nature nurtures

Growing up in the Bronx my first foray into nature was digging a tunnel from a patch of dirt on the side of our apartment building. One of our "crew" informed us if we dug long enough we would reach China. I was in! Since that time I've learned there are easier ways to get to the other side of the world.

Spending summers in a bungalow colony ("the country") we were warned never to venture beyond the car lot to cross that forbidden boundary into the woods - a place where poison ivy and who knows what else lurked - waiting to get us.

Bicycling through grape fields on the outskirts of Tokyo 30 years ago, I had one of those ah ha moments, knowing that when I "grew up" I would emerge into "the other", that forbidden place existing beyond the construct of my self imposed concrete jungle.

For the past 2 years I've been volunteering at the New York Botanical Garden - digging (yes I'm at it again), planting, weeding, harvesting, and studying botany and history of landscape design.

"The other" has become an integral part of my life.

It has become my life.

In the 80’s when my sister was getting married for the first time, I went with my mother to a fitting of her dress by the clothing designer Shamask. His business partner was Murray Moss who would years later open an eponymous home furnishing and accessory store in Soho that would forever change how we thought about design. As I sat waiting for what seemed like hours, a "coffee table book" caught my eye. On the cover was a building by the Mexican architect Luis Barragan. I was mesmerized. I looked in amazement at how beautiful each of his interiors and exteriors were - their bold geometric shapes and vibrant colors. I read in awe how hewould camp out on his sites for days to get to know the land he would build on: the pattern of the light throughout the day and the feeling of place. He was looking to the environment to inform his structure.

Paraphrasing LUIS BARRAGAN, his friend O'Gorman said,

"Before the machine age, even in the middle of the cities, nature was everybody's trusted companion, partner of the baker, the butcher, the blacksmith, the carpenter. Nowadays the situation is reversed. Man does not meet with nature, even when Luis Barragan leaves the city to commune with her. Enclosed in his shiny automobile his spirit stamped with the mark of the world whence the automobile emerged, Luis Barragan is, within nature, a foreign body. A water tank is sufficient to stifle the voice of beauty. Nature becomes a scrap of nature, and man a scrap of man. The intended dialogue between man and nature becomes an hysterical, monotonous, human monologue."

Don’t we owe it to ourselves to tear ourselves away from our continuous inner monologue and rest in our basic nature – within the restorative folds of our environment - if for only for a few moments a day?

When I walk in nature, I only have to look around and see there is harmony and beauty everywhere.  Because of nature’s fluidity it’s easy on the eyes and restful for the soul. Maybe nature's lack of harsh angularity elevates our spirit because it allows us to deviate from the boxy, ever so controlled environment of straight lines found in our buildings, our cars, streets, highways…everywhere.

Since we are constantly bombarded with this angularity in our dwellings and all man-made surroundings, when we are “nesting” in our home, we feel comfortable. What better way to do this than to bring natural elements in? And we don’t need an atrium to do it. On my modest terrace of barely 90sf I have created a refuge. I surround myself with a lush potted plant garden.

There are so many ways to live close to nature with house plants or a water feature on our terrace, in a backyard, a courtyard, or pool area.

Paul Randolph, who was on the cutting edge of modern architecture and materials in the later part of the 20th century as well as Dean of the Yale School of Architecture never forgot his roots - literally. He used an abundance of plants and ethnic collectables in his modern interiors. He created an oasis of green in his postage stamp size outdoor patio in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Midtown Manhattan.

Paul Rudolph made his home and garden Inside “Out” and Outside “In”. Because plants take in carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to make food for themselves, in return they give us the gift of a much needed byproduct - oxygen. This makes them ideal companions for an urbanite’s sense of well being. At the same time they can furnish green lushness in our interiors! 

ROOF TOP OASIS nestled among skyscrapers in Chelsea, NY

Architect/Lynn Gaffney Met Home March ‘08

TOWNHOUSE GARDENS

a garden plan

The photos show from left to right - bamboo doing double duty, both adding a lushness and hiding an industrial style HVAC system. A nice attribute of bamboo is that it grows quickly and profusely.

Any water feature, however small, adds an auditory and ethereal quality to the landscape.

2 photos showing different types of trellises for vines to meander and climb on. Over time it makes a small area feel large and lush.

Mrs. Rockefeller’s Garden was built by an early pioneer of American landscape architecture, Beatrix Farrand, the niece of the famous author Edith Wharton. Here’s a look through Mrs. Rockefeller’s garden wall.

Since not all of us have a park or a garden to play in, why not use what we have? Maybe a window to frame our view? What a huge difference narrowing the scope of a view can make! 

In her book Landscape Design, Elizabeth Rogers refers to the last of the great Arabic Gardens, the Court of the Lions in Alhambra, Granada. She says “because one rarely enters directly from the outside into a Spanish-Moorish patio, but rather through a vestibule or twisting corridor, the sight of a beautiful interior garden is unexpected and therefore the impression it makes is powerful, relying as it does on one of the chief tricks of garden design: surprise.”

NATURE SURVIVES