LAVENDER HILL

AUNT is finally ensconced upon her 100+ acres. I helped design her previous landscape.

This landscape: sunny, dry, windy, large. AUNT, a busy woman, has a great eye & depth of feeling. Understanding the constraints? Design a landscape to inspire & feed the soul.

Low maintenance.

UNCLE is on the tractor, a crew weed-eats the edges. At lunch, below, mixed greens+roasted walnuts+goat cheese+strawberries+blueberries, and artisanal bread, I asked AUNT, What do you miss about your other garden?

It was on acreage too and included a small walled garden, vegetable garden and fruit orchard. She missed, Having a little place to take care of without help.

Reclaimed timbers in the living room, above. Seeing her furniture in a new home. Some of the pieces inherited from her mother, MISS LOUISE, and, aunt, AUNT TILLIE. Mentors to her, and me.

My own home & garden with things inherited from MISS LOUISE & AUNT TILLIE. Their gardens within us both. Their love too.

A guest bath, above. I recognized the mirror from AUNT's previous home.

A bedroom, above. With AUNT TILLIEs vanity & MISS LOUISE's mirror. Great light and views 180 degrees while laying in bed. Garden views. Wanting so much to get this landscape right.

Portions of the home are 1-room deep. Views of acreage spanning north-south.

A bank of 5 pair French doors, above. (My little camera couldn't shoot them all.)

AUNT's previous home had a stunning dining room window too.

Dining room, above, is not finished.

Clothes line, above, will be stained the trim color of the home. And French lavender planted. Screened porch, above, off the main rooms + kitchen. AUNT, a wonderful cook, wanting a tiny spot to charcoal grill & herb garden. AUNT wanting herbs in large pots. Of course, they'll go here nearest the kitchen.

On the way to AUNT's property, herd of decorator cows.

Trees + evergreen shrubs, the bones, are already placed. My job? Flowering, and fragrant, shrubs + trees sequenced to have something different coming into bloom every 2 weeks.

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Magic? All landscapes NEED magic. Don't you want your soul stirred? It's the shaking of our soul, at least mine, taking me into the garden.

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This site perfect, front to back, for lavender. Sunny & dry. Low maintenance. Fragrant. And those winds? They will scent the air with lavender even when not in bloom. The winds are strong enough to rub lavender leaves against each other.

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FRENCH LAVENDER. Will use a few Spanish lavender too. Spanish lavender blooms before the French, are darker purple, less fragrant, & look like butterfly wings.

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French Lavender is the magic of AUNT's garden.

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AUNT is already living at Lavender Hill. Thoughts of a garden are that strong.

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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara