Saturday, September 12, 2009

VERTICAL STONES DEFINE ENTRY

This had been lawn, below, until I realized I deserved a garden when pulling into my tiny drive. The more entryways a landscape has the better a landscape is.
Low maintenance was a given, drought tolerant too, and NO MORE LAWN !
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Enter my garden here, along a flagstone path flanked with a pair of huge quartz stones, placed vertically for added heft & drama. Dwarf Indian hawthorn & roses caress the path. Contrasting foliage sizes & colors are easy drama. Why don't more people do it?
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The Chinese snowball tree and weeping red cut-leaf Japanese maple block views of neighbor's homes. And add repetition from other parts of my landscape. Ooh-la-la I love to show off with Chinese snowballs.
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A dear friend carried those stones home from camping trips in north Georgia. Turning 40 he sold every possession and moved north to be with family. A disconcerting estate sale but I came home with books & stones. He wouldn't let me pay for the stones. Two months later, my dear friend moved back to Georgia. Enough family, I suppose. Over a decade later Georgia is where he remains.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

5 comments:

Ewa said...

Chinese snowballs look great.
I love the way you placed them together with other plants. What is the lowest green plant?
I prefer to turn lawn into interesting landscapes :)

Laura Z said...

Nice rocks! I have a thing for stones too. I'm always bringing home something colorful and fun from a hiking trip. --And putting a 20 pound rock in your backpack is a great way to improve your workout! :)

lady jicky said...

great idea and more people would do it if they were in a drought like we are and we cannot water and the price of said water has increased!
Love your rocks - they look like they have been there since time began and the is the secret isn't it?
You reminded me of the movie where lucy and hubby buy a caravan and she collects rocks from everywhere they stop - I think it was called "the long Caravan" - Very Funny as all Lucy movies were!

Things That Inspire said...

I know it sounds dramatic, but you know what popped into my mind? This picture is a visual symphony - with the different textures, heights, colors. Beautiful.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Beautiful contrast!