Meeting:
Thursday, May 10, 2007, at 7:30pm
Guest Presenter:
Rick Darke
Topic:
The Livable Landscape
This special meeting will be free to members ($10 for non-members).
Our May speaker, Rick Darke, is a widely published and greatly honored author, photographer, lecturer and consultant focused on regional landscape design, planning, conservation, and enhancement. Darke blends art, ecology, and cultural geography, in his dedication to the design and conservation of the livable landscape.
Rick has traveled around our planet in search of ideas to enrich the global garden, and is an internationally recognized authority on the use of grasses in designed and managed landscapes.
As President of Rick Darke LLC, he believes our landscape is in rapid transition through space and time, purpose and palette, meaning and motivation. Rick employs enlightened designs that embrace this evolution, blending artistry with environmental awareness to create an interconnected, livable landscape.
Using vivid examples of designed spaces and regional habitats in his presentation, Rick Darke will outline an ethic for responsible gardening and will illustrate strategies for designing landscapes that celebrate local cultural and biological diversity.
Darke has authored and illustrated multiple award-winning books including The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses (1999), The Timber Press Pocket Guide to Ornamental Grasses (2004), and The American Woodland Garden: Capturing the Spirit of the Deciduous Forest (2002).
His latest work, The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes (2007) is our Book Of The Month selection and includes over 1000 of his photos of grasses in diverse landscapes around the world.
It should come as no surprise that in 1998, the American Horticultural Society honored Darke with its Scientific Award, which recognizes individuals “who have enriched horticulture through outstanding and notable research.” Further information is available at www.rickdarke.org.
Plant Raffle
Plants will be provided by The Huntington.
Location: Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Click here for a map to Friendship Auditorium.
Book of the Month
Our Book Of The Month selection for this meeting is Rick Darke’s splendid new book The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes (Timber Press, 2007).
According to Timber Press, all the true grasses, sedges, rushes, restios, and cattails that possess ornamental merit or that can contribute to ecological plantings are described. Practical matters of propagation, growth, and maintenance are also covered. More than 1000 stunning photographs show details of individual plants and hundreds of gardens and landscapes.
At this meeting only, non-members will be able to purchase the Book of the Month at our low member price of $45 (list price $59.95). Limit: one copy per person. Rick will gladly sign your book at the meeting.
To reserve your copy of this impressive book, please email your request to Lili Singer.