9/7/2015 0 Comments AccessMy Instagram profile introduces itself as "Auto-Ethnography performed. Access provided by Buffalo Horticulture." This has been pointed out to me as unusual. As if that opening phrase should be omitted, skipped over, and only read "Buffalo Horticulture. Designing and Building Landscapes in Buffalo, NY since 1995." But I see the "Buffalo Horticulture" story as more than just designing and building. It is about a time when and where certain things are possible. A unique window in our history where "a culture" is blossoming. Its about a world, a city. It is not an "Auto-Biography" - a personal story written about and by the author, but a work of "Auto-Ethnography" - the story of a culture with the writer floating along on its waves. Saturday's work brought the "access" Buffalo Horticulture provides into view. Through the collaborations with Fern_Croft (Find "Fern_Croft" on Instagram for a treat) Floral, I'm delivered from the office to the studio, into the mix of activity downtown, a drive out to the Chautauqua Institution, and an evening stop of Henry's Farm in Eden, NY on the way home to pick up material for the next days work. Centerpieces ready for loading at the Fern_Croft Studio Superstar at work in the Hall of Philosophy (@Chautauqua Institution) Centerpieces deployed at the Athenaeum Hotel (@Chautauqua Institution) A Saturday evening stop at Henry's Farm in Eden was - Magical.
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9/4/2015 1 Comment Thinking. Sketching. Solving.Thinking and problem solving are done in a number of ways in the field. The image of frame and pier position captures, not a static series of construction markers depicting an order to work, but is rather a working sketch. Done with an inverted paint or chalk can, lines can be drawn and then erased by scratching away the surface one painted on. This helps one (me) think about different possible layouts and to visualize the issues that had not yet been thought of. Oftentimes I am working with multiple colors - white, pink, and orange. Here, at one point a couple loose brick chips were used in the sketch, string lines were laid out, pins were set, and a 2x4 was used as a straight edge. 9/3/2015 1 Comment Process MachineThis is the first year I have run a car since 2002. Those who have known Buffalo Horticulture have always identified its small red dump truck. Much of the car's justification would of course focus on the quantity of fuel saved and the costly life use of the truck as compared to the car which is bordering on disposable. But something else is happening with the car. The truck limited what I could carry with me in the cab. A bag or two. But now, I can carry everything I could use during the day - Seen in the car above I have my DSLR; my "business bag" with files, proposals, invoices, catalogs, 'notebooks' and 'sketchbooks;' another bag carries my computer, a Nikon point & shoot, and a journal. The far side has my large clipboard after finishing a site survery and also a large bag of books and writing materials for scholarly projects. There's just so much work that I can run together. I don't need to divide it up. It is all completly accessible. I'm never left with 1/2 my work at home - a limitation in process because in the landscape, the city is your studio. Portability is everything. 9/2/2015 3 Comments Oak Leaf HydrangeaHydrangea quercifolia (Oak Leaf Hydrangea)
The Oak Leaf Hydrangea, as long as I have known it, has always been in this genera of plants seemingly isolated for use only by horticultural hipsters. And so once upon a time, when I was part of that world, I saw the Oak Leaf as a plant that would be at the forefront of the revolution when it happened. Twenty years later plant geeks everywhere will still refer to it as "underutilized." I mean, it is pretty great. The plant shown above was put in the ground as a 30" plant in a 5 gallon can 12 months ago. Looks great and has put on 50% mass in that time. A success story. Sometime they seem to take a couple years to establish. Sometimes they seem to take 5. But that's plants and gardening. If you want plants that are success stories every time and immediately - well... I guess there's a place for that too. 9/1/2015 0 Comments Siberian CypressAnytime you see "Siberian" as the common name of the plant you can generally infer two things - (1) it is a native to Northern Asia (Siberia) and (2) it tolerates very deep cold winters. I've always loved the best specimens of Microbiota. Although, while I have gone through many phases over the past 20 years where I have experimented with this plant, I can't say I have many examples I can turn to so I can share a glorious image. They are reputed to be a difficult transplant and perhaps this is why there are so few great examples. None the less. We'll keep trying. 😎 I'm not giving up on this relationship just yet. |
Matthew DoreLandscape designer and Proprietor of Buffalo Horticulture Archives
April 2020
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