With the Holidays soon upon us there are several things to keep in mind to keep your pet from getting into problems.  Winter weather can bring on a set of problems especially if you live in a colder climate, away from Naples Florida. If you change your antifreeze keep in mind that the sweet taste is irresistible and if ingested, will cause severe life threatening kidney damage.

Dogs and Cats are not used to eating the traditional type of food(turkey, ham, and gravy) we eat around Thanksgiving and Christmas. According to my veterinarian, this food can cause inflammation of the stomach and intestines leading to vomiting, diarrhea and general sickness. Some pets are so ill they will need hospitalization for Pancreatitis. Even though it is very tempting, it is best not to feed your pet table scraps. Also, remember that chocolate can be toxic to dogs and the darker it is the more toxic it is to dogs.  For example while on my usual morning walk in the neighborhood, I met a guy walking his two dogs, and as our chat went back and forth, he begins to tell me that he had to bring one of his beautiful dogs to the emergency the night before.

When he and his wife got home for an evening out, he discovered that his dog ate approximately 15 chocolate cherry treats, including the foil wrapping!, (leaving some evidence on the floor). The vet had to give the poor dog an injection to make her vomit everything up! She was very lucky! As I look down towards her, she wags her tail, knowing full well that we are talking about her.

Other potentially toxic foods are grapes, onions, garlic, raisins, macadamia nuts, chewing gum and any other sugar free candy that contains xylitol. So keep those trays of holiday baked cookies, or any other chocolates out of reach of your pets.

Any plant has the potential to be poisonous; however mistletoe, holly, and especially lilies are particularly hazardous. Some pets also can become ill by drinking the water at the base of the Christmas tree. It’s best to have fresh, clean water at all times available to your pets, discouraging them from looking for water under the tree. Friends and family members visiti ng over the holidays may leave their medication or prescription drugs/pills in areas that your pet can easily access.  Pets can find these plastic containers irresistible, chewing them until they can actually get to the medication.  Remind your guests to keep their medication out of harm’s way, not only from young children but from your pets also.

Holiday decorations for your tree and house are also a potential hazard to your pet when they eat them. Some of these can contain glass, metal, tinsel and ribbons. These objects can cause serious and even fatal gastrointestinal disease.

If you are having a party, find a quiet and comfortable area in your home where your pet can feel safe. Check on them frequently to make sure they are OK.  Don’t forget to exercise your pet especially if you have a dog, during this holiday season.   I understand too well how hectic it can get, with preparing food, buying Christmas presents, going to dinner engagements and so on.  It’s bad enough that we all indulge too much at times, during the holiday season and we know how difficult it can be to get back into shape including our pets! Don’t forget a pert is not just for the holidays, a pet is for life. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Barbara Finn’s adorable Gucci, looks perfectly at home in this garden environment.

Pets get from point A to point B in the garden similar to how we humans navigate. We prefer a walk or path. So do pets. If you are trying to keep pets, especially larger dogs from causing too much damage to your shrub beds, you’ll have to be sensible by planting trees, shrubs and perennials of at least some decent substance, and avoid tiny little plants which are likely to be trampled. Consider keeping annual flower beds off limits to dogs.

Unsightly brown spots on lawns which are caused by high concentrations of nitrogen in male and female urine can be avoided by flushing out the area with water, which will solve the problem, but will become a chore if it has to be done every single time. If you have dogs who love to dig in the garden, let them have a small area where they can dig in the dirt, or as a last resort consider a small sand pit for the very persistent digger, but be mindful that this could be an open invite for other cats from the neighborhood to come and dig too.

Have a fenced area like above where your pets can go “potty”, keeping your outdoor space clean for you and your guests.

The best way for keeping a garden where both animals and people can interact together is to have a designated area where dogs can do their business. A dog run, or fenced area is a good approach in this regard. This is a great technique which can be taught to your dog, not just reserved for puppies. You can, with a little persistence, train your dog to go potty in even the smallest of designated areas. When it’s time for a bathroom break, bring your dog outside to the chosen area and say in authoritative voice “Empty!”, or “Go Pee”. After a successful attempt, give a treat and lots of praise. If they don’t do as required, bring them back inside for 1/4 of an hour and then repeat the process. Continue this for two to three weeks until they’ve fully learned the process. If they are a little resistant, like on rainy days, don’t scold, just reinforce the technique until it is second nature.

The pet industry is an enormous $43billion in the U.S. People care a great deal for their pets, for many a good reason. Some of us even prefer our pets to some less favorable relatives. There is estate planning, and holistic practitioners for pets. We even design gardens, complete with underground explorative tunnels, and areas in which pets can be self entertained with interactive water jets which provide hilarious activity and so much fun opportunities for home videos of your pets playing. We’ve designed a pet garden for the brand new Camp BowWow, a day care facility with overnight boarding which recently opened here on Mercantile Ave in Naples. The garden will be a simple green space for doggies and owners to chill when they check in or check out. The walls will be adorned with colorful climbers, dog and people seating, a natural, decorative water feature which also acts as a drinking fountain, along with artistically designed plantings. Camp BowWow is the latest and greatest in doggie day care, with web cameras for curious owners, specialized camp councilors, indoor and outdoor play areas, comfortable kennels for 50 overnight borders and 100 day care dogs. However, there’s more. They even have an overnight suite, log cabin style, with plush bed and separate web cam.

Come to the all new Naples Botanical Garden twice a month to walk your dog with other like minded pet lovers for an opportunity to enjoy the splendid gardens, visit www.naplesgarden.org. For a limited time only, your dog can be a founder dog, funds from which help support the garden. For commercial entities, enquire about the various sponsorship opportunities available which offer more value than traditional marketing, and also support this worthwhile nonprofit.

Countless people tell me they don’t have green thumbs, and have convinced themselves that they’ll kill any plant they come into contact with, and I on the other hand am so lucky to blessed with such a wonderful green thumb. Rubbish! You cannot kill plants, if you follow some simple directions on their little name tag. You will not kill plants. Relax! Besides, I am a great neglecter of plants. Remember me, the lazy gardener? It’s true. Sometimes I forget to water plants, rarely fertilize and never fuss, but the plants battle on despite my cruelty. Yours will too.

Small areas, such as lanais or enclosed patios, with restricted spaces are not difficult to design, they just require a little extra imagination. We find the challenge a lot of fun as we tap into our creative spirits. Try to think of one of these small spaces you have as an advantage. Don’t be disillusioned, but be happy, because some small spaces make the most excellent gardens.

Regardless of the size of the area you have, be sure to incorporate the same elements you would for a larger, rambling place of acreage. Include the element of water. It is essential. Don’t argue. Just do it. Even though you may have limited space to work with, there are plenty of small water features of endless styles and design to suit the most miniscule of spaces, some are so miniature, they’ll fit on top of a coffee table. A mini waterfall, stream and pond can be designed to look very natural in even small spaces, but be sure to use all natural materials. The benefits of water are far too numerous to list. Having one will reward you many times over. Enhanced prosperity, love, holistic benefits, and the purifying sound alone are just the tip of the ice berg in terms of what lies in store. Don’t under estimate them. Aside from water, the benefits of live plants on your lanai or patio are immeasurable. Please don’t be tempted to use fake silk plants, no matter how convincing they look, or no matter how smooth the salesman at the silk plant factory was. Silk plants offer very little, and actually collect stagnant energy, a negative kind of energy you don’t want to be around. Besides real plants purify the air, add life and energize any space. They grow and evolve. They produce blooms. They have an earthy, pleasant aroma and will be sure to provide more joy than the fake variety.

One of the best plants to start with, for those of you who are still convinced that you’ll kill plants, is a Yucca plant. It is virtually indestructible. Its plant label may suggest plenty of water and high light. It will actually do well in low light and without much water at all. Sometimes I’ve travelled for months at a time leaving house plants un-cared for. The Yucca always survives. It is a plant which does very well if neglected. Plant one of these into a large, decorative pot and plant the outside edges with ivy, coleus, or some trailing flowering plants.

Things appear to be magnified in confined spaces such as these. We are closer to the textures, colors and fragrances. Sounds like water tumbling over rocks and pebbles seem more audible. The availability of walls is something less common in larger spaces, so use these walls for a vertical expression of art. Grow flowers and vines up a trellis to break up the monotony of the masonry, or use the space for a mural of your favorite scene, or to showcase a ceramic mural mounted on a framed board, which will make it easier to bring with you if you decide to move.

Be wise about the choice of furniture in restricted spaces and find something which is multi functional, space saving and practically aesthetic. I love the rotating sun lounger, shown here, for its versatility and durability, and minimalist design. It rotates, allowing one to be in the sun all day, or shade if one so desires, as it comes with an optional shade. One rotates it with the simplest of ease, ending the need to constantly have to get off and realign it to the sun’s position. Although it is the same length as a traditional sun lounger, it takes up three times less space than three chaise lounges would, yet it can comfortably accommodate three people. It is made from sustainable teak and it’s design shape is one of Nature. Rectilinear, shapes don’t exist in Nature, whereas the round shape of this bed is Feng Shui inspired for the ultimate in positive energy, flexibility and the most simple of fashion statements, for the person who wants to relax outside in the shade, or the sun worshiper alike.

When I wed my sweet Irish colleen, Sandra, in Hawaii after a short ten year courtship, it seemed natural that Sandra would be adorned with Plumeria leis of Hawaiian fame. We were married on the beach, shoes off, beneath a blazing orange sky, with even more Plumeria in full bloom adjacent to the beach. I always remember landing in Honolulu, the airport filled with people assembling these flower leis of impressive colors and varying fragrances. The hotel we stayed at in Maui, had a member of staff dedicated to sweeping up all the fallen blooms of Plumeria from the pool area, and the properties pathways. We marveled at the sheer abundance of these gorgeous flowers growing everywhere, as we drove throughout the islands. Back then, we were living in Boston, and I often envied people living in the tropics who could grow Plumeria at will, in their gardens. Well here we are in Naples, and are just blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful flowers.

Plumeria, commonly referred to as frangipani is native to the tropics of the Caribbean, C. America and Venezuela, but now have far reaching homes in Hawaii, and many other tropical regions. Their fragrance is unmistakable. Their range in color is equally impressive, the delicate flowers born in white, yellow, pink, red and combinations of the same colors, called rainbows. However, it’s one of the easiest plants to grow. In fact, it’s possible to cut a stem from a tree and literally stick it into the ground. It will happily take root on its own, soon to become another Plumeria tree. In Ireland we do a similar thing with Willow. There is even an art form of creating intricate woven fences from live Willow stems, which eventually take root and become the most unique hedge you’ve ever seen. I doubt one could do the same with Plumeria, but try as you will.

I like Plumeria even more because it has cultural requirements, even a lazy gardener like me can get along with. It is happy to grow in a wide range of soil types, has a higher tolerance to drought and has low nutritional requirements. This deciduous tree can reach 20 feet tall, with a wide habit, enjoys the full sun, and freely displays blossoms from February through November, when it loses it leaves. Make sure, if you decide to plant some, that you leave enough room for it to expand to a similar with, as its mature height.

The Naples Botanical Gardens have recently signed an agreement with the Plumeria Society of America to host about 350 different cultivars of the popular Plumeria. This Plumeria collection will be among the most comprehensive in the world. What’s even better, is that you can get involved to be part of this great legacy, by participating in the world’s first public registered Plumeria collection. For details on how to participate please visit the Plumeria Society’s website and to learn more about these great flowering plants http://www.theplumeriasociety.org/. The best thing is the safety of the collection will be ensured, as it will be within the gardens. This is significant because if you donate a Plumeria it will be there for generations to come. If she was alive today, Elizabeth Thornton, the founder of the Plumeria Society of America, would attest to the relevance of this safety benefit, because when she died, her family were faced with a dilemma. What were they to do with these magnificent trees at her property which she had nurtured for so many years? Luckily, some of Elizabeth’s collection will now be secure here in the new gardens.

Here’s a brief of how you can become part of this collection. You can donate a “registered” Plumeria to the Plumeria Society of America (PSA), which will be planted at the Naples Botanical Gardens, which have your name on the botanical label or sign which accompanies each plant. The society will provide a plaque such as this, for each plant. Naples Botanical Gardens have already got about 85 different cultivars, and the collection is growing, managed by Carolyn Miller, curator of collections. If you wish to contact Carolyn about getting involved, she’ll welcome your emails at cmiller@naplesgarden.org

Due to its many attributes, it’s simple cultural requirements, vast array of colors and incredible fragrance, I definitely don’t think you’d be disappointed if you started a mini collection of your own. It also is quite suitable for container planting, and looks great in a courtyard, its fragrance magnified by the small confines of the space.

Happy gardening.

With progress, it seems, there is always a cost. This cost, in my opinion, is immense.

Children at Raheen Wood School, Ireland, playing treasure hunt in the children’s garden.

Advancements in the electronic industry, powerful marketing, T.V and merchandising pressure have diverted children’s interests away from simple outdoor games and activities. It’s now more commonplace to see kids glued to a T.V show, playing Nintendo or having fun with the myriad of electronic games on the market. An alarming amount of children have obesity, type 2 diabetes, low self esteem, lack of confidence and social skills in the U.S., and throughout every country in the European Union. It seems France is making progress in the battle against child obesity, their levels of obesity prevalent with children are the lowest in the E.U, possibly after their introduction of national health initiatives in 2001. Hope sits on the horizon for other nations, out of reach until this chronic problem is tackled head on with some vigorous action. A sedentary lifestyle contributes to overweight children which impacts cardiovascular health and higher cholesterol levels. Children who are obese increase their chances of being obese into adulthood.

According to Robert Kushner, MD, President of The Obesity Society, “Obesity is the number one, most serious health issue facing the country. It is now the largest single driver or our increasing healthcare costs and we need to address it now”. The society states that 16 percent of U.S. children are now overweight or obese, a number which has tripled since 1980, and medical costs associated with obesity are $147 billion annually.

Portion sizes have grown impressively. Food additives and artificial ingredients abound. Real ingredients like sugar are used less. Families eat less as a unit, than they did in the past, which leaves children free to select what they choose from the fridge or pantry. It’s also true that we are less forceful than our parents were, and we are now unlikely to force feed spinach, peas, or turnips through a tube to our little ones, restrained in a straight jacket, as I was. Advancements in human rights are great, but I’d much rather broccoli shoved down my neck, than type 2 diabetes, even though I’m an advocate for freedom of choice.

The Children’s garden at Naples Botanic gardens will teach kids where some of our food comes from eg, basil, rosemary, thyme, and other herbs.

Kids need to know where their food comes from. Everything we eat has been either grown, raised or caught from the wild. Children don’t know this. They are more likely to believe that everything they eat comes from the supermarket.

A children’s garden has innumerable benefits. Pottering around in the garden, picking tomatoes, pulling weeds, sweeping paths, watering herbs or simply playing, burns more calories than does a horizontal position on the couch, whilst watching a DVD. More time in the garden also means less time munching on snacks. Children who interact with a garden such as this, like horticulturists, farmers, gardeners and other professions who are in constant contact with the earth, have less incidences of being ill, mostly due to the microbes which are either inhaled or ingested from the soil. These microorganisms naturally strengthen the immune system, to which I can personally attest, as it’s been more than fifteen years since I’ve visited the doctor. A garden in which kids interact together teaches social skills, teamwork, cooperation, respect for the boundaries of others, and respect for personal property. Children who know about nature are more likely to have respect for nature later in life.

A children’s garden not only keeps kids active but also teaches them  social skills and builds confidence, and respect  for nature.

It’s not difficult to get children involved in a garden. In fact, they are actually drawn to it like magnets. Nor is it expensive to install a little plot. Imagine your child’s delight as they pick their very first ripe, juicy tomato or mango, and what a positive impact this has on their sense of accomplishment and general confidence. I’m all for plants which are easy to grow, are low maintenance and require little fuss, and no chemicals. Consider starting your own small garden for your children, and encourage your school to start a program and children’s garden too. A clever ploy is to trick them into learning. They’ll be having so much fun they won’t realize they are actually learning vital life skills in social behavior, respect for the environment, nutrition, and leadership, all whilst burning great amounts of calories and building real, healthy appetites.

View from the Burren, Co. Clare  

The Burren or  “An Bhoireann” meaning “A stony or rocky place” is a limestone plateau covering an area of approximately 100 square miles in Co. Clare, Ireland, the largest of its kind in western Europe.  The Burren has many unusual features from it’s tranquil lakes, barren rocky hills, green valleys and road walks, to ancient towers and churches not to mention its famous flora and fauna also.

A Botanist’s paradise, this landscape is blessed with the most beautiful and diverse floras, with approximately over one thousand species of flowers and plants.

One should take a trip especially in the Spring time, where you’ll find rare wildflowers and orchids native only to the Burren plateau.

Cattle and sheep graze the grasses in Winter,  which prevents the grass smothering  the young flowers ready to sprout in the Springtime.

A roaring river in the hills of Co. Kerry. This area also known as the Ring of Kerry, is visited each year by millions of tourists from around the world.

A tree growing out of a stone wall.

 Fanore Beach, Co. Clare.  The sand goes from a blackish to a golden colour in places.  Famous for surfing and body board surfing.

 Along the Ring of Kerry. 

The Ring of Kerry offers spectacular views of landscape not to be found elsewhere in Europe.  Famous for it’s hiking, horse riding, golfing, fresh water fishing, cycling to name a few.  This area offers it’s visitors an amazing insight into the ancient heritage of Ireland. From old monasteries to  Iron age forts, there is an abundance of things to see and do.

I was recently privileged to be invited to try a very new and exciting massage treatment, currently being offered by Suzanne Holbrook’s team at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Resort, in Orlando. The hammock massage was first introduced at their Amelia Island Resort, and due to its success and popularity, they’ve decided to provide the experience further south. Hopefully they’ll begin offering it to us here soon, at either of their Naples properties; The Beach Resort or The Golf Resort, as there’ll be plenty of people eager to enjoy it. I thought it was simply fabulous.

Celeste Hogan, of the Ritz Orlando spa team, was instrumental for having incorporated many of the above elements into the Eco Garden Treatment Room. She approached its design, construction and maintenance with great thought and respect for the environment. Magnificently perched above the spa’s pool, the garden has majestic views over the tastefully planted grounds in the foreground, with commanding vistas of the golf course and lakes beyond. The garden space is totally private and secluded, yet easily accessible from the upper level of the spa. They chose to use many recycled building products including rubber matting, manufactured from used tires, which affords comfort to the massage therapist and guest. There is a low raised wooden platform, which was reclaimed from New Orleans after hurricane Katrina’s destruction, along with a beautiful, sturdy hammock support frame, also made from wood salvaged in New Orleans. During a community effort to re build New Orleans, both these wood products were reclaimed from a structure which was damaged and was being restored. There is a large terracotta urn, fitted with a simple garden hose, which collects rain water and subsequently distributes the water, when needed, to the plants growing there. A variety of organic herbs happily thriving in the Roof Garden are used for various treatments, and also by their culinary staff in appetizingly healthy salads and dishes in their “Vitale” spa restaurant below. I enjoyed a mint infused, foot bath soak, and foot massage, made using freshly picked mint from the garden, as I drank my herbal tea, in subdued excitement, contemplating the hammock massage.

Their imaginations didn’t stop there. In keeping with their environmental responsibilities, they have an array of solar lighting and even a solar powered water fountain. Water represents prosperity and abundance and has the most calming effect, especially in close quarters such as this.

Rick Vantry, 39, massage therapist, greeted me as I checked in, and escorted me to the roof top garden. Rick, an ultimate professional, the picture of health and vitality, boasting a smooth polished voice and vocabulary, sporting arms of steel, explained all about the hammock massage concept, as I sipped my tea sitting on a handmade wood bench, my toes submerged into the bubbly mint infused water. Mr. Vantry has an extensive background in various massage modalities and incorporates cranial sacral, reflexology, shiatsu and Thai massage into the hammock massage treatment. More recently him and his team, received thorough training and certification in the hammock massage treatment, and spent many hours practicing and perfecting the treatment on each other, and introduced some of their own personal customizations, to ensure the signature Ritz Carlton experience of opulence. “I’m able to incorporate different modalities into this particular massage, and pass along my many years of experience as a massage therapist, to our valued guests. We really go above and beyond, to make sure they have the most amazing experience possible. Obviously it’s a good approach, because people just love it, and haven’t really experienced anything quite like it”, Rick proudly added.

Nothing can prepare you for this hammock massage. It’s not possible to convey in words, what it actually feels like, until one has the opportunity of actually trying it out. First there is the feeling of weightlessness and zero gravity as the thin, mesh hammock envelopes the body from head to toe. I lay in the hammock, not in the conventional manner of being parallel with the hammock frame, rather in a position horizontal to the frame, which elongates the spine for a better range of motion and flexibility, apparently. I’ll not doubt it. It was fantastic. From the time the massage session began, until the moment of landing back onto solid ground, I swayed gently back and forth in the hammock. With ambidextrous stealth and some kind of unseen agility, Rick was able to massage me from above and below, somehow crawling beneath me with the flexibility of a cat, selecting the best position from which to massage my head, neck, back, gluteal muscles, hamstrings, calves, ankles, feet and toes. All this amidst the serenity of the eco garden, the ingredients of which evoked my senses of sight, sound, touch, and smell.

Plantings along the newly completed palm walk.

Ready for public viewing on their opening day will be the Children’s , Caribbean, Brazilian, and Florida Gardens, along with the completion of  natural preserves, and other gardens which connect these themed gardens as part of an amazing walking tour. Brian Holley, the garden’s director, and Toronto native, who is enjoying a tremendously successful career told me “It is just so exciting that we are still on time and within budget, considering all the challenges we’ve overcome, the sheer volume of earth we’ve moved and the whole transformation of the place.” Walking through the gardens recently with Brian, his enthusiasm impossible to disguise, he said “We are so incredibly fortunate to have such a garden of this magnitude here in Naples, which will be appealing to broad ranges of people of all ages, and all physical abilities”. I think they’ve done a terrific job to underplay the scientific aspects of the gardens, and bring to the forefront the more fun part of visiting such a magnificent garden often. Obviously, it’s not their intention for the public to underestimate the importance science plays in such a well choreographed and designed project, they are just trying to persuade us to lighten up a little, and enjoy the merits of the gardens without being too tied up with the technical aspects of a botanical collection.

I’m not easily giving of good praise for garden or landscape design outside of western Europe. Being from the British isles, the quintessential home of garden culture, also on the doorstep of the classical French and Italian garden styles, we know what we are talking about in this realm. It’s been said that the best wines from the Chianti region don’t travel well. This is partly because the Italians have an intense love affair with this wine. They are reluctant to put it in a crate and export it. The same, it seems, can be said for great gardens outside western Europe. This has always struck me when I’ve visited gardens in Spain, Germany, even in Holland, in India, Brazil, the U.S., or throughout C. America. However, in my opinion, this new Botanical Gardens in Naples rivals any of the finest gardens I’ve ever been to in the world. It will take some time for the gardens to mature, but it’s already a huge success. The planning, design and construction are exemplary accomplishments, due in part to the incredible generosity of the many people who have donated funds, plants, sweat, and the teams of talent Brian has surrounded himself with.

A ceramic mural, the only one of its kind in the U.S. by Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx.

Take for example, the Children’s garden, centered around a an enormous strangler fig and elaborate, yet simple, interactive tree house. This garden was designed with great attention to detail, complete with a Florida-style cottage, fun water feature, scrounger garden, a short grassy slope for body rolling, an old-fashioned hand pump which actually functions, a herb garden, absolutely fabulous butterfly house and much, much more. This garden is so much fun and learning that children will be coming back with their families over and over again.

The tree house in the Children's Garden.

Complete within the next few days, the Brazilian garden has an impressive collection of plants representing Brazil’s diverse climatic regions, the only ceramic mural of its kind in the world, and a wonderfully innovative design for a cascading water feature. You won’t want to leave this inspirational garden, but you’ll be eager to walk on and discover the sugarcane, pineapple and banana plantations in the Caribbean Garden. Rest there to contemplate the garden and the surroundings, as the views open up to expanses of carefully restored natural preserves.

The Chattel House Pavillion in the Caribeean Gardens. A chattel house goes back to the plantation days, when land workers assembled and dis assembled their homes as they moved from harvest to harvest.

One would not expect gardens with such graceful elevations changes in Florida, renowned for its flatness, but this garden is definitely more interesting for its clever use of gently undulating topography, softly rising from watery preserves to nature filled uplands.

A child size Florida cottage is just one of the many activities in the children's garden.

There are few words to describe how important this garden is to the residents of Collier County, international visitors, Naples, south Florida and beyond. Any great city is so because of its diversity in arts, cultural heritage, public open spaces and well planned gardens. Perhaps the most clever aspect of the garden’s planning is that you will want to return often, an attribute which augments the great value of an annual membership. I’ve been several times, and am still pleasantly surprised to discover tremendous new things at each visit. Please visit their site www.naplesgarden.org often, to learn more, and to stay informed through their blogs. Although their site is an impressive display of technology and graphics, it does little to convey the magnificence of the garden. I’ll look forward to seeing you there come November.

Garden design is straightforward. My humble attempt to simplify this seemingly complex art takes a brief look at the traditional boundaries of garden design. Here we try to push the limits of these boundaries and let you in on some fundamental secrets, not often revealed by designers, but which you can easily follow yourself.

The primary objective is to design a space that looks and feels natural, so it will be appealing to a broad range of people and will be a comfortable and inviting place to enjoy. The design will allow the user to be in a relaxed state, not distracted by man-made materials, wildly abstract or brightly contrasting colors.

Although Antoni Gaudi, the famous Barcelona architect, was pure genius, to this day, his park is a masterpiece, attracting hordes of tourists from all over the world, I can’t say I feel comfortable in his garden spaces. There is a lot going on, with the variety of brightly colored ceramic mosaics, along with the contrived benches, walkways and fountains, even though his philosophies were based upon building with natural shapes. I’ll not attempt to take the slightest credit from Gaudi and his brilliance; he surpassed his objectives with this public garden, and his magnificent works are truly inspirational.

A private garden however, is no place to experiment with haphazard shapes, colors or random textures, as it is difficult for the eye and mind to make sense of them, which results in a less appealing space.

Some traditional design boundaries are the design rules themselves. In a nutshell, these include color, form, texture and height, among others. We can stretch the rules associated with color. The guidelines are to select from groups on the color wheel which are related to each other. In fact, it’s okay to stretch this rule, as some blues go very nicely with some yellows, colors at almost the opposite ends of the spectrum. That being said, be careful not to choose a color palette which resembles a rainbow, as the garden will again look confusing and without harmony.

Form relates to the shapes of trees and shrubs but it’s obvious that any rules about form can be manipulated to suit your own preference, assuming it’s done so with spiffing good taste and variety for interest. Varying heights need to be present to add depth and dimension whilst taking advantage of the free vertical spaces.

Texture refers to the individual composition of materials in the garden, from the smoothness of a polished marble statue to the coarse boulders in a waterfall; the soft leaves of ferns to the leathery, somewhat hostile, leaves of some cacti. For an appealing garden that remains interesting at all times of year, many different textures need to be used, but how they are used in relationship with each other is relatively open to your individual style. Sketch in advance. If it looks too risqué, it probably will not be a relaxing, inviting place.

It’s not a good idea to try to mix different styles, especially in the same vicinity. It is possible to have different styles present in your garden, they just need to be disconnected, so they are not directly visible from the same vantage point.

We constantly strive to dissolve boundaries between the home and garden, creating outdoor rooms that are extensions of the interior living space of your home. There are fewer rules here. The objective is to treat your garden room as you would the interior design of any room in the house, which reflects your individual personality, lifestyle and taste. You may incorporate all-natural materials of wood, bamboo, metals, stone, glass, clay pots and live plantings into your garden room. Natural materials for furniture will also prove to be more durable. Consider lighting, a fire pit, candles or a patio space heater for ambiance, atmosphere and to extend the season. For a beautiful, inexpensive fire pit, you can make one yourself from a 55-gallon steel drum, cut in half and faced with dry, stacked natural stone. It costs a fraction of having a custom fire pit built. Avoid the use of tropical hardwoods such as Teak and Ipe (pronounced e-pay), which come from tropical rain forests, unless you know they are from sustainable sources.

Lastly, we try to dissolve the boundaries of imagination. By maintaining a creative spirit, we are always pushing our creative limits, constantly striving for innovation and always setting new trends.

These fruits can be found in an edible garden. 

Do you know what  they are?

This fruit originates from the Philippines. It has a mild sweet flavor, and is usually added to salads or deserts. 

Birds actually eat this which is surprising, as other animals can’t take the heat……What is it?

This fruit is sweet, high in vitamin C and is normally used to make jam, jellies and juices.

These come in a tardy or sweet flavor, sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two.  Fruit is also high in vitamin C.  It is usually used in salads, chutneys,  garnishing food, smoothies and  other drinks.

The name of this comes from the fact that it’s flavor is a combination of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.  This is usually used in baking, cooking spicy foods like Indian curries and so on.

A native  of Jamaica, this fruit tree is actually toxic until the fruit opens up naturally to reveal 3 large, shiny, black seeds attached to a white or milky-white aril. The firm and oily aril is the edible portion and is consumed fresh or is cooked and used as a vegetable.  This fruit is also used to make soap. What is it?