Chiaroscuro doesn't arrive every day, sometimes it lasts 8 seconds sometimes 17 seconds.
Simple yet potent design. 
Have you already heard the gravel crunching underfoot as you approach? Marvel at the wisdom of keeping the moss? Can you smell the gravel & moss; the morning dew on the tabletop? Can you hear the metal chair upon the gravel as you sit down? Have your fingertips felt the bricks, lichens & moss on top of the table? Did you peak under the tabletop to discover how it was made?
Above, canopy & understory trees, contrasting foliage textures (big leaves next to small leaves), formal contrasting with informal, full sun contrasting with full shade, focal point (the house), contrasting colors (greens, burgundy, flowers, trunks, sky). All elements of good landscapes, whether small or large.
MR. JIM has lived in his home & garden, above pics, over 30 years. He's owner of Gibbs Landscape and guess what he still does? Wow. I was shocked and it put a smile on my face to see that MR. JIM still draws a pencil/paper plan of the new season of annuals to be planted. 
3 RULES FOR LANDSCAPES:What is the saying? Non-fiction is a true story, myths are stories that happen over & over & over.... Landscapes are myths, at least mine is to me. How else to explain the grace my garden exudes? Using the 3 rules: copy, simplicity, repetition will give you mythical grace in your landscape.
Setting up the blue/white CHAOS DISPLAY, below.
Intentionally design your landscape to create impromptu Still Life, above.
Went to my favorite junk shop to complete the blue/white collection last Friday. I would tell you where but the friend who shared the shop with me did so with a demand, Do not tell anyone about this shop.
Pic, above, is not styled. The box was awkwardly heavy & I set it on my patio table to begin arranging the Chaos Display. Magazine shoots are fine but I delight, especially, in good pics not styled. The impromptu of life creating still life.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
A couple of days ago Mr. Rabbit invited me to a tea party. Thru the years his arms have held fresh flowers cut from the garden or a dried hydrangea. 
Tree design: canopy, understory, weeping, horizontal, pyramidal, evergreen, deciduous, conifer, variegated, burgundy, green, waxy, pubescent, peeling bark, colorful bark, single trunk, multi-trunk, spring bloom, summer bloom, fall bloom, fall foliage, fragrant, butterfly host, bird host, shade house, buffer winter winds, increase property value.
Natural morning light, no camera flash, above. Thought you would like to peep inside my home.
Afternoon light streaming into my office landing on Laskett.
Petunia in my office by lamplight before a winter's sunrise. I adore the transition from dark to dawn to sunrise to daylight. Dark, when lamps are on in the morning knowing, soon, my garden will awaken around me. 
Where does inspiration come from? I saw museum quality blue/white in a similar chaos display at Chatsworth in England. Oh my, is 'Chaos Display' a new design trick? Without inspiration.
It may take a few weeks but I'm field gathering blue/white china now. I'll place it on this patio table. It was originally a sofa table. My frogs will be on the move. Don't know where yet. But it will be fabulous, where ever they land.
Art, above, for the brick wall from TJMaxx $30.
Large urn, a composite, above, Target $70. Only 1, I wanted her to get a pair. Oleander will be planted.
White marble table, $60 TJMaxx, looks old adding instant character.
A pair, $12 ea. TJMaxx, medallions to go on the brick wall above a pair of windows.
At the door, Target $30. From their Smith & Hawkin line.
Metal art, from Ross $20, to go over a yet to be bought table.
Pair of cast aluminum chairs, Lowe's $98 each, with good curves, traditional style, and most importantly, comfortable.
Landscapes, too often, begin at the curb looking into the home. Why be an outsider to your own life? Go inside your life, begin your landscape there.
Below, I'm standing in the garage shooting the same border + lawn.
View, below, from the neighborhood sidewalk.
Design elements are met, below. 
Trees contrast form: cone & oval, canopy & understory. Clean line of turf: dramatic frisson turf + bed. Colors: contrasting shades of green + flowers. Textures: large leaves next to small leaves. Contrasts: calm of turf + energy of plantings
