xmlns:fb='http://ogp.me/ns/fb#' Karen Wagner garden & design: February 2012

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

just a little garden inspiration....

Sometimes it helps to be reminded that there are fabulous gardens out there......
just reach for the stars....when you think its impossible, just remember there are people creating amazing and inspiring and almost unbelievable things all the time....it really is possible.


"...I dare say you haven't had much practice", said the Queen. "When I as your age I always did it for half an hour a day.  Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast"    (Alice in Wonderland,  Lewis Carroll)











Wednesday, 15 February 2012

there's garden art in the streets of the world



Lotus flower installations by Choi Jeung Hwa...a really interesting artist who now does these motorized inflatable  lotus flowers.  There is one at the Sydney Botanic Gardens - a big bright red one.  They inflate and deflate and are fascinating...I really like these.




Moss Art...A Moss Cross in London for the Urban Physic garden. A growing sculpture...this appeals to me.






These hanging pots by boskke sky planters are interesting.  Of course, I instinctively liked them and was intriqued.... but I did wonder just why you need plants looking at you upside down....my practical nature come out sometimes.
But then I saw them in the picture below in the kitchen for herbs and realised....Yep, I could do that...that could be a bit funky and fun and practical.  Ticks a few boxes then!


Thursday, 2 February 2012

Back to the garden




So sorry for my lack of communication over the last month  but I have taken the opportunity of a bit of good weather and school holidays to spend some time doing vacation and family things.  Always a pleasant thing to do and wonderful to rejuvenate the batteries a little at this time of year. 
We (at KWGD) have also been concentrating on quite a bit of gardening and gardens for clients over the January hiatus.  We have even had some lovely weather to get out and accomplish some new things in my own garden.
So, Now we are officially back at it....but I'm quite excited and eager to get going....it's shaping up to be a great fun year with lots happening.  We have lots of gardens to design and think about and get constructed and are starting to think about doing some new orders of interesting, practical and delicious things for the garden store. 
Great news......We are just about to go online with our garden store so you can peruse and buy at your leisure whenever you feel like it and see what we have to offer you easily.
I think this is going to be particularly exciting and I'm looking forward to it all happening really soon.  Hopefully within the next week or two....so watch out for that one.
I've also taken some time to think about whats happening in the garden world and read some books and look at lots of websites and start accumulating ideas for the year.  Always lots of fun.....there really are so many people doing fabulous things...its rather inspiring and daunting at the same time.

Heres a few interesting things I stumbled across....

I've been picking lots of flowers from the garden lately and quite enjoying the naturalistic, wild look that is easy to achieve at this time of the year....I quite like the idea of a flower chandelier.


treehouse hotels around the world....now this could be an interesting way to have a garden holiday...always up for an adventure




or maybe just an out there cubby for the backyard....




Ever wondered how to understand the plant hardiness zones when reading American garden books.  Well apparenlty now its easy....  just realeased the new usda hardiness zones maps and explainations.   


Finding a wedding ring on a swedish carrot.......I quite like this as my darling husband lost his wedding ring when we were planting one of our vineyards not long after we were married.   So  maybe there is hope that one day  the ring might just pop up again...never know.




I found this great article on tomatoes varieties by the very well known Ken Druse.  A good starter for next year maybe.  And his books are interesting too...this is his new one.


the most wonderful creations out of wood and naturel branches by charlie baker