a lovely little infusion I shared with my friends

Well another year has drawn to a close and tonight is the night we all must raise a glass and toast the coming of 2012.

I hope that the glass you are raising has something in it that came out of your garden!

There has been an infusion craze going on! Over the past couple of years, I’ve not only been eating out of my garden, I’ve been drinking out of it. I use my lemons, lemongrass, strawberries, tomatoes, marjoram, basil, melons, peppers, and much more as a flavor enhancement to all manner of spirits, and the results are delightful and delicious!

And SOOO easy to do! Just think of the flavors you want in your drink, put those fruits, vegetables, herbs, or spices (sometimes all of the above) into a mason jar and pour some vodka (or bourbon, or tequila, or rum, or gin) in. Let it rest, “cooking”, and in a week or two you’ll have a kick ass potion of your own creation. Be an ALCHEMIST! EXPERIMENT! And taste it often, because some flavors can infuse quickly and may overpower your liquor of choice.

This is really a game. It’s fun. And the drinks you can make with your infusions are endless. Be your own bartender for 2012 – it is the Year of The Dragon, so we are all going to need a cocktail every now and again! There is a FABULOUS blog, Dirt & Martinis, that all of us who enjoy … well, dirt and martinis MUST read!

Gardens are such lovely places to throw cocktail parties. The days are getting longer, we are thinking about our gardens and what food we want to grow – let’s think about things we can DRINK, too! As soon as spring rolls around you should be swimming in ideas of the homemade infusions you can make! Get ready for a bash in your garden!Serving your guests drinks that have been kissed by your garden in the ultimate. And there is really no reason to wait to grow it yourself – support your local Farmers Markets and get some bounty there! A lovely winter infusion is Bourbon with Clove-studded Oranges. Serve it on the rock, or make a toddy by heating it up with unfiltered apple juice – YUM!!!

This is my New Year’s Gift to you, my dear readers – I give you more reasons to drink in the 2012. And if you make it, you must drink!

XOXO, Your Germinatrix

POTTED - where color and gardening collide

I’ll bet you thought I was going to write about plants. I thought so, too!  But when I started getting down to the business of writing about color in the garden, my brain kept wandering, and it was as if something was whispering in my ear … Potted … Potted … POTTED! I couldn’t ignore it. I ran to one of the greatest garden stores around, Potted in  the Loz Feliz area of Los Angeles. Here, vibrant color is the rule, the law, the raison d’etre. J’ADORE!!!

check out this super cool pot. what color would you call it? maybe ... persimmon?

As a designer, I tend to be very plant-centric. I try to get as much color and sculpture out of my plantings as possible, and keep the hardscape on the simple side. But after the garden is totally installed, there is another layer – another opportunity to get wild with color – THINGS!!! I can’t imagine a garden without jewel-toned ceramic containers, or colorful seating, or colored gravel … or …

candy - colored tumbled glass!

Tumbled glass is practically irresistible for the color lover. I’m a fan of using it in small doses – as a top dressing on containers, for instance. A little crazy-tinted glass goes a LONG way, so unless you’re doing a Las Vegas Showgirl Garden, you might not want rivers of the stuff  - and I know this from experience. Rivers of tumbled glass easily tips the scale from exuberant to tacky*. Use it wisely and you’ll be happy. I rarely believe in restraint, except when I do.

(*any designers who I have inadvertently insulted by my declaration of  colored glass being tacky in large amounts, please know that I insult myself as well – I fell prey to the lure of massive amounts of tumbled glass in a garden and the result haunts me, it looks so dated and silly. My bad, my issue – if you love it - DO IT!!!)

drippy drippy yummy yummy gimme gimme!

Containers are where I go mad. I cannot see using terracotta when there are so many amazing choices of glazed ceramic pottery. Is there a color theme in your planting? Echo it in the choice of your glazed pots! This kind of connective detail adds depth to your gardens. Since I love container planting, I have many, many glazed ceramic pots in my garden, in all different colors – I rationalize this because my garden is my “laboratory” and I need to try everything. I CAN choose a reasonable palette of glazed ceramic pots for other gardens, but I tend to like either a strong monochrome, or a crazy rainbow, like a crayola box. An extremist, that’s me – to the core.

just say yes to orange - this cafe table would look great just about anywhere

For me, outdoor living is about having fun. The color that screams “FUN” louder than any is ORANGE!!! I Have an orange fixation. Admittedly, it’s not for everyone. Yes, some people want muted, relaxing colors in their gardens – but one thing every garden designer working in Southern California  knows is that those colors wash out in the bright, hard, light we have. Saturated works for us! Chartreuse is as pastel as I get.

I can't believe I didn't buy these...

I want this chair I want this chair I want this chair!

As many of you know, this is the year of Turquoise – thus sayeth Pantone. So I encourage everyone to go a different direction – let’s give the underdog colors a chance! Saffron, Lichen, Cappuccino, Citron, Paprika, Eggplant … these are colors that need your support!

what bird wouldn't feel extra special taking a sip from this lovely saffron birdbath?

In closing, this plant maniac wants you all to know that there are so many avenues to injecting your garden with color. Go crazy!!!

And a special thank you to Annette at POTTED for letting me snap away!!! Please stop over to Potted’s Facebook Fan Page and join the party!

Now please take a little trip around the country and visit my fellow blog linkers! They are all being extra colorful today!

Andrew Keys : Garden Smackdown : Boston, MA »

Christina Salwitz : Personal Garden Coach : Renton, WA »

Douglas Owens-Pike : Energyscapes : Minneapolis, MN »

Genevieve Schmidt : North Coast Gardening : Arcata, CA »

Jocelyn Chilvers : The Art Garden : Denver, CO »

Rebecca Sweet : Gossip in the Garden : Los Altos, CA »

Rochelle Greayer : Studio “G” : Boston, MA »

Scott Hokunson : Blue Heron Landscapes : Granby, CT »

is anything better than a front yard garden all aglow with Halloween spirit?

Every year, one or two days before Halloween, I invite a few of my friends over and we have a session of extreme pumpkin debauchery. It is my FAVORITE party of the year, and last Friday’s was a particularly fun bash. Fire, knives, and tequila – what could be better?

who doesn't want an excuse to stab a gourd while costumed?

I secure the devotion of my carvers by plying them with food and drink – two yummy soups were served; one a hearty and spicy Mexican hominy stew called Pozole, and the other a Marcella Hazan recipe from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking – Potato Soup with Smothered Onions. I was proud of myself – both were really delicious and there were no leftovers, even though I made enough for an army of zombies! I wanted to get everyone in the mood for play right away, so the minute anyone walked in the door I had them drink a shot – tequila with Sangrita (not Sangria – SangrITA is a traditional spicy tomato-y  fruity chaser for white tequila) The word “Sangrita” translates to “little blood”, so I thought making my friends drink tequila with a “little blood” to get warmed up was very apropos.

the minion, after being served a little blood by a vampyre cat

the kitchen - where the action always is - notice 'Halloween' on the tv!

one extra-tall wise guy decided to carve a watermelon...

To be very honest, after the first hour and a half, I don’t remember much but me running around being very loud and trying to speak through my fangs without a dorky lisp. Vampire movies leave out the fact that fangs make you talk like Sylvester the cat. So rather than being dark and mysterious, my Vampyre Cat was drunk and a little bit of a sissy…

As it turns out, the Vampyre Cat also had no skills when it came to carving a pumpkin. I set out to do a Veronica Lake style swirly bangs with one eye pumpkin, but it soon became apparent that I was going nowhere fast. My efforts were met with much ridicule from my dear friends. Not wanting to seem overly sensitive, I made fun of my own pumpkin as well. I feel badly … I didn’t stand behind my pumpkin. If I were on Project Runway, Heidi would have “Auf wiederzein” ‘d me.

what the hell AM I trying to do here?

It turns out that I didn’t have to be embarrassed about my pumpkin – I realized that it was trying to be a fish swimming through seaweed. Once lit, it did just fine in the line-up and had no problem holding its own against some pretty heavy hitters!

my abstract underwater pumpkin, shining its little heart out

My friends carved some mighty impressive gourds – and one thing these images can’t capture is the wonderful smell of twenty-two pumpkins burning at once … warm, toasty and redolent of autumn.

eerie and beautiful

spooky!

Euan carved a big pumpkin eating a tiny pumpkin - he always wins!

the minion's pumpkin is shooting my pumpkin!

Pae's angst-ridden masterpiece

I want to thank my friends for being such fun! I love the party for the sheer craziness of having dozens of people wielding knives and throwing innards and seeds all over the place, but  the results are undeniably spectacular … the beauty of my Halloween garden belongs to all of the wonderful people who I heart so much! And on Halloween night, the garden is loved by all of the kids in the neighborhood, who walk around ooooo-ing and aaaaahing, even the coolest members of Her Majesty’s Secret Service …

james bond enjoying the pumpkin patch, and a martini (shaken, not stirred)

It was a BRILLIANT Halloween!

My sweet friend Sarah from Toronto Gardens has bestowed upon me the honor of a MeMe – I am now charged to do the following:

1- Link back to the person who gave me the award (DONE!)

2- Reveal seven things about myself (EASY – j’adore to talk about myself!)

3- Choose seven other blogs to nominate, and post a link to them (how will I CHOOSE?)

4- Let each of your choices know they have been tagged by posting on their blog (will do)

5-  (for the tag-ees) let the tagger know when your post is up on your blog (out of my hands)

Okay! I’ve decided to add random pics I love to add to the visual panache of what could be a totally verbose post. Bear with me, everyone – get to know your blogger! Here we GO!!!

Thing About Myself #1 – Everybody who reads this blog knows I am wild about succulents, but I have a shameful secret – I wasn’t always. As a matter of fact, I was ANTI-SUCCULENT! I know, I know … what was WITH me? Well, as a baby gardener, I was so taken with the work of Christopher Lloyd and the complicatedly colorful English cottage and estate gardens – THAT’S what I wanted! I was deep in zone denial, and I spent so much money to chase a look that would never be totally achievable in my garden. And local nurseries were only too happy to sell me plants that wouldn’t thrive. WHY would anyone sell me PEONIES? I was desperate to have drifts of Alchemilla mollis mixed with Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’ (this was a long time ago) – I’d buy them and they’d fry. I’d try again … same result. I would see these thriving stands of agaves and aloes and think ‘NEVER!’ I won’t give in and become one of those desert gardeners! HA! Little did I know then of the joys of the whimsical combination of succulents and drought tolerant perennials. And look at me now – totally smitten.

TAM #2 – I am a fiend for Halloween – it is my favorite time of year. Not only does it start to get cooler here in Los Angeles around that time (you lucky people who are starting autumn NOW make me so jealous!), but suddenly it is appropriate to be dark. I am ALWAYS dark (not in disposition or mood, but in sartorial choices), and I am very pale, so Halloween is a time when I have a leg up on the Southern California girls with their blond hair and tans. Sure, they can dress up like sexy fairies or pirates wearing lingerie and heels or mice wearing lingerie and heels or whatever that can be combined with lingerie and heels – but there is NO WAY that can be as convincing a vampire or witch as I can be!

TAM #3 – If  I could, I would probably sleep in my kitchen. I love this room! The kitchen is generally the heart of any home – here it is the heart, the lungs, the stomach, and also the uterus. Everything happens here, so much so that Jan and I have to FORCE ourselves to use the rest of the house. We have a lovely library with a big tv – but we’d rather watch videos on our I-Mac in the kitchen. We have a comfy dining room, but when friends come over, we always end up clustered in the kitchen. Last year the Minion built me a beautiful office – but I still do all my work on the kitchen table. I also LOVE to cook (doesn’t every gardener?) so maybe my creativity is sparked by the proximity to food and cooking utensils. Maybe I just don’t want to be too far away from food. I’m sure many people have a similar sense of being kitchen-addicted – should we form a support group?

TAM #4 – I started my adult life as an actor, and that totally informs the way I design gardens. I see spaces for their theatrical possibilities; I see plants as characters. Some are stars, some supporting cast, many extras … but all are an important part of the story. The gardens I love are settings where people can play and explore, and I credit my background in theatre for helping me to understand how to create spaces conducive to play and experimentation. I am constantly finding analogies between acting/theatre and designing gardens! Maybe it’s weird, but like a good actor, I always try to follow my impulses.

TAM #5 – My wonderful husband is named Jan – very common in Europe (he grew up in Switzerland), but here, Jan is usually short for ‘Janet’ or ‘Janice’ … so sometimes, if people don’t know us personally, they assume we are a lesbian couple. Which I think is kind of hot. Jan is also a writer – he writes art criticism for various magazines, and we think he got certain jobs (when he first started out)  because people assumed he was a woman. We always get mail addressed to Mrs. Jan T____.  Sometimes, when he doesn’t want to deal with telephone bureaucracy, I become ‘Jan’ (short for Janet) T____ and deal with the issue at hand for him. (we’ve only been caught once)

TAM #6 – I don’t have kids. Jan and I decided early on that we were looking for a different kind of family, so when we are ready, we’ll be adopting. Until then, Dexter and Sadie are our children, and I must say, if you’re going to use a dog as a baby substitute, look no further than French Bulldogs. Full grown, they are the size of a toddler, they have a big round head like a baby, they can easily be held in your arms baby-style, and they rule your life much in the way a small child does. Dexter (the dark one) is an evil genius, and is about one brain cell away from speaking. To this day, I swear I heard him say “Art Garfunkel” once. Sadie (blonde and silly) is pure crazy dog. She adores Dexter and does whatever he does – which made for the most painful episode in my life to date. Last October, Dexter snuck out of a side gate (accidentally left open by garden janitors) and dug his way under a fence to go wander the neighborhood. Sadie followed him. I had just gotten home from a hard day, let them out in the yard, and was getting a drink when I heard the sound I will NEVER forget in my life. Sadie was hit by a car (who didn’t stop) and her sweet big head was severely injured – she came very close to losing one eye. Despite being very badly burned by the muffler, she proved to be the toughest little champ! Emergency surgery fixed her right up, and all she has is a black patch over one eye as a reminder never to leave the yard again! She looks like a little crazy pirate. And even though the vets said she would probably not see out of that eye – she can! She runs and jumps and wrestles Dexter with a gusto that is nothing short of inspiring. The readers of my old Domino blog were crucial in helping me get through that emotionally devastating time. The power of this online community cannot be underestimated … I felt so supported, and it helped me care for Sadie. I know she’s only a dog, but like I said earlier, for now, she and Dex are my babies, and I couldn’t love them more.

TAM #7 – Many of you will think this is totally strange – but I almost NEVER cut flowers from my garden. I know so many people go into their gardens every day and bring in little bits of loveliness to brighten up their homes – me, nope – not so much. I’ll do it sometimes if people are coming over, but I’m not the type that perks up over a little bud vase posie. It isn’t that I don’t have things to cut – even though I don’t grow many flowers that one would think of for bringing indoors, I prefer leaves and grasses anyway. I just don’t think of it. And if I did, I have no doubt that Jan would consider it unnecessary visual clutter. Maybe there is just so much in the garden, and it is so easy for us to be out there, that we don’t really  feel the NEED to bring bits of the garden inside.

So if you come over and you see bouquets on side tables and flowers in vases, you know I’m just faking it – but hopefully, I’m faking it with a little style!

Now – I am going to award MeMe’s to the following, because I think they are fantastic and I want EVERYONE to read them and enjoy them as much as I do! Awardees – you are now charged with the task of doing just what I did and move it forward, but you know … do what you can! If it becomes a chore, just a big Hi-5 to your favorite bloggers will do!

One of my very favorite blogs is East Side Patch – I consider ESP a true kindred spirit, and I often feel guilty for the long comments I inevitably post on his site … I don’t want to be a blog hog! But his enthusiasm is infectious, and his pop-cultural references are so right on target, I have to just go on and on …

I also have to MeMe Loree from Danger Garden – she is fearless! I was talking about my own zone denial earlier – well, Loree taks Zone Denial (notice the capitals) and turns it into a beautiful thing! I love watching her defy the odds. Gardening is an activity of the heart, and she has alot of it!

I can’t mention Loree and her big heart without tossing Megan of Nestmaker into the fray! Here is a beautiful garden, with fantastic plant choices, so every post is a treat. But wait – she is also an animal lover, and often features beautiful dogs that she has rescued are waiting to be placed with loving families. I am always moved in many ways by Megan.

Ever since I started my adventures in blogging, one of my heros has been Andrea Bellamy, whose blog Heavy Petal is so super-cool. She is effortless, fun, and breezy – but she has a mission and a point and she gets it across with the casual tone of a best friend who you can’t wait to talk to. I love her.

I want everyone I know who loves gardens to start reading garden writer extraordinaire Stephen Orr’s blog What Were The Skies Like . It is an incredible treat to walk into Steve’s world of  exquisite gardens, beautifully photographed – it’s like being in the spaces with him. He is the real deal – I first met him when he was garden editor for the erstwhile and much lamented House & Gardens, and his knowledge is vast. I feel like a fawning teenager around him! Do yourself a favor and follow this link!

Willi writes Digginfood – and she is a wonder woman. Like one of those people who you suspect don’t sleep, like Martha Stewart. Her thing is growing organic food and cooking it with style – she also raises chickens and has embarked on an adventure in beekeeping. The images on her blog are out of this world good – like a studio photographer was hired to snap every shot with special lenses and filters and shiny things to bounce light off of. I’ve also cooked many of her recipes, and she only posts the best!

I love love love Jenny’s garden, and Rock Rose is an incredible blog for a plant maniac to linger on. I swear, I re-visit her posts time and time again, gleaning tips and sucking up the inspiration. My heart lives in Austin, I know I was meant to live there and this life in Los Angeles is a temporary pit stop. In my Austin dreams, my garden looks like Jenny’s!

Of course, I adore so many blogs – my fellow MeMe awardees from Sarah’s blog are also my girls – Laura from InterLeafings and Alice of Bay Area Tendrils are at the center of what I consider my ‘Twitter Possee’, as is Blue Planet Garden Blog‘s Susan. Amanda of Kiss My Aster is super famous now, as is Billy, the unforgettable Garden Wise Guy.  So this was a tough choice, but here at The Germinatrix, there is LOTS of blog love to go around!

George is young Artist/Entrepreneur, Natalie is a budding Landscape Architect, and their wedding took place in the house Natalie grew up in, Casa El Encanto, a beautiful Spanish home in the hills of Sierra Madre, California. The name translates to ‘House of Enchantment, and you could feel the spell being woven as you walked in; spanish moss dripped from the low branches of ficus trees, mature palms held court over the proceedings, and the gardens enfolded the guests in welcoming arms.   

Natalie has told me so much about these gardens, and I’d been looking very forward to this day, not just because two of the sweetest people I know were affirming their love for one another, but so I could GARDEN SNOOP! It was FUN! But I must admit, it was difficult trying to compose pictures with a margarita in one hand and a tequila shot in the other.   

 The landscape was a wonderful example of  a Southern California estate garden – lots of mature succulents, towering palms, pines and cypress casting shade, and extensive strolling gardens.   

 Many of the guests took the opportunity to incorporate the spirit of a garden into their ensembles. There were flowers in hair (feathers, too!), colorful suits, eye-catching shoes; sartorial splendor was everywhere!  

The garden was on a gentle slope with an upper lawn level, a pool level, the strolling garden, and the final destination was a large stone patio where long tables had been set up for the yummy dinner buffet. The night unfolded effortlessly; we were all feeling the love (George, being a connoisseur  of fine wines and spirits, curated the best bar I’ve seen at a wedding! What a host!), and the bride and groom were absolutely radiant!  

A garden is such a natural place for a wedding. We express our love when we plant, when we nurture our plantings, when we relax in our crafted outdoor spaces while enjoying the fruits of our many labors – it follows that the ultimate expression of love and commitment should take place in a garden so layered with emotion. Natalie grew up in this garden; she ran up and down those paths, she played foursquare with her friends on the stone patio where we enjoyed her wedding dinner. The garden nurtured her passion for plants and for landscape design; her life is inscribed in it, and the poignancy of it was lost on no one. It was the perfect place for George and Natalie to become husband and wife.

My favorite weddings have taken place in gardens. My wedding was in a garden. When we think about the weddings that touched us in a special, visceral way, I’ll bet there was a little bit of the garden spirit to bless the union. Another example of the magic of gardens!

climb the stairs – there’s beauty waiting!

Long ago, there was a garden club …The Germinators. We met at each other’s houses and had drinks ate and laughed and talked about our fabulous plants and ate and drank some more. And then we drank some more and talked about fabulous plants we wanted to buy. Two of the OG’s (Original Germinators) were Nick and Laura, and their garden was our prize, the jewel in our collective crown.

Well, they just had a little party and guess who was invited! Come with me and see the gorgeousness!

It was (and is) a magical place, where plants grow bigger, flowers are more plentiful, butterflies and hummingbirds hold raves – and if there are faeries … this is their home base.

The living room opens onto a clearing in the garden, and a few feet away is an arbor draped with Lady Banks roses; a perfect place for morning coffee, afternoon tea, or anything … anytime!

Lily Isabel lives in this magical garden, too – and has the best playhouse I’ve ever seen. I can imagine how fun it would be to have a sleepover with all my friends here… lucky Lily!

There is also an amphitheatre in this garden! Nick and Laura built it out of recycled concrete, and it truly looks like ancient ruins. You might think you would never really need an amphitheatre, but when you have one it really comes in handy. All the sudden, you might have a play you need to perform, or an urge to have impromtu music festival… let’s go to Laura’s! She has an amphitheatre!

When you live in a place like this, plants and planting works it way into every aspect of your life. Both Nick and Laura are artists and also teach art here in LA. Nick’s drawings of bugs and plants are amazing, especially this one of an Amorphophallus. (And no, I didn’t prop that baguette there to add an extra phallic symbol to the mix. It was totally accidental. But I probably would have if I’d thought of it…)

There are so many incredible moments in this garden, I can’t point to just one! I remember when this Ceiba was planted, and it became one of my favorite trees. The common name is Floss Silk Tree, and the green thorny trunk is its hallmark. If this isn’t a tree to be reckoned with, I don’t know what is. I love cool green-ness of this shot. The Otatea acuminata in the background lends a weepy softness that makes a perfect backdrop for the dramatic trunk of the Ceiba and the rubbery Agave attenuatas. Nasturtiums are ubiquitous here at Nick and Laura’s; they make for a happy, unpretentious underplanting to all the dramatic specimens.

This garden is so big and so full of detail that it is impossible to encompass it in one post, so we’ll have to come back and re-visit – different things in bloom and different light makes for a different landscape. Gardens are mercurial by nature, but when one plants as freely as these two do – thinking more about love and the visceral experience of space than the mundane rules of ‘landscape design’, then plantings are given carte blanche to do what nature intended. They combine and create new relationships; the plants themselves become an active participant in the design process. We’ll be seeing more of this place in the future!

I’d like to give a big thanks to Nick, Laura, and Lily for inviting me and my blog to the lovely garden party, so we can all share in the wonder. There is still SO much more – but maybe we can return when the cardoons are blooming and then I can show you the chickens, the bunnies, the fountain … Oh MY!

See you later, Germinators!

Hi Everyone!!!  I’m BACK!!!

I'm BACK!!!

And I am THRILLED to be blogging again! Sorry it’s taken so long, but you know … life …

So for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Ivette, your Germinatrix, and I blogged on all landscape-related matters for the now defunct Domino magazine. I am a garden designer and consultant working in Los Angeles, CA, and I am a crazy plant maniac. Some people describe my planting style as ‘cramnation’ (meaning I cram in as many plants as I can fit into any given space), but I prefer to think of myself as an exuberant maximalist (yes, that word is overused, but I think it really applies in my case). Since I live in perpetually rain-deprived Southern California, I work with a palette of planting material heavy on drought tolerants and succulents – which are the sexiest plants in horticulture. You might think that tropicals are the sexiest plants around, and they ARE hot – but a tropical is to a succulent what an exotic dancer is to a fashion model.

Like I said in the earlier incarnation of this blog, I truly believe that gardening can change the world, and I want to be a part of that evolution/revolution. My long range plan is world domination via garden design, but just having a lot of fun with plants runs a close second!

For me, gardening is a form of personal expression, and the best gardens have a strong point of view. I love a landscape that reflects the owner’s personality … but frankly, just like there are people with sucky personalities, some gardens are just – well… sucky also. Here at The Germinatrix, we call it like we see it.

Oh – anything and everything written in this blog is my opinion and my opinion alone and does not reflect the thoughts of any other member of any landscape or architectural firm I am now associated with or have been associated with in the past. Just had to get that out of the way, before I get down to the business of serious garden blogging, because you never know WHAT might happen when you start talking about plants and gardens!

rose