A Terrific Tenth Anniversary Season of Garden Dialogues in 2022

Now in its tenth year, TCLF’s Garden Dialogues program brings together landscape architects and their clients to discuss the creative process, the give and take, and the collaboration that yields a great garden. This unique program offers small groups the opportunity to experience some of today’s most beautiful gardens created by some of the most accomplished landscape architects and designers currently in practice. In this tenth anniversary season, Garden Dialogues took place across the country from March through October, with tours offering audiences the chance to join the conversation among owner, designer, and, if appropriate, other significant contributors to the garden’s design (e.g., architect, master gardener, historian). 

The Dialogues that made up this year’s program highlighted twenty projects designed by some of today’s most talented and visionary landscape architects, including nine firms participating for the first time.  

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The season commenced in California with tours of two San Francisco biodiversity initiatives, the Sunset Boulevard Master Plan and the Echo Patch Test Garden, led by Alexandra Harker and Nicki Copley from Field Collective, Jennifer Cooper and Solange Guillaume from San Francisco Public Works, and representatives from the CNPS Yerba Buena Chapter.  

 In Texas, where OJB led a tour of three green roof projects located in downtown Houston. The event was the result of nearly two years of planning, and was well worth the wait.  Attendees lauded OJB principal Andrew Albers, noting that "his insights were most interesting" and said they were fortunate for the opportunity “to see gardens that otherwise are not accessible to the general public.”   

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On May 7, Judy Kameon and Dana Bauer from Elysian Landscapes co-hosted a tour of a reimagined residential project in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz community with the home’s owner and architect, Chet Callahan.  

This year’s programming also included two California events hosted by Pamela Burton & Co, showcasing a range of projects designed by the landscape architect who was the subject of a TCLF Pioneers of American Landscape Design Oral History in 2021. In late May, attendees toured an “elegant wilderness” composed of native plants and borrowed views in Studio City; in June guests explored a Stone Canyon landscape with outdoor active spaces connected by geometric paths and garden rooms.  

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California tours continued in June when Roche & Roche shared a pair of projects located in Sonoma. For both sites, the designers considered existing site conditions and contexts. The design of the sixteen-acre Fox Ridge evolved in response to wildfires, while the design of Sonoma Overlook was inspired by existing volcanic features. As one attendee observed, “the gardens [Roche & Roche] showed us were works of art! It makes such a difference to see these places in person to get a sense of the whole landscape.” 

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On June 18 Broadhurst + Associates led a tour of a Wassily Kandinsky-inspired landscape in Seattle, where the design features an improved shoreline composed of native plants, providing habitat for wildlife. The event elicited rave reviews from attendees: “It was a wonderful experience. Paul [Broadhurst] was a great speaker and the setting of course was extraordinary. I loved the group size and that we could ask plenty of questions. And the food and drink provided made it extra nice and relaxed.”  

On the East Coast, James Doyle shared his Stamford, Connecticut home and garden with the public on June 11. Doyle's seven-year passion project elegantly combined form and function, much to the delight of the event attendees. One participant expressed that they “very much enjoyed the visit, in particular to see such perfect hedges and espaliered lindens. Magnificent.” 

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Two more East Coast projects were featured on June 25. A Middletown, Rhode Island event with Kate Field, originally scheduled in 2020, was clearly worth the wait according to one attendee: “The tour and discussions were excellent. We got a lot of history on the property and information about the design process, owner’s desires for the property and process of construction and installation. This was an excellent Garden Dialogue tour and thank you for organizing it.” The second event, in Southampton, New York with Diane Devore, featured a rich color palette accented with texture.   

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 A rare August event led by Design Workshop in Aspen, Colorado, enchanted attendees. Charlie Mountain Ranch was originally settled in the 1800s and is now an ecologically-rich family compound. Dialogue leader Mike Albert reported “It was a perfect Colorado bluebird sky day for the event…and from what we could tell, everyone really loved the experience. The homeowners were beyond gracious with coffee, tea, and pastries – and welcoming everyone into their highly crafted home. The landscape contractor was also in attendance, bringing an additional connection to how successful gardens do not end at the end of installation, but require stewardship well into the future. The event ended up running nearly two hours, concluding with a surprise presentation of their National ASLA Award, which the owners knew nothing about.” 

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In late summer, for the first time in the program’s history, Garden Dialogues went to Minnesota. Coen + Partners led a pair on Dialogue - the first in Minneapolis on September 3 and the second on September 17 in Woodlawn. TCLF is looking forward to continuing to grow partnerships and programming in Minnesota.  

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The fall events were kicked off on October 1 with a tour led by Louis Fusco Landscape Architects of Woodland Pond, the recent Connecticut Landscape Architecture Merit Award winner in Roxbury. The group happily braved drizzly weather to experience this award-winning property.  

The season ended in Northern California with a pair of events featuring two first-time participating firms. Denler Hobart Gardens shared a landscape in Portola Valley, and Longwell MacDonald led a tour in Sebastopol.  

The Garden Dialogues program is, as one attendee put it “a great way to raise awareness of notable landscapes, and to increase public knowledge of the vast array of topics/challenges/disciplines that landscape architecture engages.” TCLF thanks this year’s hosts, guides, and attendees for a successful Tenth Anniversary Season. A special thank you goes to sponsors ABC Stone, Bartlett Tree Experts, Lapitec, and Vermont Quarries, and Educational Partner the American Society of Landscape Architecture.  

Keep a lookout for an announcement about the next series of Garden Dialogues, coming soon! For more information, please contact TCLF’s Aileen Beringer.