GARDEN | The Garden Gal
by Anne Jaeger
Bring The Outdoors In
Simple but equisite holiday decorating begins with a trip outside to pick up some nature. Then the fun begins.
ABOVE: Inspired by Danny and Wayne,
Anne brings nature inside as she begins
to decorate her home for the holidays.
LONESOMEVILLE POTTERY
Find LoneSomeVille Pottery at
The Portland Art Museum andPend-
leton Home (Southwest Broadway/
Portland Airport).
Sign up on the mailing list:
Lonesomeville.com, or on Facebook
at Lonesomeville Studios for invitations
to their “serendipitous” open garden
events.
Anne Jaeger, writes The Garden Gal for
Just Out. Anne was a hard news reporter
and anchor at KGW and KOIN before turn-
ing to gardening full time. After that her
award-winning garden shows appeared
on both stations. You can now look for
Anne's garden videos on the Oregonian
newspaper web site: oregonlive.com/hg,
catch her on Twitter @GardenGalTV, send
her a suggestion via her web site: Garden-
Gal.TV, or write Anne@JustOut.com.
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JustOut.com
boughs on every flat surface, with votive candles, on
fireplace mantels and to top our display cases and
grandfather clock.
AJ: You don’t just start piling stuff up on a mantel; how
do you get the balance right?
WH: Anyone here at the “Gay-mune” (what they jok-
ingly call their communal home) can perfectly decorate
a mantle.
DH: First, we wind the mini-light cords around the fir
bows before putting it up on the mantle. No wire can
show! The design is a simple triangle: make the center
the highest point in the design and slope it down to-
ward the ends. And remember to use enough stuff so
it looks lush.
WH: BUT(!) unlike donuts MORE is not better when it
comes to decorating a mantle. Do a little, stand back, do
a little more, and then evaluate. Repeat.
Anne Jaeger: What elements from nature are your fa-
vorite decorations?
AJ: Why is nature such a strong component your holi-
day decorating and pottery?
Wayne Hughes: Well, first of all, the untrimmed noble
fir tree in the front room can only be 9 feet tall but we
get a 12 foot tree and cut off the lower branches to use
as decorative touches around the house.
DH: You can't get anything prettier than nature. I'm
always heavily influenced by nature. I interpret what
I see into my style. Good example is the Deco Tulip
Vase, (available at their Christmas open house) which
evolved from a trip to Seattle. We came home and out
popped the Deco Tulip Vase from my imagination. I
wasn’t even consciously aware of it.
Danny Hills: Yeah, we like our tree untrimmed, like
our men. Just as nature made ‘em (laughing). Through-
out the year, I stalk the neighborhood for (white) pine
cones while on our dog walks and come home with
bags full. We save them for our decorations, too.
WH: Then, to screen out our neighbors we planted hol-
ly trees judiciously on the property line. For Christmas
we have plenty of holly, so we bring lots of that in. We
replace the holly when it dries out. And for more color,
we cheat and buy the bright red holly berries from Mi-
chaels craft store, because only the female holly makes
berries. And they last longer.
DH: We use those berries, pine cones, holly and fir
WH: Nothing says Christmas like ponderosa pine.
That’s why you see the image on our plates and vases.
It’s funny, visitors pick up a piece of our pottery and
they blurt out “Oh, this really speaks to me!” And I say
"Silly rabbit, the pottery’s beautiful, but it cannot talk."
AJ: I guess I’m hearing things, then. I'd love people to
see your decorations.
WH: We're having a holiday open house: December 8th
from 1 - 8 p.m., 5006 SE Long Street, Portland. We’ll be
completely “Holi-decked” out. §
December 2012
Photo by Horace long
To my eye, nobody does holidays like the guys
at LoneSomeVille Studios. Now internationally
known pottery makers, they’ve got artistry to die
for. Of all the gardeners I've met, Danny Hills and
Wayne Hughes have the most profound effect on
my garden and aesthetics. Their Victorian home
and garden in Southeast Portland are over-the-
top in a completely natural way. Most of it has
been rebuilt by hand, by one of the four men who
live there. Let me just confess; I've taken a “bite
(or two) outta their style” and tweaked ideas as
my own. So why not pass on the gift? Like me,
you’ll see the art to their holiday decorating is ac-
cessible to all. It comes right out of nature. Holi-
days aren’t constructed with a bunch of plastic
and throw away junk; these decorations come
from the earth’s beauty. All it requires is picking
up stuff off the ground and in the yard. How easy
is that? Happy Holidays!!!