Introduction
JOEL HOFFMAN IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF VIZCAYA and welcomes Garden
Smart. Vizcaya was built by James Deering, an American businessman, who
headed International Harvester. This property was built in the mid to
late 1910's through the early 1920's and originally encompassed 180
acres.
Click here for more info
Background
IN A GARDEN LIKE VIZCAYA THE EMPHASIS IS ON THE DESIGN AND GEOMETRY,
the plants are like paint on a palette. They experimented with a
variety of plants to get the textures and colors and effects and forms
that they wanted. But they weren't so interested in collecting specific
botanical species.
Click here for more info
Design Philosophy
AS STRANGE AS IT SEEMS DEERING WANTED TO MAKE THE PROPERTY LOOK EVEN
BIGGER THAN IT IS. He was comparing it to Versailles as an example.
When the king woke up there and looked across the vista he could see
for miles and miles. Deering didn't have that much land, thus his
designer Diego Suarez exaggerated the perspective from the main house.
One sees the main sight line down the middle which then branches out at
angles creating a fan shape. This design technique exaggerates the view
and creates the impression that the distance is much further than it
actually is. This is a good trick for any size garden. Another
technique used was to keep the shrubs at a low level so one can look
down them and carry that line out, causing the eye to follow it into
the distance.
Click here for more info
Enclosed Spaces
ANOTHER TECHNIQUE TO MAKE AN AREA LOOK LARGER IS TO ENCLOSE SPACES, to
create garden rooms and there are a number of those at Vizcaya. It's
very typical of an Italian garden in that it was conceived as a series
of vignettes or outdoor spaces and often focused on a water feature or
a particular sculpture. This provides something to draw the interest
and then expose the viewer to a kind of outdoor room.
Click here for more info
Outdoor Room
JOE AND LAURIE START IN WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE FOYER OF THE OUTDOOR
GARDEN ROOMS AT VIZCAYA. Coming down through the hallway defined by the
reflecting pool there are a series of choices to make-gateways and
doorways that lead off to rooms that go along the waterfront, a couple
of grottos or up the stairs to the top of the casino mound. Water was
very important to Mr. Deering. Here they have incorporated environment
into the design. They made sure that even if one can't see Biscayne Bay
from the center of the gardens, one never forgets that water is nearby.
And, they used a variety of forms of water. From the reflecting pool to
the texture of the water cascade to slow drips in the grottos. All
provide some sound and contribute to a cooling feeling and respite from
the hot Miami sun.
Click here for more info
Change of Elevation
AS WELL, A SLIGHT CHANGE OF ELEVATION WILL DEFINE DIFFERENT GARDEN
ROOMS. Laurie and Joe visit another garden room. This is the landing
area. As one comes up the stairs from below there is a completely
different look. It's a garden room, has water incorporated but now
we're dealing with a feel of a circular pattern, geometric lines. One
has had the contrast of leading up the pathway, climbing the stairs,
now one stops and looks around and appreciates the surroundings. One
can look back at the main gardens where we just came from and look at
the house.
Click here for more info
Maze Garden
THIS IS THE MAZE GARDEN. It was designed to emulate renaissance gardens
in Italy, England and Germany. They were designed as mazes because
those were supposed to be a metaphor of man's journey through life. As
one went around the maze one was supposed to contemplate their sins or
something like that. That probably wasn't done here, they just liked
the design. European maze gardens would have been made out of Taxus
baccata 'European Yew' or Buxus 'boxwood,' hedge plants that like to
hold a tight geometric shape. Those plants wanted nothing to do with
the climate in Florida.
Click here for more info
Secret Garden
THIS IS THE SECRET GARDEN, even though it's not much of a secret. It
has everything that a room has except a roof. Originally it was
designed for the display of Brassavola 'Orchid.' Orchids were grown in
a shaded house across the street and then when in bloom were brought
here and put on display. This type of garden was originally found in
northern Europe or in Italy to protect plants from the wind and cold
air and to help retain heat. This would mean the plants would bloom
longer into the season.
Click here for more info
Orchids
THEY STILL HAVE ORCHIDS ON THE PROPERTY, just as Mr. Deering would have
wanted. But now they're on the other side of the house. The David A.
Kline Orchidarium is now the home of the Vizcaya Orchids. Everything is
in bloom and there are many different Orchids. This is not so much as
it was in Deering's day, rather as he would have wanted his Orchid area
to be. Back then he didn't have access to the number of species and
variety of Orchids available today.
Click here for more info
Take Away
WE NEXT VISIT ANOTHER ROOM, which although simple is Laurie's favorite.
It is simple enough that one can see all the ideas at work that we've
seen in the other gardens. Here it's clear and basic. It starts with an
introduction with the water feature, then a lower level, a change in
level, about 3 steps, there is a contrast of textures with stone, some
a native stone in the hardscape and then the turf. There is a sense of
enclosure both through the architecture and the plants working
together. It is then all pulled together by a focal point at the end, a
statue. It not only draws ones eye but one wants to run up and see
what's going on. Laurie thinks it captures in a really simple way a lot
of the elements that make the gardens at Vizcaya terrific. In a big
place, it's easy to get intimidated and think this is unrealistic for
me. That's not true.
Click here for more info
LINKS:
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six
Garden Smart Plant List
Complete transcript of the show.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
In South Florida there are many great attractions but a must see
destination is the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. It is a great source for
design ideas, especially landscape design.
JOEL HOFFMAN IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF VIZCAYA and welcomes Garden
Smart. Vizcaya was built by James Deering, an American businessman, who
headed International Harvester. This property was built in the mid to
late 1910's through the early 1920's and originally encompassed 180
acres. Mr. Deering came to Miami, like many others, because he was
interested in the warm climate and beautiful scenery. He also had homes
in the Chicago area, New York and outside Paris. He built the
spectacular house and gardens as they are today but additionally at
that time there were more expansive informal gardens that are no longer
here. He was drawn to the area because of its location with its
relatively virgin forest and what we call today the hammock. He did his
best to preserve these and realized that by placing his property in the
middle of the hardwood hammock with the bay and mangroves on one side
he was creating a very special place. This is an American renaissance
property. By that one refers to the era in which Americans were looking
towards Europe for cultural traditions. Vizcaya is a great example.
Artifacts and objects were actually bought to create the environment
that felt very European. Vizcaya has an incredible blend of the
European and American in Miami. There are native materials throughout,
limestone, flora and fauna are explicitly Florida although they've been
used in a fashion meant to invoke a European flavor. Vizcaya is
different than anything else in Miami, which is a modern and
metropolitan city, and provides an opportunity to step back in history
and time and have a very calm and sedate experience.
Laurie Ossman is the Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Vizcaya. It's
a big title and this isn't even her whole title. A big place means a
big title. Laurie grew up in Seneca Falls, New York which is in the
Finger Lakes. It was a very historic town and that got her interested
in historic preservation in high school. She went to college and
studied art history but missed the "hands on" with old buildings. So,
she went to graduate school at the University of Virginia because if
one can't learn about American architecture from Thomas Jefferson, one
just can't learn. Since then she has had the good fortune of working at
some of the countries greatest sites, including Monticello, the White
House, Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island, then John Ringling's
estate in Sarasota. From there she moved to Vizcaya. This presents a
new challenge because in addition to the home she now has the
opportunity to deal with an historical garden, something she's never
faced before. Plus, it's a big place. It covers 54 acres, has 14
national historic landmark buildings, a hardwood hammock, the mangrove
swamp, a 38,000 square foot house with 3,500 artifacts, some that date
back to early Rome.
When Mr. Deering first came to Miami around 1910 there were fewer than
10,000 people that lived here and what is now Vizcaya was essentially a
swamp. His idea was to bring the best of European old world culture to
the new world. He wanted to reflect Miami's heritage and Mediterranean
culture, the culture of Italy and Spain and the renaissance and the age
of exploration and to give the city an artistic and cultural focus. He
began by traveling and began shopping. Whereas most people come back
from Europe with a collection of postcards James Deering and his
designer Paul Shelton came back with over 100, 17th and 18th century
sculptures and fragments of buildings which they incorporated into the
main house. And, most importantly for the garden, design ideas gathered
from the best gardens of the Italian renaissance and the Tuscan
countryside. They did take some snapshots, those were available at the
time. But most notably Edith Wharton, the novelists first big book was
on Italian villas and their gardens. They went through that book with
its illustrations with Maxfield Perish and used it like a tour guide.
If one looks at Edith Wharton's book then looks at the gardens at
Vizcaya, the illustrations almost come to life. It's like the best
gardens in Europe brought back to Vizcaya. And they faced some huge
challenges. Tuscany is not Miami. Tuscany has hills, a more temperate
climate and a completely different vocabulary of plants. Diego Suarez,
the garden designer, when coming to Miami looked at the vistas and
realized much wouldn't work. The area was completely flat, the
reflections off the water were completely blinding on the main house in
the afternoon and there were no plants to work with with the exception
of the hardwood hammock which wasn't exactly the right vocabulary for a
formal Italian garden. Thus they had to begin by changing the
topography and building an artificial hill to block the light from the
water and also to provide a focal point for the gardens, so that as one
sat in the house there was a main vista that led the eye out into the
landscape and then to all the variety of incidents, vignettes and
artworks that capture the eye and lead one around.
Top
Background
IN A GARDEN LIKE VIZCAYA THE EMPHASIS IS ON THE DESIGN AND GEOMETRY,
the plants are like paint on a palette. They experimented with a
variety of plants to get the textures and colors and effects and forms
that they wanted. But they weren't so interested in collecting specific
botanical species. This horrified Dr. David Fairchild, the botanist who
lived down the road. He couldn't understand this approach to design.
When one looks at Fairchild Botanical Gardens and Vizcaya they show two
completely different approaches. One emphasizes plant varieties,
Vizcaya emphasizes design.
Top
Design Philosophy
AS STRANGE AS IT SEEMS DEERING WANTED TO MAKE THE PROPERTY LOOK EVEN
BIGGER THAN IT IS. He was comparing it to Versailles as an example.
When the king woke up there and looked across the vista he could see
for miles and miles. Deering didn't have that much land, thus his
designer Diego Suarez exaggerated the perspective from the main house.
One sees the main sight line down the middle which then branches out at
angles creating a fan shape. This design technique exaggerates the view
and creates the impression that the distance is much further than it
actually is. This is a good trick for any size garden. Another
technique used was to keep the shrubs at a low level so one can look
down them and carry that line out, causing the eye to follow it into
the distance. The shrubs are a good example of how they had to
experiment. In France or Italy they would have used Taxus baccata
'European Yew' or Buxus 'Boxwood' plants that simply won't grow in
Florida. Thus they tried a variety of plants from Casuarina
equisetifolia 'Australian Pine' which is now considered invasive and
can't be planted anymore, to the Jasminum simplicifolium 'Wax Jasmine'
that is used today.
Top
Enclosed Spaces
ANOTHER TECHNIQUE TO MAKE AN AREA LOOK LARGER IS TO ENCLOSE SPACES, to
create garden rooms and there are a number of those at Vizcaya. It's
very typical of an Italian garden in that it was conceived as a series
of vignettes or outdoor spaces and often focused on a water feature or
a particular sculpture. This provides something to draw the interest
and then expose the viewer to a kind of outdoor room. So, there is the
center open area but as one wanders through the gardens they're pulled
off to the side by little quirks and clues that there is something
going on over there. That then leads to another of the outdoor rooms.
Top
Outdoor Room
JOE AND LAURIE START IN WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY THE FOYER OF THE OUTDOOR
GARDEN ROOMS AT VIZCAYA. Coming down through the hallway defined by the
reflecting pool there are a series of choices to make-gateways and
doorways that lead off to rooms that go along the waterfront, a couple
of grottos or up the stairs to the top of the casino mound. Water was
very important to Mr. Deering. Here they have incorporated environment
into the design. They made sure that even if one can't see Biscayne Bay
from the center of the gardens, one never forgets that water is nearby.
And, they used a variety of forms of water. From the reflecting pool to
the texture of the water cascade to slow drips in the grottos. All
provide some sound and contribute to a cooling feeling and respite from
the hot Miami sun. Joe feels that even if we don't have a grand estate
we can incorporate a small water fountain into our own gardens. It will
provide a focal point, contrast and color.
Top
Change of Elevation
AS WELL, A SLIGHT CHANGE OF ELEVATION WILL DEFINE DIFFERENT GARDEN
ROOMS. Laurie and Joe visit another garden room. This is the landing
area. As one comes up the stairs from below there is a completely
different look. It's a garden room, has water incorporated but now
we're dealing with a feel of a circular pattern, geometric lines. One
has had the contrast of leading up the pathway, climbing the stairs,
now one stops and looks around and appreciates the surroundings. One
can look back at the main gardens where we just came from and look at
the house. Going forward, one can next look off to the other side and
down the staircase where there are other gardens to visit or rest in
the shade of the casino, a little house, or take a stroll around the
circle, appreciate the artifacts, the statues, the ancient urns, all
under the shade of magnificent Quercus virginiana 'Southern Live Oak'
trees. The large Live Oak trees provide great shade and a sense of
enclosure because the canopy almost envelops the surroundings. These
are native trees so they know how to withstand Florida weather. They do
prune them back to let them be a little more aerodynamic. Wind and
tropical storms and hurricanes go through them rather than toppling
them over. That's one of the reasons that Live Oaks live hundreds and
hundreds of years in the Florida climate. It's also another example
where the designers knew that they needed to work with native plants in
order to make the area a success and provide the sense of enclosure
they were looking for. And the blend of European design ideas and
native plants is really what makes Vizcaya unique.
Top
Maze Garden
We visit another circular garden room, but this one is more of a work
in progress. THIS IS THE MAZE GARDEN. It was designed to emulate
renaissance gardens in Italy, England and Germany. They were designed
as mazes because those were supposed to be a metaphor of man's journey
through life. As one went around the maze one was supposed to
contemplate their sins or something like that. That probably wasn't
done here, they just liked the design. European maze gardens would have
been made out of Taxus baccata 'European Yew' or Buxus 'boxwood,' hedge
plants that like to hold a tight geometric shape. Those plants wanted
nothing to do with the climate in Florida. They experimented and
finally settled on Casuarina equisetifolia 'Australian Pine.' Those
plants were destroyed in Hurricane Andrew in 1992. They replanted, the
hedge had just taken hold again and in 2005 Hurricane Wilma hit and the
area was submerged with storm surge, saltwater and muck. All the plants
died. Those plants are now considered invasives, thus they're not
allowed to replant those. Thus, it was back to square one. Now they're
trying Jasminum simplicifolium 'Wax Jasmine.' It's supposed to be salt
tolerant, drought tolerant and fast growing. This is a life lesson for
gardeners. We're always going to be faced with challenges. If plants
aren't working, if something is invasive, one needs to find something a
little less aggressive, so look for different opportunities. They've
done that here and a year or two later they have a pretty good sized
hedge. It's tall enough for the kids to run around and play but not so
tall that grownups will get lost.
Top
Secret Garden
Up to this point the outdoor rooms that we've visited have had walls
that were made of plants and trees. Now we're in a room with real
walls. THIS IS THE SECRET GARDEN, even though it's not much of a
secret. It has everything that a room has except a roof. Originally it
was designed for the display of Brassavola 'Orchid.' Orchids were grown
in a shaded house across the street and then when in bloom were brought
here and put on display. This type of garden was originally found in
northern Europe or in Italy to protect plants from the wind and cold
air and to help retain heat. This would mean the plants would bloom
longer into the season. Here although the walls protected the Orchids
from the salt spray and wind, the stone actually absorbed the salt from
the air and the Orchids didn't like that. So now instead of displaying
Orchids in this space it features Bromeliaceae 'Bromeliad.' They
provide color and allow us to appreciate the original design.
Top
Orchids
THEY STILL HAVE ORCHIDS ON THE PROPERTY, just as Mr. Deering would have
wanted. But now they're on the other side of the house. The David A.
Kline Orchidarium is now the home of the Vizcaya Orchids. Everything is
in bloom and there are many different Orchids. This is not so much as
it was in Deering's day, rather as he would have wanted his Orchid area
to be. Back then he didn't have access to the number of species and
variety of Orchids available today. He was getting plants up north and
they required colder nights. Now there's access to varieties from
Central America and Southeast Asia. These Orchids like this hot,
tropical Florida climate. Accordingly they have a wide variety of
plants consistently in bloom for display in this garden. In this area
there are approximately 15 varieties on display, in the greenhouses
their Curator, Carol DeBiase, has about 100 different varieties of
Orchids. Thus something is always in bloom and they always provide
color to the area.
Top
Take Away
WE NEXT VISIT ANOTHER ROOM, which although simple is Laurie's favorite.
It is simple enough that one can see all the ideas at work that we've
seen in the other gardens. Here it's clear and basic. It starts with an
introduction with the water feature, then a lower level, a change in
level, about 3 steps, there is a contrast of textures with stone, some
a native stone in the hardscape and then the turf. There is a sense of
enclosure both through the architecture and the plants working
together. It is then all pulled together by a focal point at the end, a
statue. It not only draws ones eye but one wants to run up and see
what's going on. Laurie thinks it captures in a really simple way a lot
of the elements that make the gardens at Vizcaya terrific. In a big
place, it's easy to get intimidated and think this is unrealistic for
me. That's not true. For example, consider all the water features that
are incorporated throughout the garden. In our own garden we could
utilize something as simple as a small water feature which could be
purchased for a few dollars but still provide sound. The Maze Garden is
another example. There were some plants that worked there, some that
didn't. Substitutions were needed but rather than give up, keep trying
new things. Focal points have been used effectively throughout this
garden and they can be used in our own gardens by utilizing statuary,
plants or trees. Every garden should have focal points. The lessons
learned here are examples of classic landscape design and can be
applied to our own gardens. That's what we try to do at Garden Smart,
take the big picture and bring it home, make it applicable to our own
gardens.
Thank you Laurie for showing us these wonderful landscape examples.
We've learned a lot and this has been a pleasure. Vizcaya has been a
very unique, yet informative learning experience.
Top
LINKS:
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six
Garden Smart Plant List
