Design Your Garden for Winter (not spring): Beauty All Year

Best epiphany about the garden in winter?  Designing the garden for winter is superior to other seasons.  A garden beautiful in February is beautiful all year.
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Rosemary Verey's book, The Garden in Winter, is your source for this epiphany if you're in a bit of doubt.
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In addition to winter being the best season to create a Garden Design, another realm is included, simplicity.  Into those realms, considered micro, is the full blown macro garden in winter.  Your life. 
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Winter's pace is meant to be.  Winter's events in the garden are meant to be.  Pining for the glories of spring in winter?  Not me, never have.  Winter is deep strength in the garden.  A season controlling how we dress, our circadian cycle, our activity levels, and what the activities are, and more.



Pic, above, here.

At the front end, I knew Garden Design, below, was not for me, my station in life.  Middle class, subdivision, working for a living.  Ten good staff, but they are all on my own hands.  Could not have been more wrong.  Instead of seeing the Garden Design, below, I saw station-in-life.  Guess what else I didn't see, below, at the front end?  Yep, the garden in winter, how to design her. 
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Pic, above, here.
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Now, this is what I know, below.  Garden Design does not vary for station in life, it varies by your intensity of perception, whispering the details, taking them for your own.  In the taking, lives are born.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Garden design, both pics, above, are the same.  Both pics are a complete garden design class for the garden in winter.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Studying historic gardens across the globe for decades, I've been into many art museums in different countries too.  Having the art of Providence, above, in my own garden?  Priceless.  Finding these scenes upon a winter's day, a casual walk/perusal, makes time disappear.  Timelessness of other realms become the reality, the unconscious begins its serious work of creativity, grace, joy, peace, putting connections together. 
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Pic, above, here.

If you don't have a garden work area yet, put thought to it in winter.

 
Pic, above, here.
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The garden in winter is inside your home too.  Mainly from the views looking out, which is where every garden begins.  Bring the garden inside physically, all year, especially in winter.

 
Pic, above, here.
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What shrubs for your zone with bare stems in winter will bud/open when cut & brought inside?  Don't know?  Contact your local Extension Service, etc.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Bulbs usually go on sale in winter, cheap/easy to pot.  Adore this grow box, below, never seen one before.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Bringing a few plants inside for winter, below.  Finally, have done this for myself this year.  Take heart, I'm 30 years into it.  Life was never conducive to interior plants, took the plunge in December.
Discovered a trick, not pleasant at first, about a winter's interior plant table.
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Found at local thrift store for a song, that table, when I moved into my house 2.5 years ago, was stowed with the cats in a back room.  A few fur balls later, the table had a bad side.  No problem, brought table out and put that side next to a wall.
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Life conspired further, work travel.  My pet sitter, cats/chickens, is the best.  But adding topiaries to her duties did not seem polite.  Pulled a leaf up on the mahogany table, placed copper trays filled with water, from Smith/Hawken, for humidity, watered pots/foliage, left for over a week. 
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All was great with chicks/cats and topiaries.  Alas the mahogany dropleaf table.  Unpleasant to be honest, but I've ruined the table.  Took a couple of days to get over the fact of ruining a good piece of furniture.  Get over it I did !
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Whoever gets the table after me, has the choice to keep using it roughly, or refinish.  It's solid, no veneer.  Until then, I have a fabulous interior winter plant table.  Then I noticed other winter plant tables, below, and they are spotted just the same as mine.  On trend, go me.         

 
Pic, above, here.
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Bringing plants inside for winter, below, pay attention to their containers.  I found almost the exact wood container, below, about 3 years ago.  Bought it as a gift for a friend, she brings plants inside.  Then I moved, who knew where that planter went.  Once my topiary order arrived last December I rummaged through the basement.  Found that container, below.  Now it's mine, no thought of giving it away.  Found a classic antique plant stand for it at an estate sale last month too.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Your interior plants don't need to be repotted if you have a variety of soup tureens, clay pots, baskets, other weird containers, to slip them into, below. 
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Soup tureens with a crack or chip are easy to find, and cheap.  Perfect for interior plants.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Bunny Mellon is famous for her topiary use inside, below, all year.  Discovered recently she liked the idea of topiaries after seeing them in ancient Roman artwork.  I've copied her, topiaries, below, are a copy of her, and next maybe you.


Pic, above, here.
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The garden in winter, at its best, below.  How many years have I done these, but outside on my winter patio?  Decades.  Better, branches are easy to procure, free.


Pic, above, here.
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The garden in winter, below.  The pot could be black plastic from the nursery.  Doesn't matter.  Wicker goes with everything. 

 
Pic, above, here.
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Have found several of these containers, below, at thrift stores thru the years.  Line with plastic, add soil, poke a few holes, plant the bulbs.  Done.  Stagger planting times, leave outside, bring inside when started to grow, or skip the outside part.  Don't overthink. 

 
Pic, above, here.
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Perhaps the least understood garden design, for me, at the front end, below.  Glad through-a-glass-darkly became clear.  It's about all year beauty, ease of management, living life in the garden, not living life having to work in the garden. 

 
Pic, above, here.
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Giving a Garden in Winter talk tomorrow, handout, below.  Pay no attention to the plants, it's for our zone 8a.  Plants are first on the handout, yet the most important Garden in Winter facts are at the bottom.  It's all about the Garden Design.
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Have a lovely powerpoint to go with it. 
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It's in a historic church 1 county over.  A large group, and active.  More than gardening, this group is proactive politically, historically, conservation, agriculturally, planning/zoning, and etc.  It's amazing what you learn at Garden Club.  If you think it's all about gardening, it's not.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

                                TARADILLARD.com

                                       SEEN ON CBS, NBC, HGTV, PBS      

                                                    NATIONAL AWARD WINNING

                                                 AUTHOR, DESIGNER, SPEAKER

                                                    TaraDillard@AGardenView.biz

                                                                  678-933-1514

                                                   Beautiful garden, beautiful life.             ******************************************************

                THE GARDEN IN WINTER

******************************************************

COPYRIGHT 2018  BY TARA DILLARD

PERENNIALS

Carex                                Vinca minor

Rosemary                          Thrift

Thyme                                Dianthus ‘Bath Pink’

Saxifraga stolonifera         Helleborus

Liriope                               Mondo

Christmas Fern

TREES

Prunus mume

Contorted Filbert                     Cryptomeria

Chimonanthus praecox           Crape myrtle

Acer griseum                           Magnolia

Corylopsis glabrescens             Holly

Hamamelis                               Conifers

Tea Olive

SHRUBS

Camellia             Sarcoccoca      Aspidistra       Lonicera fragrantissima

Daphne               Pieris               Skimmia         Boxwood

Quince                Edgeworthia   Anise                Aucuba

Holly                   Kerria             Hydrangea       Azalea

Scotch broom      Plum Yew      Yew                                    

VINES                                 BULBS

Carolina jessamine               Crocus             Winter aconite    Colchicum luteum   Snowdrops

Evergreen clematis               Scilla sibirica     Grape hyacinth     Iris reticulata     Anemone blanda

Jasmine ‘Madison’

DESIGN:  Know What’s Important

Axis                    Trees                    Color             Texture      Photograph/Feb    

Focal Points        Hedges                 Silhouettes   Fragrance   Ruined Table

Paths                   Groundcovers      Line               Rooms       Vanishing Threshold

The Garden In Winter, by Rosemary Verey,  Beautiful By Design, by Tara Dillard

A Southern Garden, by Elizabeth Lawrence ,  The Garden View, by Tara Dillard

Where Garden Design Begins

Matisse, below.  Didn't pay close attention to Henri until seeing several of his works at the High Museum in downtown Atlanta, Ga.  Walking into 'his' space, seeing a work straight ahead, about 8 steps, knees/legs gave way, and I almost fell to the ground.
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His piece was painted in a single plane. 
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In the deepest parts of my soul, exactly how I lived in my home/garden.  A single plane.
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Know where to begin your Garden Design?  Answer, below.  You begin inside your home looking out.
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Pic, above, here.
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More, there is something to bringing plants/flowers inside, below.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Though small, bringing a plant/flower inside imbues beyond any known scale.

 
Pic, above, here.

 
Pic, above, here.
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In my house, below. 

 
Pic, above, in my ca. 1986 home.


Pic, above, in my office, our ca. 1900 home.
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I believe in Historic Garden Design rules, they allow you to be more you.  Aside from making life more beautiful, easier, and beloved by Earth, Historic Garden Design rules are the original sustainable.
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Rules are meant to be broken.
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Rose bush, above, fake.
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Didn't want you to think there is a level of personal arrogance about live plants/flowers in your home.   
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T

Planting Bulbs: A New Method

Back from a trip to visit mom on Galveston Bay, in the home I was raised.  Visits, now, always include gardening.  Oddly, because I don't remember it happening, ever, growing up, nor until the past few years, green scum grows on the outside of her windows.  Whatever, it's on the list with pruning and weeding.  What's more filth while gardening, aside from pure joy ! 
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This morning, unexpectedly, huge garden day.  Last time I had a day this big, was over a decade ago, reading Graham Stuart Thomas.     



Reading Pentreath & Hall Inspiration, typically posted Monday mornings, I've known for awhile to enjoy the anticipation of its arrival.   
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Remember well, reading in bed, learning from Graham Stuart Thomas, where the bed was, what color the walls were, the carpet hadn't been replaced with heart-of-pine yet, and which lamp was on the bedside table. 
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Amusing, today I'm in my favorite antique wicker chair, window facing the morning sun, cow pastures beyond, a few of our century old pecan trees, with a light skim of condensation on the windows, wanting badly to be frost. 
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Yes, today I will remember, long after its gone.  Planting bulbs, below, this part I knew.  Somehow I've always known, always, not to use a bulb planter.  If you can count the number of flowers, you don't have enough.  Dinky is stinky.  When ordering bulbs, scare yourself, buy far more than you can afford.   
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Beyond thrilling, below.  How to properly plant a bulb bed.  Never, would I have figured out using those boards.  Never.
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Moving along the bulb bed, below. 
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Made a mistake gardening at mom's.  Should have put a beanie hat on, above.  My hairdresser had open heart surgery this summer, hair has not been trimmed since & is much too long.  Pruning the small tree outside my childhood bedroom window, my hair got caught in the tightly packed branches/stems/foliage.  You haven't lived until you've been stuck to a tree, by your hair.  Had to drop the long handled pruners, and somehow unweave my hair, arms/hands, reaching well above my head. 
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Working at the side of the house, neighbors weren't home, no one drove by, I don't think anyone saw, this gardening fail.  Last time I was stuck to my garden by my hair, almost 2 decades ago, I was on my stomach underneath a long hedge.  That hair/foliage knot was worse.  Now you know, not my first rodeo with this type garden fail. 
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Still learning major new garden skills, still making ridiculous mistakes.
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Life is good.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T
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Pics, above, Pentreath & Hall.

Pot Narratives

Choosing pots for your garden, choose pots fabulous empty.  Another aid in choosing a pot, ask yourself, "Is this pot so wonderful it will be fought over at my estate sale?"
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Within threads of choosing pots choose for color too.
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This pot, doesn't need to be planted, will look marvelous empty.
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Perhaps the pot planting, below, is a 10" plastic pot sold as a hanging basket, with the hanger clipped off.


Pic, above, here.
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Get your pots at the right height.  Use a plinth, above. 
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This pot is doing heavy lifting in the Garden Design realm.  Did you notice already?  More than merely a focal point for this photograph.  This pot, above, is a focal point from more than a single direction. 
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The more axis a focal point has, the better the focal point.
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See it, do it.
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Funny how much narrative the Garden Design realm performs.  Seems so easy at the front end.  Until someone points out your focal point needs a plinth, and multiple axis.  In addition to that estate sale question.
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See it, do it?  Easy?  Requires that Johnny Cash bit, Meditate-on-it.
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Garden & Be Well,  XOT
 

Decadent & Austere

Creating a Garden Design I ask for several layers of narrative.  One, a mission statement, no more than 2-3 sentences of what you want from and for your landscape.  Some clients don't have that type of brain, so I ask for 2-3 sentences describing their finished garden.
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Years ago I began keeping journals.  Not written entries of my day/week kind of journals.  Too simple, beyond boring.  Journals to elevate the days/weeks of my life, no matter its days.  In spite of some of those days.
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Several themes emerged.  Both gardens, below, living large one of those themes, pairs of words.  First pairing of words to emerge, Sacred & Profane.  Remains as delightful as first discovered, excepting now an old friend 'pairing'.


Pic, above, here.
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Both gardens, above/below, intensely restrained prosceniums yet overtly decadent in metaphor, Decadent/Austere. 


Pic, above, here.
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A sacred/profane trip to small town, south Georgia, Americana presented itself this Thanksgiving.  Couldn't pass it by.  A courthouse square, and the night of Thanksgiving, lighting of the Christmas tree and strands of lights from the courthouse to ancillary buildings/streets.
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Sacred & Profane, small town, still using religion and commerce.  A total joy, no one deluded.  Not even Santa, he was total game, ahead of turning the lights on, exactly on time, Santa drove around the Courthouse Square in his sleigh, bottom pic, reindeer included. 
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Before pulling Santa, below, the reindeer were corralled and snacking.



Blurry, below, Santa & his reindeer were moving fast around the square.  Santa had to get that tree and lights lit, signalling the beginning of shopping on the square.  Later, I realized I didn't know who paid for the gorgeous extravaganza.  Chamber of commerce, churches, a mix ?  No worries, the crowd was huge, and the underlying intent, profane, honored the sacred.
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Bought a new journal book, shopping on the square, after Santa lit the lights.  The next morning, up early, cozied in a chair by the Christmas village, with coffee and new journal, hoping for something good to enter.  The hotel coming to life, the ladies cooked a fragrant  breakfast, TV tuned to Macy's parade coming on soon.
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Time flew, the reading was good.  Many pairs of words.
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Mystery/Meaning, Creation/Transcendence, Law/Grace, Righteousness/Corruption, Universalism/Particularism, Pious/Secular, Compassion/Violence, Justice/Judging, Prayer/Listening, Ultimate/Common, Mystery/Reason, Ideas/Realities.  Are you conscious of word pairings too?
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With word pairs came quotes.
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"Vocation is a gift not a goal."  Parker Palmer
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"Design at its core, thrives when a human being cares enough to do work that touches another----it doesn't thrive when it gets more efficient."  Seth Godin.
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Before the internet most clients, in their mission statements included, easy-to-maintain, and not-cost-a-lot.  Efficient, yes?
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After the internet I'm not asked to include little maintenance/money.  Why?  Greater understanding of what a good garden is, from those hiring me.  Good gardens don't have low maintenance/cheap in their mission statement.  That paring flows, more deeply, and is inherent, designing a garden that will change your life.  Seth Godin nailed it, again.
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What pair of words describe the garden you have, or want to create?
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Garden & Be Well,   XOT   

Thinking Like Nicky Haslam & Bunny Mellon

Garden writing.  In the macro.  During the 80's House & Garden, and Horticulture magazine, were electric.  Editors knew who to hire for their garden articles, which gardens were acceptable, for both photography and words.  More importantly they knew how to edit, aka, curate.  Blessed was the era. 
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I see clothing, food, health, interior design writing/photography and still find good hiring and curating.  Getting their message, mission, conveyed.
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All the clothing/lifestyle ideas, below, point toward action, see/do.  An informed attitude, curated.  See it, get it, do it.  No where do I see, below, details about how to wash the clothes, dry the clothes, perhaps iron, buff the shoes, apply the make-up, etc. 
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You've taken my point.  With garden writing, I take you for having intelligence, wit, and nuance.   


Pic, above, here.
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Pic, above, here.
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Pic, above, is a garden writing pic.  Yet, again, produced outside the garden writing venue, interior design.  Many thanks to interior design writing/photography honoring the garden, as greatly as they do.
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Garden design begins inside your home, from the views looking out.  No surprise the owner of this home, above, is also a famous gardener, Nicky Haslam, who is, in addition, a well known interior designer, bon vivant, singer, writer... 
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Would be good to see a collage, similar to the top pic, next to the pic, above.  More, and have it be a normal part of the processes of garden writing.  Me?  Yes, I want to be that garden writer, but for the filthy lucre, my plate is full, garden designing, contracting, speaking, writing.  No worries, working on this idea, finally beyond the macro, into the micro. 
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As I write about garden-writing and how it comes up short, so, too, Nicky Haslam, “Decoration has become a faintly pejorative word...  There is almost no acknowledgment of the design world and its contribution to the economy by our government but there are endless accolades for fashion.”   
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Several years ago, Georgia was in a dire drought, and the governor turned off the water for all outdoor garden use, all.  Harm to the horticulture industry was extreme.  Two leaders, from agriculture and horticulture, put together their facts/figures about their respective industries, with their combined value to the Georgia economy, in sales & jobs.  They made an appointment with the governor, 48 hours later Georgia's water was turned back on, with restrictions, but water flowed. 
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Perhaps you merely thought I was writing about the state of garden writing, isn't-that-quaint type of foolishness.  Money is on the table.  And, being lost.
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Big money, at least the governor thought so.
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Garden & Be Well,    XOT
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Finally arrayed my interiors with evergreen topiaries.  Delivered to the front porch last week.  A box full of thriving plants & a box of books delivered to the doorstep are one of life's delights.  Plant stands, antique ironstone saucers, trays, baskets, terra cotta pots, ironstone cache pots, sourced for years, waiting.  Beyond the garden design conceit, for centuries, having plants on the windowsill, top pic, and elsewhere inside, Bunny Mellon, perfected interior topiary to its own art, almost the raison d'etre of her interior design.  Remember, see it/get it/do it, from above ?  Seeing Bunny's interiors, I knew to trust having evergreen topiaries. 
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Pic, above, Fred Conrad, here. 
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Adore the off hand, seemingly lower than subsidiary focal point, topiary, above, with Bunny. 
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Meeting with a client yesterday, wildly fabulous appointment (we flagged her new drive/parking court/front walk), I mentioned to her what happened, bringing the topiaries into my interiors.  No words for their impact, excepting one, spiritual.  My client immediately said, "Of course they are, that's why flowers are brought to someone in the hospital."  Reminded me of a friend's home, perhaps the best interior decorator I know, yet she's never done it professionally.  Her interiors so incredible, the very air is designed more fabulous.  Again, no good words for describing her work.  And, she always has a live plant as part of her interior design. 
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"I don’t really come by to pray,” Mellon once told the rector of an Episcopalian church in the Norman medieval style that she financed and helped design. “I come in to talk with God because he’s a dear, dear friend of mine."  From,  NYTimes Bunny Mellon obituary, here.
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Also, from her obituary, "...shockingly extravagant and studiously understated: Her aesthetic motto was “nothing should be noticed.”  Recently a client texted me that quote.  It had impacted her too.  I had first read it in the obituary.
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With a long time client last week, delving into a new life layer with house/garden, we sat together vision questing.  Almost the full tapestry of 'life' woven throughout.  I had mentioned Bunny Mellon xyz.  Whatever.  Leaving the appointment, standing in her back hallway toward the door, she hands me a photo torn from a magazine years ago,  something else she wants for her garden.  It was a photo of Bunny Mellon's arbor allee of crabapple trees.  
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Putting topiaries in my home did not provide the expected results.  Instead, far greater has been gained than imagined.  

Beyond the Obvious: This Gate's Full Mission

Born a Garden Whisperer, holes were left in that primordial gift.  Holes created before birth, when thousands of years of Gardening transitioned from pastoral to industrial, less than 200 years ago. 
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Decades of my life passed before I knew anything was missing.  True to form, lacking knowledge about gardening never stopped me from knowing what it was all about.  The grand gift of Providence to all.  We are set on this garden of Earth, soil, plants, sun/moon, livestock, pastures, weather, poof, we're each an expert.  It's just dirt, right?
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For the few choosing to seriously Garden, realization arrives, in our industrialized era, we have no vocabulary to describe gardening.
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Little time to go deeper, instead, will give you a huge hint about what our era has lost.  Providence never separated horticulture from agriculture.  Still doesn't.  We separate it at our own peril, and do.  Mostly without realization.  No judgment.  How could I?  Lived decades, seriously Gardening, before awakening.
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All of the, above, is about the gate, below.  Secondarily about its brick wall.


Pic, above, here.
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So, the gate, above.
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Pretty, is obvious.  It's form chosen with love, care, purpose.
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Go further, to its function, look past its form.
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Can you tell me the gate's diligent purpose in function?  Beyond the macro, to the micro.
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Seriously, why is the gate formed to function exactly as it is?  Beyond pretty, there is serious business taking place with this gate.
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How did I discover the purpose of this gate's function?  Working for a client, on a farm.  As Providence intended, discovery working from a pastoral life.  Not that industrialization is bad, but the lifestyle of stewardship pastoral living conveys into us has been lost, in the macro, and too much of the micro, with industrialization.
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Getting to the understanding of this gate, and its function, was deeply humbling.  What else am I not
seeing?  If I didn't get-it about this type of gate for so many decades.
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Wildly tempted to not tell you, here, the purpose of this gate's function.  Wanting you to think for yourself.  Not a bit of arrogance, more, sharing in how I adore to learn.
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My grandmother would have known exactly why this gate has its form for its function.  Born early 20th century, raised on a farm, pastoral.  She was living fully in the industrialized era by the time I was born.
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No.  You figure it out.  The gate's full purpose.  My gift to you, figuring it out.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T
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Would not have figured it out myself, without having clients on farms.  Once discovered, OBVIOUS, basic.  Simplicity of answer, a life epiphany.  Pastorally, the answer is 1st order thinking.  Industrialized, I could not have answered it, without dipping into pastoral.  What more have we lost, living industrialized?
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Remember your math book from high school?  It would have a few of the answers at the back of the book, so you could check your work, but not all.  Ha, this is one of those.  The answer is not down here, it's for you to own and enjoy.
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Pic, above, a gate in my garden.
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This gate, above, would be no good, for a potager walled garden.  Chickens can get thru.  Lose an entire crop of seedlings?  Damage beyond repair dozens of crop plants?  Not an option, when the food you grow is mostly the only food you have.

Blank Wall Garden Design

Blank Wall Garden Design. 
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Your home/garden, do you have a bit of blank wall to play with?
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A proscenium.
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A spot to enjoy being in, perhaps, more, a spot to relish purely as a view.  Before either, a spot to enjoy mentally designing, dripping with anticipation.  Take a month, take a year, no worries, it's all yours to dream.
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Taking it to the next level, a garden show entry, using these dimensions, below, set up a dozen.  Entrants can do what they wish with the blank wall, and fixed dimensions in front.  Seeing the same space, created anew with a dozen different brains, intriguing. 


Pic, above, here.
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Found the pic on Pinterest, but it gives zero provenance details.  I know, well, who it is, Ryan Gainey, excepting nothing more. 
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Met Ryan in my 20's, we were both setting up display gardens at the Southeastern Flower Show.  Ryan was a star, I was beginning my career.  Working my setup, I was always on the lookout for him, to meet him.   Met some of his team, one in particular was incredibly kind.  Showing me their processes, how the design came together, answering all my newbie questions.  We had a lovely leisurely amount of time, engulfed in pure garden design.
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Desk top computers were not on the horizon, a more virginal era of communication.  Books/magazines/classes/symposiums all had to be purchased for elucidation.  The man showing me Ryan's display garden, was, of course, Ryan.  How was I supposed to know what he looked like?
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During that set-up, and still, I use large baskets to carry my daily loads.  Some days are a 1 basket day, some a 4 basket day, loading them up for the various jobsites and roles life requires before heading out.  Whence the garden show commenced, Ryan knew me no more.  For good reason.  He was gobsmacked with fans, and the rich ladies.  He was Saturn, but with more rings.  However, he gave me a fun moment, while promenading a garden show aisle with his wealthiest lady.  They were deep in conversation, about to walk past me, Ryan with a basket carrying his things.  Without his rich lady ever knowing he wasn't hanging on her every word, he gave me a sweet smirk and nod, lifting his basket the tiniest amount, as if saying cheers with a fresh cocktail.  He became a basket man.
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Ryan, in those days, had a slight flourish with his clothes.  Time passed.  His clothes became costumes.  More time passed.  Ryan became the character he was dressing all along.  Those of us living in Atlanta, and knew him to be a true star, were taken along on his ride.  Joy Ride !  A blessing in my life.
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Ryan hasn't been gone long, dying in a house fire with his dogs.
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To Sir With Love.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T
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Excellent photography of Ryan's garden, here. 

Overdose on a Theme: Squares

A 1st order Garden Design rule is to use contrasts for impact, big leaves next to small leaves, burgundy foliage next to chartreuse, rounded tree canopy with a cone shaped tree, and etc.
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A later Garden Design rule, depending upon your character, is to Overdose on a theme, below.
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Design a square garden room with square pavers planted with square beds, pruning plants into squares backdropped with a brick wall of rectangles.  Oooh yes, made me smile. 
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Great scenario proving Garden Design Rules allow total freedom.  Using contrast and overdose a theme, below, for this particular gardener, created emergent behavior.  "Emergent behavior, in many instances the whole seems to take on a life of its own.  Almost dissociated from the specific characteristics of its individual building blocks."  Geoffrey West. 


Pic, above, here.
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Wicked fun creating your own emergent behavior.  Oddly, you'll find your tribe when your garden begins to manifest.  Build it and they will come, is true. 
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All, using Garden Design rules centuries old.  Promise.
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Don't forget, Copy, is one of the first rules of Garden Design.  No two sites are the same, each copy unique, if not totally emergent behavior.  Choice is yours.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

Garden Design Elements: Without Considering What Plant Goes Where

Several years into my Garden Design career, reading yet another Garden Design book, the author seamlessly mentioned trees sited for their long shadows in fall.  Me like that !  A new toy.  A new domain.  New scope for the imagination.  Another layer to wield amongst the grand scheme of layers.  Who wouldn't like a Garden Design rule demanding of you, Design Shadows.  Shadows are yours to command.  Take shadows, have fun.
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Shadows, below, oh my.


Pic, above, here.
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Bringing interiors alive, below.  When late fall arrives, create the classic indoor mini-greenhouse still life.  A bit of the garden inside, and lovely view from outside.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Have a few worn out garden tools?  Make a bouquet, screw it into the wall, inside.

 
Pic, above, shot in my house. 


Pic, above, here.
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Garden Design begins inside your home, from the views looking outside, above.

 
Pic, above, here.
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Instead, above, of ubiquitous turgid foundation plantings & lawn, benches/gravel at the foundation to your home.


Pic, above, here.
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Choose a color theme for your garden.
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These are merely a few non-plant inputs to the realm of Garden Design.
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I must really put a class together about this topic.  It's my topic, just made it up.  Too fun.
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This topic really lets your inner creative, go-go-go.
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What should be planted here?  Really?  Well, that is a terminally mundane question. 
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T