Taliesin. Spring Green, Wisconsin, US.
Like many gardeners I love to borrow ideas from beautiful landscapes. But this is not always easy. Sometimes the challenge is to scale down something grand; some ideas are prohibitively expensive; sometimes ideas are just not practical. This is why I so appreciate Frank Lloyd Wright's ability to combine inexpensive materials in innovative ways...
“The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built.” - Frank Lloyd-Wright Among the things that Wisconsin is famous for it is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, that has most intensely captured my attention...
The use of ornament in the garden can have a big impact. Ornaments provide focal points, reinforce the style of the garden, make us pause and think. They offer a delightful way to introduce personality into the garden. One of my favorite gardens uses flying pigs...
Lawrence Halprin, the award-winning landscape architect, described Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio, as the place where he "heard trumpets." Curious to learn more about how Wright integrated buildings and landscape I set out to Spring Green, Wisconsin to see for myself...
"[Taliesin] is the name of Wright’s home as well as the 800-acre architectural campus that includes buildings from nearly every decade of his career. Taliesin was Wright’s primary residence for 48 years from 1911 to 1959. It was his laboratory for architectural designs and innovation, and continues to serve the Taliesin community." Source: Taliesin Preservation Inc.
Sharing our landscapes with friends is one of the pleasures of gardening. Nature opens the mind and relaxes us; it takes us out of our inner world. As I look to other gardens for inspiration, Frank Lloyd Wright reminds me of the power of building destinations in the garden, and spaces to facilitate conversation...