Garden Design Archives - Page 12 of 19 - Andrea Whitely Garden Consultant

Last week, Dr Garden Consultant and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with a surprise trip for him to Singapore.

I managed to keep it a surprise right up until boarding the flight, which was amazing when you think of everything that goes into arranging an overseas trip.

Why Singapore?

I selected Singapore as our anniversary destination to fulfil a bucket list tick off (don’t tell The Dr. that!) for me. I really wanted to see Gardens By The Bay which since its construction in 2012 has become a mecca for garden lovers (and communicators) all over the world wanting to view tropical plants at their very best and it did not disappoint!

Stepping into the year 2030….

The entire experience was surreal, featuring the elevator ride up to visit the 22-metre high OCBC Skyway and SuperTree Grove. The huge man-made trees and the bird’s eye view of the city was something very special.

The piece de resistance had to be the Cloud Forest to immerse ourselves in tropical plants, especially the fabulous orchids which were showcased in the Orchids of The Andes display. This was the featured exhibit during our visit.

Orchids of The Andes..and there’s even a llama or two!

Everything is on a grand scale…this guy could eat quite a lot of garden!

I could not help but think though, “I really hope that this is not a snapshot into our future…” Is this the only way that our grandchildren will experience nature? The entire time I wandered around this incredible attraction I felt somehow that I had been transported to the year 2030…it was a funny feeling, I must say. That said, walking through all the levels of the Cloud Forest was a beautiful experience that I will never forget. Every single plant was at its very best. Not a single leaf out of place. Perfection.

The biggest single leaf I have ever seen

The vertical gardens and the waterfall in The Cloud Forest were quite incredible, such detailed planting of tropicals as well as stunningly huge Fuschias, Rhododendrons and Azaleas.

Outside of the Cloud Forest, there are many other beautiful things to see within the gardens.

I particularly loved a piece of art called The Planet which is a giant white baby seemingly floating in mid-air.

The Floral Clock and The Children’s garden were lovely but I also enjoyed the Sun Pavillion and all of the Cacti and Succulents on display.

The Floral Clock…a great space to watch time going by…literally

We spent a full day at Gardens By The Bay-no trip to Singapore would be complete without visiting these very unique and mind-boggling gardens. I wonder if people of the Victorian era had the same thoughts that I did about the future when they visited places like Kew Gardens in England and other glasshouses around the world at that time….I think maybe they just might have.

Would I visit again? Of course…just name the date and I’m there!

Andrea’s Top 5 Tips for a GREAT Tropical Plant Paradise at your place

Foliage Colour is a MUST-introduce various coloured foliage for year-round interest
Fragrance, think about plants that offer scent-many tropicals offer incredible aromas in the garden
Look Up! A tropical garden allows you to hang things in trees and drape over branches of existing trees, let your imagination go wild!
Layer your garden-replicating the look of the jungle is important for a successful tropical look, you need big plants at the back of the bed coming down to ground covers at the front.
Bring the look indoors-Tropical plants can thrive very well indoors, no matter where you live in the world

Last August, I visited Fallingwater, with my friend, Pitssburgher, Denise Schreiber, it is quite a drive through the beautiful mountains from Pittsburgh where Denise lives but oh, my what an incredible place to visit.

What is Fallingwater you ask?

Fallingwater is the architectural masterpiece created by Frank Lloyd Wright, probably THE most influential architect of our time. Frank Lloyd Wright was way, way ahead of his time when it came to creating homes of significance and many architects and designers are still inspired by his work today.

Earlier in August, Denise and I visited another one of Lloyd Wrights’ homes in Buffalo, New York, The Darwin Martin home which was amazingly built between 1903 and 1905 looks incredibly like a very modern building, even today. This home has been completely restored and is a must see if you are in Buffalo NY for a visit. Check out the gold wallpaper in the living room!

and now back to Fallingwater…

The walk down to the home leads you down a wide windy path through a forest, it is lush and green and one has a sense of being immersed within nature and then before your eyes lies the home, Fallingwater which incredibly was built over a natural creek and into the crevice of the rocky outcrop.

This home, designed in 1935, is one of the most extraordinary buildings I have ever seen and was built as a holiday home on Bear Run which is a tributary of the Youghiogheny River in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, for a prominent Pittsburgh family, The Kaufmanns. This area is near the summer holiday resort town of Ohiopyle where affluent Pittsburgh families would come and breathe fresh mountain air. Edgar and his wife Liliane married in 1909 and had one son. Edgar Kaufmann ran the family business, Kaufmanns department store. After studying in Europe he returned home to successfully run the family business. “1920, he had reportedly tripled the store’s net sales from $10 million in 1913 to $30 million.” according to our guide on the tour, who went on to add “A philanthropist and patron of the arts, he also loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed horseback riding, fishing, and hiking.

Edgar’s death on April 15, 1955, was headline news in Pittsburgh. The city mourned the loss of its “merchant prince,” and Frank Lloyd Wright mourned him as a patron and friend of more than twenty years.”

According to the Fallingwaters website, “The legacy of Fallingwater will also forever link the Kaufmann name to that of Frank Lloyd Wright and indeed, the history of modern architecture.”

Fallingwater is set up for visitors as any modern family home would be, people could easily imagine living in it today, sofas with plumped up cushions and there’s even bunches of fresh flowers! I could not take photos from inside the house but there are lots that you can view on the Fallingwater website. I was super happy taking photos outside the house-I was in awe of the way in which it fitted so snuggly empathetically into the landscape. Inhaling that fresh mountain air was exhilarating. I could close my eyes and imagine the fabulous parties and wonderful conversations which took place in this place. Albert Einstein and well as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera stayed there with The Kaufmann family, now that must have been quite some dinner party!

Here’s me…Thanks Denise Schreiber for the pic!

Fallingwater, literally built over a waterfall was passed down to the couple’s only son, who in 1934 visited Frank Lloyd Wright at his home in Wisconsin and then went on to become a successful architect in his own right. Edgar Kaufmann Jr died in New York where he lived in 1989 but he still visited the home until his passing and word is that he even acted as a guide from time to time, taking visitors through his family holiday home, leaving visitors completely unaware of who he was.

During Rhododendron season, the walkway down to the home is lined with these colourful blooms, there were a few here and there just for Denise and I to enjoy.

This home and the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright will continue to influence architects all over the world for evermore-it’s a stroke of pure genius.

To learn more about Fallingwater head to https://www.fallingwater.org

If you wish to visit you will probably need to book ahead of time.

Category: Garden Design

Gardens By The Bay

Frank, How Did You Do It?