REGION — Claude Monet created his garden in Giverny, France simply so he could walk outdoors and paint. His famous “Water Lilies” were painted on the grounds of his French home, while standing on the pastel pink bridge overlooking his pond.
He was obsessed with a color palette so exact that he pulled hundreds of yellow lilies out of his French garden and replaced them with red tulips because the yellow did not fit into the composition of the “Water Lilies.”
CREATE YOUR OWN BACKYARD LANDSCAPE
Some artists paint in their gardens, whereas Rebecca Parker’s entire life is centered on creating art in her garden shop and beyond. “I am always creating something,” she told me in her lovely, crowded outdoor
shop located at 3087 State Street in Carlsbad. She had just returned from a buying trip to Scottsdale, Arizona and had painted the interior of a friend’s house with a desert mural.
Located on State Street in a tiny alley way is one the most hidden treasures in Carlsbad. Rebecca Parker, of Rebecca’s Garden, has a treasure trove of collectibles that could fit into any style of gardening. Her prices are reasonable, so you can easily pick up a few pieces and create your own sculptural garden. She scours estate sales and auctions, with trips to Mexico. If you have a favorite color or style, you could probably find it there.
Above all, her shop exemplifies the three principles of landscape design:
Color, form and texture. Color in her shop comes from Talavera pottery, English blue porcelain and hand made ceramics. Form is present in every sculpture, a sitting Buddha and stone troughs. And texture abounds in cylindrical fire sticks, spikey cacti and pearly jade plants.
Rebecca has noticed, in 30 years of collecting and landscaping client’s yards that “most people are just afraid to get started. I had a student in my succulent wreath class who spent an hour trying to find two succulents that were identical. Just chose what you like, and go from there!”
The trick it seems to low-cost decorative gardening is to use a small amount of plant material, such as succulents, cacti, perennial cuttings or vegetables, which can be set off by a beautiful piece of pottery or found object.
According to Scott Calhoun, in his book, “Hot Pot,” (Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson) when planting single specimen plants such as agave, cacti and succulents, it is important to “remember that the plant is the number-one element. You want to select containers that show off the plant’s best characteristics. When placing pots in your yard, create a grouping near the entryway, on a narrow walkway or a stairway. In contemporary staging, plants are used in a rhythmic and sculptural way to create a kind of living potted work of art.” Homeowners or apartment dwellers can create their own artistic backyard landscape, or can go in search of artists who create garden sculpture.
MOSAIC ARTIST
For the homeowner or businessperson who would like to create a dramatic statement in their garden, local artist, Marsha Rafter, designs strikingly beautiful mosaic sculpture for each specific client and location.
Marsha began her artistic career as a ceramist in North Carolina and moved to California to further her artistic studies. In 2004 she attended the Society of American Mosaics conference, and since that time has worked in mosaics, often incorporating ceramics into her work.
Her large-scale outdoor works have recently been shown in the San Diego Botanic Sculpture Show for three years. She lives and teaches weekly classes in her studio in Escondido, and conducts workshops nationally and internationally. As she describes her work, “the juxtaposition of the handmade tiles and embellishments with stained glass, smalti or found objects creates a particularly interesting and wonderful contrast in mosaics.” Her website https://marsharafter.com includes information about her artwork, classes and upcoming events.
