By Carol Stocker Landscape architects and historians from around the country converged on the Boston Athenaeum Saturday night to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Library of American Landscape History, the foremost publisher in the genre, which is headquartered in Amherst. The non-profit has published a cannon of 26 books on the history of landscape design in this country, working with the University of Massachusetts Press. They include the award winning "A Genius for Place: American Landscapes of the Country Place Era," by Robin Karson, LALH's founder and executive director, who briefly addressed the gathering.

Also in attendance were Iris Gestram, executive director of the National Association for Olmsted Parks in Washington, director Mark Zelonis of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Bob Cook, former director of the Arnold Arboretum, Meg Winslow, archivist for the Mount Auburn Cemetery, and Lee Farrow Cook of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic National Park Service site, named Fairsted.

Nancy Turner, the LALH's founding president, was honored. "I met Robin when she came to write about my Fletcher Steele garden," recalled Turner in an interview. The famous Boston landscape designer had had an office on Louisburg Square, but had retired to Pittsford, N.Y., near her estate, and created his last garden there for her. Karson documented it in her great book, "Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect." Written shortly after Steele's death in 1971, the book documented many of his gardens before they were lost. Steele gardens were generally high maintenance and seldom survived their owners, "but Mabel Choate preserved her Naumkeag," said Turner. She referred to the The Trustees of Reservations' Steele garden in Stockbridge, famed for its series of white Art Deco staircases and waterfalls framed by birch trees..

Turner now lives in Connecticut. Does her own Pittsford garden still exist? "I don't know. I never went back to look. There has been a tremendous increase in the cost of maintenance." She smiled. "Gardens are like sand castles. It survives in Robin's book," she said as she flipped though the book's pages, which featured photos of her well planted granite staircase, orchard, and a series of terraces that led to a round reflecting pool. "It's very quiet, a placid place that reflected the final year of Fletcher Steele's life."

It was after completing this survey of Steele's rapidly vanishing gardens that Karson decided there needed to be an organization that published books on American historical landscapes. She was able to start one with Turner's support, and has kept it going for 20 years, during which she has assembled the most important authors of books on landscape architecture in this country.

New books include "Community by Design; The Olmsted Firm and the Planning of Brookline," by Elisabeth Hope Cushing, Roger G. Reed and Boston University professor Keith N. Morgan, who was at the party. After designing Central Park, Olmsted deserted New York for Brookline, which had proudly anointed itself "the richest town in the world." Little has been previously published on the importance of Brookline as a laboratory and model for the Olmsted firm's work. This book will detail how his son and namesake saw the town as a grounds for experimenting in the new profession of city planning.

It will be followed next year by a study of another important locally based designer. "Arthur A. Shurcliff and the Making of the Colonial Williamsburg Landscape," by Elizabeth Hope Cushing, will spotlight this under-appreciated force in the Colonial Revival house and garden movement. His projects included aspects of the Charles River Esplanade, the Franklin Park Zoo, and, at the end of his life, the iconic gardens at Colonial Williamsburg.

Next year will also see the LAHL's publication of "The Best Planned City in the World: Olmsted, Vaux, and the Buffalo Park System," by Francis R. Kowsky, cq writing about Buffalo, N.Y. "We try to focus the study on individual places," explained Karson. It will be the first in a series edited by Ethan Carr called "Designing the American Park." Another new series will deal with environmental design.

Interest in the history of American landscape architecture has blossomed in the last three decades, said Carr at the gathering. He linked it to the resurgence of interest in New York's Central Park and it's history. That park, which sunk to an all-time low in the 1970's, is now in the best shape of its history, thanks in part to LALH board member Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, the founder of the powerful Central Park Conservancy.

Boston's Emerald Necklace, another Olmsted masterpiece, has also enjoyed rejuvenation and scholarly attention. The Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project will soon publish Volume Eight of Olmsted Sr's letters, dealing with the 1880's when the Emerald Necklace was created, said Carr, who is the editor.

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Library of American Landscape History turns 20

Nineteenth century landscape architect O.C. Simonds is much less famous today than many of his contemporaries. His biographer, historian Barbara Geiger, says thats kind of a shame and rather strange. Once youre familiar with Simonds work, Geiger says, you will find a shock of recognition as you walk around Chicago. You will find that all these places youve been going have been designed by this fellow.

For example, the western half of Graceland Cemetery, which runs along Clark Street between Irving Park and Montrose, was designed by Simonds, as were portions of the Morton Arboretum and Lincoln Park, and a good number of Chicago's backyards.

Simonds work is significant, Geiger says, because he was the first landscape architect to favor the use of native plants in his work. Whereas Frederick Law Olmsted (who designed New Yorks Central Park, the plan for the west suburban village of Riverside, and the grounds for the Worlds Columbian Exhibition) saw Chicago as a swamp and disdained the landscape, Simonds dug up and transplanted elm trees from local farms to use in his gardens and appreciated the regions natural topography (such as it was). And whereas other designers planted in monoculture using one kind of plant at a time Simonds was ecologically minded, clustering plants together the way they might appear in nature.

Graceland the final resting place of Chicago notables such as Marshall Field and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was Simonds Chicago masterpiece: a quiet, subtle composition of shifting vignettes, inspired by naturalistic English gardens and 19th century landscape painting.

In the audio above, Geiger explains why Graceland Cemetery is as pleasing to the eye today as it was when it was first designed.

Dynamic Rangeshowcases hidden gems unearthed from Chicago Amplifieds vast archive of public events and appears on weekends. Barbara Geiger spoke at an event presented by the Chicago Architecture Foundation in January. Clickhereto hear the event in its entirety.

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Chicago landscape architect O.C. Simonds used native plants – before it was cool

Most of us have areas of our yards that are more of a challenge than others. When I asked people to send in their landscape problems, several of them spoke of areas where nothing would grow. Such is the case for the Kirkharts of Andover. In this installment of Landscape Solutions, landscape architect Kurt Huiras of GLMV Architecture addresses their case of the dreaded clay soil on the north side of the house.

No matter what your trouble spot, Kurts guidelines likely will help you with plant choice, soil and irrigation.

On the north side of our house, we cant get anything to grow. My husband says it is clay dirt. We are in our 70s and cant do too much and dont have a lot of money. Thank you.

Lavon Kirkhart, Andover

The north side of a building can indeed be a difficult place to grow plants. Soil type, shade, bed size and irrigation can be factors that influence your choice of plant material.

Clay soil poses several problems for plants. It compacts easily, holds water, traps nutrients such as iron, and is typically alkaline. The best way to amend clay soil is to add organic material such as compost. Till the top 8 to 10 inches of soil, then cover the area with about 2 inches of compost and work it into the soil until it is thoroughly mixed.

This is a temporary solution, because soil tends to revert back to its original condition. So, soil amendments can be effective if you are planting annuals, where you can till the soil annually, but they are less effective for permanent plantings such as trees, shrubs and perennials. Its best to choose plants that are adapted to clay soil.

But that may not completely solve the problem. Your soil also may be depleted of nutrients. A soil test will help you determine the best fertilizers or amendments for your planting beds. You can contact your local Kansas State Extension Service to get a fairly inexpensive soil test that will give you recommendations.

A planting bed on the north side requires you to find plant material that will handle full shade. Your house also can act as a screen to limit the effect of the weather in both positive and negative ways. For instance, the building eaves can keep rain from reaching the plants, so irrigation may be necessary. But the building also can be a positive factor by protecting plants from hot summer winds.

Bed size is another often overlooked consideration when choosing plant material. A narrow bed such as yours will require compact plant material. You need to choose plants based on their mature spread in order to limit the maintenance and to take full advantage of their aesthetic qualities.

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Landscape Solutions: Growing on north side of house is a problem

Landscape architect Morgan Wheelocks life work encompasses a range of styles and earthy canvasses.

Wheelock, former chairman of the Architectural Review Commission, has for decades designed gardens and landscapes for estates in Palm Beach, New England and across the country. He has called his firms redesign of the Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden at The Society of the Four Arts the best dance of my life.

Farther out, hes created a sculpture garden in London; crafted landscaping for a horse farm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and won accolades for, among other projects, The United States Armed Forces Memorial Garden in Caen, France.

In recognition of his work and his willingness to mentor budding landscape architects who have become award-winners themselves, Wheelock will be inducted into the New England Design Hall of Fame, in the landscape design category, on Nov. 8 at a ceremony in Boston.

I didnt believe it when they called me, Wheelock said from his West Palm Beach office. I was wow quite surprised but very excited and grateful.

His philosophy about landscape design has evolved over the years, he said.

I believe landscape architecture is a medium through which people can retain their biological connection to the land, said the Harvard-educated landscape architect. Executed properly, a gardens form and composition can produce moments that are spiritual and healing, he said.

The redesign of the 2.6-acre sculpture garden at The Society of the Four Arts, which was unveiled in 2007, is a prime example, he said. The southeast quadrant has a naturalistic feel, while the northwest quadrant is architecturally controlled, Wheelock said.

One finds strong geometry on that side of the garden and romantic natural landscape on the other side, he said.

Wheelock said the project that touched him most emotionally was the Armed Services Memorial Garden, which he designed in 1994. It was a truly international effort. Craftsmen in Carrara, Italy, used a saw designed in Germany for the project, to cut and shape 3,000 pieces of granite from Finland, Wheelock said.

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Honored landscape architect shares career highlights