Recently in “Garden Design”

                                        MARK DION- CROQUET SET

                                    ANDREW MILLER- BIRDHOUSE

                           GEORG BASELITZ- EAGLE SCARECROW

                                    ADAM McEWEN- HARE SWING

                                        cast urethane, lacquer, rope

                                       LEO VILLAREAL- BUCKYBALL

Here are several pieces from Cumulus Studio's second collection of limited edition "functional outdoor objects."  Nathalie Karg has once again worked with a collection of innovative and exiting contemporary artists, creating a second collection of unique outdoor pieces. (See Aug. 26, 2009 post for first collection)

How divine would it be to cook on Nathan Mabry's "drum barbeque" ......  or play croquet using Mark Dion's "coffin croquet set!!!"  And of course, the birds in my backyard would be thrilled to live in Andrew Miller's "bird condominium," although they would  certainly be scared of Georg Baselitz's "eagle scarecrow!!!!"

There is no one who loves to "accessorate" more than I do ....... and being able to add my garden to the list of places I can "prop" excites me beyond belief!!!!! And there are even more outdoor pieces on Nathalie's website to fill the whole yard!!!

When Parisian designers, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, designed the Vegetal Chair for Vitra, I doubt that they ever envisioned it being used to create a "jungle gym" for monkeys!!!  But that's what happened last week at the Prague Zoo during Designblok!!! Apparently Vitra decided to ask Daniel Pirsc (please excuse the lack of accents marks, my computer doesn't speak Czech) to use the chairs to create a bush for the Lemur Pavilion at the Zoo. Hence the charming "stack" that appears to have thrilled the monkeys.....who look perfectly at home in the faux bush!!! Although the Bouroullec Brothers inspiration for the chair was the world of plants, I'm sure it never ocured to them that the chair would go back to nature in this particular fashion!!!!

Imagine  "accessorizing" the Lemur Pavillion at the Zoo with this whimsical bush of chairs!!! It's the ultimate "zoo chic"!!!!! Those monkeys really are "accessorators" or have they been "accessorated" or are they just plain "accessories"!!!!!!!!

Summer is finally at an end.....Am I sorry to see it go?????  I don't think so, but I couldn't let it go without this last summer thought....this crazy and wonderful outdoor shower at Ellen Nora & Gil Goldstein's house in New Suffolk!!! It is extremely clever, slightly silly and lots of fun!!! All you need is a tree (dead works best!), a green hose, a shower head, and maybe Christmas tree lights for late evening showers!!!  Sooooooo ingenious...

Stacking slabs of stone and marble.......accenting with rocks; a divine Chinese porcelain figurine; a stunning swan; and anything else that catches Ellen Nora Goldstein's eye, results in this extraordinary fountain that is the centerpiece of her garden!!! Ellen Nora takes whatever materials she finds and begins to "create." She makes no drawings or diagrams prior to beginning her work. Her eyes are both pencil and paper.... and the results are a variety of site specific, environmentally correct, and very elegant creations!!! This fountain, as well as Burning Bertha, and the mosaic grounds of her garden are exceptional pieces of sculpture. Giving a second life to "left overs" or scrap materials to create her art is not only interesting to the eye, but a great statement about protecting our environment from waste!!!!

After meeting the Goldstein's, Swiss-born artist Ellen Nora and her American jazz musician husband Gil, in front of their house and explaining to them how enchanted I was by what I was seeing.......they invited me to visit their magical "mosaic garden." The first thing to catch my eye was this gorgeous creature.....standing very tall and colorful in the garden, she is one of the most statuesque women on the North Fork!!!! Burning Bertha, as she is aptly named, was created by artist Ellen Nora from found remnants of tile and broken pieces of porcelain. She stands about 10 feet tall, with "boobs" that were formerly pot covers and are now attached to a moveable screen, hiding her "belly," which is the grill/fireplace!!! When lite, smoke rises through her head and out of her crown, while her tummy is full of hamburgers and hot dogs!!! Ellen has utilized every part of her including the space between her legs which houses various scraps of wood for cooking or an evening around the "camp" fire!!!! 

The garden surrounding Bertha marries a landscape of mosaic tiles and stones, with exotic greenery and flowers. There are fabulous mosaic encrusted benches in the garden, as well as a grotto nearby that houses a mosaic dinning table, surrounded by an assortment of chairs. A series of unusual outdoor showers complete the whimsical environment. 

As I was photographing the house (pictured on Friday's post) and the divine details from every possible angle..... the owners appeared, back from the beach. I explained that I was not casing the house for a robbery, but was absolutely fascinated by their eccentric abode!!! They introduced themselves, Ellen Nora and Gil Goldstein, and invited me in to see their garden.....................more about the Goldstein's, the house, and the  incredible garden tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! 

These four "gardener musts" are part of a selection of The Best @ Dianne B, a wonderful new on-line store for garden mavens. Dianne B, fashion trensdstter and "garden guru," selected her 10 favorite garden accoutrements and has replaced shopping at the local garden center, with shopping on her chic and stylish new website. Dianne's passion for gardening began twenty plus years ago when she purchased her first house in the East Hampton. According to Dianne, she took "a weedy, woody tangle and created a garden-tour worthy shady exotic acre in her own inimitable way." She documented her path in Dirt: The Lowdown on Growing a Garden with Style, which has become a gardening cult classic. Dianne is particularly proud of the Tool Belt she designed, available exclusively for her site, and the Yard Bag, also her design and exclusive.

I think that one of the most innovative  and unusual gifts for this holiday season is on DB's website....a handmade, stainless steel, Gardener's Shovel, which can be personalized!!!  The shovel, made in Idaho, has a 4' long ash handle and can be hand stamped with up to 16 letters. It can have a monogram or name, the name of your farmhouse or ranch, or a personal message!!! In addition to being the perfect gift for a gardener.....it is the absolutely perfect present for someone who has everything and needs nothing!!!

In 2008 French-born landscape designer, Nathalie Karg, created a company, Cumulus Studios, that invites emerging and established contemporary artists to create functional objects for the outdoors. According to Nathalie "people are looking for whimsy.....gardens should be whimsical." Nathalie's close connection to the art world, she was formally an art advisor, makes her the perfect person to marry functional art and the garden.She has given the artist's complete freedom to create their own personal fantasy, the only limitation being functionality and weather resistance. The result is a delightfully witty selection of garden objects and furniture.

The first collection, previewed this past spring, included eighteen artists. The work is created in very small editions, three for the most part.  The works include.... Rikrit Tiravanija's polished steel and glass ping pong table; Jan Mancuska's metal beach umbrella encircled in text; Mary Heilmann's cabana green table inlaid with broken ceramic; Rob Wynne's mushroom table and chair; Aaron Young's gold chained tire swing; Ugo Rondinone's magical giant scarecrow. One of my particular favorites is this wonderful fountain, pictured above, that is created from tires, by Rob Pruitt. This ecologically correct fountain recycles it's own water, has a simple pump mechanism, and is an edition of 3. I would be thrilled to have it in my garden.......or in the center of my living room!!!!!!

The rest of the pieces in the first collection are equally as inspired.... and according to Nathalie we can expect a new collection for this coming fall!!!!

Enough said about "the green & growing part"!!! For me, the best and most important part of the magic is the furniture and fabrics on the patio and by the pool. I adore mixing these chic, vintage Indian quilts for pillows and as upolstery, even tho they are not water resistant and have to be covered every night, with the antique wicker. I have been collecting wicker for years, and have painted it black, making it more contemporary and because I hate white in the garden...especially white wicker!!! The pool is surrounded on one side by "ancient" teak lounges that came with the house ten years ago. Every couple of years I add new forest green pads, same color every time, and recently, I have had bright colored Sunbrella pillows made for each chaise. The umbrellas on the patio are also forest green, of course the same color as the lounges!!!  For accent, I have wrapped the stems of the umbrellas in strips of fabrics from old Lisa Corti table cloths!!! I am not drawn to crafts.....but having dressed several thousand store windows I know the value of the neon colored 8" cable ties from Gardner Bender.....they hold all the fabrics in place!!!!  The final touch, no matter what the weather, is covering the dinning table with fabulous printed table cloths from Lisa Corti!!!

This summer's trend, organic farming at home, was started at the White House by Mrs. Obama...... but, here on the East End of Long Island (Amagansett to be exact) the real trendsetters are two delightful young women, Amanda Merrow & Katie Baldwin....."lady farmers!" They have started Amber Waves Farm, a non-profit farm with the mission "to produce organic, healthy, nourishing food for the local community and to provide the public with an educational outlet to learn about the joyful process of growing food by using the land as an outdoor classroom." Their other goal is to reintroduce wheat into the local foodshed. In addition to planting over 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables on about two acres, they plan to plant organic heirloom wheat on approximately four acres. After the harvest of the wheat, next July, the plan is to locally mill the wheat into whole grain flour which will be available to the local community. Wouldn't it be really fabulous if the wheat was milled in the Old Mill in East Hampton!!!

These inspiring and innovative women have created a way in which the local community can join the coop.....by becoming a member of Community Support Agriculture (CSA) you get to buy local, seasonal. organic food directly from the "farmers."  Every Friday, members pick up their weekly basket of organic fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs. In addition you get two loaves of bread, fresh from the ovens at Eli's Market, just next to the farm. A farm newsletter and selection of favorite recipes also appear by email weekly! 

One of my first "magazine rip-outs," almost twenty years ago, was an article about this park! I was fascinated by the idea and the visual stayed with me. Through the years, I asked anyone I met from Columbus if they knew the park. It definitely fell into the "little know facts" about Columbus category and made quite an impression!!! Several years ago,I went to Columbus for a wedding and of course, insisted that the park be our first stop!!! It exceeded my expectations....I was totally enthralled by it. I have been back several times since and always recommend visiting the park to anyone I know who is going to Columbus. Imagine accessorizing an entire park!!!

The concept of an interpretation of Seurat's painting  "A Sunday Afternoon on the Ile de la Grand Jatte" into a topiary garden came from local sculptor James T. Mason. The park, created on the land where previously there had been a school for the deaf, was begun in 1988 and dedicated in 1992.  It is the only garden of it's kind that combines horniculture and sculpture.  The topiary garden, on seven acres, is formed by yews, the tallest being 12'. There are 54 figures, 8 boats, 3 dogs, a monkey and a cat. A painting come to life!!!

It is quite simply...."a landscape of a painting of a landscape."  

My "inner accessorator" continues to have a long running obsession with Africa! Several years ago I found these spectacular pieces of furniture in Milan at, my favorite store in the world, ROSSANA ORLANDI. Rosanna told me that she found all four pieces at a market in France and that their origin was unknown. After a bit of research, I think that the webbed pieces were made by Cheick Diallo, a wonderful Mali furniture designer & architect. Cheick's work was included in the extraordinary international exhibition AFRICA REMIX. I was lucky enough to see the exhibition at the Pompidou Museum in Paris and was awed by the incredible work. It greatly fed my addiction to all things African!

                                                       

This kind of "design poetry" just happens!!  Walking around my cousin Eileen's garden I snapped these pictures. She of course, never consciously thought about creating these accent colors in her garden......it is just how she lives in the world. Doesn't everyone have a pair of orange saw horses and a blue hose?????