Are gardens art? Some of them are; artists like Robert Irwin are renowned for their living
works of art; his central garden at the Getty Center is a popular part of the complex, and many people know him only for that work. Maya Lin has made landscape art a speciality. Her newest and largest, Wavefield at Storm King Art Center in upstate New York, sits on an 11-acre site and involves seven waves measuring more than 300 feet long.
All of which is simply a shameless way to say that I, too, have strayed into landscape art with my latest article, published in today’s New York Times: “Philadelphia’s Gardens of Earthly Delights.”
Of the five gardens I chose to write about, my favorite — and the most aesthetic — is Chanticleer, in Wayne, Pa. (at right). It is filled with artistic touches and humorous features. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood.
UPDATED, 6/13/09: Random House has just alerted me to a book it recently published — one that’s both scholarly and a highly readable narrative — called The Brother Gardeners, by Andrea Wulf. It’s relevant because it shows how John Bartram, whose garden I mention in the NYTimes article, helped start Britain’s garden revolution and led to the creation and popularity of what is today the renowned English Garden.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Chanticleer Garden.