THE GARDEN OF ALL RELIGION

In the middle of Haifa, running up and down the slope of Mt. Carmel, is a spectacular garden that evokes Babylon, Eden, and even Versailles. With 18 terraces, fountains, geometrical plantings, and over 100 gardeners meticulously manicuring the flowers, trees and lawns, the Bahai Gardens, I learned, were constructed to protect, link and enhance the shrines of this global religious community.

Having never heard of this faith, despite being the second fastest-growing independent religion, with 6 million followers in 200 countries around the world, I decided to investigate. Begun in the 19th century in Persia, the Bahai faith is monotheistic and emphasizes the spiritual unity and equality of all mankind. According to its principles, a series of divine messengers was sent by God–Abraham, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad among them–to educate believers progressively, throughout the ages. Each was sent at a different time, bringing substantially the same message but varying it to meet different social needs.

This idea of progressive revelation is clearly revealed in the gardens, descending (or ascending, depending upon where you are) gradually and gently down the mountain. Another tenet, cross-cultural unity, was expressed in horti-cultural terms by The Bab, one of the founders of the Bahai religion:

“If in a garden the flowers and fragrant herbs, the blossoms and fruits, the leaves, branches and trees are of one kind, of one form, of one color and of one arrangement, there is no beauty or sweetness, but when there is variety, each will contribute to the beauty and charm of the others and will make an admirable garden, and will appear in the utmost loveliness, freshness and sweetness.”

Built between 1950 and 1990, the Bahai Gardens were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in July 2008. More recently, the gardens have been re-designed to put them on the world horticultural map–essentially expanding faith through horti-culture.

Precisely geometric, the mostly symmetrical, controlled designs dictated by culture yield to wilder, assymmetrical elements allowed out of respect for nature. The flora is organised according to seasonal colour: there is a purple season, followed by red, yellow and even a pink season. Green, the official colour of the Bab, is evident in the amazingly lush grass that grows in the winter time.

Ever water-resourceful, the grass is turned under in the hot summer, and the most advanced irrigation system in the world waters the 450 different species of plants carefully chosen for their adaptation to dry climates, including echium, rosemary, oleander, yucca, almond, olive, cypress and pine.

Though quite European in design and Middle-Eastern in vegetation, oriental influences are present, like these almost bonsai-like trees groomed to resemble a painted screen:

I found one of the most fascinating elements was the textural mix of plants, here cypress and ivy, combined to capture movement and light:

A vegetal revelation…

Lisa

Poinsettia Palimpsest

Just back from Israel, where successive peoples and religions have let so many constructions rise and fall that only a professional eye can perfectly distinguish the layers in stone. The plant situation is similar. I found this enormous poinsettia in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel, growing in the gardens of  the Basilica of the Annunciation (a Catholic church built in 1969 on the remains of a 5th century Byzantine church, built around the original grotto of the Annunciation, and including the vestiges of a 12th century Crusader church, next to a traditional Jewish mikvah…).

Poinsettia’s are native to Mexico, and the busloads of Latin American pilgrims must have thrilled at the sight of their indigenous bush growing in the Holy Land. Poinsettias were brought to Egypt from Mexico in the 1860’s and somehow made their way up to Galilee. Part of the Euphorbiaceae family, they are perennial flowering shrubs that can grow up to 10 feet tall in the right climates. In the USA, they are THE Christmas plant, and account for 85% of all potted plant sales in December.

The red “petals” are in fact modified leaves, as the actual flowers are simply the yellow growths in the center of each “bloom”. It would be fantastic to have a large poinsettia as an alternative to a Christmas tree–no decorations necessary.

Happy December 1st,

Lisa

AUTUMN INCANDESCENCE

From dull match to bright flame, brown branch to blazing leaf, straight from the Jardin de Luxembourg…

Lisa

BEYOND BLACK

In hommage to Soulages, the painter “of black and light” the new Gluxing group has just created the “Noir Lumière” garden at the SLICK art fair in Paris. From October 23-26, inky black bonsais, luminous autumn crocuses, violently violet Wanda orchids and other unusual organic material make up a 50-metre long strip down the centre of the VIP space, itself suspended in the middle of the fair at the Centquatre, Paris’ most recent contemporary art museum.

Soulages invented the term “outrenoir” to describe his work: “ultra-black, beyond black, a light reflected and transmuted by black. Outrenoir: a black that ceases to be itself to become luminous, a source of secret light. Outrenoir: a mental space that isn’t that of ordinary black.”

The idea was to offer a new “mental space” to visitors, to show the light present in the face of the dark and difficult times many people, be they artists or bankers, are currently facing. Despite, or perhaps because of, the financial crisis, the creativity that is happening beneath this surface black is just coming to light… Put simply, the roots, branches and bulbs of the past will bloom again with incandescent blossoms in the future. Innovative hybrids will be a result, like this bright purple leucocorine with grey leaves: it is pure invention today, but not tomorrow…

The past and the future are also present in the furniture selected by The Horti-culturalist: unusual antiques chosen from the Puces Paul Bert-Serpette are mixed with the most recent prototypes and editions from Moustache, a brand-new French furniture editor:

So who is behind all of this? Gluxing is a new group made up of three specialists: Marc Mignon, florist and interior decorator, Pierre Mugnier, landscape architect, and Lisa White, your Horti-culturalist. We have created this group to develop organic spaces, green corporate identities, and floral installations for stores, brands and both public and private spaces. Gluxing, or “green luxury”, also seeks to renew the image of flowers through design, and design through flowers.

There you have it.

Lisa

BLACK ROSES

Very eye-catching: vivid green “poet” carnations juxtaposed with black roses… Black roses? Isn’t the Black Baccara–the blackest rose there is–actually just a deep red? So how did these roses get so black?

When I asked the florist at Happy–the French chain that has changed the face of flower retailing with small, elegant black boutiques, great packaging and inexpensive blossoms–she replied that these were simply red Grand Prix roses that had been constantly watered with black tinted water in order to produce the inky blooms.

Is this natural? Desirable? Very debatable… but nevertheless fascinating.

- Lisa

FRESH FROM COURSON

Despite the overcast autumn weather, there was plenty of freshness at Courson this morning, beginning with these tiny rosebush hybrids, baptised “Ami des Jardins” They have been patiently developed by Guillot Roses, who are celebrating their 180th birthday this year. The founder, Jean-Baptiste Guillot, was one of those passionate rose hybridists that made Lyon, France the rose capital of the world in the 19th century.

Just as fresh, and more in keeping with the season, were the fall colours of this Sedum Sieboidii, which has turned a warm, almost appetizing, hue of ripe apricots, (or of macaroons)…

And the strangely fascinating Buddha’s Hand lemon tree will never cease to amaze… This must become an ingredient for a fresh, meditative perfume!

There were also vibrant red maple trees and curious white chrysanthemums, but I think I am fighting off fall and winter, as long as possible…

Cool Courson,

Lisa

ORGANIC GRAFFITI

Seen at the “Born in the Streets” graffiti show at the Fondation Cartier: the corridor and restrooms between the exhibition rooms are covered in recent graffiti. Writing, wild and straight, stars and explosions, from graffiti’s débuts. But also an urban-folkloric plant, growing vibrantly up a door jamb…

Eco-Tag,

Lisa

The Tree Room at the Closerie

The weather is still very summery here in Paris and a business lunch at the Closerie des Lilas is a leafy affair. The little pots of cyclamen laid on the tables and perched on midair shelves are not particularly convincing (though they would be lovely as cut flowers in transparent vases) but the visual presence of the  tree in the middle of the dining room is quite impressive. Apparently this setup gives the tree enough water and sun to allow it to thrive in such civilized surroundings. The Closerie should take inspiration from the amazing presence of this tree and develop the colours, textures and forms of the room design to enhance this unique dining experience, according to the seasons…

and call it the Tree Room at the Closerie…

Lisa

Night Blooms

Tonight was the Nuit Blanche, that moment once a year when le tout Paris, and I mean all of Paris, walks around the city to visit the numerous temporary art installations in public and private buildings and spaces. Sylvie Fleury’s luminous cristals in each alcove of Notre Dame could have been beautiful, but it is next to impossible to fill such a massive historic space with crystal light or anything else besides its own innately Gothic ambiance.

More successful, and a delightful suprise in the courtyard of the Hôtel d’Alibet in the Marais was Vincent Olinet’s life-sized tree made out of carpeting and covered with fresh white flowers:

People just stood or sat down in front of it, transfixed, taking in the scene as it shone in the dark. Entitled “Je vous aime tous” (I love you all) it was like a big bouquet, pre-destined to wither as the night wore on as none of the flowers was connected to a water source. Yet, since Olinet chose some very strong blossoms (calla lilies, chrysanthemums, baby’s breath) they would probably not wilt overnight like the lilies, which already hung limp in the early evening.

Again, mum’s the word…

Lisa

Chrysanthemum Explosion

The French are not intrinsically fond of the chrysanthemum. It reminds them of graveyards and the dull Toussaint holiday that announces the coming dead-of-winter-months. So, when The Horti-Culturalist, who always relishes a challenge, was invited to create a floral concept for French designer Jean-Marc Gady’s fantastic AMO vases at the Forum Diffusion design gallery here in Paris, I chose the mum. How to give the chrysanthemum, which is actually an amazingly shaped, long-lasting flower, a dazzling new identity?

Since the vases look like glass canons, the idea of a fireworks display of chrysanthemums came immediately to mind. I selected vibrant hybrids with names like “Energy” and “Vesuvio” and florist Laurent Tanguy helped install them as a sort of explosively vegetal Murakami… The hybrids will change over the three-week exhibition, but here in photos from the opening you can see the rays of these power flowers offering a stunning display of organic pyrotechnics…

Floral Ammo!

Lisa