Posts Tagged ‘garden design’
Landscape Design – Gardening with Garden Plaques
Garden plaques can add interest and create a personality for any garden space. They can be used as an alternative to a welcome mat for visitors and as an accessory for a planter or garden bed. A more unique use for garden plaques is in the creation of an inspirational path or cove.
This type of garden design allows the gardener to reflect on the day as they stroll down through the garden space. Certain points of interest are created in the garden space where the plaques are placed for reflection. These points of interest utilize the natural beauty of the garden.
When deciding on these stops or points of interest, do not limit oneself to plant material. Points of interests incorporate all the senses. To aid in this selection, you must take time to know your garden as a stranger. Sometimes this is very hard to do and the beauty of our surroundings becomes commonplace. We have a hard time appreciating what is in front of us and in doing so we have to see it in a different light and/or angle. To do this, plan a visit to your garden during a time you normally do not see it. When you do this, bring along with you a comfy chair, a cup of coffee, and a book or journal. Take the path the way you normally travel and observe the environment not only from a standing viewpoint but also from a sitting position. Consider the sounds that surround you in the garden space along with the smells.
Color Wheels to the Rescue in the Garden and Patio
Whether you’re planning your outdoor living area from scratch or renovating a well-worn space, there are two color wheels that can help you bring dynamic color to your garden and patio design. The basic color wheel can help you learn which colors traditionally “go together,” and the paint chip color wheel can help you fine-tune your selections.
Unlike the fashion industry, which dreams up a new “neutral color” for each fall collection in an attempt to get you to replace your entire wardrobe (Since when is fire engine red or chartreuse or amethyst a neutral color?), the neutral colors of nature remain constant. Nature’s greens, tans and blues (think sky and ocean), dominate the landscape season after season. They provide us with a canvass upon which to create our outdoor fantasies using flowers and furnishings as accent colors. But it’s easy to keep our outdoor living areas trapped in these neutral colors, using only a few containers and flowers to brighten the patio or balcony. Not only can we incorporate much more color into our outdoor rooms, but we have the option to change our minds with splashes of accent colors that we can easily swap on a whim.
Re-creating a French Countryside Garden with Outdora
The allure of the French countryside has long since inspired artists from around the world as through the gardens and paintings of Claude Monet. Just over an hour outside of Paris, the magnificent garden of Monet in Giverny is a dimensional array of colors, flower varietals, and of course, home to the famous lily pond.
The key to re-creating your own Monet-style garden is to allow flowers to grow naturally with no organization other than to group them according to color. Visual interest can be created by planting flowers of varying heights and by choosing selections that will bloom throughout the seasons.
As if to welcome visitors, a bed of yellow Sunflowers stands proudly at the front of Monet’s house. The Natural Rust Patina Sunflower Garden Sculpture (available in two sizes) can be grouped together with the Natural Rust Patina Iris Garden Sculpture to create a Monet inspired bouquet of cheerful flowers.
