See some of my ideas about how to create a romantic garden:
Appearances, Lectures and Shows
A Landscape Design Workshop in Seattle: Jan. 26
January 26, 2015
Monday, 9:00am to 3:30pm
Center for Urban Horticulture
3501 NE 41st Street, Seattle, WA 98105
Head back to school for a day with Mary Palmer Dargan, APLD, RLA, as she leads us in an advanced workshop for landscape design professionals. This workshop will provide you with a unique opportunity to focus on one of your own landscape designs right in our APLD classroom.
Mary Palmer is a renowned landscape architect and sought-after lecturer to students, design professionals, and homeowners. She will share with us tricks of the trade learned from her more than 40 years of designing landscapes for private clients from the coast of California to the low country of the Carolinas. She has a sharp eye for detail and a humorous, no nonsense approach to getting things accomplished.
Mary Palmer and her husband Hugh Dargan, RLA, are the award-winning principals of Atlanta-based Dargan Landscape Architects (read more about them at dargan.com). Although our workshop will be lead by Mary Palmer, Hugh will also join in with his unique wit and wisdom. For an introduction to the workshop, check out this video .
The workshop’s agenda:
- Secrets Used by Successful Landscape Designers
- “Form Follows Function” then Beautify (see video)
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X-ray vision: Layers for Success (see video)
- Design for the Future: Lifelong Landscape Design(see video)
The workshop’s take-aways include how to:
- Improve functionality using the 4 Part Master Plan
- Organize & estimate site improvements using an innovative layer system
- Create a sustainable philosophy using lifelong landscape design principles
Bring to the workshop (all hard copy):
- Base map at 1/8″ of front or rear of project
- Aerial photograph (Google Maps works great!)
- Three site photographs at letter size
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Cost for this event (includes lunch on site & workbook):
Members: $150; non-members: $200; students: $100 Late registration (after 1-12-15): $250
Note: late registrants cannot be guaranteed a workbook
CEU credits pending for APLD, ASLA, and WSNLA
Register on-line at:
For more information, contact Susan Picquelle at[email protected]
Sand Hills Cherry Bitters Workshop with The Sand Hills Garden Club on Dec. 9
Who said working with a landscape architect was all dirt and hard labor? Most gardening experts have a wealth of related interests, including growing herbs, vegetables, and plants that can be used in the kitchen and medicine cabinet. Such is the case for Mary Palmer Dargan of Dargan Landscape Architects. She will be presenting her Bitters workshop to this private group on Dec 9, but you can reap the rewards! If you want a wonderful recipe for cherry bitters, try this one by Steven Rhodes, the former food & beverage manager of the Chattooga Club in Cashiers, NC and now manager of the new ABC in Cashiers. Enjoy!
Cherry Bitters Demonstration from Mary Palmer Dargan on Vimeo.
Learn How to Make Your Own Bitters with Mary Palmer Dargan
Bitters have a rich history, dating back as far as the 9th or 10th century, when alcohol was first distilled in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). Herbalists and healers realized the potential for preserving the curative effects of medicinal herbs and plants by creating tinctures and elixirs using an alcohol medium. While its roots are entirely medicinal, the 18th century utilized bitters in recreational alcohols as hangover prevention and then as a flavored addition to a host of cocktails.
Mary Palmer Dargan has been fascinated in the culinary aspects of gardening, which led her on an experimental journey to create healthful and tasty bitters using herbs, fruits, and flowers from her garden.
The Sand Hill chapter is one of more than 20 active garden clubs in the state of Georgia. They are members of The Augusta Council of Garden Clubs and a full unit of The Garden Club of America. While the members all share a love of gardening and a lifelong passion for creative landscape design, they are also committed to community education, preserving history, and the bulk of their events and showcases aim to raise money to restore historical buildings or assist other local charities and non-profit organizations. Mary Palmer’s Bitters Workshop is an example of their educational outreach.
Interested in working with a landscape architect? Contact Mary Palmer to learn more and get in on the fun.
Photo: Dargan Landscape Architects
Learn About Creating the Oasis of Your Dreams at Mary Palmer’s Rutgers University Lecture
While aesthetics are a large part of the landscape design equation, we always make sure to emphasize the synergistic effects of well-designed outdoor spaces. Looks aren’t everything; creating the oasis of your dreams is just as much about positively impacting your health and longevity – as well as the planet’s.
Mary Palmer’s Rutgers University Lecture: Create an Oasis That Facilitates Health & Longevity
Fortunately for gardeners – both novices and experts – in the New Brunswick, New Jersey area, Mary Palmer Dargan, of Dargan Landscape Architects, is presenting a lecture titled, Timeless Landscape Design: The Top Four Secrets to Breaking the Genetic Code on your Property to Create the Oasis of Your Dreams.
When: Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 6 p.m.
Where: Rutgers University, Cook Student Center Meeting Room B/C
Audience members will have the opportunity to listen career landscape architect Mary Palmer as she outlines the Four Secrets to creating a landscape that aspires to your visions while simultaneously working to enhance your life as well as your local community and beyond.
Many of the topics she will be covering are pulled from her top selling book, Timeless Landscape Design. After her presentation, Mary Palmer will be available for a special book signing, creating a perfect opportunity to purchase a lifelong resource for the avid gardeners and landscapers on your gift list.
Some of the topics covered in the presentation include the four-part master plan used to create gardens and landscapes. Together, they provide visual, mental, and emotional pleasure for generations to come and include:
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The Approach and Arrival Sequence
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The Hub
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The Perimeter
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Passages to Destinations
Careful consideration of the above results in a proportional and soothing landscape, rather than a hodge-podge of parts that don’t quite integrate to comprise a whole.
Of course, a critical component of breaking your own landscapes “genetic code” is to use healthy landscape and gardening techniques that replenish and nourish the soil, water, and air that will keep the code healthy for decades to come.
To learn more about Mary Palmer’s Rutgers University Lecture, contact Dargan Landscape Architects or Katja Patchowsky at [email protected].
Therapeutic Landscape Designs for Mental Well-Being
Are you bogged down with stress and looking for an outdoor escape? Gardening has long been considered an activity that can be cathartic and calming for those who enjoy working with plants and soil. The idea of nurturing plants to produce a bounty of vegetables and fruits, or creating a beautiful display of flowers and greenery, can provide a space for healing, meditation, restoration, and contemplation.
Traditional Landscape by Atlanta Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Dargan Landscape Architects
Recently, scientists, doctors, and landscape architects have started collaborating to create therapeutic landscape designs for mental well-being. Unlike traditional gardens, landscape planning for therapeutic gardens involves specific goals.
While a healing garden is designed to encourage overall health and encourage meditation, restoration, and contemplation, therapeutic gardens are designed to go beyond these goals to promote health and well-being. Landscape architects often work closely with the medical community to create gardens that will measurably contribute to a patient’s healing.
While this form of landscape planning is often used in long-term care facilities or rehabilitation centers, you can also opt to work with a landscape architect to develop your own therapeutic garden. Since the goals and measurable outcomes vary with the client, it’s essential to know what you want your therapeutic garden to accomplish.
For example, a garden created for a hospice may focus on quality of life and restoration for families, while a rehabilitation center’s therapeutic garden may serve as an actual component of therapy that provides respite from the hard work of physical therapy.
With 40 years in the business of landscape architecture, Dargan Landscape Architects would be happy to consult with you on a therapeutic garden design. Browse our portfolio of completed projects and contact us to learn how we can help.