Art & Nature: Reynolda House exhibit features 'Heroes of Horticulture'

On July 31, Reynolda House Museum of American Art will open a new traveling photograph exhibit titled "Heroes of Horticulture."

The exhibition was organized by the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in collaboration with The Cultural Landscape Foundation of Washington.

Twelve photographers were invited to celebrate horticultural sites that the Cultural Landscape Foundation has designated as significant historic horticultural features that have survived the ravages of time and the constant pressures of development.

The photographers have produced a body of work that represents both the documentation of historic objects and art.

"We usually think of landscape as panoramas, where these photographs are intimate portraits of the cultural landscape," said Alison Slaby, the managing curator at Reynolda House.

Whether it is the opposing patterns of vertical and horizontals represented in a bamboo grove at Jungle Gardens on Avery Island, La., or the sinuous, sculptural roots of Moreton Bay fig trees at the Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens in Long Beach, Calif., each photographer brings a deep appreciation of the character that develops in the aging process. It may be represented in the scars and hollows left in the bole of great trees or in the way they envelop the viewer and create their own environment.

Slaby pointed out that several of the photographers are interested in how man and nature separate and integrate.

Perhaps there is no better reflection than in the photographs of historic cemeteries.

In a photo by photojournalist Eli Reed, Slaby noted the juxtaposition of joggers with cell phones and heart monitors who were under the canopy of a Live Oak Tree Allee in a park in Houston. Reed seems to tell the story of how nature dwarfs these modern achievements.

Slaby sees irony in the portrait of a battered bur oak on the Henry Ford Estate. The interior of the 300-year-old tree seems eaten away but still it stands.

The exhibit also allows Reynolda House to shows archival photographs and landscape plans of the early Reynolda landscape created by Thomas Sears, a prominent Philadelphia landscape architect and photographer who was hired by Katharine Reynolds and her daughter Mary Babcock Reynolds to design plans for the grounds of the Reynolda estate.

This will be the first time that these archival images of the Reynolda estate have been on view to the public. The exhibit is particularly significant to Reynolda House as it begins to develop its long-range, cultural-landscape plan, and it will be host to parts of the Restoring Southern Gardens and Landscapes Conference in September.

■ In an effort to raise community awareness of the cultural landscape, the Winston Salem Journal, JournalNow.com and Reynolda House Museum of American Art are sponsoring a photography contest called "Local Heroes of Horticulture."

Amateur photographers living in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina may submit photographs of interesting local horticultural subjects such as trees, flowers, allees, gardens, groves and more.

Prizes will be awarded in the categories of Best Image by a Student, Most Interesting Subject, Most Artistic and Readers Choice Award.

Participants should visit journalnow.com and click on Contest Corner to see full details of the contest and upload their photographs.

The competition begins at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 31. Entries must be uploaded by 5 p.m. on Aug. 23. All complete entries will receive a free pass to Reynolda House during the exhibition. See journalnow.com for additional prizes and, information, and to vote for your favorite photos.

Question of the week

Dear David: Are you planning an article on the "late blight" disease spreading through the East Coast states, damaging plants in the nightshade family, primarily tomatoes and potatoes?

According to articles that I've read, that Bonnie Plants' tomatoes have been pulled from stores in case this is the source of the infection. But since it appears to be spread by the wind, what is the risk for our region, even if we don't have tomatoes from Bonnie, and what is the risk if we have other species from Bonnie Plants in the same garden spot as the tomatoes, eggplants or potatoes?

I do have some Bonnie eggplants, but they seem healthy enough at this point. They are in the next row to our "seed tomato" plants, however. Does this put our tomato plants at higher risk? -- Constance French, Felsbeck Farm

Dear Constance: Late blight is a disease that mostly affects tomatoes in our area. It is characterized by water-soaked lesions on the leaves that may develop a white, cottony growth. It can quickly affect the entire plant, including fruit. It is a common disease and usually shows up at about this time of year. Wet, cool weather in the spring can promote it. Spores can be blown from as far as 10 miles away, so no company or nursery could be held responsible for the disease.

There has been a great deal of information on the Internet about an earlier than usual occurrence of late blight in the East. But according to Craig Mauney, horticulture specialist with the Forsyth County Agriculture Extension Agency, the first occurrences have been reported to his office in the last week, which is about normal. Tim Hambrick, a crop specialist at the office, said that late-blight occurrences have been no different this year than in any other. Unfortunately, late blight cannot be controlled once it is visibly detected. Plants should be destroyed, and plant debris cleared from the site. Plants infected with the disease will fail quickly. The pathogen responsible for late blight, Phytophthora infestans, is the same organism that created the Irish potato famine.

■ The Winston-Salem Journal is looking for tomato growers for its annual tomato tasting.

The free tasting will be from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Aug. 1 during the farmers market at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds.

Growers are asked to donate a small sample of tomatoes. Each sample must be one variety and clearly labeled. Any grower may donate as many samples of different varieties as desired.

The tomatoes will be used in the free public tasting. Tasters will be asked to choose their favorite tomato varieties. Also, Sweet Potatoes restaurant will be giving away samples of tomato dishes.

Growers wishing to participate should contact Michael Hastings at 727-7394 ,or mhastings@wsjournal.com.

■ If you have a gardening question or story idea, write to David Bare in care of Features, Winston-Salem Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27101-3159, or send e-mail to his attention to gardening@wsjournal.com.