Hurricane Sandy, a massive storm described by forecasters as one of the largest to ever hit the United States, is making her way towards the population-dense East Coast. Evacuations have been ordered from Maryland to Maine, where storm surge and high winds are expected to wipe out power to millions.

To see more on storm system see www.weather.com/.

These handmade creations are more than textured eye-catching pieces of garden art.  Known as bug hotels, they offer shelter and even food for beetles, solitary bees, and spiders! Beetles and Spiders nestle down between pieces of wood, while birds take wool and yarn for their nests.

All these creatures are essential to the ecosystem, says Lisa Benjamin, founder of Urban Hedgegrow, a collective of artists in California and the United Kingdom who create these dwellings.  Items shown can be ordered from Urban Hedgerow.

In Natural Companions, acclaimed garden writer Ken Druse presents recipes for perfect plant pairings using diverse species that look great together and bloom at the same time.

Artist Ellen Hoverkamp contributes over 100 striking botanical photographs, created in collaboration with the author utilizing a large format, flatbed scanner as her camera. Filled with an incredible amount of horticultural guidance, useful plant recommendations, and gardening lore, this book is a must-have for gardeners and lovers of plants and flowers.

“During a walk through the vast grain fields adjacent to my friend’s house (on Oland, a large island off the east coast of Sweden), I was lucky enough to catch these poppies the moment before their petals closed as darkness set in… The image recalls the tranquil feeling of a summer night – the noise of hawks and swallows flying overhead, the wind, and the soft evening light as the drops below the horizon.”~Thomas Ljungberg

As seen in June 2012 issue of Garden Design magazine.

Exciting News!  bbrooks new website will be launched in the coming weeks!

Keep any eye out for our new look!

Jory Brigham has worked with chisels and planes for as long as he can remember.

The name of his latest creation was insprired by a conversation Brigham had with his wife during a road trip.   “I’m usually talking a mile a minute in the car,” says Brigham.  “But I was so engrossed thinking about the design of the bench that I didn’t make a peep.  When my wife became concerned, I told her that I was creating the comfortable silence she always desires.”

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year.  The ten days starting with Rosh Hashana and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days  of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance.  This is a time for serious  introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent  before Yom Kippur.

The presence of flowers is tradition on all Jewish holidays. These are used in table decorations, around homes and in Synagogues. Flowers displayed throughout the holiday are always extremely fine and beautiful. Whilst there are no specific flowers traditionally sent at Jewish New year, some members of the religion favour blooms mentioned in the Torah.  Apple Blossoms are also a popular choice; however these flowers are not as readily available as roses and other striking flora.
Judaism is symbolised by the colours blue, white and silver and these colours will often be interpreted into arrangements and bouquets during this festival. Ribbons of the traditional colours of the religion can be added to bouquets and arrangements and further complimented by candles.

Florals shown as designed by bbrooks member Greenwich Orchids in Connecticut.

The rescue happened in 2006, in a remote area of Southwestern China in and near the Yachang National Orchid Nature Reserve in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regions, in the foothills of the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau.  This remote, 220-square-kilometer nature preserve holds more than 150 species of orchids, some of them in extremely large, relatively undisturbed populations.  It exemplifies the world orchid hotspot that is Southwestern China, consisting of Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou Provinces.

Nearly 1000 delicate, reproductive-size orchid plants were carefully translocated from places slated for flooding.  Altogether, the plants represented 29 species  and 16 genera.  In addition, a landscape company was hired to relocate nearly 1500 trees on the Chinese endangered plants list.  The whole rescue action took nearly seven months to complete.

Above left-Cymbidium tracyanum, a rescued species.  Above right- Kingidium braceanum, an epiphytic orchid which can  be found growing naturally in the Reserve.

At right, the Yachang National Orchid Reserve.

Photography by Dr Hong Lui.

As seen in Tropical Garden, Spring 2012 issue.

Paintings by Botticelli, Durer, Raphael and da Vinci are featured in Celia Fisher’s coffee table book, Flowers of the Renaissance.

Taking a closer look at the Renaissance garden as a whole, author Fisher examines roses, lilies, daffodils, daisies and tulips in order to observe varieties common in the Renaissance and their symbolism in paintings of the period.

As seen in Flower Magazine, Spring Issue.

Long-time bbrooks member, Walnut Creek florist Susan Donley, who co-owns the shop Florali with her son, Darwin Harrison, opened up a box of roses that had been shipped from South America, as so many roses sold in the United States are. Inside were beautiful blooms, but she smelled nothing but the abundant aroma of chemical pesticide.

That was the beginning of her commitment to using flowers that are grown locally — and “local” for her usually means California-wide. State regulations restrict the pesticides, and the flowers she gets from local growers are just plain “fresher and prettier,” she says.

As featured in Contra Costa Times online, Darwin Harrison is shown at right creating a lovely Summer design.