The Truth Behind the Aged Terracotta You Buy

If you have read the articles by Scott Semple you now have a good understanding of what makes up terracotta pottery. From Gladding McBean’s stoneware to our Italian frost resistant earthenware containers, at Eye of the Day Garden Design Center we sell high-quality terra cotta products which last and last.

Now, what about aesthetics? Do you want your pots to last? Is it important that future generations are given your garden pots along with your jewelry, silverware and bedroom set? Many people love the patina of terracotta when it gets older and though a crumbling pot is not the same thing as “patina” they think it still looks cool.

This Italian pot from Terrecotte Olympia of Tuscany, Italy is a favorite of designers in Southern California. It is not made with frost proof Galestro clay but with Sienna clay, which is clay Americans typically find at their garden store. Olympia, like many Italian clays and other clays from which garden pots are produced, will almost immediately begin to spall and flake. Although they have a wonderful aged patina that designers love to specify in their designs, the material does not have a long life compared to pottery made from Galestro clay. The problems will be seen in Mexican and most Asian terracotta products as well.

At Eye of the Day, we hope that our retail and professional design clients will consider the investment they are making and choose terracotta for the centuries. For a further example of how these pots age and look, take a look at the following pictures of the Italian pots at the Ralph Lauren Store at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. If this is not enough to convince you, well, that’s why there are both vanilla and chocolate…something for everyone.

If you like that falling-apart look, come and see our seconds and close-out area at the store where we have lots of consigned pottery from customers who are replacing their containers with new ones. The prices are great and the look is shabby/chic. We also have remaining stock from Terrecotte Olympia at half price: it’s still half-good.

Having a sister with a long, successful career as a landscape architect has made it easy to have an ongoing conversation with Sally Farnum about design, client concerns and current issues. We are all especially interested in California’s water problem and wanted to find out how Sally is helping her clients address the issue.

Suzi: What have your clients have been asking about when it comes to water and their gardens?
Sally: Most of my clients are trying to be responsible when it comes to water usage in their landscape. They want to know if they need to take out their lawns, replace their flowering plants with desert plants and if it will still look pretty.

Suzi: How do you approach designing a plan that reflects water-consciousness but is still pretty?
Sally: I really work to combine good elements of design in all my plans: scale, balance, variety, form, line, texture and color. I like to use California natives, salvias, lavenders along with containers, sculpture and fountains.  I suggest using decomposed granite and gravel and, really important, an extra-efficient irrigation system.

Suzi: How do you convince them that a huge, green lawn isn’t the best plan anymore
Sally: Most people are visually oriented, so to describe an idea in words alone doesn’t always convince them. I show them photos or have them visit other projects I have completed.  But I don’t feel that it’s necessary to remove ALL lawn. Only 5% of residential water is used to keep lawns green and it contributes to cooling an area, cleaning the air and reduces noise. Grass in a front yard, used to fill space, should be eliminated.

Suzi: Do you have a favorite or most challenging project which incorporated water-wise elements?

Sally: One of my favorite and most challenging designs is right across the street from my own home.  Challenging because the home belongs to a friend and because I look at it most every day. My favorite because of the transformation from a front yard with a large asphalt driveway and lawn, to a garden with a walled-in gravel courtyard with a fountain and pots planted with flowering plants on the street side of the wall.

Suzi: How have you managed to change the way you designed in the past to meet the new challenges presented by the drought?
Sally:  The challenges are mainly in working with my clients and helping them accept new plants and watering habits.  Most plants will adapt to using less water, but people tend to water more than necessary.  I haven’t changed the way I design, but I have changed the materials and plants I use.

Suzi: Thanks, Sal.  You’re always such a wealth of information, and a fine sister, too.
Sally: You’re not so bad yourself.

FRIENDS OF ROBINSON GARDENS

Cordially invite you to our twenty-seventh annual

“…into the garden Benefit Tour”

Saturday, May 16, 2015, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Grand Marshal
Victoria Tennant

New this year – Valet Parking
Valet parking must be purchased prior to the day of Garden Tour.

Virginia Robinson Estate and Tours of Four Exquisite Beverly Hills Gardens

The Garden Tour is a multi-faceted day, considered “…. the most glamorous (event) of its kind in Southern California.”   For the only time during the year, the entire Robinson residence is open for the day, decorated by the finest florists and designers.

The Beverly House:  William Randolph Hearst’s mini-castle, where he lived with Marion Davies, is an architectural masterpiece with its famous gardens laid out by Paul Thiene in the 1920s.  The property includes lavish reflecting pools, old-growth trees and expansive grounds.

Hernando’s Hideaway:  Originally built by the owner of the Beverly Hills Hotel and occupied by hotelier Hernando Courtwright, a frequent guest of Virginia Robinson, this Gable and Wyant treasure has charm to spare:  hanging gardens, passion fruit vines lining the tennis court fence, a playhouse courtyard and a secret garden lined with bottle art.

A Hilltop With A View:  an Italianate villa with recirculating water that feeds three waterfalls into a placid lake, a grand lawn with colorful flowers and citrus borders, manicured hedges that include a maze and a glorious pool with a view of the canyon.

 The Best Exotic Bel Air Estate:  Climb deep into this 8-acre canyon that boasts a series of garden rooms, from koi ponds to Balinese sundecks to terraced vegetable gardens.  There is even an art studio and a hillside amphitheater.

PLEASE NOTE:  Due to parking limitations, this house is a BONUS for all Concierge and VIP Van ticket holders only.

To purchase by mail please CLICK HERE to print response card and mail to:

Robinson Gardens, 1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills, CA  90210

Friends of Robinson Gardens
1008 Elden Way
Beverly Hills, California 90210
(310) 550-2068

Sun Drenched Gardens: The Mediterranean Style by Jan Smithen 

 Author Jan Smithen and photographer Lucinda Lewis have put together a beautiful and pertinent book that is even more noteworthy today than it was when it was published in 2002. Mediterranean-style gardens offer easy maintenance as well as water-saving planting that is environmentally sound and enormously appealing.

Sun-Drenched Gardens; the Mediterranean Style features gardens from France, Italy, Spain and California that employ drought-tolerant plants such as agaves and other succulents, wisteria, lavenders, geraniums and even some roses. Design features such as terraces, arbors, hedges, pergolas, topiary, statuary, decorative tile, and terracotta containers are used in the gardens.

While paging through the book, Californians and especially those familiar with Santa Barbara will recognize landscape designs and terracotta containers so familiar that it seems the photos were taken in our backyards, or even at Eye of the Day. The eight chapters include one entitled “Endless Sunshine – Precious Water” which has great information and design ideas.  Another entitled “Living Outdoors” highlights our need to be in the open air and how to plan and enjoy our gardens even during a drought.

If you have difficulty finding this amazing book, the next time you visit Eye of the Day, ask to see our house copy, it’s truly worth seeing.

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!

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.