Dan's Papers - July 3, 2009 - Earthly Delights

LongHouse reserve benefited from the first sunny day in a long stretch of rain on the opening day of their Container Invitational. The audience was treated to a wide range of creative expression in the planters on exhibit and the delightful commentary of P. Allen Smith who awarded many blue ribbons.

Of course there always has to be a winner, and Smith's favorite received a purple ribbon. Alexandra Leighton from St. James whose company is called Garden Schemes, created a garden vignette based on a poem. She even dressed to match her color choices in her presentation. Christine Harmon, another ribbon winner wore flowing pink and peach, in direct contrast to the rusty, architectural, geometric planters that she filled with bronze fennel and a fantastic Kalanchoe that looked like it was starting to rust itself. With no clients to please, all the entries were imaginative, personal expressions of their makers.

Federico Azevedo's gigantic pots were made even more stunning with his shadow cast across the large purple rectangular planter as the evening sun started to set. As he chatted animatedly his shadow flickered across the surface. Did he plan that marvelous effect? It's clear that everyone had a great time making his or her entries. Jim Owen very purposely created serenity with a ceramic piece that he made himself years ago, by simply adding crystals, moss and a tiny Cryptomeria. Mary Gotovich extended space with a mirrored wall. Abby Jane Brody and Calista Washburn set water plants in a wide bowl that they turned into a pond any one would love - I know at least one person who wanted to take it home. I was offered money on the spot for the El Camino tire that made up the top part of my fountain. There is a spare tire back at the house, I told them, that they could have instead.

Themes and ideas abound in great variety at this show. Tony Piazza's "Orange Crush" had a plain Jane cement planter exploding with what Smith called volcanic color, all orange of course. Smith claimed to have been to therapy to overcome his aversion to orange, and here Piazza had helped him resolve his issues far more effectively with his lively and arresting entry.

No matter what your preference, there are fantastic ideas galore here. Feel free to stop by LongHouse to view the exhibit and borrow whatever theme appeals to you for your own use. The point of the show is on one hand to give designers free reign, no constraints other than size, but also to give the general public many points of inspiration. The calligraphic representation of the word herb, planted with herbs, would not fit in with my gardens, but I really thought it was brilliant. I would rather have taken Amy Halsey's low bowl of succulents and sedums. But choose for yourself what fits your idea of the ideal planter, maybe it will be a take on the trompe l'oeil pot made of a couple wooden boards. Or steal - I mean borrow - from history like Arlene Bujese whose Mondrian pots needed no plants to attract the eye.

Having decided what our own favorites were, being opinionated New Yorkers, this generated a lot of conversation in the exhibition area. We slowly wandered out to hear what P. Allen Smith had to say. He had his criteria: sustainability, creativity, what the plants would look like in a few months of heat versus freshly planted. Smith is well qualified when it comes to plant material, being a scion of several generations of nurserymen. He has put in his footwork, not just in the garden but also in terms of understanding garden history as a whole. The presentation of his choices gave the audience a horticultural and historical framework within which to review all the ribbon winners, which allowed us to go beyond our own immediate tastes when going back for a second look after the awards presentation. And even when he stalled for time to allow one more entry to be presented, Smith was a pleasure to listen to with his broad knowledge, southern charm and delightful Arkansas accent.