On Wednesday we participated in a webinar on outdoor kitchen best practices with Russ Faulk from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet.  You never know how webinars are going to go, but this was very insightful and well presented. I highly recommend to anyone thinking of installing an outdoor kitchen to watch if offered again (watch the Kalamazoo website).

(Image from Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet)

Outdoor kitchens share the same characteristics as their indoor partners; They provide a gathering point (food preparation always pulls in guests) and sense of occasion making meals outdoors memorable. Like indoors, outdoor kitchens require a lot of planning and thought. Questions need to be addressed like task lighting, maintenance, distance from the indoor kitchen, distance from existing utilities (gas, water and electric), ventilation  and prep zones. The list is very long, but when designed correctly can have the same ROI as indoor kitchen renovations.

This kitchen in the first two photos was featured in the May, 2011 House Beautiful Magazine as the Kitchen of the Month. It was designed by Kris Horiuchi of Botanica Fine Gardens LTD with consulting from Kalamazoo. The kitchen is located in Nantucket, which has salty air and harsh winters so you know it was designed to withstand the elements. The stainless steel cabinets are watertight and the field stone and granite counters are naturally weather proof.

There are many different methods to building an outdoor kitchen; modular, kit and custom. There are also a lot of options of what to include based on needs and access to existing resources. Below are some of the items you might want to consider in an outdoor kitchen:

Fridge, Lighting, Sink, Pizza Oven, Big Green Egg, Grill, trash

(One of the ah has I had during the presentation was to account for trash containers. Why would you build this beautiful kitchen then have gusts throw their trash away in a dingy trash can. Plan for trash and have it concealed and sized for your planned entertaining style.)

A big decision in an outdoor kitchen is the location; out in the open or under a structure. Both have their pros and cons and I think are all based on personal taste and the location of the kitchen (both in landscape and geographical). Below are some of the kitchens from my Pin Board, you can follow this board as I will keep it updated as I find new images.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

As you can see there are a lot of ways to interpret outdoor kitchens; from design, placement, functions and finishes. I think this just shows how many decisions and forethought goes into installing an outdoor kitchen, but can result in a place that everyone remembers and gathers towards.

“At night, the lights of the M1 and M25 encircle us like a bright necklace of sodium and in the hedge at the bottom of the garden you are as likely to encounter an abandoned fridge or cluster of empty beer cans as you are a foraging badger. But despite the noise and the dumping it remains a remarkable enclave of beauty, hanging on by a thread.”

- Opening excerpt from The Barn Garden; Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith

The Barn Garden. Photo by Marianne Majerus

Website: http://www.tomstuartsmith.co.uk/

Recognized Style: Ability to mix the prairie style with traditional English for a common theme of juxtaposition and contrast.  Tom’s style is loose allowing garden inhabitants to follow their own path and gaze compared to forcing focal points.

Norfolk Garden. Photo by Jerry Harpur

Accolades: An 8 time gold medal winner, and 3 time best in show designer at the Chelsea Flower show. First living gardener with an exhibition of work at the Garden Museum, London in 2011.

Chelsea Dhow Garden 2008. Photo by Andrew Lawson

Gardens of Note: Queen’s Jubilee Garden, Windsor Castle (public).   Trentham, Staffordshire (public),  Cheshire Garden (Private, seen in House & Garden Oct 2012 and Gardens Illustrated Issue 193).

Cheshire Garden. Photo by Marianne Mejerus

Will also like:  Piet Oudolf, Dan Pearson, Roy Diblik

Trentham. Photo by Allan Pollokmorris

Must Read: The Barn Garden; Tom Stuart-Smith, Sue Stuart-Smith.   Garden Designers at Home: The Private Spaces of the World’s Leading Designers; Noel Kingsbury

Favorite Plants in Design:  (1) Buxus sempervirens (2) Hakonechloa macra (3) Carpins betulus (cloud pruned) (4) echinacea purpurea

I have a large pile of reading material on my desk that I have been going between when I need to break away from the computer. It is a group of books and magazines that I just received, have not finished from the summer or keep on hand to always review for inspiration.  This is a large pile since I like to jump around. Below are a few of the items I am reading at the moment.

Looking at my pile of reading material it gave me an idea for a new blog topic series – Masters of Design. There are a group of amazing designers that when I see their work I am always amazed and inspired. The names I profile will not be new to those in the landscape world, but might be new to folks who are not completely submerged in garden design.  I have also added a pin board that will feature the folks profiled. My first post will be tomorrow on Tom Stuart-Smith (you can see his book peeking out above).

The slower pace of the winter months allows me time to plan for the coming year, which is normally busy from March to December.  Every year I make notes of the events and shows I want to attend, and work hard to step away to go. Below is a list of the items on my calendar this year. If you have any other recommendations please let me know! Most of my list is local or on the east coast and I would love to know more about what is going on out west.

February: Nashville Antiques & Garden Show (Feb 8 – 10)

I have never been to this show or Nashville, but the time of year is perfect for me to travel and get a dose of horticulture during the grey Ohio winter. The show is a combination of antiques and gardening with the theme being a tribute Interior Designer, Albert Hadley . I am interested in the lectures by Flower School New York and Gil Schafer (see my post on his home here). I am also very interested in seeing the display garden of and talking with Page|Duke, a landscape architecture firm out of Nashville that I admire design aesthetic.

March: Philadelphia Flower Show (March 2 – 10)

I was able to attend this event back in 2008, just before Terrain opened outside Philadelphia and was able to see their design talent at work with their display garden.  The display gardens are over the top, much larger than what you see at local home and garden shows (See Target’s display for Smith & Hawken in 2011). If you appreciate flowers roll in the garden this is a great show to visit.

April: Chicago Antique & Garden Show (April  19 – 21)

I have also never been to this show, however has been on my list for a few years (April is busy time for landscapers). This year I am especially excited to go to hear Charles Stick’s lecture, his work is so thoughtful yet simple (See Garden & Gun Article here). There will also be five display gardens created by local landscape architecture/design firms and a very long list of vendors with booths.

May: Rural Society Antique & Garden Show (May 3- 4) 

This is a local show in Mont Vernon, Ohio that takes place on a farm (see portions of country living article here) featuring garden and antiques that is wonderfully edited and at Midwestern prices. (Almost don’t want to share this and keep it a secret) It takes place twice a year (May & October). I recommend you be there Friday when they open, the good stuff goes fast!  After visiting the show, I recommend traveling to visit the beautiful campus of Kenyan College down the road.

May: RSH Chelsea Flower Show (May 21 -25)

I will someday go to the Chelsea Flower Show and see the best designers in the world display their talent in the display gardens in the pinnacle of garden design events.  I am beyond jealous to anyone that gets to attend and spend hours scouring the web to see others images from the show to visit vicariously through them. This year is the centenary of the show and will have Roger Platts design the main show garden.  Look for these gardens to influence the design trends in the months and years to come.

July: Garden Cruise, Detroit Garden Works (July 21 Tentative)

This event is a tour of the gardens designed by Deborah Silver of Detroit Garden Works in which proceeds benefit Greening of Detroit.  On this tour you will get to see some of the work showcased on Deborah’s blog, Dirt Simple.  If you make the drive for this event I also recommend visiting  the Kresge Foundation Headquarters (see my post on a visit here).

July: The Perennial Plant Association Symposium (July 21 – 27)

It was with the PPA that I went on my Belgium trip this past year and is a great organization I recommend for anyone that is a plant geek like me.  Each year the PPA’s symposium travels across North America to showcase the best of perennials in both the lectures and in the garden tours. This year’s event is in Vancouver, another area on my must visit list. I would love to see the gardens they have lined up for the tours this year.

September: Country Living Fair, Columbus Ohio. (Sept 13 – 15)

Last year was my first trip to the Country Living Fair and had a wonderful time listing to lectures, touring the booths and tasting yummy local food (the year before lectures included the Fabulous Beekman Boys).  I was even able to find a new local grower for unique and specimen trees.  I am glad they continue to bring this event back to Ohio. You can also visit the event in Texas and Georgia; keep an eye on the Country Living website for more information.

 Year Round –  Open Garden Days with The Garden Conservancy in your area.

If you cannot make it to any of the items listed above, check out the Garden Conservancy’s website to see if there will be open garden days in your area for you can attend. This is a great way to be inspired by gardens  that you can translate within your same zone and climate.

Just a reminder to look down, you never know what beauty you will see.

I hope everyone is safe this holiday. Our gift frenzy is over and we are nestled in to enjoy the peaceful day at home.

Well to say the least it has been a busy Christmas decorating season and we just finished up late this past week.  The team was busy stirring to finish-up decorating our client’s new home for a Christmas move-in.  What a wonderful gift!  The trees are trimmed, the garland is hung, the mantles are dressed.  In one day we trimmed five trees, three mantles, and hung one hundred feet of garland.  We wanted to do our part to ensure their first Christmas was a memorable one.