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I’m a garden designer on tv and IRL. I’m also an author and entrepreneur who thinks she can save the world by teaching everyone a little something about landscape design.

Can you make this into a Garden?

I feel like I keep bringing it up…but once again the blogging class strikes… This time, my homework is to enact some of the things that we have been talking and thinking about, take action and put ideas paper and just do it…. So here goes.

For those of you who were lovers of Domino magazine, you might remember an occasional feature where the editors would have a photo of someone in a great outfit and they would ask…can this be turned into a room?….turn the page…of course it can…see totally cool, interestingly styled room taken from the outfit’s inspiration.   I loved it.

I am of the mind that garden creation is,  for he most part, entirely too uninspired and dragged down by old notions of what a garden should be. People like Diarmuid Gavin inspire me because he has a penchant for using unconventional materials in new ways, his inspiration comes from everywhere, and he is lets himself run wild with it. I would like to do the same in the safe little confines of this blog…to inspire you, my readers, to think of garden design in a fresh new way. I want to banish from the English language phrases like ‘foundation plantings’ and encourage exciting design and view that gardens can be as much an expression of ourselves as any other room in the house.  So, it is in that spirit, and that I am prodded along by my class to make some of my ideas a reality, that I give you CAN YOU MAKE THIS INTO A GARDEN?

A little note though…before committing to a long run of this series, I want to see how you like it and figure out how big of an undertaking it will be for me to create a weekly piece. I have to admit I am keeping it simple to start…and borrowing some of the ideas (with permission) from Hort Couture (a fun and interesting new line of plants that you should look out for in nurseries near you).
So here is my first…Can You Make This Into a Garden?
fashion illustration red dress
(found on fashion development and is the work of David Downtown – I think…please correct me if I am wrong.)

Scroll….

Yes you can!….see amazing plant combos  and cool garden ideas….

red garden dress inpspired bridge and acers
red caladium irisene calibrachoa

1. Autumn Garden Acer Glory, 2. Red Bridge, Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, South Carolina3. Red caladium, 4. Irisene Herbstii 2, 5. Red Calibrachoa

Let me know what you think….and I can also use some help….it seems like beautiful fashion illustration is a little hard to come by…I would love to meet some students or pros that are happy to let me use their work to feature here as the inspiration piece for this series…let me know if you know of someone who would be up for it….

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THE 7-STEP SYSTEM TO DESIGN A

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  1. Laura says:

    What a cool idea!

  2. lisa/parallelbotany says:

    Interesting idea! The red caladium is an especially good fit.

  3. Jamie H says:

    Lovely! Fashion and gardens are a perfect combination.

  4. Sophia says:

    I think this is a great idea because there’s not one fashion color that doesn’t apply in nature!
    Fashion designers are constantly inspired by nature so I guess it can go the other way around!
    By the way, you have a very sweet blog!

  5. Courtney says:

    This is so fun! I would love to wear that dress while strolling through the garden you created.

  6. I think this is a fun idea and will appeal to a lot of people.
    I’m not one of them though. It’s not that I don’t appreciate fine couture, it’s more like
    I don’t have the funds ( or the body ) for it so I don’t give it must attention.
    … Another true confession ; I much rather shop at a well stocked high quality hardware and tool store than a clothing boutique. Sad but oh so true.

    • rochelle says:

      Michelle- the feature isn’t so much about the fashion (because honestly – I don’t know where you would buy the dress…or if you could buy it where you would wear it….) While I happen to love the fashion piece, for it’s own sake, I want to evolve the ‘Can you turn this into a garden?’ thing into much more than just fashion inspired bit – more about being inspired by non-garden things in general… I mentioned Diarmuid Gavin…he once did a garden that was inspired by airplaine wings and the curves of the VW Beetle. Completely Awesome. I personally love the fashion things but am totally open to doing inspirations like this too…if you have any ideas let me know I and we can see what we come up with…..

  7. Liz says:

    awesome idea! and I like your ideas of expanding beyond the fashion topic… we all gather our inspiration for creating from some surprising sources, and that’s what keeps it exciting and interesting. Oh, and I am in H’s class too… shouldn’t there be some kind of signal to identify each other : )

  8. louise garwood says:

    This gown inspires the outrageous over the top fluffy frills of red,red,red Oriental Peonies.
    The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has an amazing display of these in a variety of colors but this would be a garden room just packed with red varieties.
    http://www.alaskamastergardeners.org/PeonyPage/DoublePeonyRedCharm.html
    http://www.kampjesgardens.com/images/Red%20Charm.jpg
    http://www.kampjesgardens.com/images/Inspecteur%20Lavergne.jpg

    or what about this parrot tulip
    http://www.tulipworld.com/mmTW/Images/450X450/116124.jpg
    Any way you get the idea….

  9. louise garwood says:

    http://www.designersguild.com/_assets/images/fabric-ikebana-peony-print.jpg
    http://farm1.static.flickr.com/228/498975183_4aa22b13f7.jpg
    http://www.alaskamastergardeners.org/PeonyPage/DoubleRedPeony.jpg
    http://www.kampjesgardens.com/images/Red%20Charm.jpg
    Fabulous, over the top oriental peony garden beds in a room all their own
    textiles optional but would be interesting.
    Always enjoy seeing what D. Gavin is up to-

  10. Karen says:

    I love the idea of this column and I love your blog! I’m also in the Blogging Your Way class and am making my way through browsing blogs. I read tons of interior design blogs and it a fresh change to step into the outside world. I’ll be back!

    Also, I’m so jealous of the file folder tabs at the top of your blog. I’d love to have something similar for my blog.

  11. Maaret says:

    Hi, I’m also from the e-course.
    This a great column idea! I think this doen’t only work with fashion illustration, I could imagine a garden inspired by a fine art piece, or other kind of illustrations, too.

  12. Jessica says:

    This is one of the most genius things I’ve seen in awhile, oh my gosh I instantly saw a book cover after this series has gone on awhile. I am helpless with the fashion illustration question but I will ask one friend who might have advice and get back to you.

    Jess

  13. Ana says:

    Love this concept! I’m a friend of Jess (above)…

    Have you looked on Etsy.com for designers who sketch?

    Last year I blogged about a woman’s fashion sketches that I found there
    http://cardinalthecolor.blogspot.com/search?q=autumn

    …maybe that site would be a good place for you to look!

    Best of luck!

  14. rochelle says:

    ana– that site is great…am investigating further….thanks!

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