Today’s GPOD is from Robin Turnbaugh:
We live in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, zone 5A. When we designed our 1-acre woodland garden, we placed the urn with the poem “Anecdote of the Jar” by Wallace Stevens in mind to bring a sense of unity and focus to the now open woodland area. It’s a Lunaform Borghese urn, made in Sullivan, Maine. They are concrete with steel reinforcement to enable them to withstand freezing. We toured the factory and were amazed by the process. They are all very painstakingly hand-made beautiful works!
We needed something large, and at about a ton, the Borghese fit the bill. We placed it strategically to be visible from the house in all seasons, instantly creating a view line and connecting the house to the woodlands – in addition to creating structure and cohesion to the woodland garden.
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Comments
What a fabulous urn and a breathtaking view in the 2nd photo.Wow!
Nice work Cherry - you must have been up late - such a hard worker! Cheers, Frank
Nice bonus picture, Frank. I just got home from work (midnight, here), and your photo is so pleasing. Great way to end the day.
Gee you work late Kev. Glad you liked the pic. The Aussie native plant is a paper daisy (because its petals feel like paper) - it is also known as an everlasting daisy (because it retains its colour when used in dried flower arrangements - comes in a number of colours). The native butterfly is a dainty swallowtail.
FYI here is a photo. of these wildflowers in the high country (an area which receives snow in winter) in the state of Victoria at the moment.
What a beautiful area. Is this the main mountainous area in Australia? It looks so lush and inviting.
Yes Kev. - the Great Dividing Range runs down the east coast of the mainland of Australia. Most of the rain falls to the east of the Range, and there is a rain-shadow to the west of the mountain range - which ends up in a desert.
Frank, your picture recalled to me the horsepack trip we took into the Snowy Mountains in Australia 20 years ago. We lost all our photos during the fire, so I'd not had the beauty of your back country recalled to me until this morning! Fabulous! Thanks.
Hi Cheryl - Pity about losing your pics. and everything else in the fire. You obviously know the high country very well. Much of the high country is now part of the network of national parks and wilderness areas making up the Australian National Parks system.
Gorgeous photos, Frank. Are the Blue Mts. part of this same Mt. range?
Yes Linda - good work! The Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney are very scenic. The Great Dividing Range is very old - it formed whilst Australia was part of the supercontinent called Gondwana land. Cheers, Frank
Ooooh, that's gorgeous, Frank!
Thanks Lorraine.
Oh! My!
Gorgeous Frank!
Beautiful - love the clarity and colors!
This is so beautiful Frank. I love glass and this would make a gorgeous stained glass panel.
Thanks so much!
Hello Robin - Lovely house and setting, woodland garden, feature urn, festive decorations and photography - obviously you know an expert photographer! It would be great if you could show us a few more of your wonderful pics. showcasing the results of your hard work. Cheers from Oz
Thanks Frank! Photos are my own. Enjoy the holidays!
Yes I realised they were yours, Robin, from the name at the bottom of the first photo. (Aussie humour). Can you show us some more pics?
I’d love to, Frank, if FG will have them! ?
Robin, I am so in love with that urn. Good thing it can stay outside. At 1 ton, I don't think I would be wanting to drag in in at out with the winter season. I have invested in a couple of large pots, but nothing like that. Wow.
The second picture is amazing. What a beautiful area you live in. I hope the deer don't do much damage. They look pretty docile in the photos.
Thank you so much! Yes, we do have hungry deer so it creates a challenge in choosing what to plant and where;-)
Robin, What beautiful pictures. Such a serene setting. Thank you for starting my day on such a good note!
Thank you, Andrea!
Green with envy over the view in pic 2.
It never gets old?
What a peaceful, beautiful Christmas scene. Very nice.
Thank you!
Good morning Robin, my what beautiful photos you have created. I especially love the second one. That urn is gorgeous! Did a crane place it?
Hi Rhonda, we had it installed with a tractor and then we rolled it to the exact spot. That was a fun day.... LOL!
Hello Robin! Greetings from Hooksett New Hampshire! As soon as I saw your first picture I was thinking is that a Luna form? Imagine my pleasure and surprise when I heard that it was. I toured the factory myself some years ago, but have never invested in one. Maybe this is a reminder to do so. Your shot of the lake is lovely. Is that Winnipesaukee or Stoddard or something else? Send us more pictures… Merry Christmas !
Hi Lily,
Thanks for your note. That's Spofford Lake. I'd love to share more if FG is interested!
Stoddard/Spofford! I knew it started with an S! With regard to sharing more photos, we would all love to see them. However I have noticed that they are being edited in the sense that not everything that is submitted is being posted/published . You can always add to your posts of pictures in the comment section in the same manner that Frank from Australia always does.
Ok I will work on it, LOL! I have more photos of elephants than my garden.... For example, here's one from Kenya last year:
. You can see more on my Instagram page, reubi72.
Great pic., Robin - you are a brillant photographer! - this is the way to show us your additional photos!!!!! Kevin calls them 'BONUS' pics.
Thanks Frank. I have many favorites of the elephants, this one with a pregnant Nasalot, who was so sweet and loved being petted. She later gave birth to Nusu.
How beautiful! I’m not on Instagram so I will wait to see what you post here. I just watched a documentary on nature on PBS on elephants in Botswana. It was really truly amazing. I envy you having been so close to these marvelous beings.
one ton urn, wow. Beautiful landscape, beautiful pictures, merry Christmas everyone
Thanks Howard!
The Lunaform Borghese urn makes an extraordinary statement both up close and from afar. It's a gorgeous piece of pottery, Robin. It was a brilliant move to place it on a concrete pad, I'm sure it would have started shifting soon, especially with the freeze thaw of the seasons. Add me to the list of those that want to see more photos of your property, your eye behind the lens sees a lot of beauty and I would love to see more!
Hi Sheila,
Yes, our landscape guru, Gordon Hayward, suggested the pad, which is not concrete but actually local goshen stone, which we have used extensively in our other garden areas. It's sitting on a bed of gravel as well to help with the (hopefully minimal) heaving. I'm not a professional photographer but I love it as a hobby!
More, More, More! Your urn is incredible - congratulations on having it and placing it so beautifully. Your last shot, with the stars visible and the ends of your middle conifer seemingly illuminated by the reindeer is so appropriate for this winter solstice day! We (except Frank!) can all take heart that this day is the shortest of the year, and we will start seeing sunrise a bit earlier and sunset a bit later as we go into the next couple of weeks.
Thanks Cheryl! Our home faces east, so we're amazed at how the light changes from summer (when it starts to get light out around 4am) to now (dark until 7am!). Thanks for the encouragement on the woodland garden! We just cleared it and underplanted the remaining trees with hundreds of ferns this summer, so it will be a bit until they are mature. My other garden areas are more mature (are they ever mature, LOL?) with lots of rhododendrons, grasses and such. I'd be happy to share if FG is interested.... Merry Christmas!
What a wonderful place to come home to, leaving the outside world behind. I would think that viewing the Borghese urn from your home would definitely invoke the spirit of Stevens' poem; I would love to see it from that angle with the wilderness as its backdrop. Do you have the poem etched on the jar or a plaque on/at its base?
The use of the lighted deer as the approach to your home is just the perfect touch to great friends and family during this Christmas season (I would leave them up all winter, what a delight it would be to see them sparkling every night.). The view from your deck/porch is so spectacular, no wonder you never get tired of it.
Thanks so much, Sonya! The "herd" - which my wonderful husband sets out each year - has grown from just a few to about 15 now, which are placed here and there throughout the woods. Or about what I think we have (live deer) on a normal evening in the summer.... The poem etching is a great idea. I'll have to think about that. The poem was inspired by our landscape muse, Gordon Hayward, who is just wonderful!
Good morning, Robin, what an wonderful early Christmas present your photos from today are. The images are beautiful and so perfect for the season we are in. I would have commented earlier but your stunning Lunaform urn sent me off on doing some google reading and video watching. For anyone interested, there are 2 delightful and informative Martha Stewart videos on showing how the "pots" are created and colored.
The view in your second picture positively touches the soul. I can tell that you deeply appreciate the privilege of living in such a picturesque area. Thank you so much for today's sharing and please (extra please) send in additional photos of your beautiful property throughout the seasons.
Oh thanks so much. Yes, the Lunaform pots and urns are just amazing! I'll be happy to submit more photos if FG is interested - I'm not a professional photographer though! My other gardens are best in spring, lots of rhododendrons and such. Enjoy the holidays!
Good morning, Robin. Your urn is very special and I think that your placement is perfect. You sure live in a beautiful part of the world. I’m curious about the green bed that looks like it’s mulched with conifer branches or is it just a row of low growing conifers? Thanks for sharing and like others have mentioned, it would be great to see some other seasons of your garden. Happy Holidays.
Hi Linda,
Thanks so much! The third picture down is of a windrow we created with all the branches and cuttings left after we cleared the woodlands. It runs along the property boundary with our neighbors, (hopefully) creating a natural-ish edge to the cleared vs. wild woods. I'd be happy to share more photos - our other garden areas are best in the spring when everything's in bloom.
Stunning... and you definitely don't have to worry about anyone picking it up and tossing it in their car! : )
Hah - that would be interesting. Thanks Beth!
Love the big urn and that fabulous view in your second photo, Robin!
Thank you, Lorraine!
So stunning especially the 3rd photo! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Lilian!
I am running several days late in reading GPOD but have had a wonderful start to my day browsing the beautiful photos and comments.
Very, very lovely - everything. Thank you Robin.
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