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Jeffrey Bale's World of Gardens
jeffreygardens.blogspot.com
8
This blog is a view in to my World as a builder of fine gardens and mosaics, and the beautiful places and things that inspire me as I travel the globe.
#152719 in All

My Work

A carved stone niche in the First WallLately I have been a stone mason.  There is a line in the band Cakes song Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell;  "The Stonemason does all the work&...

1 day ago

Happy Arbor Day

Hundred year old magnolias planted as seeds or cuttings in the Bishops Close Garden in PortlandArbor Day is a national holiday in the United States that falls on the last Friday of every April.  ...

28 apr 12

A lecture on April 10 in Eugene, Oregon

I will be giving my presentation called The Pleasure Garden in Eugene at the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Hardy Plant Society on April 10.  Eugene is my home town, so it is a pleasure to bri...

08 apr 12

The Generalife

This essay is a continuation of the last one about the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.  In that essay we accomplished the equivalent of two days exploring the citadel of the Nasrid Emirs.  We w...

03 apr 12

Tales of the Alhambra

The Alhambra viewed from the Generalife"Everything here appears calculated to inspire kind and happy feelings, for everything is delicate and beautiful. The very light falls tenderly from above, ...

16 mar 12

A labor of love

I am about to post the most laborious essay I have written to date for this blog site.  Ive been wanting to do it ever since I revisited the Alhambra in Granada, Spain last year, but hesitated t...

16 mar 12

Melilla, an architectural gem on the Moroccan Coast

Palacio de AsambleaMelilla is one of two Spanish enclaves on the Moroccan coastline that are remnants of Spains occupation of parts of North Africa.  The other is Ceuta near the city of Tangier,...

20 feb 12

Chefchaouen Blue

A view of Chefchaouen, MoroccoChefchaouen is a small city in the Rif mountains of Northern Morocco known for its climate, blue houses, and kif, or marijuana that is grown in the surrounding mountains...

12 feb 12 1 person likes this

Morocco and my work

A Pebble Mosaic Carpet I built in a garden in Los AngelesI am in Morocco again for the second of what may be a continuing series of trips to discover and revisit all that is wonderful about this coun...

27 jan 12

The Koubba El-Badiyn

Looking up in to the interior of the Koubba El-BadiynMarrakech is a city rich in history and architecture.  The city was founded by the Almoravid people nearly 1,000 years ago on a plain near th...

25 jan 12

Tragically Magic Tangier, Morocco

A film poster with Calla Lilies in the Cinema RifIts Friday the 13th of December and I have been in Tangier for a week now.   The prankster spirits were out in force today, and I made the mistak...

22 jan 12

A Photography exhibition: Le Maroc Excentrique

I am very excited to announce that I will be having my first ever photography exhibition in the Volubilis Gallery in the Kasbah of Tangier, Morocco.  The opening will be on February 3rd, 2012. I...

20 jan 12

The Alcazaba of Malaga

View of the Alcazaba from the lower rampartsThe Alcazaba is a Moorish citadel built on a spur of a hill overlooking the harbor of Malaga on the southern coast of Spain.  The site was formerly a ...

30 dec 11

The Botanic Garden of the University of Valencia

A Lush Desert Garden in the Botanic Garden of the University of ValenciaJardi Botanic de la Universitat de ValenciaBotanic Garden of the University of Valencia, SpainI have a thing for botanical gard...

27 dec 11

Tarragona, Spain A legacy of stone work

Stones from a mix of different eras form a wall in TarragonaI just spent 3 days, from December 17 to the 20th in the town of Tarragona, southwest of Barcelona, an hour and a half by train. ...

21 dec 11

Parc Guell and its amazing tile mosaics

Wall at the front of Park GuellRoof of the Pavello de ConsergeriaWindow on the Pavello de Consergeria at the entrance to the parkPark Guell is one of those emblematic places in Barcelona that was som...

13 dec 11

The Next Adventure

Column in Parque Guell in BarcelonaAs Ive mentioned before, I leave Portland, Oregon every winter for someplace that is the stuff of my dreams, and that is hopefully warmer.  The Mediterranean i...

28 nov 11

A Pleasure Garden in San Francisco

In 2006 I was asked to draw up a design for friends for a small garden behind a Victorian house that was under major renovation in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco.  I wound up backing o...

17 nov 11

The Spiderweb Mansion

Man at a bus stopIn the winter of 1998-99 I spent two months of a four month trip to Asia exploring the country of Vietnam, from the Chinese border in the north to the bustling Mekong Delta.  Vi...

10 nov 11

The Gardens of Roberto Burle Marx

Strunk Garden, PetropolisStone mosaic in Parque Flamenco with the Pau dAzucarBrazil is one of those countries I always dreamed about visiting, and in the winter of 2005 I made my first journey there....

18 oct 11

Bathing in the Garden

Bathing in my garden at nightI have been giving a lecture to various horticultural organizations in the past year called "The Pleasure Garden".  I start out giving some historical contex...

04 oct 11

Petersons Rock Garden

A circular pond with a stone mosaic church on a central islandGrandpas PetuniasThere are a number of reasons that I became a person obsessed with the art of crafting with stone.  The earliest in...

26 sep 11

The Trouble with Mow and Blow

The Trouble with Mow and BlowI was just out in the garden having lunch when my neighbor’s mow and blow company arrived.  Soon there was the roar of gas powered edgers, mowers, and then blowers.&...

20 aug 11

Building a Pebble Mosaic Stepping Stone

Gold and Black alternating bands of Mexican Beach Pebbles in Los AngelesThe most frequently asked question I get in regards to my mosaic work seems to be "Where do you get your stones?"  ...

03 aug 11

For the Love of Nature

I was reading the latest issue of National Geographic, whos cover story is about The Wildest Place in North America.  I have sea kayaked a couple of times in this breathtaking part of the world ...

26 jul 11

An article on my work in the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12 /24/garden/24mosaic.htmlThis article was written by Kate Murphy from the New York Times after interviews while I was working on the garden of Brooke Adams and Tony Shalh...

21 jul 11

Building my Paradise Garden

Pool, Fountains, and Niche Wall in my gardenIn 1998 I bought the house next door, what had been for over a decade a Crack House.  The house had a violent and disturbing history that could be wor...

14 jul 11

The Chilmark Walls, Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts

The Chilmark Walls, Martha’s Vineyard, MassachusettsA Wall in the wonderful Polly Hill ArboretumMartha’s Vineyard lies off the southern coast of Cape Cod, which extends in an arc like a crooked finge...

27 jun 11

Artist in Residency at Islandwood Environmental School

                          Islandwood Cistern ProjectOne of my classes at the Islandwood SchoolI was approached ...

22 jun 11

The Miro Mosaics

Cyphers and Constellations in Love with a WomanIn 2005 I was asked to create a parking strip mosaic for clients in the historic Irvington neighborhood of Portland.  I  discussed this mosaic...

01 jun 11

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