Plants on a Pedestal : Think of landscaping as drawing from a palette of blooms and leaves. Gardeners’ masterpieces are like living art sculptures.
Barbara Kincaid and a friend recently sat looking out over her Costa Mesa garden. Kincaid’s friend stopped the artist when she got up to prepare dinner.
“It was still light out, and my friend wanted us to watch the garden until sunset. I was happy to oblige, because to me watching the garden is like viewing a giant living painting,” says Kincaid, an avid gardener who makes whimsical fabric dolls and animals.
Though it’s not talked about much in art or gardening circles, many agree that gardening is a form of art.
“Gardening is artwork,” Kincaid says. “It’s an expression of yourself. In my garden, I like lots of color to feast on. I’m always adding to and changing my garden’s color palette.”
Gregg Davila, owner of Organic Art in Santa Ana, agrees. He creates hanging plant-baskets that are considered living works of art.
“Look at a garden--especially a large, landscaped one--and you’ll notice that it’s composed like a drawing or a portrait, not only with color and composition, but also with motif and the way it’s laid out,” says Davila, who holds classes on creating artistic plant baskets.
“I definitely consider gardening an art form because I’m always manipulating the landscape and drawing from nature,” says Fullerton landscape architect Kathryn Rue, who heads the Rue Group Inc.
“Any time someone can take a material and put it together in a form that is pleasing to the eye, that is considered a form of art,” Rue says. “The basic principles of any art, including line, form and proportion, all apply to the design of the garden.
“The great thing about gardening is that just about anyone can try it. The materials are easy to acquire and use.”
Many artists are avid gardeners, says Nancy Gary Ward, owner of Artistic License in Corona, which represents 50 fine craft artists whose wares appear at fairs.
“Many artists, including myself, are passionate about their gardens,” Ward says. “In art circles, most discussions relate to gardening and nature and to the design aspects of all things that grow. Gardening is really pertinent for anyone pursuing a career in art.”
For Ward and other artists, working in the garden is tactile and visually stimulating.
“By digging in the soil, you’re working with clay, and the colors of nature constantly inspire color schemes that can be taken back to the studio and applied to your work,” Ward says. “The way a plant structures itself and grows in the garden is also a great teacher of master design.”
There is one big difference between other art forms and gardening.
“Gardening is living art,” Rue says. “I remind my clients that we’re not putting up wallpaper. The garden is not static, but constantly evolving. You can plant something and come back a month later and it’s completely different.”
A sculpture or a painted canvas doesn’t change much over time, but gardens do, Davila agrees.
“You do the planting, but plants take over and blend, entertain and surprise, creating an ongoing, ever-changing portrait,” he says.
This is part of the delight, Kincaid says.
“One of the best things about gardening as an art form is that it’s never complete,” she says. “There’s always more to do.”
Gardening is done simply for its beauty, Ward says. “And that’s refreshing.”
Creating Your Garden
If you have an artistic streak you’d like to let loose in your garden, landscape experts and artists suggest the following:
* Try to envision how you want your garden. Sketch the garden, including color combinations. If you have difficulty envisioning your landscape, look at gardening books and magazines for ideas.
* Vary the shape and texture of leaves. A giant sword-shaped leaf looks stunning next to round, soft leaves, just as a thin, wispy ornamental grass is nicely offset by climbing vines nearby.
* Blend in accessories. Many artists will build a garden around a focal point such as a chair, fountain or statuary or even a weathered item such as an old wheelbarrow. They use these items as a sculptural base from which to work.
* Think vertically. Height is what gives a garden balance and makes it visually stunning. Use climbing vines and hanging baskets so that the eye flows up.
* Strive for asymmetry. In nature not everything is matched from side to side. Incorporate asymmetry into your landscape by placing and hanging unlike items next to each other.
* Leave empty, negative space. This allows the rest of the garden to shine and gives the eye some viewing relief.
* Work in a wide range of colors. Rather than having a garden full of only bright colors such as yellow and orange, blend in more neutral colors such as gray, blue, lavender and brown, which are also common in nature.
* Experiment. All great art is born of trying a medium and experiencing success. The only way to find out if a plant looks good in the corner of your yard is to plant it and see.
For information on Gregg Davila’s basket making classes, call (714) 836-7086 after 7 p.m. There are morning and afternoon classes on June 20 and June 27. The classes are $65 a person and include a light lunch or breakfast and the materials for a 12-inch basket.
