Last of the spring bling…. I’m loving the burgundy-burnished-copper-mahogany & green combination. This will be a repeat for next fall. Here in Georgia, we had just the right winter weather (finally) with enough cold temperatures to keep the flowers looking fresh, but not so chilly as to dispatch a soggy palette of wilted winter container color. We also had a very chilly March, so that prolonged our winter flower display this year….a joy to behold.
And in a just a few short days, I’ll be ripping all these containers apart to make room for their summer counterparts! 

Last of the spring bling…. I’m loving the burgundy-burnished-copper-mahogany & green combination. This will be a repeat for next fall. Here in Georgia, we had just the right winter weather (finally) with enough cold temperatures to keep the flowers looking fresh, but not so chilly as to dispatch a soggy palette of wilted winter container color. We also had a very chilly March, so that prolonged our winter flower display this year….a joy to behold.

And in a just a few short days, I’ll be ripping all these containers apart to make room for their summer counterparts! 

Making the Rounds….Breaking Beauty 
I love this time of year, visiting all my container garden clients as I do every Friday. The planters we installed last fall, break loose and fill porches, terraces and pool decks with color, fragrance, and frenzied foliage. The riot of color only lasts for a couple of weeks. But it’s worth every moment. 

Making the Rounds….Breaking Beauty 

I love this time of year, visiting all my container garden clients as I do every Friday. The planters we installed last fall, break loose and fill porches, terraces and pool decks with color, fragrance, and frenzied foliage. The riot of color only lasts for a couple of weeks. But it’s worth every moment. 

abluegirl:

Living Wall

These vegetated surfaces don’t just look pretty. They have other benefits as well, including cooling city blocks, reducing loud noises, and improving a building’s energy efficiency.What’s more, a recent modeling study shows that green walls can potentially reduce large amounts of air pollution in what’s called a “street canyon,” or the corridor between tall buildings.

For the study, Thomas Pugh, a biogeochemist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and his colleagues created a computer model of a green wall with generic vegetation in a Western European city. Then they recorded chemical reactions based on a variety of factors, such as wind speed and building placement.

The simulation revealed a clear pattern: A green wall in a street canyon trapped or absorbed large amounts of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter—both pollutants harmful to people, said Pugh. Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.

Full Gallery

(via mamisgarden)

Entrance to Brion Cemetery by Carlo Scarpa
The entryway represents the otherworldly architectural style of Carlo Scarpa, who used equally dramatic plant material to drape his concrete masterpiece (completed in 1978 before his accidental death). The Brion family founded Brionvega in 1945, an electronics manufacturing company. The cemetery is located at San Vito d’Altivole near Treviso, Italy. 

Entrance to Brion Cemetery by Carlo Scarpa

The entryway represents the otherworldly architectural style of Carlo Scarpa, who used equally dramatic plant material to drape his concrete masterpiece (completed in 1978 before his accidental death). The Brion family founded Brionvega in 1945, an electronics manufacturing company. The cemetery is located at San Vito d’Altivole near Treviso, Italy.