Lucy

Today my friend and contractor will put down his beloved Lucy. He kept me informed, over a decade ago, as he looked for a breeder.

He had just moved into his historic Crafstman bungalow near Zoo Atlanta. "Will Lucy sleep in your bed?", I asked. "Never." Ha, you know where she slept from the beginning.

Whether Lucy was on the job, having play dates with friends, or romping at Carter Center I could count on pictures of Lucy arriving in my inbox.

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He and Lucy partnered to create a beautiful garden around their Craftsman bungalow.

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Within that garden, in their home, Lucy & James will say goodbye.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pic taken in Susanne Hudson's garden. Gardens & pets are inseparable. Not surprising I've been asked to landscape design many pet burial grounds.

A Favorite Landscape Book

5 bookcases line the walls of my office. One of my favorite books, below, Garden Magic by Roy Biles.
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Several editions of this book are on my shelves; of my top 10 go-t0 books this is one.
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Seeing it displayed in Susanne Hudson's conservatory, above, made me smile in complete understanding.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Pic taken last Sunday.

Draperies in the Landscape

Last Sunday, below. Considered draperies for your landscape?
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Took the pic in Susanne Hudson's garden.

The Sacred & Profane of the Best Landscapes

The best landscapes have elements, below, of the Sacred

and elements, below, of the Profane.

Landscape design is about contrasts.

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The Sacred & the Profane. Got both?

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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(Big leaves with small leaves, blue foliage next to burgundy foliage, pyramid forms next to horizontal forms, blowsy hydrangeas bursting over neat green hedging, spikey flowers by round flowers, & etc.)

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Top pic taken last week at Stone Mountain Park, bottom pic England.

A Landscape Design

Think this is unkempt? A landscape design, above, an illusion of country. Nature. Not one leaf is unconsidered. The dirt path? Part of the landscape design.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Took pic in England.
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Living with a manicured lawn yet love the garden above? Yes? Life is too short not to have a garden nurturing your spirit.

Decorating Your Conservatory

Susanne Hudson used windows from the dump, 2" X 4" 's, opaque corrugated roofing panels, old doors, & #89 granite gravel, below, to create her conservatory. Inside, plenty of seating, lighting, & art.

Tables, cushions,

fabrics & collections.

A color palet. A few plants too.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Can't wait to begin building my conservatory. Hunting/gathering now. Dahlings, there's zero budget for this. Adore the challenge. Getting what I want at MY price point. Soon I'll be: hammering, shoveling gravel, painting, then, ta-da, decorating my conservatory.

Outside & Inside A Hedge

Standing in the street, below, at my front gate this morning. Inside the hedge, below, is my Bay Terrace.

Oakleaf Hydrangea blossoms unfurling, below, in the Bay Terrace.

The subtlety of my rule "Just Let It Touch", blossoms caressing, below, the adirondack chair.

Oakleaf Hydrangeas espaliered, below, at the bay window. Learned this trick in Italy at Lake Maggiori.

Did my garden make you curious about seeing, below, inside?

My go-to spot, above, for working on projects, lunch, dinner with a girlfriend.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Bottom pic taken weeks ago, rest of the pics taken less than 15 minutes ago.

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Love English hedgerows and copied. Mine: dwarf abelia, climbing rose 'Dortmund', hydrangeas, boxwood, palm, rosemary, lavender, liriope, clematis, hollyhocks.

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Breakfast yesterday morning, in my gown, sitting in the adirondack chair caressed with oakleaf hydrangea blossoms. Neighbors in my tiny subdivision, surrounding my tiny property, well hidden behind my hedge.

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The antique gateleg table had been in my office for a decade until last January. I hired Susanne Hudson to choose paint colors, somehow, ALL my furniture moved !

Foundation Plantings are Ridiculous

Why a stupid row of evergreen meatballs when you, below, can have this? Why give away your real estate? Foundation plantings are a tired concept.

One espaliered shrub adds a lushness legions of sheared green meatballs will never approach.

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In your mind, at this moment, take away your foundation plantings. Good, have fun destroying a landscape and creating your garden. One matching your interiors, architecture, intellect & spirit.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pics taken when I was in England. Got rid of my foundation plantings over 15 years ago, la-ti-da.

A Few Good Things

Window box, below, fake stone, below,

terra cotta feet, below,

were a few good things I saw last month at Lowe's.

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Remember when fake stone was ridiculously stupidly ugly?

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The window box is lovely but underscaled for the average window. Buy 2, get it right.

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Loved the price on those terra cotta feet, 3/set for $3.99.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

HAY HOUSE, Macon, GA

Last weekend at Hay House, below. I adore tented plant markets. There was a garden tour too.

Hay House, below.

Completed at the beginning of the Civil War Hay House was originally stucco.

Original Minton Co. tiles, below, at a back service area.

For gardeners, in a world of the mundane, these events shine with character, intelligence, something new around the corner.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara

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Pics taken last weekend, alas I kept getting separated from my camera. And I missed the garden tours, ugh. After lecturing the laptop beckoned with contractors & clients needing answers.

Greenhouse Contemplation

Greenhouse: old windows, 2"x4"'s, paint, translucent corrugated roofing panels. Not large, perhaps the size of the one, above.
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Should I?
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An eyesore has revealed itself in my garden; new scope for the imagination.
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Yes, a little greenhouse exactly 'there'.
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Pic taken at Le Jardin Blanc 2 weeks ago. Don't you love the chimney!

Mystery

Mystery is a landscape design tool. Does a garden keep you walking to see more? Exactly. That is mystery.

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Thru the camellia blossom/hedge a pruned peek-a-boo vista into my patio.

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Hmm, what will you look like walking your garden pondering more mystery? Ha, neighbors will think you're walking slow with that peculiar look on your face again.

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Sometimes I sit in my neighbor's frontyard to simply gaze upon my garden.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara