Garden Design

Ever wish there was a Shazam for trees? LeafSnap is a new mobile app that can identify a tree's species by looking at a photograph of its leaf. It's a field guide for the twenty-first century, which uses facial recognition algorithms to analyze the leaf's contour so it can find a match from its index of species. Read More »

Frank Lloyd Wright designed Hollyhock House with a stylized motif of the flower, which grow alongside the Los Angeles landmark building. The effect is a beautiful symmetry of architecture and nature, with a surprising unity of character: somehow, the concrete hollyhocks look no less elegant than the living flowers reflected beneath them. Read More »

A room decorated with William Morris's colorful patterns offers a certain reassurance: teatime will always be sunny. The nineteenth-century designer applied his exquisite flora-based designs to textiles, tiles, and, of course, wallpaper. As if throwing open the heavy drapes, he ushered... Read More »

At the University of Stuttgart, Germany, a new architectural discipline is evolving, with leaves, branches, and roots. The research group is called Baubotanik (Botanic Architecture), and it is where the architects are gardeners, and the plants are architects.  Read More »