Diamond in the Rough

Most people do not venture out into the industrial Bayview district of San Francisco to explore the neighborhood, let alone travel out there for plants…until recently. I almost would like to keep it a secret but that would be impossible due to fame and press of it’s existence already. Flora Grubb Gardens, on Jerrold Avenue is truly a fabulous place filled with amazing plants, quirky furniture and a knowledgeable staff to assist people of all types that venture out there for the foliage of their dreams.

We go there for inspiration, to see new and unique plants for our gardens and to show our clients some other plants besides the typical species that they are used to. Upon walking in, large metal lotus sculptures that once grew out of the Black Rock Desert, now serve as bicycle racks for the non-driving visitors but there is plenty of parking in the surrounding area for you to fill your cars to the brim with lush green plants. I think the Ritual Coffee cafe inside is icing on the cake!

Flora Grubb Gardens: 1634 Jerrold Ave, San Francisco, CA – 415.626.7256

Bleeding Oak Tree

While visiting a project site in Marin County with our favorite arborist’s Ray Moritz and Janel Yoshimoto this morning, we came across some oak trees with symptoms of Sudden Oak Death (SOD). We noticed a spot on the bark that appeared to be “bleeding” with a thick sap which is a common symptom of SOD. Sudden Oak Death has been killing native oak trees along Northern and Central California’s coastal communities since 1995. The disease is caused by a pathogen called Phytophthora ramorum and there are two host for the pathogen: bark canker host and foliar hosts. Diseased oaks and other tress are often attacked by other organisms that end up killing the tree and we found out today that it would only take about 48 little bugs to kill a beautiful heritage oak tree. I guess it takes one bug to penetrate through about 3″ of girth of the tree and when more and more bugs begin to penetrate the tree then it see’s the white light at the end of the tunnel and begins it’s slow descent into tree afterlife. Amazing how tiny little critters can take the life of an old and massive tree. Not all trees will die and the rate can vary from tree to tree depending on the health and severity of the problem that persists. There are about 40 other plant species that can be affected by SOD such as rhododendron, laurels and a variety of other species so look beyond your oaks for symptoms of “bleeding” and leaf spots.

More information about Sudden Oak Death can be found at: www.suddenoakdeath.org

Materials to Make your Dreams Come True

We often take our clients directly to the source where we find and purchase our materials so that they can see the options and also be a part of the process of creating their own garden. On this particular rainy day, we ventured to American Soil and Stone Products in San Rafael in search of the perfect stone for a garden up in Lucas Valley. A&S specializes in high quality soil and stone from all over the world and as they state on their website, they provide the materials to make your dreams come true. This time we saw some amazing stone from China among an assortment of other materials that continue to inspire future gardens and installations to come.

A & S Landscape Materials, Inc.

Richmond Annex Site:
2121 San Joaquin Street
Richmond, CA 94804
510.292.3000

San Rafael Site:
565 A Jacoby Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
415.456.1381
http://www.americansoilans.com

Dodie Thayer

While lecturing last weekend for the Garden Club of Santa Barbara, we were fortunate enough to come across a not so forgotten piece of art from years past. A porcelain cabbage form tureen was on display at the residence that was home for the weekend and when taken apart; became three different pieces. Inscribed on the bottom of the piece was Dodie Thayer, Jupiter Fla and the year it was made. Dodie Thayer remains a mystery to us for all of our internet searches lead to ebay sales and art auctions selling pieces as opposed to any information about the artist herself. Perhaps we should travel to Jupiter Florida to find out more about her…

P.S. Oh Christmas Tree…

An extra image of our holiday traditions to go with the previous blog about Christmas waste…

Waste Not Want Not?

After looking through the many photos that I meant to blog about before but ran out of time, I stumbled upon some images we took the day after Christmas; a holiday that is supposed to be filled with joy and cheer. I am sure that joy and cheer were in abundance on that day of merry but that was not the only thing filled to the brim. Our garbages were also filled to the brim with our leftover cheer in the form of wrapping paper, gift boxes, plastic bags, cups, food, and a variety of other discarded items. Why has this day become a day of discard? Do people realize where all the stuff they throw in their trash goes to after it is picked up and hauled away by the garbage truck and how much more room we have to continue to fill with our waste? Will our consumer obsessed society one day realize that we have no more room to put our garbage and need to stop buying things to replace things we just purchased a few years before? There must be millions of cell phones, digital cameras and other technological items that have become obsolete piling up somewhere.

City of the Future

As I was walking through the expansive main hall of CCA after an interesting lecture by public artists Steve Lambert and Packard Jennings sponsored by Judy Moran of the San Francisco Arts Commission I noticed two physically similar men* folding multi colored papers into intricate shapes..origami of an unprecedented nature… No cranes / paper planes/ or peacocks here…..the imagination of this dynamic duo the Anderson brothers… Architect and Architect….with their merry band of EIGHT team members, a color scanner , a trusty LAZAR cutter , EXTREME passion coupled with delicate diligence has produced an extraordinary three dimensional collage…..not to be missed with the soaring dreams of Fougeron Architects, Pfau Architecture, IF Architecture, IwamotoScott Architecture, Gelfand Partners Architects, rendered in precise modalities of steel, acrylic, paper, and of course futuristic renditions courtesy of some zoomy graphics TONIGHT at the opening of CITY OF THE FUTURE hosted by the architecture department of CCA…

* The dynamic duo upon discussion turned out to be two brothers two years apart Anderson and Anderson check out their web site …..well actually check out the web sites of each team…you will be treated to a wonderful display of imagination/set within the parameters of codes, human conditions and elevations…..enjoy the efforts!!!!!

http://www.andersonanderson.com/

http://www.fougeron.com/

http://www.gelfand-partners.com/

http://www.iwamotoscott.com/

http://www.kuthranieri.com/

http://www.pfauarchitecture.com/

blog is the new black

I know that blogging is not a new concept, nor is the fact that blogging just recently became a successful tool of getting ideas and accomplishments out to the world. The internet has made research and exploration far more advanced and efficient than traveling to the library to search through books and old periodicals. With the internet, you can instantly find answers, products and ideas from your home with the simple click of a mouse. For this very reason, Seam Studios decided last Friday to dedicate one hour a day to our blog and spreading the gospel of what we do here. We figured it was a more efficient way to share with the people on the internet our ideas, designs, and installations than to put together another book about our work. Which we still plan to do, but that takes time and with our blog you wont have to wait… Instant gratification!

Culinary Suprise!

With winter fast approaching, our recent trip to Sweden to view the site for an upcoming installation turned out to be a gastronomical delight as wells as a cultural awakening as we toured the cities of Göteborg and Stockholm. Göteborg, which is known as the little brother to Stockholm seemed to be a young and hip city but comparably quieter to it’s older sibling. Our highlight was The Gunnebo House, the site of our upcoming installation this summer as part of the Gardens of Göteborg festival that will be taking place in various locations throughout the city during the months of June 28th- September 28th. The Gunnebo House is an 18th century house just outside of Göteborg that has a restaurant that uses seasonal vegetables from the kitchen gardens right outside the door. We were fortunate enough to eat a few meals there and were able to try a variety of dishes consisting of reindeer, lamb (from the lambs on the property), root vegetables, puree’s, fresh salads, seafood, freshly baked bread and delicious deserts. The food there was simply amazing. Other places within the city worth mentioning are Fond and Swea Hof . Stockholm had equally great food and one night we marched through the city to Rolfs Kök where every bite was noteworthy and another night had a late bite next door to the Opera house after watching the ballet. The entire country seemed to use materials and supplies that were found locally or grown organically and have similar principals to the slow food movement..something that the U.S. does very little of.

And we though we were headed for a week of pea soup, Swedish meatballs and pickled hearing!

human nature:

the set of psychological characteristics, including ways of thinking and acting, that all normal human beings have in common.

Pictured above is an assortment of unwanted stolen items discarded on a picnic table. mints, lipstick, an empty wallet and a book about human nature? Go figure…