How To & How Not: Creating a Landscape

Another example, below, designing a garden as backdrop to your life.

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What does that mean?

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Of course the ubiquitous necessities: beautiful, low maintenance, organic.

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"I can live without the necessities but I must have the luxuries," Miss Katherine Scott, close friend of my grandma, said in conversation when I was 8 years old.  Doubtless you already know Miss Katherine Scott taught Flannery O'Connor her first college writing class, English 101, General College Composition.

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Back to the garden & making it a backdrop to your life.

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Aside from being able to go into my garden, (note: any garden I design/install is forever 'my' garden) and shoot a roll of 36, each worthy of a magazine/book cover, impromptu life scenes must have incredible setting/backdrop, a daughter getting married, cats being crazy cute, a friend at lunch, a grandchild's 1st birthday party, a spouse arriving home with the great news of a big award, a teenager having a sweet 16 with her best friends, and etc...  

Designed, less than 5 years ago, path, above, on axis with the porch & opposite axis from drive, then overdosed theme with flagstones, pairs of boxwood, gate, etc.

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Photographer knew my intention, above, and it is the 1st bride's photo posted by the event planner.  

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This is how I 'check' my work, creating a life of its own.  

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Understanding the core value of Miss Katherine Scott in my gardens via these 2 photos, above/below.

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In college I was trained/taught to design gardens EXACTLY as, below.  Degreed less than 5 seconds I knew I couldn't design a garden to save my soul, or any soul.  With no money, but pure grit, I began 2+ decades studying historic gardens across Europe.

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Landscape of necessity, below.

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Garden of luxury, above.

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Cannot believe I saw this pic, above, recently, online.  Total incurves, outcurves, drifts, specimens, contrasting shapes, be sure to use odd numbers, contrasting textures.  Everything I went to Europe to unlearn.

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Understood Miss Katherine, age 8, five decades later, feeling as though I'm paid to play.

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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara

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Met with clients last Saturday morning to run through plan/bid for their garden.  Mentioned the garden as backdrop, to the husband, for all that is arriving ahead for their 2 little boys with events/pictures at home, knowing he was unaware of Miss Katherine Scott's motto, and his eyes glazed over a bit, he smiled politely.  No matter, the choice was made for him.  I can design no other way.  He will understand, his epiphany will arrive.  

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Top Pic, Brita Photography, bottom pic here.