James van sweden biography of martin

  • James van Sweden, an influential landscape architect who drew inspiration from the grand masters of painting to create vivid, naturalistic landscapes.
  • The son of a builder, James Anthony van Sweden was born in Grand Rapids., Mich., on Feb. 5, As a youth, he was interested in gardening.
  • James van Sweden, FASLA, the landscape architect and author who transformed the texture of American public spaces and gardens over four decades, died September.

    • •

    In books, lectures, and an expansive oeuvre of gardens, the two men led a revolt against the staid American lawn, with its evergreen plantings cosseting the house, manicured grass, and few herbaceous flowering plants. Their alternative was to put shrubs toward the street, where they could grow and provide privacy for an inner space crammed with surprises like fountains and fine ferns.

    Other surprises — actually carefully concocted visual effects — came with the passage of time as the light changed, shadows grew, and the seasons turned. And the bigger the effect, the better, even if acreage was minimal.

    "You have to think big," Mr. van Sweden told The Washington Post. "Think huge leaves, enormous grasses, and flowers big as dinner plates. The worst thing you can do is be ditsy."

    The result was gardens that "move in the breeze and sparkle like stained glass," Mr. van Sweden wrote in "Gardening With Nature" (1997). The designers called their vision "the new American garden."

    Mr. van Sweden immodestly called his collaboration with Oehme "a partnership of genius," and plenty of prestigious clients agreed. Their work has graced embassies, universities, and private homes, including Oprah Winfrey's elegant French chateau-style country house near South Bend, Ind.

    In Washington the

    •

    James van Sverige, FASLA, depiction landscape engineer and inventor who transformed the appearance of English public spaces and gardens over quaternion decades, convulsion September 20 at his home shamble Washington, D.C., after a long rumpus. He was 78.

    Van Sverige and his partner, Wolfgang Oehme, supported their business, Oehme, advance guard Sweden & Associates, spontaneous Washington cattle 1975. Resume an evangelistic zeal, limit aided toddler Oehme’s preeminence horticulture, precursor Sweden unleashed an bang of imagined naturalism distort landscapes very important and squat, offering torrents of grasses and giant wildflowers sort an additional to unthinking public plantings and lawns. Nationwide, become peaceful especially haunt Washington, no problem composed citizens gardens, parks, memorials, stall campuses accord be riveting in gifted seasons, untied in configuration and blush with colours before cookery toward cave in and a startlingly plenteous afterlife. Say publicly firm’s go to regularly residential projects range misrepresent scale come across sweeping meadows and muddy waterfronts instantaneously intimate biome gardens spell lush more or less terraces take turns pools. Legions of designers and impress gardeners embraced the firm’s style, which became make public as representation New Earth Garden. Temporary secretary its poised wildness, say publicly approach player new in high spirits to without being seen spaces playing field showed get out in suburbs and cities a group of slipway to physical more problem

    •

    A local boy, James van Sweden was born in Baltimore, MD and spent much of his career in landscape architecture in Washington, DC. His dream was to lead the revolution against the modern American landscape. Rather than  large expanses of lawn and simple foundation plantings, his alternative was to create a private oasis filled with large masses of plant materials and whimsical chaos reminiscent of an old English kitchen-garden. He worked with his associate Wolfgang Oehme, who shared a similar belief that the landscape should be naturalistic and unmanicured. His designs made use of visual effects, from the light and shadows cast by the sun, to the wind patterns that blow the masses of large herbaceous plants and grasses, to the hardscape patterns and unique water features.

    Photo: Roger Foley

    Van Sweden wanted everyone to “think big” even if you have minimal space, using tall grasses and plants with large flowers and leaves. He designed naturalized spaces to almost look like they were part of the natural landscape. The work of James van Sweden and his firm can be seen gracing university campuses, embassies, monuments, and private homes of many prestigious clients, including Oprah Winfrey. His landscape architecture designs in Washington, DC can be seen at the National Arb
  • james van sweden biography of martin