Due to an illness, Darrel Morrison’s talk scheduled for October 25 has been cancelled. We are working with him to find another date in the spring to visit Atlanta. If you have any questions, contact education@treesatlanta.org.
In his book, Beauty of the Wild, recently published by the Library of American Landscape History, Darrel discusses people and places that have influenced his philosophy toward designing landscapes. During his talk, he will share how this has been incorporated into his designs based on his time in Georgia, Wisconsin, New York, Connecticut, and Montana. Learn how his designs are always focused on the goals of their being simultaneously:
-Ecologically sound
-Experientially rich
-“Of the Place”
-Dynamic, changing over time
Darrel’s book is partly memoir, partly a description of natural landscapes that have inspired Darrel’s designs, and partly a cross-section of some of those designed-and-managed landscapes even in an urban forest setting. Underlying this is an acknowledgement of the value of the work of many people in protecting natural areas, biodiversity and the beauty of the Wild.
Darrel will be here in Atlanta as part of an installation at the new Trees Atlanta headquarters in Southwest Atlanta. The Atlanta History Center generously donated the original granite material for the granite outcrop installation that was installed in the 1990’s. Designed by Darrel, the design is a reflection of the beauty of Georgia granite outcrops, specifically the ephemeral pools containing the endangered Diamorpha. The design incorporates a pool in a circle surrounded with granite stones. In concept it looks like a ying yang effect.
Author’s Bio: Darrel Morrison is a long-time proponent of the use of native vegetation and natural processes in the design and restoration of landscapes. He received his Master of Science in Landscape Architecture degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1969, then taught there until 1983, with his emphasis on planting design and ecological restoration. He was Dean of the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia, 1983-1992, and continued as a faculty member there until 2004, continuing to link ecology with design. From 2005 until 2015, he lived in New York City, where he designed landscapes at The New York Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Storm King Art Center, a 500-acre sculpture park in the Hudson River Valley. He returned to Wisconsin in 2015, where he is Senior Honorary Faculty Associate in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture. He is recipient of the Scott Medal and Award for 2021, awarded by Swarthmore College.
This lecture is presented in partnership with Trees Atlanta, and a book signing will follow the lecture.
The Philip and Elkin Alston Lecture Series is made possible by the generous support of the Charles Loridans Foundation.