Soldiers In The Landscape: Formal & Informal

In the city, below, less than an acre.  Keeping a gravel drive BY CHOICE.  Where woodland meets gravel  keeping the frisson 'wild' BY CHOICE.  Feelings of leaving-the-city-behind, the sounds of crunching gravel; driving thru woodland.  (Gravel percolates water, no taxes for stormwater runoff.)

 Adding soldiers, below, to the front parking area.  A zone with more formality.  The stones, known as soldiers, indicate "yes, park here."

Soldiers can be: bricks, concrete chunks, branches, pavers, plates, baby doll heads, half submerged model ships, old farm parts, & etc.
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Garden & Be Well,          XO Tara
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Did you realize the top pic was totally landscape designed?  Including the leaf litter mulch.  It is !

Tough Terra Cotta

Finely particulated terra cotta lasts longer.  Water doesn't seep in & expand during a freeze.  At least in my zone.  Zone 6b, then 7, now 8; all without moving.  It does freeze here, ice & snow.  (Notice the meadow in my flagstone terrace, below.  It's obvious why I fell in love with Bunny Mellon's garden!)

 

I really wanted the pot, above.  4 to be exact, for boxwood.  They were sold only in 'sets'.

Ironically, it's been fun playing with a few of the smaller pots.

Foxglove, above, frosted with Chinese snowball petals.
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Foxgloves are done.  Next, small heirloom tomatoes.
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This is enjoyable beyond expectation, these little pots, thinking about what to put in them, or leave them empty, or move them....
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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I do pay attention to my wants/expectations vs. what truly occurs.  Adore these little surprises.  This terra cotta is from Asia.  Chose terra cotta for my pot 'theme'.

Lamps Beside The Daybed

Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Susanne Hudson redecorated her Conservatory this year.  Sconces are laid on the table in my Conservatory, primer/paint/brush nearby, new packages of screws/hooks, brown/white ironstone transferware.  Soon, a bit of my own redecorating in the Conservatory.

Simple Gesture

Her garden on tour, she knew visitors would want to come up the steps.  With a lake view & several sitting areas, I would.  Not a house tour she chose a simple gesture to guide guests.

 Much better than a sign with words.  Probably of the negative sort, Do Not Enter.
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The pot of flowers is HER.  Sweet, colorful, creative, yet firm.
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Garden & Be Well,       XO Tara

On Display

Display garden, below, at a wholesale & retail pottery in a commercial area including low-slung motels, a vintage & thriving ca. WWII airstrip, car repair shops, tasty ethnic food, and other shops, 2nd-5th generation, abandoned of their original mission. If a display garden not only lives, but thrives, in these

conditions. Pay attention.

Good gardens with great constraints have much to teach.

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Don't like a garden? Doesn't matter. It will teach. And nurture.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Making A Table

In a hurry, before a tour, last month, finding a solution for the table top, below, had to be accomplished.
The real table top is too big for this location.

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A Garbage Can Lid was the quick solution.

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In Milledgeville, GA during the 1960's, my grandmother had an extensive garden of dahlias & paths. The plants were staked and as tall as me. A birdbath was made from an ancient, dented, upturned garbage can lid. Grandma was raised on a farm. Able to make-do with anything.

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I've discovered the garbage can lid is better than my true desire, granite or marble leftover from someones kitchen renovation. Why? It holds water. Enough for only weekly watering, yet no mosquitoes.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Yes, I will get another pic of this. Quite a dreadful little snap.

How To Frame A View

Thought you would like to see the depth between building & view, from previous post.Yes, the bench does have a view. Tuscany.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

Without People & Without Styling

Weaned on cover shots of Smith & Hawken sales catalogues ca. 1980's, and Horticulture magazines of the same era I've never wanted people in my garden shots. Couldn't afford it. (I shouldn't neglect the garden pics in House & Garden magazines of that era too.)My (film) slides, a roll of 36, each had to be beautiful & educational & of use till the end of my days.

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Interesting, I KNEW this in my 20's.

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Without awareness, at the time, I only shot gardens WITHOUT STYLING. Who wants a garden needing a stylist to look good?

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A picture, above, (not needing a stylist) I made in Italy, originally a slide, then a print, now a digital pic of the print made from the slide.

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Seek a garden without styling. It will be a garden of truth.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

Subtle Invitation

Between the pecan trees, below, a table. An invitation. How to leverage the invitation? Will add 'shot' pea gravel.

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Table/chairs can be used after a rain, table can be leveled more easily, lovely crunch underfoot, edging of old brick leading to meadow & letting gravel 'lap' onto roots of pecans. Oddly, once the gravel arrives it will say, "You WANT to come here.", vs. the existing, "Oh, that's nice."

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pic taken earlier this month.

How To Stabilize A Column In A Pot

We didn't know how we were going to stabilize the column in the pot, we knew it was-going-to-happen.With few raw materials, bricks-gravel-dirt, we chose bricks for wedging. Gravel for gaps, then
dirt to plant 6 boxwood.

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Columns don't budge.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pic from PMHF garden Susanne Hudson & I created.

Cool Colors - Hot Day

Drama & color, below. Large pot & fine textured foliage. Cool greens, blue, yellow. These pics are not styled. Turning camera 1ft., below,
same pot with more drama, an agave.

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A beautiful vignette at A W Pottery in Chamblee, GA.

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Good landscape design is all about low maintenance & not having to 'style' anything to get a pretty picture.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pics taken last week. Over 95% of the pics on my blog ARE NOT STYLED.

Faux Bois Bench: Well Sited

A lovely incident along the gravel path, below.
(Notice stone edged gravel, decrepit terra cotta, leaf litter mulch? Melts my heart.)
Same bench, same path, from opposite direction.

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Thus, a good garden. It could be 2 different paths, 2 different benches or 2 different gardens.

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How to create Double Axis. A class by itself.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pics taken last week in Susanne Hudson's garden.