrase " What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". In 16th century Rome, however, the casino had a different meaning entirely. The restoration of the papacy ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/06/25/garden-retreats-iii-the-italian-mannerist-casino/ Located in the temperate vale of Kashmir outside Srinagar on the Dal Lake, the region was a summer retreat from the heat of the plains. It was here in 1616 that Jahangir, Persian meaning "Conqueror of the World,"  created a pleasure garden for his beloved wife, Nur Jahan. By all ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/06/12/garden-retreats-ii-mughal-garden-shalimar-bagh/ I have to admit I love garden retreats. I have a very modest one. We think it is great fun.   The rudimentary place I call "the teahouse" simply incorporates as its structure the wall of the house and a tall  retaining wall placed at a right angle. The roof is the deck ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/06/12/garden-retreats-i/ Forty-five minutes by boat from Puerto Vallarta, and seemingly outside time and space, is the place called Yelapa. Isolated by the mountain ranges of the Mexican Southern escarpment, Yelapa can only be reached by boat. There are no roads leading into Yelapa. A rugged track can be traverssed by mule or on foot, except ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/06/07/the-handmade-gardens-of-yelapa/ The Garden of La Foce located in the Val d'Orcia region of Southern Tuscany is considered one of the great gardens of the 20th century. The garden is indeed beautiful, in an incomparable setting; it is the story behind the creation of the garden and the events which took place ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/05/10/iris-origo-and-cecil-pinsent-part-ii/ For English and American travellers on the "Grand Tour" of Europe in the 19th century, Italy and most especially Florence, was the desirous destination of choice. The flower of the Renaissance, Florence offered not only intellectual pursuits in art and architecture, but also the promise of  "la dolce far niente" (carefree idleness).  Life was ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/05/08/iris-origo-and-cecil-pinsent-part-i/ Connected to San Francisco by the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito is protected from the marine winds of the Pacific by the Marin headlands. Tendrils of fog never quite reach the tumbling gardens overlooking the bay. Recently while strolling Sausalito's many pedestrian footpaths, a resident affirmed the area  has seven different micro-climates.  In a section of Sausalito with ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/05/02/brandon-tyson-in-sausalito/ "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and chain upon the gate. I called in my dream ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/29/tanglewood/ Iconic designer Tony Duquette is recognized as one of the most original creative talents of the 20th century. Discovered in the 1940's by the legendary Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl), Duquette's ourvre included celebrated designs for films, operas and the stage where he worked with Vincent Minnelli and won a Tony award for costumes ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/26/the-gardens-of-tony-duquette/ Once it was called the Porciuncula river, and its meandering path from its sources in the mountains which flank the San Fernando valley, through the Glendale Narrows and on to Long Beach where it meets the sea provided water and sustenence for the many Gabrielino Indian villages on its changing banks.  Rapid urbanization of Los ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/23/a-river-runs-through-it-again/ On a recent trip through the California high desert,  I was struck by the rapid development of shopping centers and housing developments, each with a strip of lawn and introduced species from more benevolent climes. The deserts of the American Southwest have uniquely evolved over thousands of years with endemic plants adapted to ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/20/the-desert-garden/   http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/18/between-vegas-and-nowhere/ and at the Huntington Botanical Garden: http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/17/cardoons-thistles-and-other-prickly-things/ Irises are a bulbous or rhyzomatous native to northern temperate regions all over the world. Their distinctive flowers consist of three inner petals or "standards" nested inside three outer petals or "falls".  But other than these characteristics, iris flowers vary enormously in terms of size and color.  Irises are usually ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/04/02/iris-cheaper-by-the-dozen/ One the the most beautiful and evocative private gardens in the United States has to be the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller gardens in Seal Harbor, Maine. Established after a visit to Asia in 1921, The Rockefellers brought back  a treasure hoard in which to enrich their garden including a collection of imperial ... http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/03/31/beatrix-farrand-the-abby-aldrich-rockefeller-garden-and-a-moongate/ http://philipsgardenblog.com/2008/03/29/get-the-look-lush-romantic-garden-i/