Adam Woodruff + Associates

Bold, bright tropical plants are the key to building drama with a twist . . .

2011-11-02T11:38:00.007+09:30

November/December 2011

This week, Horticulture Magazine published a story titled "Bold Colors For The Border" about my work at the Bank of Springfield (pages 60-65). The photos were take last summer by Al Parrish and the story was written by Meghan Shinn.

Here is an excerpt: In 2004, Bank of Springfield Chairman and CEO Tom Marantz decided the bank's flagship building needed some gardens in place of the existing turf and ash trees. Adam ultimately planted 22,000 square feet. By 2010, annuals and tropical plants made up 40 percent of the plantings. Adam credits the BOS project- and the encouragement of Tom Marantz- with helping him hone his design skills and style. With so many temporary plants, he could revise the design each season.

For more, pick up a copy at newsstands today, or better yet, subscribe online at www.hortmag.com.

"Bold Colors For The Border" (Photo Supplement)

I have compiled a slideshow of some of my favorite perennial-tropical combination from the Gardens at the Bank of Springfield for Horticulture Magazine readers .

Leaf Magazine

2011-10-18T04:03:00.000+09:30

Open publication - Free publishing - More design outside

Congratulation to Susan Cohan, APLD and company on the premier of Leaf Magazine. Check out page 54 for a photo from my former garden in Springfield, Illinois.

My first exposure in a national publication . . .

2011-09-03T05:02:00.004+09:30

This week, Horticulture Magazine published a story titled "Down On The Corner" about my former residential garden in central Illinois (pages 40-45). The photos were taken at this time last year, before our move to Boston. It was written by Horticulture's own Meghan Shinn.

Here is an excerpt: It's a lucky thing that Adam Woodruff's former home in Springfield, Ill., sits on a corner. The garden this up-and-coming landscape designer created there will stop traffic. The adjacent stop sign lets a passing gardener safely pause and admire the colorful, textural border that hems the lot.

September/October 2011

The garden is representative of Adam's unique style, one he calls 'naturalism with a twist'. He has found inspiration in Piet Oudolf's relaxed planting aesthetic, with its soft swaths of billowing grasses and prairie flowers, in which a plant's form takes precedence over its color. Adam's designs come into their own through the colorful tropical flowers and foliage he mixes in. "Ornamental grasses, prairie natives and perennials are combined with lush tropical foliage and seasonal blooms", he says describing his style. "The harmonious blending of plant material that is not conventionally grouped together provides the 'twist' that makes my style unique."

For more, pick up a copy at newsstands today, or better yet, subscribe online at www.hortmag.com.

Photos of my former garden can be found in my Flickr set: Designer's Garden. Also, check out Jan Paul's profile in St. Louis Magazine AT HOME's May 2011 issue, titled "Naturalism With A Twist".

St. Louis Magazine AT HOME

2011-06-26T12:18:00.005+09:30

"Landscape designer Adam Woodruff is making a national name for himself with gardens that blend natives and annuals, the wild and the domestic". By Jan Paul - Photographed by TJ Salsman

Click on the image above to view an online version of the article

APLD International Design Conference

2011-06-20T11:01:00.004+09:30

I have just returned from a week in Cleveland, Ohio where I attended the APLD (Association of Professional Landscape Designers) International Design Conference. We were informed and inspired by speakers like Susan Cohan, Tracy DiSabato-Aust, Julie Moir Messervy and David Thorn (to name a few). Our group toured 22 landscapes/gardens of various styles and plant diversity (click on the image above to view a Flickr collection of photos). We enjoyed an awards dinner and presentation where Piet Oudolf was honored with the APLD Award of Distinction and Suzanne Arca was named APLD International Designer of the Year. It was a wonderful week of camaraderie and knowledge sharing.

Trentham Estate

2011-06-07T06:02:00.000+09:30

A high point of my trip to England was a visit to the Trentham Estate, where Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf have created a modern masterpiece. What a treat to view the work of two of the world's finest garden designers in one very grand setting. Click on the image above to view a Flickr slideshow.

2011 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

2011-06-06T07:43:00.003+09:30

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show (along with nearly 157,000 other gardening enthusiasts, designers, celebrities and members of the royal family). Chelsea is perhaps the most famous flower show in the world. The five day event is held each May on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London. Click on the image below to view a Flickr slideshow.

RBS New Wild Garden by Nigel Dunnett & The Landscape Agency

Christopher Lloyd's Gardens at Great Dixter . . .

2011-05-28T09:28:00.001+09:30

Long border

Yesterday, I toured the magnificent 'Arts & Crafts' garden at Great Dixter in Northiam. Click on the image above to view a Flickr slideshow.

A typical 'Arts & Crafts' garden:

is formal in its layout, but cottage style in the use of plants
uses strong architectural elements such as pergolas, summer houses and water channels
sees the garden as a series of compartments or outdoor rooms with hedges of yew or beech planted as exterior walls
often has entrance points denoted by hedges clipped into imaginative shapes
uses a mixture of rustic (rough) and dressed (shaped) stone for walls and arches
uses a mixture of building styles but with a strong classical Italian influence
makes use of clumps and falls of billowing plants to soften hard edges

(Source: "The Story of Gardens")

Oudolf Garden in the heart of London . . .

2011-05-27T02:41:00.003+09:30

Day one of my trip to London took me to Potters Fields Park at London Bridge. The park was designed by landscape architect Gross Max. The beautiful public gardens were designed by Piet Oudolf. Click on the image below to view a Flickr slideshow.

A vibrant duo, Salvia and Sesleria.