Author Archives: maryjane

I mentioned “gardens in lace” in my space salad post, promising to tell you more.

So …

Believe your eyes.

Those are pics of LACE garden fences.

Yup, lace.

Like a dream come true, right? Doily heaven.

This artistic installment, a collaboration between Swiss landscape architect Anouk Vogel and creative design company De Makers Van, appeared in Amsterdam a few years ago, transforming the courtyard of a city housing block into an ethereal garden of white flowers and lace. It’s no surprise that the location has become a popular spot for wedding photos.

Little did I know …

1. A) There is a flourishing lace fencing movement, mostly in Europe to date.
2. B) Lace fencing is not only pretty, it’s pretty big business in places like Belgium and the Netherlands.

Well, now that I know, I hope the trend catches on here in the U.S. Leading the way is the Philadelphia University Design Center, which commissioned De Makers Van to craft a fence segment for their 2009 Lace in Translation exhibition.

Mind you, this “lace” isn’t exactly what it appears to be. If you’re an old-school fabric fanatic like me, you’re thinking needle, cutwork, crochet … but, no.

Rather than stitching thread to form a fence or weaving into an existing chain-link fence, De Makers Van’s creations are actually crafted using mysterious high-end galvanized metal wire that is “knitted” (don’t ask me how) to create lovely—and deceptively dainty—illusions of lace.

Look closely at this fence in Belgium:

Remarkable, isn’t it? There are several more photos of fabulous fences here.

“In our projects, we often combine the sensitive and the small with the powerful, large, and industrial,” explains the De Makers Van team. “Fencing is a sign of how we have modified and cultivated our environment. Like brambles, fences are rising rampantly around us. What would happen if a patch of embroidered wire would meet with, and continue as, an industrial fence? Hostility versus kindness, industrial versus craft.”

A sound artistic sentiment, but I still want one for my garden, don’t you?

Until lace fencing goes mainstream, we may simply have to content ourselves with outbursts of crochet, knitting, and weaving to give our fences festive flair. I’m picturing something along the inspiring lines of Brooklyn yarn bomber London Kaye’s fleeting installments of urban joy:

What a wonderful way to give our yards and gardens a bit of flair all year round.

Gardens in buckets,

Gardens in lace,

Gardens on rooftops …

Gardens in space?

Captain Kirk never dared to dream such succulence.

Nevertheless, it’s not science fiction.

On August 10, astronauts at the International Space Station ate fresh food grown in space for the very first time. In a collapsible and expandable Veggie Unit dubbed Lada, the astronaut gardeners grew a real, live crop of red romaine lettuce out there among the stars, and the taste test was documented in live-stream fashion:

It turns out that growing veggies in space is not as easy as it is on Earth, what with the soil-free and sun-starved spaceship environs. Even so, astronaut Scott Kelly sowed a smattering of lettuce seeds on a fabricated “seed pillow” in early July, illuminated them with multicolored LED lights, and harvested leaves a month later.

Sure, it’s a little avant-garde in the realm of gardening, but it sure beats the Jetson’s Meal-o-Matic fare.

Driven by more than mere curiosity (and serious cravings for fresh salad), NASA is experimenting with space-grown food in hopes that it might aid astronauts in extended expeditions through the galaxy.

Watch out, Mars, here we come.

P.S. If you’re “spacing” out and still wondering about the “gardens in lace” mentioned in line two, come back for tomorrow’s post!