How To Hide Air-Conditioner

A century old home, below.  Can you see the air-conditioners?  Dining room, living room, kitchen & garden all view the air-conditioners, below.

 Copying the siding of the house, above, we had a tight fit for window views & height of a/c units.

Siding panels are removable of course.  Did you notice the gravel, above?  Makes maintenance easier.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Pics taken yesterday at a client's home.

Pollinator Habitat

Maximum pollinator habitat intersects agriculture & ornamental horticulture.

More pollinators, more food production.
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It's not rocket science.
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Elements of pollinator habitat, above?
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Canopy, understory, walls, groundcovers, high density, low density & etc.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Pic taken in Hayesville, NC last weekend.

How To Place Stones

A pair of stones is the minimum, below.

 One stone reaching for the sky, one representing earth.

When these ridges were made, above, continents hadn't split.  The Atlantic Ocean was in the future.
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Seeing the lichens knowing they have no vascular system.
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These stones were sited before my friend moved into her Hayesville, NC home.  The builder obviously a Stone Whisperer.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Cute: Curb Your Dog

About 7" tall, below.

Too cute.
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Remember, Cute Kills in a landscape design.
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There is an exception to every rule.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

Sir Roy Strong & The Laskett

Sir Roy Strong's garden & home have been bequeathed to the nation.

 Sir Roy Strong lectured at the Atlanta History Center almost 2 decades ago.  His wife, the famous set designer Julia Trevelyan Oman came along too.

 Since that lecture I've been electrified by Sir Roy & his garden, The Laskett.

An incredible gift.  I cannot imagine his thoughts leading to his decision.
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Will be interesting to see how he has the legal papers written.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Laskett, below, my beloved.  A little proof of my adoration of Sir Roy Strong's garden.

Pics from article in the Daily Mail.

1913 Exterior Sconce

Passing an old building in Augusta, GA my father said he proposed to my mother there.  I didn't care about the romance, I was in junior high.  It was the old building and its accouterments fascinating me.  

Decades pass & I found a light fixture, above, exactly like the Augusta building had.  With attitude I payed almost $20 for it, thinking it should have been much less.  Enjoyed it in my garden ever since.
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Yesterday I was looking for sconces online and found MY light fixture.  They have several for sale, notated a date of 1913, and are a cool $1,600.00.
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Girl has a new attitude!
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Pic and sales information, here.

..."Remodel Central Park, ca. 1910"

 "It's time," said Mr. Hustler," to remodel Central Park; At present it's as out-of-date as Noah and his ark."  R. H. Titherington in "Life," July 28, 1910.

On March 4, 1891, "Garden & Forest," was quoted as support of the 1910 demand to remodel.  It goes,

"A park such as is now under consideration should be primarily and essentially a rural retreat, . . . its highest purpose is not to furnish instruction, nor pure air, nor a place for exercise on foot or on horseback, but to furnish that relief and repose of mind which natural scenery brings to those who are wearied by city sights and sounds. . . .  Of course, a park designed and constructed with such a leading motive will not fail to furnish pure air and a field for exercise and opportunity for study; but, if it is designed primarily with subordinate uses, its highest purpose will not be reached."
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Landscape Architecture, A Quarterly Magazine, October, 1910.
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Pics from Trees and Shrubs of Central Park
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara

Choose A Trinity Of Colors

A new project with a small landscape, 1200 square foot cottage, & tight budget is exciting my muse.  Already know it must be Green, Brown & White in the landscape.

(Pic via Compulsively Compiled, above.)

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 Green, Brown & White, the trinity of Providence, is serene, elegant, and oddly, low maintenance by default.  

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More odd, choosing Green, Brown & White in a landscape never looks like a project on a budget.  

Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara

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Took the 2nd pic last year, abandoned home near Athens, GA.

Decorating With Dogs

Just inside the front door are several good views, below.  Their art from other continents & centuries.

 At your feet, just outside the front door, below.

 With a note on top of the cooler, below, due to their beloved dog.  He's ALL dog.

Wife & husband are on the prowl, and asked me to join, for antique chest or SOMETHING aesthetic for boxed deliveries.
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Can't wait to see what we find!
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Garden & Be Well,    XO   Tara
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During this project, garden-painting-remodeling-deck-custom cupola-stone wall/path/patio, their dog took every lunch & bottled water set down by anyone.  Before partaking he pranced amongst his audience delighting in his loot.

Door Knocker

New garden rooms, painting, windows replaced with French doors, & more, she was 

 ready for a door knocker.  Above, her choice,  Rocky Mountain Hardware, E418 Round Escutcheon.

The Baldwin, above, was similar but a bit 'safe'.  You know, how Tina Turner starts Proud Mary.
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Knocker, top, has character, depth, age, texture.
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Garden & Be Well,       XO Tara
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Every choice for a garden is nuanced.  Your garden?  The Baldwin might be THE one!  Remember: overdose on a theme, and, dinky is stinky.
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Both pics via Door Hardware USA

Tree Seats

I was reading, Make Way For Lucia, by EF Benson, on the tree seat yesterday.  A letter arrived from Sandy this morning, it's on the banister, waiting for me to get to the tree seat.

 Mary's coming for lunch, we're finishing the homemade soup & cornbread.  Can't wait to hear our crunch on the gravel & Mary's stories, always full of laughter.

Before passionate lust for the next NEW thing arrives, interior monologues begin.
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Isn't it obvious I'll be getting an iron tree seat?  Don't know when.  But I will.
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LUST MANAGEMENT.
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How do you handle your garden lust/s?
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Garden & Be Well,            XO Tara
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Pics from Peter Weldon Iron Designs.  Am I really crazy, thinking the Beehive tree seat could go inside a Florida Room????? !!!

Vines On A Wood House?

Vines on a wood house?  No.  There are ways but I'm too lazy.  Vine clinging to stucco/stone, below,

 a case of desire from Italy.  Can't do it with your wood home?  No problem.  Espalier a woody shrub.

 Whatever your zone, choose a hardy woody shrub and espalier the pruning.

 Abelia, viburnum, hydrangea, camellia, tea olive, and more can be planted & espaliered.
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Use a woody (Why woody?  No wire/trellis needed.) shrub as a 'vine' on your wood home.
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Don't buy shrubs already espaliered, buy big shrubs and prune them into espalier.  On camellia, and many others, this saves over $100+.
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Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara
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Carolina jessamine was growing on my baywindow.  Gone, too much work.  Espaliered a huge oakleaf hydrangea,  2nd pic from bottom.

Old Trinities Are The Best

Don't recreate the wheel.  Choose successful trinities.

Penelope Bianchi sent this pic over the weekend.  She had a question about her vines.
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Epiphany for another Tara Trinity: Vines, Gravel & Boxwood.
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Vines, Gravel, & Boxwood have worked for centuries in the best & most charming gardens.
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Tara Trinities?  Shade perennials: Hosta, Helleborus & Ferns.  Shrubs: Azalea, Camellia, Hydrangea.  & etc.
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I'm sure you see trinities you adore all the time.
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Garden & Be Well,      XO Tara
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Recently received a 1940 cottage project.  Vines, Boxwood & Gravel?  You bet !!!!
 

Sir Roy Strong & Mirabel Osler

Sir Roy Strong & Mirabel Osler will be in conversation

October 19, 2011, Castle House Hotel.
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Both Strong & Osler are authors of  "life, gardens and travel."
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Please, go, if you can & put it all on YouTube for me/me/me.
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Look closely at the path, above.   Melts my heart.
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Garden & Be Well,      XO Tara
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Pic & more information via Hereford Times.  A garden nerd I have Sir Roy Strong on google alerts.  Monty Don too.

Begin Inside

Landscape Design begins inside your home.  Site lines, axis, from your main views.

In college they taught Landscape Design from the street looking in.
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Beauty designed outwardly is beautiful in its opposite direction.  Something I had to learn on my own about Landscape Design.  Of course the historic landscapes of Italy began inside the villa.....
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From this desk, above, is my Woodland Walk, aka, air-conditioning side of the house.  With azaleas, camelias & hydrangeas, I don't see the a/c.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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At this desk I pretend I know how to watercolor !!!

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Appear Less. Be More.

"If you have a closet full of clothes, and nothing to wear, you don't know yourself very well."  Bill Blass

If you have a landscape full of plants, and not a fabulous garden, you don't know yourself very well.
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From Advanced Style, "Appear less. Be more."
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Landscape more.  Garden less.
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My career overflows with the type of  woman, on the blog, Advanced Style.  
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Look at these women, they equal fabulous landscapes, CONFIDENT.
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These women stretch me, expand my comfort zone, make me feel 14 years old as I approach their landscape design.  Russell Page, blessedly, said, a garden designer SHOULD feel a little fear with each project.
Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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Pic of Mimi Weddell, by Bryant Woodd, via Advanced Style.
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Seeking creative inspiration is a daily joy.  Hunting/gathering from music, books, friends, solitude, exercise, pets, gardens, what I say 'no' to,  & more.

Stretch Chair

ABC Carpet & Home,

Stretch Chair, by Carnevale Studio.
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Of course I would need 6 in the garden.  At $89 I thought, "No, need to get the fruit trees & boxwoods first."
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You KNOW I was reading too fast, Stretch Chair, $895.00.  Ha, and I decided $89 was too much for me !
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Pic from the ABC Home site.

Creating Dining Spaces: Inside & Out

An odd thing happens when plans are drawn for the Landscape.

More dining areas are created inside.  Better views, drawing you toward them, if you're not already drawn outside to dine.
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It's a small drama, wondering, "hmmmm, where do I want to eat?", but sublime.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara

Cottage Garden: Layered On Formality

Flagstones, edged in brick, below.  Bricks hidden for a few weeks in a cottage garden facade.

 Self-seeding blue ageratum were, indeed, pruned to create a narrow foot path.

 A look of the country, in this tiny subdivision with minuscule lots, within a metro area of millions.

 10 weeks, no appreciable rains.  Doubts the blue ageratum would bloom on schedule?  None !

Variegated boxwood, above, in a large formal terra cotta pot.  Engulfed in a sea of ageratum.  A temporary bouquet.
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A change for the season in color and style.  Soon, the formal lines of winter will return to my little flagstone terrace.  And the terra cotta pot will return.
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Garden & Be Well,       XO Tara
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Pics taken last week in my garden.  Yes, garden cat Torte De Shelle following me.  It was hard to prune the walking path, wanting to keep it solid meadow.  Ha, I had to get thru !!!  Reality intruded.  Plans for the fruit orchard are percolating.  Trees will probably come from the big box hardware store & boxwoods from a wholesaler.  If this sounds formal, it is.  Love a good meadow, cottage garden AND formal lines too.