Showing posts with label Gothenburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gothenburg. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Ökenliv (Desert Life) Part III - Sedona Arizona ?

Great examples in the use and placement of rocks in the Hardscape. Certainly a huge investment for sure, but if done correctly and using the RIGHT plants, you can create a private theme that will bring joy to your garden hideaway which will create the illusion of escape and add great value to the home. Take a look at this UN-Swedish-like example below.

Photo: Mine
With the exception of the antiquated Aluminum Green House in the background, these granite rock forms and their reddish earth tone colours are spectacular and laid out as the real deal. Only thing missing is Lizards.

Lantana
These features were in Göteborg Botanical Gardens. But here's some advice for folks actually living in warmer climates. Even when someone does a great job of placement with just the right shapes and sizes in a theme, the biggest mistakes I see in the use of rocks is folks not having the slightest clue of what plants to use so as not to hide or overwhelm those kool features you wanted to highlight in your hardscape in the first place. One plant I actually do like in many situations, but when neglected will totally bury your rockscape is the beautiful insect attracting flowering plant Lantana.

A prime example is the house at the very bottom of my Mum's street on the corner of Pepper Drive and Marlinda in El Cajon CA. That corner planter had some large granite boulders placed there if I remember, but as a result of neglect the Lantana has mounded up so high with alot of dead dry material underneath that the plant is a complete mass of material the size of a pickup truck. No sign that boulders were ever present. Take a look at the plants they used here at the Botanical Gardens which simply accent and compliment the rock features.

Photo: Mine
Bunch Grassesminiature JuniperDwarf Yucca and a shrub I'll identify later which has the stunted appearance like a type of Elephant tree found in the Anza Borrego Desert and Baja California rock outcroppings. None of those typical desert plants are native here for obvious reasons, but you can find substitutes and create an effective Faux Desert theme. Also notice the incorporation of similar coloured gravel or decomposed granite to fill in gaps and use as a mulch.

Dwarf variety of a Varigated Yucca


To the right here is a photo from a different angle of the small Yucca incorporated into the desert themed landscape next to the boulder slabs. Other low growing plants accent or compliment the rock slabs as opposed to overwhelming them & hiding all those great beautiful geological features which were the reasons why they were chosen in the first place. Such landscape/hardscape marriage themes as these are perfect for natural pond swimming pools as can be seen here from Inspiration Green's website page with Natural Swimming Pools and Swimming Ponds. But seriously, the creative juices should be overflowing here with the endless possibilities. Replicating nature not only in design, but in mechanism design called biomemetics will keep the system in operation for the life of the theme you install.
Photo: Mine
The little puddle of water here reveals the rainy nature of this year's summer. Yet at the same time on this particular sunny day it made me reminisce of a Thundershower afternoon somewhere around Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon Arizona. But where are those Lizards ? Guess I need fake plastic ones for realism effect!!!  Is that biological soil crust on those rocks ?

Another area of this Botanical Garden that incorporated unique slab or slate type of boulders with a block rectangular shape was under these  Oak & Elm Trees for use as natural benches. Once again the choices of rock and just the right placement has a natural appeal as if it has always been there.

Natural Rock Benches

Another angle and look at other slabs incorporated 
into the rest area.

And yet another angle of the rock rest area
Some words about boulders, rocks and gravel in the Hardscape. If you're going to do it, then do it right. Don't be satisfied with just some rocks of any kind placed in the garden. If possible go with boulders that will be central pieces and make sure they are the right type of rock geology feature which will fit your theme. Think of the plant community theme you want and definitely know something about the geology of the picturesque area they are native to. Picking the right boulders is an art in it self. It took me several years combing the canyons, washes and Alluvial Fans (Bajadas) around the Coachella Valley for just the right shapes, colours and stone quality before I finally finished my own garden steps in Anza. The example boulders above clearly illustrate that the designer had specifics in mind. You have to be the one that lives with your choices whether you PERSONALLY are involved or you even if you SUB-CONTRACT someone else. By all means do your own personal homework and have a say, it's your investment. 

My way of homework for years was spending as much time in nature as possible and taking mental notes. If need be, take photographs of visuals and other scenery that inspires you on the inside. Illustrate scenes that impress you and your taste in what a kool hideaway looks like and think of ways of replicating that in your own urban landscape. I've not only done this with hardscapes involving various rocks, logs and such, but with specific plant features as well. Where do you think Bonsai inspiration came from ? There are countless Bonsai examples everywhere in the wild around the globe. 

Stay away from some of the cheap concrete fake rocks. I hate a lot of that stuff that I see in the commercial Home Centers. It's cheezy and frankly I don't think it works. Faux granite slabs of the commercial kind are great if you have the bucks and can colour match incorporated real boulder and rock slabs in with them. Examples of quality Faux Rock art are found at several of the Living Desert Museums both in California and Arizona. But keep in mind these organizations had real professionals who knew what they were doing. They also had a lot of bucks. I've been in a number of businesses to know that there are a heck of a lot of Wannabes of any kind out there who'll take your money and split, so choose carefully and get references. Again those types of construction jobs are usually around pool decks and so forth and are most likely expensive, but I think most folks can do it on a small scale budget and build gradually. The project can be fun and rewarding in the end if you are a DIYer. I love boulders and rock outcroppings in general when it comes to landscaping.


http://www.boulderimages.com/engineered-retaining-walls
Tomorrow I'll have some examples of trees and shrubs which thrive here and could pass as their subtropical substitutes or counterparts for native plants elsewhere from warmer climates. Escaping from Temperate & Boreal Forest habitats is a habit of mine, even if it's creating a fantasy of sorts. Creating microclimate Illusions even in such areas as these is definitely possible as the Desert Life theme proves this year.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Gunnebo House (Castle) & Gardens

Image - dwedishgardens.se

This for me started out as one of those journeys where, "Oh man, not another boring trip to Göteborg and viewing the sites of some ancient historical rich European Aristocrat"  For me, once you've seen one castle you've seen them all and I don't care what country it is located. I learned this the hard way back in 1976 when a friend of mine and I came to Europe and hit almost every famous Castle Landmark to be found on a tourist map. Besides , I hate going to town (Göteborg) or any other city on the planet for that matter. So I would have prefered staying home, but the reality is I'm glad I went. Besides we were going with some good friends we haven't seen in a long while.

For a further read on the actual estate, when built, who built it and so forth, please visit this website. I won't be going into those particulars much here.
http://gunneboslott.se/english/the-house/history-of-the-estate 
Okay, let's get through some of the formal gardens and buildings settings first. This first picture is of an Oak Tree native to Sweden called Quercus robur. It's the most common found all over Europe and goes by many common names. What intrigued me most about this particular tree was the many wildlife features like holes and other cavities for various birds and small animals to live. Something that I find rather lacking in most Swedish woodlands that I've seen since forst moving here. This oak was on the pathway walking up to the Estate. Incredible oak and one that under the right circumstances makes a straight tall trunk which is perfect for lumber, unlike the numerous species of Oak I grew up with throughout California which are always tristed and contorted.

Image - Mine
Then just below this tree was this nature sign explaining a bit of what I already figured out by just looking at the tree.

Image - Mine
Translation: Ek (Oak)
"For a few thousand years, the oak was the most common tree in the western Swedish deciduous forest. An oak can be very old, at least 1,000 years."
"In the dense oak forests oak tree growth habit is a straight trunk and narrow crown. Stand alone out in the open oaks, have a short, rough trunk and very broad crown, with a typical large round appearance."
"The oak harbors very rich insect life. In England it has about 600 species of insects associated with this oak. There are many endangered insects in Sweden, especially beetles living on these ancient oaks. Several common insects are also available in oak, such as 'Ekvecklaren' (oak folding holder = don't ask, just name of insect). It is a small moth whose larvae can almost overwhelm the  trees in some years. The oak trees survives them though to form new leaves anyway."
Okay, now for more of the main estate building and formal gardens.

Image - Mine
Yeah, yeah yeah, that's me. Let's move this along and get it over with. This first shot is of our friends and their young boy below.

Image - Mine

Image - Mine

Image Mine


Image - Mine


Image - Mine

The vegetable & Spice/herb garden above is where I was roped into an interview questionaire by a young girl there whose job it was to find out what visitor impression are of the Estate Park. She asked what I thought about these gardens and I replied that I would still have to wait a bit to provide an opinion because most of these gardens, landscapes and woodlands were just beginning to emerge from their winter slumber. Believe it or not total Spring bloom was still beginning for many things. Where I come from Spring starts in February and peaks in March.

Below you can see where they actually cut down and utilized some of the Estate's woodland trees and milled their own lumber from those trees for some of their building projects like this shelter in the photo below.

Image - Mine


Image Mine


Image - Mine

Well, they've got to have something for the kids. Modern kids will only take so much of the hiking trails. This wooden cow was located just behind the horse barn. (BTW, Barn is the Swedish word for Child - don't ask, it just is)

Image - Mine

Image - Mine

Now let's take that walk in the woods. What excited me about this part of the adventure, was that it was like going back in time to what Swedish forests use to look like. Most of southern, central and western Swedish forests were historically mainly dominated by old growth Oak and other broadleaf deciduous Forests with a widely varied mixture of other old growth Alder, Aspen, European Mountain Ash, Norway Maple, Willows, etc. But oak was the most prominent.

With this type of biodiverse forest like we visted on this day, you can see first hand how the forest is alive with the sounds of animals and multiple species of birdlife, something saldy lacking in most all Swedish forests which are industrially managed with failed out-dated science-based technology which replaces the already perfect balance of the wild program. Most Swedish forests have been horribly clear cut and replaced by tree planting with monoculture of straight trunked tall pines or firs for lumber or mostly pulp wood production for paper. This will be discussed in a link at the end of this post.

Image - Mine

Image - Mine


Image - Mine

The picture above is an example of what a closed forest environment will do to any tree in shaping it throughout it's life for later usage by humans. Unlike the oak found in or on the edge of a meadow which will have a stout truck and multibranched round large crown pattern.
Take a look at these Norway Maple trees. Here's the parent tree followed by hundreds of seedling trees most likely to never make it through the canopy unless they get lucky by various environmental circumstances. Trees like these need a nurse tree. Maples won't amount to much out in the open. Mostly I've seen them stunted and shrubby looking, same with oaks trees. Very rarely do you find them volunteering out in the open. But the excess of seedlings on the forest floor does provide a food source for grazing and browsing animals.

Image - Mine


Image - Mine

Okay this photo above is an Oak tree with a tiny hole in it where there was once a branch at one time but now has since rotted out and been bored out to create a nest hole cavity. This tiny hole provides nesting for a slender dainty little forest bird which is called a Nuthatch. In fact I watched it fly in and out. I actually saw this same small birds utilizing small crevices in a rock wall up by the main buildings in a pond feature they had there with slender sandstone rocks in a dry wall design. Here is a post I've done about Nuthatches and attracting them into your landscape.
Nuthatches and Brick Porthole Habitats
These following shots are of a train that past over head, and I love trains, so had to take this shot. Also some shots of my wife and our friends walking through the meadow and some shots of forest floor thinning and then finally the old growth oak forests view at the end in all it's wild glory as we left.

Image - Mine


Image - Mine


Image Mine


Image - Mine


Image - Mine

More nature explanations about the local birdlife and while they are not so visable in the pictures, there is a rather large Swedish forest pigeon which is similar to the ones up in the forests of Idyllwild California where I use to live. Like the California pigeons, these are extremely shy as well and hard to get near for taking a photograph, unless you have the right powerful lense to capture from a distance. These birds are nothing like their pesky nusiance domestic city dewelling cousins. They group together scratching around on the ground looking for food and look very much like a large covey of quail foraging the ground with one male as lookout. And finally the old growth Oak Woodland beauty at the end of our hike.

Image - Mine


Image - Mine



Image - Mine


Image - Mine

Now down below all that old growth Oak Woodland habitat is an area around the parking lot down in a river valley with a lake where there are a lot of natural boggy conditions. This environment for the most part is where the pure stands of Björk (Birch) and other wet habitat loving plants also prefer to reside.

Image - Mine


Image - Mine


Image - Mine

This concludes my visit, but at least you folks know what much of Europe was like long before industrialization took over and changed things for good in the late 1800s in all Europe and not just Scandinavia. 
Enjoy! 😸