It starts here. See the rocky line in the ground?
Look up!
Stanford was built with these standstone rocks, unused since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Some hadn't been used since the 1906 earthquake.
You can see the whole thing is below grade. The pointy tips of the sculpture are at grade.
It's beautiful and groovy and I just wanted to garden it up so bad! But go minimal.
A single palm tree amid some papyrus. A clutch of frittilaries. An opuntia next to a rose bush. Native wildflowers like poppy and layia. Are these not garden rooms? Of course they are.
Another time I'm going to blog the landscaping at Stanford. They've done a lot of incredible, really subtle work that deserves to be more widely appreciated. ("It's no wonder they're always asking for money," said my friend Emma, a Stanford alum.)
Look at the fabulous Muhlenbergia rigens lining the parking lot!
Okay, maybe that's not the most convincing picture. Trust me. It's stunning.
3 comments:
Now that is some gawgeous stone stacking! Having nice square flat faced rocks to work with sure makes a difference.
Oh yea, that sculpture BEGS to be planted up! Even just some various succulents growing along the wall would be subtle and cool...looks like a job for "nocturnal recon garden man"! ;)
I love the wall as it is, it needs no planting. That would only serve to soften it, but the wall is already soft. I think in this case, its best to let the beauty of the work shine through. Andy Goldsworthy is an amazing artist and the Dry Stonewallers who built it are equally talented in their field. I'm planning to go visit this wall this summer.
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