Friday, July 25, 2014

Garden Design Rule for Eyesores & Terrible Garden Gifts


This client was not home at the start of my work.
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I lasted an hour before I HAD to Move-The-Duck.
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Wish they had hired me before the new concrete walkway, and electrical outlet.
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Not much to do, if the dressed duck must stay.  Did you know there is a Garden Design Rule for this situation?  If you have an eyesore, place a focal point nearby.
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Doubt my professor imagined this dressed duck as a focal point.
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However, when children, grandchildren, or the toughest, a bit too prickly daughter-in-law are involved, the fill-in-the-blank must be 'displayed'.


Now, the dressed duck is drawing the eye away from the electrical box and providing welcome at the steps.
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A mentor said, "It's what we do with what we have."
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This garden has a child.  The duck will happily stay as long as the dressed duck magic is needed for her.
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The prickly daughter-in-law?  Easy, use her gift prominently in the garden for a few months then it has an 'accident'.  Tree limb, wind, ice, when it is safely taken to the thrift store.  In one garden the offensive item, a resin dollar store birdbath, could not be easily 'lost', that daughter-in-law had prickles of toxic steel.  The birdbath was horrendous.  Epiphany !  I designed a creeping fig at the base to engulf the offensive birdbath turning it into something lovely.
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Knocking at a friend's door for a lunch date I locked eyes on her new wind chime, melted glass beer bottles hanging from fishing line on a bit of tree root, then her.  She merely said, "My step-daughter."  I replied, "It fell and broke into shards."  Now you know the story of that thrift store item.
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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Pics taken at a jobsite this spring.  In the South terrible garden gifts are received with a smiling exclamation, "You shouldn't have, bless your heart."

For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.
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Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon
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Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.
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Construction by Award Winning
Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction.  Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC.  3 decades of service.

10 comments:

  1. I really needed a good laugh today, thanks.

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  2. Tara, you are better than me....I could not have lasted 16 minutes. I read your blog all the time trying to get up the nerve to unleash this property on you. Eighty years of neglect! Kate

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  3. Tara, you are better than me....I could not have lasted 16 minutes. I read your blog all the time trying to get up the nerve to unleash this property on you. Eighty years of neglect! Kate

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  4. Tara, you are better than me....I could not have lasted 16 minutes. I read your blog all the time trying to get up the nerve to unleash this property on you. Eighty years of neglect! Kate

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  5. Tara,
    You made me laugh! I LOVE your blog, agree with everything you post, have bought your books, incorporate all your ideas....
    but let me tell you about ducks on the porch:
    Ducks really work at keeping frogs away. I live in an area where frogs used to meet us at the driveway and at the door. I am TERRIFIED of frogs!
    Well, I don't have plastic ducks, I have beautiful carved wood ducks. No more frogs!

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  6. Northerners have no idea how useful "Bless your heart!" can be in everyday life. Takes care of SO man sitations.

    Genius move relocating the duck.

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  7. You are hilarious...and brilliant. Love reading all about your ideas and adventures.

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  8. Well stated...always best to be polite! And to work with what you have...

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  9. Hilarious!

    But can't you stain concrete and make it better????

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