Eye of the Day Mother’s Day Gift Guide 2015

It’s that time of year where we honor and celebrate our mothers–Moms, foster Moms, and Mom figures.

Show how thankful you are for the moms in your life with something special from Eye of the Day. Our gift guide has something unique for all different tastes and budgets.

1. Fermob 1900 Bench
Perfect for those long heart-to-heart chats with Mom. This classic bench by French manufacturers Fermob is great for any generation of the family.

2. Mexican Church Candles
These are our most popular items in the Gift Shop. These creamy candles are made with layers of paraffin and cotton wicks. Great addition for the home.

3. Note Cards with Paintings by Karin Shelton
Made by local Santa Barbara artist Karin Shelton, these note cards showcase lovely plants or landscapes from the area. A unique Mother’s Day card for your favorite lady.

4. Succulents
These lovely plants have made such a comeback the last few years. They’re water wise, easy to care for, and just as beautiful as flowers. Help Mom plant a garden or arrange them in a container.

5. Mini Greek Pots and Containers
These are a personal favorite. These gorgeous handcrafted pots made on the island of Crete are perfect for indoor or outdoor container gardening. Instead of arranging flowers, create a mini garden for Mom–it’ll last longer too!

We hope everyone has a lovely Mother’s Day weekend!

In past articles I have discussed how freeze/thaw has an effect on ceramic containers and I have also discussed clay pot irrigation. We are in the worst drought in the state of California’s history, so by irrigating with low fire pots with high porosity,  water can be sent directly to the root system and feed plants on demand, as opposed to spraying the crusty, evaporative surface.

Technically porosity is the amount of empty space in the structure of the fired clay that makes it capable of absorbing or distributing liquids. Simple, right? So if the terracotta is absorbing water and the temperature drops below freezing, you’re going to have potential problems with your investment as the water expands while it freezes.  But if your intention is to use the porosity to slowly distribute water, then the more porous the better. There are other uses for porosity in ceramics, for example insulation. The less dense a brick is, the more insulating capabilities it has.

Natural clays can have a very high porosity.  When the grains are very small, there are countless small pore spaces, but what clay does NOT have is good permeability, which is the way you would measure how connected these porous spaces are. So generally speaking, if the clay is high fired it will be far less porous. This is advantageous for a freeze/thaw condition. If the clay is low fired, or under fired it will be porous and best for releasing or absorbing water.

So the bottom line is that the level of porosity you should seek depends on your intention for use of the ceramics.

The Landscape Professional and Client Relationship, Part II

Principal at Arcadia Studio in Santa Barbara and a resident of Los Olivos, Carol Puck Erickson, ASLA,  has an extensive portfolio of residences and arid gardens in Arizona and beautiful installations throughout California, Puck was initially educated in the visual arts, which still informs her work. She is an avid bi-coastal hiker and amateur botanist who is intrigued by the relationships between the cultural and agrarian landscapes and the native environment.

Puck is also committed to the therapeutic value of gardens, as a founding member of the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden and pro bono consultant for many school and community gardens.  She has worked with Eye of the Day on a large variety of projects over the last two decades and is one of our favorite landscape professionals.

EOD: How has your design relationship evolved over time with any particular client?

I have enjoyed working with clients on multiple projects, sometimes over decades as the gardens reflect an evolution in their owners’ perspectives on the twists and turns of their own lives. Working together, we gain an understanding of the role time plays in a garden and in our own lives.  Often, with their second or third gardens, people are willing to plant a bit smaller and also to simplify their approach to garden designs.  While others, coaxed into the out-of-doors by their first garden, become avid collectors and gardening enthusiasts.

EOD: How do you accommodate the client’s changing tastes over a span of time and still allow your own accumulated professional experience to show through?

I listen closely, very closely!! As the years have flown by, I find that often I am simply a translator and steward as my client churns out ideas with unbridled enthusiasm, often without recognizing their own insight into a space, or an observation gleaned from their travels. It is through my experience and design discipline that we can take these wonderful ideas and marry them to the environment of the new garden.

I am often surprised at how easily some designers seem to let go of their gardens and the evolution of those spaces, from both a horticultural and aesthetic perspective. When we work with clients we are not creating a garden image, frozen in time. Once the garden is completed, the real fun begins. The garden begins to build its own rhythm and dynamic as it flows from season to season and we are committed to continue that dialogue with our clients and their gardens over years, if not decades!  I think responding to the drought is a perfect example of how an on-going relationship with the client and their garden can make a real difference.

To view more of Puck’s work, visit Arcadia Studio.

MUSINGS UN DESIGN: SCULPTOR BOBBIE CARLYLE

We have been extremely fortunate to exhibit many of Bobbie Carlyle’s  bronze sculptures at Eye of the Day in our showroom and our outdoor areas for the last year.  Last month brought this internationally recognized sculptor from Colorado to Carpinteria to take part in our Art in the Garden and Water Conservation weekend.

About the Artist

This tiny, quiet blonde woman produces an incredible array of sculptures including wildlife, figurative, fantasy and historical figures. Bobbie spent much of her time during her three days with us working on a new sculpture, showing us how much quiet diligence it takes to create something physical from an idea.

One of Bobbie’s most well known sculptures is “Self Made Man,” a man carving himself out of stone, “carving his character, carving his future.”  This 14’ monument is a great example of  Bobbie’s vision.  She recently installed a piece in Los Angeles called “Seaswept” at one of the entrances of the new Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park, the former site of the Ambassador Hotel and we have the same beautiful sculpture here at Eye of the Day.

Our showroom and annex holds many pieces of Bobbie’s garden art: a tiny fairy sitting atop a mushroom, a young baseball catcher crouching behind an excited batter, a boy leaping to catch a frog and a life-size girl holding her day’s catch, a tiny minnow, and with her can of worms at her side.

Behind the Art

After looking at her website and then having the opportunity to see so many of Bobbie’s pieces, I was interested in finding out what would happen next in the process of creating a full size sculpture from the lovely little figure she was sculpting at Eye of the Day.

She first creates the figure in modeling clay in order to get the proportions and stance the way she wants them. A mold is then made first in latex or silicone backed with plaster to hold the shape. The clay is removed and molten wax is poured into the mold and cooled, after which the wax is removed and coated with ten coats of silica gel, dried and fired in a kiln in which the wax melts and the silica becomes a ceramic shell. 2200° molten bronze is poured into the now empty shell.  After cooling, the bronze is cleaned by sandblasting, welding, metal chasing. And there you have it… finished.

Curiosity quenched.

To learn more about the artist and to view Bobbie’s work, please visit Bobbie Carlyle Sculpture.

Morocco in Your Own Garden

California gardens, especially those in Southern California have long utilized the concept of outdoor rooms. Countries with warm, dry climates around the Mediterranean basin have been creating miniature oases outdoors for centuries. Taking a cue from them is one way to replicate both the feel and appropriateness of this style.

Moroccan gardens provide great examples of the restrained use of water to create a lush setting in outdoor courtyards and passageways. Even while reducing your water use in the landscape, you can create an intimate, yet luxuriant garden space by taking inspiration from arid North Africa. Gardens there are generally central to the dwelling, both to provide privacy and protection from the heat and winds.

One of the key elements of these enclosed spaces is limiting water use. The Arabic word for a garden of this type is riad and usually refers to the central fountain or ornamental pool. The fountain need not be large to provide a bit of cooling to the air as well as a sense of peace and luxury in a climate where water is scarce.  It is possible to recreate that feeling with a simple water feature created from a glazed pot and a small, efficient pump instead of building a large fountain.

Another feature is the exuberant use of color. Colorful pots, a painted wall or gate as well as bright flowers make for a vibrant and even joyful setting. Vivid glazed tiles, whether on the patio floor or the surface of a fountain, also contribute to creating an exotic paradise.

Plants can be used as well and they do not have to be those that require a lot of water. There are many that are drought tolerant, yet lush-looking. Large leaves give a more topical feel and species such as bird of paradise, aspidistra and pygmy date palm do well in containers. Succulents are a great choice; from cacti to agaves and aloes, they thrive on little water and their foliage provides drama and color. The Canary Islands is home to a wonderful group of succulents, the aeoniums, whose fleshy leaves grow in large, showy rosettes and would be perfect choices. Even the humble geranium (Pelargonium) is sturdy and produces flowers nearly year round. Assemble several plants in one container to provide a miniature landscape or group individual pots together, mixing and matching your color palette.

Look at Planted Wells blog for more Moroccan garden design inspiration.

Image Credits:
Moroccan Garden – Creative Commons, Chelsesa Flower Show Gardens by Rictor Norton and David Allen is licensed under CC by 2.0
Plant Image – Creative Commons, BCSS gloucester branch auction – The national agave collection by stephen boisvert is licensed under CC by 2.0 

For the past twenty-seven years, Friends of Robinson Gardens has organized The Garden Tour to raise funds for The Virginia Robinson Gardens. This event is truly unique in that ticket holders have the opportunity to visit selected private home gardens rarely seen by the public. The day peaks mid-day with a delicious catered luncheon at the Virginia Robinson Gardens, where the Friends honor a member of the community as the Grand Marshall. Throughout the estate ticket holders can view the mansion’s historical rooms uniquely embellished by premier interior designers and florists. The luncheon program includes a fashion show of latest looks as well as an opportunity to purchase unique gifts at our boutique located on the tennis courts.

This year The Garden Tour will take place on May 16, 2015. The theme aptly titled “Masterpiece” (alluding to Masterpiece Theater program “Downton Abbey”) celebrates British history and culture. The Friends of Robinson Gardens are thrilled to be organizing an event full of history and fresh blooms (new roses have been ordered!).

Eye of the Day Garden Design Center will be supplying some garden decor including pottery, statuary, and outdoor furniture. Be sure to look for them on the tour.

For more info, visit Virginia Robinson Gardens.