Tag: garden

The Irish Sky Garden Crater
Located at the Liss Ard Estate Gardens in Cork County, Ireland; the James Turrell Irish Sky Garden Crater is an amazing sculptural land art installation by famed artist James Turrell. The Irish Sky Garden Crater measures about 25 meters (82 ft) in length, dipping almost 13 meters (42ft) at it’s lowest depth.

The man-made hollow is accessed via a dark concrete tunnel flanked by Liscannor stone, featuring a white marble stone that reflects the light from the rim of the crater during the day. The design is based on a birthing scenario, where visitors walk through the dark tunnel into the light. “It’s about rebirth and optimism, its experiential and it nurtures the desire to walk towards the light (into the crater). It evokes powerful reactions in people,” says Arthur Little, the manager of Liss Ard estate.

The space has been constructed to view the sky while lying on large stones placed in the centre of the crater. The crater’s edge, hovering in your peripheral vision, perfectly frames the infinite and endlessly changing sky. “The most important thing is that inside turns into outside and the other way around, in the sense that relationships between the Irish landscape and sky changes,” says artist James Turrell of his work.

The Alnwick Poison Garden
Inspired by the legendary botanical gardens in Padua where the Medicis plotted the untimely, frothing ends of their enemies, an English duchess created this garden, dedicating it entirely to flora which are deadly and/or narcotic.

Behind big black gates, the carefully curated garden contains about 100 legendary killers like Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Strychnos nux-vomica (strychnine), and Conium maculatum (hemlock). Guides explain their deadly properties while keeping ne’er-do-wells and curious children away from the plants, warning them: “Do not touch any of the plants, don’t even smell them. There are plants here that can kill you.” Foxgloves, belladonna, poppies, laburnam and varieties of aquilegia thrive among the rarefied atmosphere of the Poison Garden. Those who work here treat the plants with the utmost respect, wearing gloves when working with them.

Many of the plants are already well-known for their medicinal properties, but as its creator, the Duchess of Northumberland said:
‘I wondered why so many gardens around the world focused on the healing power of plants rather than their ability to kill… I felt that most children I knew would be more interested in hearing how a plant killed, how long it would take you to die if you ate it and how gruesome and painful the death might be.’

The Mobile Garden’s portion of Art on Track invited passengers to walk on a thick carpet of green grass, which greeted them at the train car entrance. Each plastic seat was also lined with the lush grass, giving the sensation of sitting on a grassy knoll, rather than commuting around downtown Chicago. Potted local plants rested on seats, on window sills, and on the floor, adding splashes of pinks, purples and reds with their small blossoms. Hanging plants dangled strands of leaves, flowers and berries all along the ceiling. Ivy-like plants also snaked around the poles and rails. Indigenous plants and sod were donated to The Mobile Garden, which is a project run by non-profit, noisivelvet. Plants and materials were generously donated to outfit the project by local sod farms, green roof gardens, and arboretums. Members of the Chicago art community rode the train to discuss the exhibition with passengers.