Landscape Architecture with Raymond Jungles

This Week's Podcast: A Replay: The Design Descendant of Brazil's Greatest Landscape Architect

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Raymond Jungles is one of the most highly regarded, award-winning landscape architects working today. And he is arguably the most envied. That’s because he gets to work in paradise – places we only dream about and with plants we know from our indoor gardens or botanical garden greenhouses. His palette includes palms and orchids, bromeliads and tender succulents in subtropical gardens from Florida to Mexico.

Jungles new book, The Cultivated Wild, is the second compendium of his recent work. Altogether, there are 21 built landscapes featured, some of which might bring to mind the work of his friend and mentor, the late painter and landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx (above, right, with Raymond Jungles who visited annually for 14 years). Burle Marx designed the plantings at Brazilia, and is often ranked with giants like Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe and Louis Kahn.

I wanted to hear about Raymond Jungles professional path and what has led him to become the go-to-guy for subtropical built landscapes and got him as my guest on the radio show and podcast.

I chat with Jungles (at work, top, left) about his new book, which includes (clockwise from top right) roof gardens, a modern Miami Beach garden and another at Golden Rock Garden Inn. We also talk about his contribution to The Naples Botanical Garden where he created the Brazilian Garden inspired by Burle Marx and including a mural (below, left) by the painter/landscape architect.

Raymond Jungles loves plants, and although he could be best known for promoting Florida natives, he incidentally introduced a bromeliad found among Roberto Burle Marx discoveries. The plant has been named Portera ‘Jungles’ (below, right).

People who live all around the country listen to Ken Druse – REAL DIRT, which means they have four distinct seasons. I think gardeners imagine they would love to be able to have a year-round growing season, although I suspect they soon would miss their time off in winter. Jungles grew up in places in the Midwest, for example in Nebraska and Ohio, and says he doesn’t miss gray skies at all. The sunshine in Florida drew him to that place and kept him there. And he says he’s happy to see green all year long.