Studying the best historic gardens in Italy, decades ago, it was obvious their gardens are in relationship to the home/villa.
.
USA landscapes, I was taught in college, are to be designed from the street, looking at the house. Preferably by testosterone-on-wheels-mow-blow-go-commodify-all-I-touch. (Zillion situations where this is fine, too.)
.
Easy to understand the joy/love getting my horticulture degree, yet agony in its belief system. Hence, trotting off to Europe for decades, truly learning about gardens.
Yesterday, on Pinterest, I saw both homes, above/below.
.
Zero school needed, to decipher which garden is European or USA style.
.
One garden is in relationship with its house, the other, tacked-on quite adequately.
.
Yet, both gardens have the same ingredients.
.
When a garden is not in relationship to the house, aside from it likely being the builder's special du jour, I call them Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Donkey gardens.
.
2 pics, all you need to become an expert at deciphering a garden in relationship to its house or a pin-the-tail-on-the-Donkey garden.
.
I adore learning thru pictures.
.
Vanishing threshold gardens are first designed from inside the home, not the street.
.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
.
The thing about 'judging' anonymous gardens is unfair. Please don't think I'm doing it here.
.
Too many reasons a garden cannot be judged. One never knows if it's a job loss, elderly widowed owner, alcoholism or other addiction may live inside, major health issues, working too many hours with travel included, some people are happily oblivious with deep interests elsewhere, & etc,
.
For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.
.
Award winning speaker, hire me for your group, local/out-of-state.
.
Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon
.
Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.
.
Construction by Award Winning
Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction. Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC. 3 decades of service.
NOTE to my gardening friends... look for changes to come.
Knew before computers/cell phones, sitting in Atlanta traffic on way to a client, 'I must reach a larger audience with the same amount of effort.' Soon after that epiphany I signed my CBS-TV, and, books contracts on the same day.
.
Then I read an article in the NYTimes about something called 'blogging'. Saved the article for a year before reading it. Studied all the blogs they mentioned, hired a computer expert they quoted, and attended a blogging seminar.
.
Blogging 2.0 has arrived, my knowledge is 1.0. A believer in copying the best historic gardens across the globe it flows into every arena of life. Watching Maria Killam grow her career/blog/life over the past 3 years made its impact. Signed up for a year's course with her blogging expert, Jon Morrow.
.
Changes will be slow, plodding is my adored method. Pulling triggers here/there is spice in the mix.
.
.
What do YOU want?
.
Nothing is too small, too big, or too ego crushing to mention.
.
Passion lies in sharing what has filled me to the depths of grace, joy & atonement, the best landscapes created over the last 2,000+ years.
Just so you know...
I welcome your input.
5 comments:
THAT TOP photo has to be in the SOUTH!Love the house.......that long skinny window too!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TARA...............
Your commets today on the Blog are great. Every plant, tree, stone, bench, etc here at my home and garden was designed from a chair I would sit at in the sun room. Everything was design "inside - out". I would stake everything before it was build, planted, even trimmed. I like your approach - obviously. Thanks Jack
Great contrast...though I always look for the 1st image (garden and architecture related), and I see it so often in the SW, the more I look. Here, it rarely has a lawn of any size, either.
I like the top one, less grass to mow. Merry Christmas Tara. It must be 3 years I know you now. Hope you have a very prosperous New year.
yvonne
As always, brilliant. And I love your "no judging" comment because yes, there are many reasons that someone may not be able to keep up their garden. In my neighborhood, which began gentrifying many years ago, we now have neighbors who no longer renovate the houses they buy but instead purchase a fully renovated or faux old home complete with a "built" landscape. It is unfortunate when they criticize neighbors of many years who have struggled to make the neighborhood safe and perhaps had to expend their resources somewhere else in the past years. (like taking the burglar bars off the doors and windows by hand!)
Post a Comment