GardenLarge

GardenLarge, the Brine Garden, Duncan and Julia Brine

  • GardenLarge ·
    • GardenLarge & Brine Garden Timeline ·
    • Native Plants ·
    • Nursery ·
    • Clients Appreciation ·
  • Publications ·
    • The New York Times ·
    • Connecticut Gardener ·
    • Newspapers ·
    • Books ·
  • Brine Garden ·
    • Ambiance ·
    • Snow in the Brine Garden ·
  • Garden Tours ·
    • The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days ·
    • Garden Clubs ·
    • Directions ·
    • Area Restaurants ·
  • Duncan & Julia Brine ·
    • Duncan Brine ·
    • Julia Brine ·
    • Presentations: Principles of Design ·
    • The New York Botanical Garden ·
    • American Gardener ·
    • The Literary Garden ·
  • Contact ·
    • Careers ·
  • 05-Gercens-Beries-Gatenoarrow
  • 01-Lei-4995-noarrow
  • 02-Gercens-LMnoarrow
  • 03-Gercens-F-to-Hnoarrow
  • 04-Gercens-F-buddnoarrow
  • 06-Gercens-CU-Berriesnoarrow
  • 07-Gercens-Long-Bnoarrow
  • 08-Gercens-SW-CU-Mnoarrow
  • 09-Gercens-Praying-Mnoarrow
  • 10-Gercens-SW-Eup-noarrow
  • 11-Gercens-Katusuranoarrow

“Plenty Good Room” for Obama Library

February 19, 2015 by Julia Brine Leave a Comment

“Plenty Good Room” for Obama Library

By Mary Pattillo
Published February 3, 2015

In the coming weeks, the Chicago City Council and the Chicago Park District will vote on using roughly 20 acres of South Side parkland for the proposed Obama presidential library. There is no good reason to use parkland. There are plenty of reasons not to. And, as the Negro spiritual says, there is “plenty good room” in which to accommodate everybody.

Photo of Washington ParkWashington Park, photo © Lucas Blair

I run in Washington Park. There’s a bridle path where Chicago’s “black cowboys” ride their horses, and where it’s very soft on my knees. I also run in Jackson Park in the Woodlawn community on a beautiful track across the street from Hyde Park Academy High School.

On my runs in Washington Park, I pass the older lady who always yells out “How ya doin’, baaaby!” and the group of older men whose debates about politics and popular culture are almost as vigorous as their walking pace. In the summer, there are softball leagues, South Asians and West Indians playing cricket, and hundreds of barbecues. And, I swear, half the people have on Obama T-shirts!

In Jackson Park, I loop around the Latino men playing soccer, with their families cheering them on, or high school football teams that practice there.

We love that President Barack Obama still calls Chicago his hometown . Obama’s presidential library should be on the South Side — where it would add vitality to blocks and blocks of empty lots. But, instead, the University of Chicago’s proposal to use parkland for the Obama library threatens to take away all of the local, unscripted, everyday life and activity I just described. It will curtail the use of the park through what I call the three Ps: perception, permitting and policing.

My research on urban development in Chicago illustrates that how people perceive things in a community matters for how they use them, or not. In the North Kenwood neighborhood, a community health center has struggled to attract clients with private insurance — who think the facility is only for low-income families. And in the same neighborhood, low-income residents thought the now-shuttered Hyde Park Co-op grocery store was for the more wealthy newcomers. South Siders of all types will surely embrace the Obama library and claim it as their own, but its fancy architecture and perfectly landscaped lawns will create perceptions for some people that they shouldn’t be hanging out nearby, shouldn’t play loud music at the family reunion, shouldn’t wear cutoff shorts, or generally shouldn’t be there doing what people often do in a park.

Photo of Cricket PlayersCricket Players in Washington Park, photo © Lucas Blair

The next step is permitting. A presidential library will add a level of scrutiny regarding the kinds of uses that are granted permits to be in the park. Will the members of the African-American fraternity Omega Psi Phi be able to blast “Atomic Dog,” hop, and bark alongside the Obama library at their fraternity picnic? Will UniverSoul Circus get a permit to set up in the park? It draws thousands of families every autumn, bringing with it smells of cotton candy, popcorn, pyrotechnics and horse manure.

And, the final P — policing. The Obama library will surely have tight security. Will littering, loitering, street vending and disturbing the peace escalate into arrests? Washington Park is already among the Top 10 and Woodlawn among the Top 15 communities in Chicago with the highest imprisonment rates. Zero-tolerance policing in either of these parks will add to the unjust burden black communities already bear for our lock-’em-up policies.

And, finally, it’s just not necessary. According to the City’s Web site, there are over 3.4 million square feet (almost 79 acres) of vacant city-owned land in the Washington Park community area, and over 2.7 million square feet (roughly 63 acres) in Woodlawn, where Jackson Park is located. Of course, all of these lots are not contiguous but anybody who drives through these neighborhoods will know that there is ample space to build a library, and then some. Indeed, the University of Chicago owns an 11-acre vacant lot directly across the street from the Washington Park land it wants to seize. Why take land that is being actively used by parkgoers, instead of building on land not being used for anything?

The Obama presidential library belongs on Chicago’s South Side. And so do the black cowboys, the Latino soccer players, the high school football teams, the woman who calls me “Baaaaby,” and whoever wants to just hang out with a makeshift cooler and a rickety lawn chair.

Luckily, with the abundance of available non-parkland, there is plenty of good room for all of it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Pattillo is a professor of sociology and African-American studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of two books about Chicago’s South Side: Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class, and Black on the Block: The Politics of Race and Class in the City.

A version of this post appeared in the Chicago Tribune’s Opinion and Commentary section on Jan 30, 2015.

Filed Under: Architecture, Cultural Landscape Foundation, Cultural properties, Design philosophy, Garden Blogs, GARDEN LARGE, Midwest, Museums, Public Gardens Tagged With: Cultural Landscape Foundation, Public Gardens, Public land, Public Parks

GardenLarge: on the Front Page in the Hamptons

March 20, 2012 by Duncan Brine Leave a Comment

    • Advice Offered On Creating A Naturalistic Landscape Design – 27east

      Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press

      By Anne Halpin

      Gardeners interested in a more natural look for their landscapes were treated to an inspiring and insightful talk on Sunday afternoon at Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton by Duncan and Julia Brine.

      The Long Bridge at the Brine Garden © gardenlarge.com

      The principal designer and his wife and partner in the Pawling, New York-based Garden Large, a naturalistic landscape design firm…

      Their talk focused on the process of making a naturalistic garden personal and unique to each site…

      The first step in the process involves acquiring a sense of the region and the characteristics of your particular property, what Mr. Brine calls “the givens.”

      Mr. Brine used his own family’s property in Dutchess County to illustrate the design process…

      For Mr. Brine, naturalistic landscape design responds to the native plants already in place. The landscape is understood as an environment, the plantings part of a whole—a bigger picture than a traditional garden bed or border…

      For the Brines, the goal of a naturalistic garden is to, in Mr. Brine’s words, “idealize and partner with nature’s potential in a place.”

      A large garden such as theirs can replicate the different ecosystems of slopes, and wet lowlands, the plantings visually integrating with views of their neighbor’s property and the distant ridgelines. On a small property, a naturalistic garden can’t invoke an entire ecosystem, but it can serve as a fragment of nature, a quotation of a natural environment.

      The naturalistic garden…can offer a refuge and respite for the senses. And because the plants are chosen to suit the givens, the garden will look like it belongs there, and the plants will thrive. It’s a low-maintenance, resource-conservative place that can nourish the gardener’s soul as it helps nature along…

      These are excerpts, for the full article, go to http://www.27east.com/

Filed Under: Bridge Gardens, Brine Garden, Duncan Brine, East Coast, Gardens, Hamptons, Speakers, US Tagged With: Brine Garden, Duncan Brine, Environment, favorite, Julia Brine, Landscape design, landscape photography, Native Plants, naturalistic landscape design, Nature, Pawling NY, Principles, Public Gardens, speaker, Sustainabilty, The American Gardener

Join us in the Hamptons this weekend?

March 16, 2012 by Julia Brine Leave a Comment

Hudson Valley’s Duncan Brine, aka Garden Large,
Speaks in the Hamptons on Sunday, March 18 at 1pm

The Peconic Land Trust announces its third annual lecture series at Bridge Gardens, in Bridgehampton, NY. On March 18 at 1:00pm, Duncan Brine, principal of Garden Large, presents his naturalistic landscape design process, expanding on his recent article in “American Gardener” magazine.

“A naturalistic garden combines a gardener’s needs and desires with nature’s dictates; its design cannot be premeditated because its inherent beauty is inextricably linked to the landscape on which it is created.”

Mr. Brine is an instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and the New England Wild Flower Society. Garden Large specializes in native plants and whole property gardens. Visit www.gardenlarge.com, for more about Garden Large, Duncan Brine, and the Brine Garden.

Long Bridge at the Brine Garden, Pawling, NY© gardenlarge.com
The Long Bridge at the Brine Garden, Pawling, NY 

Scott Medbury, president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Vincent Simeone, director of Planting Fields Arboretum, and others, are also featured in the speaker series. Reservations are required and the fee is $15 per person. Refreshments will be served following each program.

For reservations and additional dates and details on the speaker series, go to Bridge Gardens on www.PeconicLandTrust.org.

The Peconic Land Trust

The Peconic Land Trust was established in 1983 to conserve Long Island’s working farms and natural lands.  The nonprofit Trust has worked in concert with landowners, local government, partner organizations, and communities to conserve over 10,000 acres in NY, on Long Island. The Trust’s professional staff carries out the necessary research and planning to identify and implement alternatives to development. While working to conserve the productive farms, watersheds, woodlands, and beach front of Long Island, the Trust is also protecting the unique rural heritage and natural resources of the region. The Trust has Stewardship Centers in Southold, Cutchogue, Bridgehampton and Amagansett and its Main Office is in Southampton, NY. The public is invited to enjoy a wide variety of fun and educational activities through the Trust’s “Connections” programs which strive to connect people to the natural lands of Long Island’s East End.

Bridge Gardens

Bridge Gardens was established in 1988 by Harry Neyens and Jim Kilpatric, who designed and installed the gardens over the ensuing 10 years. In 1997, Bridge Gardens Trust was created as a charitable corporation to maintain and preserve the gardens. In 2008, Neyens and Kilpatric donated Bridge Gardens to the Peconic Land Trust. Rick Bogusch, a landscape architect with a long career at Cornell Plantations in Ithaca, NY,  is the garden manager.

Bridge Gardens covers over five acres and consists of an Inner Garden and an Outer Garden. Developed first, the Inner Garden features a large, meticulously-trimmed knot garden surrounded by beds of 180 different culinary, medicinal, ornamental, and textile and dyeing herbs. Overlooking these plantings, the garden house is the manager’s residence/education center. In the Outer Garden, the favorite attraction is a collection of antique and modern roses. Bridge Gardens also contains animal topiaries, a lavender parterre, perennial beds and borders, a water garden, woodland paths, a hidden bamboo room, double hedgerows of privet with viewing ports, and specimen shrubs and trees.

Filed Under: Classes/Tours, Design philosophy, Duncan Brine, East Coast, GARDEN LARGE, Gardens, Hamptons, Images, Landscape Designer, Landscape Designers, Landscape Inspiration, Native Plants, Naturalistic, Nature, Not-for-Profits, Plants, Private Gardens, Public Gardens, Public Lands, Speakers, Structured Naturalism, Sustainability, US Tagged With: Brine Garden, Duncan Brine, Environment, Hudson Valley, Julia Brine, Landscape design, landscape photography, Native Plants, naturalistic landscape design, Nature, Pawling NY, Principles, Public Gardens, Public land, speaker, Sustainabilty, talks, The American Gardener

Duncan Brine to present at Peconic Land Trusts’ Lecture Series – Bridgehampton, NY

February 22, 2012 by Duncan Brine Leave a Comment

  • Peconic Land Trusts Kicks Off Its Third Annual Lecture Series At Bridge Gardens – Bridgehampton, NY – Hamptons.com

    Long Bridge at the Brine Garden, Pawling, NY

    © gardenlarge.com
    • • Sunday, March 18: “Naturalistic Whole Property Design”
      Brine, principal landscape designer of Garden Large, and instructor at the New York Botanical Garden along with the New England Wild Flower Society, will expand upon an article he wrote for the American Horticultural Society’s “American Gardener” while focusing on the six-acre Brine Garden in Pawling, NY.
      Anne Raver featured the garden in the New York Times, and the recent book “Gardens of the Hudson Valley” compares Duncan to Russel Wright of Garrison, NY’s Manitoga.
      Discover how this designer finds inspiration in existing conditions and elicits ideas from the prevailing nature of a place.

Filed Under: Bridge Gardens, Brine Garden, Design philosophy, Design Technique, Duncan Brine, Environment, Hamptons, Images, Julia Brine, Landscape Inspiration, Native Plants, Naturalistic, Nature, Public Lands, Speakers, Structured Naturalism, Sustainability Tagged With: Brine Garden, Duncan Brine, Environment, Hudson Valley, Julia Brine, Landscape design, naturalistic landscape design, Nature, Pawling NY, Principles, Public Gardens, Public land, speaker, Sustainabilty, talks, The American Gardener

New Landscape Book to Love: Lauded by Louv and Tallamy

December 18, 2011 by Duncan Brine Leave a Comment

  • UPNE – Integrated Landscaping: Lauren Chase-Rowell

    • “A first-rate model for forward thinking landscapers everywhere. It’s time to bring nature back into our lives, and this book shows us how.”—Richard Louv, author, The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods

      “From initial design to plant choice to installation, this book will guide you in the creation of a beautiful, functional, and enriching landscape, regardless of the size of your property or budget.”—Douglas W. Tallamy, author, Bringing Nature Home

       

      A new way of thinking about landscaping home grounds and public spaces, Revised and Expanded

       

      Most landscape manuals describe a linear sequence of processes: design, plant selection, installation, and ongoing maintenance. Integrated Landscaping is different. It uses natural ecosystems as models, taking a nonlinear, holistic approach that addresses these processes simultaneously. Integrated Landscaping treats each site as a system of plant and animal communities, considering their interrelationships with each other and their environment.

       

      Click here for TABLE OF CONTENTS

    • Brine Garden: Stream in fall

Filed Under: Books, Design philosophy, Design Technique, Enlightening, Environment, Gardens, Landscape Inspiration, Naturalistic, Private Gardens, Public Gardens, Sustainability, Tallamy Tagged With: Book, Environment, Landscape, Landscape design, Louv, Native Plants, naturalistic landscape design, Nature, Principles, Private Gardens, Public Gardens, Sustainabilty, Tallamy, Wildlife

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »
  • GardenLarge ·
    • GardenLarge & Brine Garden Timeline ·
    • Native Plants ·
    • Nursery ·
    • Clients Appreciation ·
  • Publications ·
    • The New York Times ·
    • Connecticut Gardener ·
    • Newspapers ·
    • Books ·
  • Brine Garden ·
    • Ambiance ·
    • Snow in the Brine Garden ·
  • Garden Tours ·
    • The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days ·
    • Garden Clubs ·
    • Directions ·
    • Area Restaurants ·
  • Duncan & Julia Brine ·
    • Duncan Brine ·
    • Julia Brine ·
    • Presentations: Principles of Design ·
    • The New York Botanical Garden ·
    • American Gardener ·
    • The Literary Garden ·
  • Contact ·
    • Careers ·
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

Recent Posts

  • Celebrated author, Tom Christopher, joins Duncan Brine’s naturalistic landscape design seminar at the New York Botanical Garden.
  • Connecticut Gardener
  • Mad Gardeners Visit the Brine Garden
  • Julia Brine and Pawling Women Entrepreneurs

Your Comments

  • Sara Nemerov on Julia Brine and Pawling Women Entrepreneurs
  • Virtual offices on Legendary Norman McGrath Documents the Brine Garden
  • Virtual offices on Brine Garden and GardenLarge events

Find More Inspiration & Information

Join Our Email List

For occasional updates about:

GardenLarge, Duncan Brine, and the Brine Garden, please sign up below.

 

Subscribe

Copyright © 2023 · GardenLarge · Built by Tadpole · Powered by WordPress and Genesis · Log in