Dargan Landscape Architects

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garden design lectures

Fit Your Garden to Your Lifestyle Like a Glove

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Thank you Dovecote friends. This Friday’s Garden Talk Salon (the last one for July) is already sold out!

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Contact Mary Palmer Dargan to be put on the waiting list at 828-743-0307or [email protected]. Checks for the event will be accepted at Dovecote.

We don’t like turning away enthusiastic gardening fans. That’s why it is really important to sign up as quickly as possible for events.

Welcome August

Our next GTS will take place on Aug. 7th with guest John McCarley. Listen to Mary Palmer Dargan as she gives us the details:

Our theme for August is:

Fit Your Garden to Your Lifestyle Like a Glove

Browse our events by clicking here and make sure to sign up ASAP.

 

 

Bees from a box? It’s true! Leaf cutter bees add garden buzz

Leaf cutter bees are summer foragers /pollinators and I just received mine! Watch as I describe them in their shipping package and the process involved in incubating them to adulthood.

If you’re looking for garden information from bees to garden trees, we’ve got you covered. Call Dargan Landscape Architects at 404-231-3889 or click here for a free, 30-minute consultation.

Tranquil Garden Events Happening in April 2015

Tranquil Garden Events Happening in April 2015
Source: Wilkerson Mill Gardens

April is bringing us much more than showers for May flowers. This month is chock-full of fabulous garden events for homeowners, gardening enthusiasts, landscape designers, and architects. You won’t want to miss out on these opportunities to play in the dirt, learn from experts, and see some of the most stunning gardens in the Southeast!

April 15-18: The Garden Conservancy Comes to Atlanta

First, we are excited to announce that the Garden Conservancy Board of Fellows will be coming to Atlanta to see Dargan gardens and more during the third week of April. 

April 16: Peachtree Garden Club House Show

Mark your calendars for this wonderful house show at 8:30 a.m. on April 16. We always recommend attending any event the Peachtree Garden Club is involved in, and this one is no different. This passionate organization is dedicated to stimulating gardening and conservation through education. 

April 20-21: Zone VIII Annual Meeting at Palmetto Garden Club in Columbia, SC 

Next, we’re looking forward to the Zone VIII Annual Meeting in Columbia, SC. These meetings are always fascinating and provide a perfect opportunity to connect and collaborate with your community. Not to mention, there are always great hands-on workshops and activities to give your green thumb some exercise.

April 28 – Cherokee Garden Club goes to Serenbe Community & Wilkerson Mill Nursery 

We are thrilled to join the Cherokee Garden Club on a special trip to Serenbe community. Located on the edge of Atlanta, the Serenbe community is a progressive residential neighborhood focused on happiness, health, and well-being through fresh food, fresh air, and a strong connection with nature. Serenbe is not only breathtakingly beautiful, but can offer incredible inspiration and education when it comes to sustainable, environmentally-designed communal living. Join us as we visit the organic gardens at Serenbe, and take in the jaw-droppingly gorgeous hydrangeas at Wilkerson Mill Nursery. 

Garden Week in Georgia may be April 19-25, but we’ll be celebrating it all month long throughout the entire Southeast! Be sure to look for me – Mary Palmer Dargan of Dargan Landscape Architects – at one or more of these events, and do come say hello! 

Tell us what garden events you’re looking forward to, or share with us how you’re celebrating Garden Week in the comments. 

Design Lifelong Landscapes: A Home Environment Workshop with Mary Palmer Dargan

Source: Mary Palmer Dargan
Source: Mary Palmer Dargan

Join Hugh & Mary Palmer Dargan, RLA, APLD for the Seattle, Washington Association of Professional Landscape Designers ( NOT landscap”ers”)  workshop being held on January 26, 2015 from 9 a.m.- 3p.m. The workshop is scheduled at the Center for Urban Horticulture, UW. An advanced course tailored to students with pending licenses, “Design Lifelong Landscapes: A Home Environment Workshop with Mary Palmer Dargan” will be an excellent addition to your portfolio. Homeowners with landscape designing interests are welcome!

As a landscape architect, author, professor, lecturer, and entrepreneur, Mary Palmer Dargan promises to inspire new horizons for your clients’ landscape designs. We will learn  Learn to merge the principles of fine art and landscape design with the functional beauty of permaculture techniques to create nourishing environments where your clients’ lifestyles can flourish.

Based on the relationship between humans and nature, permaculture is a form of ecological design meant to create sustainable architecture and self-sustaining, regenerative environments. Founded in the late 1970s, permaculture has grown into a thriving world-wide movement over the past 30 years. Through lectures and practical exercises, we will learn to design lifelong landscapes with Mary Palmer Dargan as she shares some of her vast wealth of knowledge with us.

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