Despite record high temperatures last week-end, 88 on Sunday, fall is coming. The low of 39 (with scattered frost) two weeks ago was evidence of impending autumn-ness. And the day length is likewise very telling. Even with idiotic daylight savings time, it’s nearly dark by 7 in the evening and remains dark in the morning until well after 7:30. Not that I have an opinion on daylight savings time. I hear it’s great for golfers. FORE! Anyhow. The point is, it’s feeling a bit like fall no matter what the temperature may be one day or when the sun rises or sets. You can see the evidence, as well.

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Filed under: Art and Nature Park, Horticulture

Let’s cut to the chase. If I don’t do this who will? I can now call myself an “award winning writer”. I recently attended the Garden Writers Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas (more about the actual event later, Jimmy Turner). This meeting is where Garden Writers gives out its Gold Awards. And the good news is….. I won. I won the 2010 Gold Award Best Electronic Media Writing for my posts on this IMA blog you are reading right now. To say the least, it was quite a thrill.

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Filed under: Horticulture

(via weheartit)

In honor of Earth Day, we pulled together some eco-friendly videos for your viewing pleasure. Get your green on:

Tonight! Can garden design be a subversive act? At this Planet Indy talk, on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, offbeat garden guru Felder Rushing addresses “slow” gardening for cheapskates, alternatives to the oppressive lawn, and irreverent approaches to horticulture that are also more sustainable.

Rushing is a 10th-generation American gardener from Jackson, Miss., whose quirky cottage garden has been featured in many TV programs and magazines, and includes a huge variety of weather-hardy plants and a collection of folk art. Rushing is the author or co-author of 15 gardening books and co-hosts a public radio call-in garden program.

Filed under: Current Events, Education, Film, Horticulture, Local, New Media, The Toby

IMA TV chats with Sarah Green while installing Atelier van Lieshout’s Funky Bone Benches in the 100 Acres Art and Nature Park at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Joep van Lieshout, with his studio Atelier van Lieshout, will present a group of 20 benches with drawings of large bones that will together form the shape of an enormous, stylized human skeleton.

The work grows out of ideas about native heritage and cultural development, with bones iconically referring to artifacts and remains from previous occupants. The artist, who encountered visitors sitting on rocks and other natural perches on his visit to Indianapolis, wanted to create benches as sites for resting in 100 Acres.

Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park, Current Events, IMA TV, Interviews, New Media

The IMA’s Perennial Premiere is less than one month away! An updated list of anticipated plants and participating vendors has been added to our website.

Check it out! We’ll have a treasure trove of unique plants and there’s bound to be something on that list calling your name.

Dicentra 'Burning Hearts' courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc

Filed under: Horticulture