Love Every Leaf

Love Every Leaf

The Life of Landscape Architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander

By Kathy Stinson

Tundra Books, 2008

This biography tells the life story of one of the most respected Landscape Architects in Canadian history, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander.  It depicts her early childhood in Nazi Germany as a young Jewish girl.  In Cornelia's second decade she found refuge in the United States and then later in Canada with her mother and siblings. 

The beautiful memories from her early childhood on her property in Germany developed her passion for gardening at a young age.  But, the painful memories from Germany shaped her headstrong personality and gave her a stronger determination to live life to the fullest when she was given a fresh start in the new world.

She fought through the male dominated criticisms within the architecture field in the 50's.  Cornelia lived life with the 3 P's in mind (patience, persistence and politeness).  With her integrity and consistency with the 3 P's, Cornelia started developing respect from her peers and was awarded many large profile jobs in her career, such as;  Robson Square, The Vancouver Public Library roof top garden and the Museum of Anthropology.

Her ideas were unique and ahead of her time which made her stand out amongst the more traditional landscape architects. She always had the ability to study each site so meticulously and follow her passions with such determination.  Cornelia was a pioneer in using the natural surroundings for guidelines to her designs, often using native plants and large groupings of repeated plant material.  She also uses "green" guidelines in mind for water preservation and low maintenance planting schemes.  Well into her nineties, Cornelia is still designing beautiful landscapes around the world. An absolute inspiration for any landscape designer. 

Also, on a personal note I gardened her property a few times! She was definitely meticulous with her moss lawn. It was a very naturalized yard.

Living Systems

Living Systems

Innovative Materials and Technologies for Landscape Architecture

by Liatt Margolis and Alexander Robinson

Birkhauser, 2007

This book showcases installations around the world using architectural ingenuity and innovative materials.  From infalatable dam systems, wind walls and cloud machines to erosion control and tree crutches. There is illustrations to document each project and a brief description of the process.  Living Systems is like science fiction for garden lovers. 

Amarant

Amarant

The Flora and Fauna of Atlantis By a Lady Botanist 

by Una Woodruff

G.P. Putnam's Sons

New York, 1981

I purchased Amarant from MacLeod's Books on Pender Street.  This book felt like an absolute treasure amongst the human sized piles of second hand books. The colours and details in these pictures are so vivid.  Each picture holds further secrets.  As you look closely at the beautiful flower illustration you might notice that the flower encompasses dozens of tiny insects or other surprises.  It's really an inspiring adult picture book. 

The story itself is set in 1681 following the life of Lady Elizabeth Hurnshaw. A regal woman from England. Elizabeth and her husband always had an affection for botany and when her husband passes away suddenly, Elizabeth and her son set out on an adventure to journey to the Americas. They instead stumble upon an island called Amarantos, or later would be referred to as the lost island of Atlantis.  They spend twenty years studying and documenting the strange flora and fauna of this island.  Later they return to Europe with there illustrations, only to disappear again not long after.  The colourful illustrations within Amarant showcase all the findings from there time on Amarantos.