Revisiting South Franklin Circle

The Group from OvS, South Franklin Circle, and Judson Services

In 2005, Oehme, van Sweden (OvS) began a collaboration with GUND Partnership on an 80-acre planned community for adults over age 50. The property, in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was to be known as South Franklin Circle. Today, the community is thriving – with residents, activities and plant life. On September 20th, OvS Principal Eric Groft was the keynote speaker for the kick-off to the 2011-2012 South Franklin Circle Dialogue Series. Created as a forum to inform and inspire the community, this segment of the dialogue series offered residents of South Franklin Circle insight to the inspiration, design and plant selection of the neighborhood in which they live from the designer himself. Following the presentation, Eric fielded questions from the audience and signed copies of The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design. Eric was also able to walk the grounds of South Franklin Circle with Bill Fehrenbach, the Vice President of Project Development at South Franklin Circle and Cynthia Dunn, CEO of Judson Services. All were impressed the growth that the plants experienced since their installation in 2009.

The South Franklin Circle Community

 

A South Franklin Circle Residence

Eric Groft of OvS

Eric Groft & Bill Fehrenbach

Eric Groft at the book signing

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Eric Groft at Kendale Farm

Detail of Honeysuckle blooming on the vegetable garden fence

On Friday May 4th Eric Groft visited Harrison and Sue Wellford at Kendale Farm on the Rappahannock River in Virginia. It had been several years since Eric had a chance to review the garden and in general the garden and grounds look amazing. Kendale Farm is featured in our new book THE ARTFUL GARDEN: CREATIVE INSPIRATION FOR LANDSCAPE DESIGN. You’ll find a panoramic spread of the farm in Chapter 4: Rhythm & Movement.

Lady Banksia Roses just finish blooming in the cut flower garden

 

Iris Ceasars Brother blooming in front of summer kitchenCut Garden detail

 

Sue Wellford standing in front of a glorius stand of PeaoniesCut flower garden framed by old summer kitchen now used as a potting shedFront of Kendale FarmThe fields of barley were simply mesmerizingDetail of Barley

Eric Groft & The Shipley’s Choice Garden Club

Oehme van Sweden Principal, Eric D. Groft, recently lectured on the newest OvS book, The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Garden Design. The Shipley’s Choice Garden Club, located in Millersville, Maryland, was the host for the January 10th event. Members and guests of the event were able to gain valuable and inspirational insight to the connection between a garden path and elements in paintings, music and works of literature. Charmaine Truesdale, Shipley’s Choice Garden Club Member and avid member in the Maryland Garden Club circuit, is seen pictured here with Eric Groft.

Eric D. Groft and Garden Club Member, Charmaine Truesdale

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Save the Date for a Celebration of James van Sweden!

If you are an avid Oehme van Sweden follower, you’ve probably heard that our newest publication, The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design, was released February 1^st, 2011.

In celebration of the book’s release, the Cultural Landscape Foundation and the New York University’s Cantor Film Center will host an evening dedicated to the life and work of James van Sweden. The event will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 5:30 pm.

A screening of selections from the van Sweden Oral History project will be shown followed by a panel discussion with clients and colleagues. The Oral History includes a downloadable transcript of the interviews featured on the Web site, and reflections by 18 of his friends, family, colleagues, collaborators and co-workers about his life, career and legacy.  

There will be a book signing held at the conclusion of the event. It is free and open to the public, courtesy of the New York chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Horticultural Society of New York and the New York Botanical Garden. Space is limited however, so reservations are required.

James van Sweden’s book will teach you how to think in ways you could never imagine, while providing all of the tools and tips necessary to turn his inspiration into something amazing.

Join us in New York on March 16^th and help us celebrate the hard work and dedication of an amazing landscape architect.

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They’re Here!

Any of our followers who have been keeping an eye on Oehme van Sweden lately know that our latest book, The Artful Garden: Creative Inspiration for Landscape Design, will be coming out on February 1^st of 2011.

This afternoon, we were welcomed with a nice surprise. UPS stopped by with a box of eight, brand new, never-been-paged-through copies of The Artful Garden.

We. Are. Thrilled.

Not only do we get the tactile and olfactory experience of our new book (The gloss of the pages! The heft of the binding! The smell of fresh ink!), we are able to experience just how this book will illuminate any gardener’s path to inspired design and creation of a perfect garden from the reader’s point-of-view.

James van Sweden will teach you to think not in terms of borders and beds or even paths and meadows, but of a tapestry woven from sky, trees, rocks, vines, flowers, grasses, and space — all the while providing the practical tools and tips you need to turn this inspiration into reality. 

And the release is just three weeks away…

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