When I station photos of mynew back yardand asked for suggestions I sure come ’em – some so serious-minded I just have to partake in them . ( Rememberthese ? ) A commenter in Vermont antecedently unsung to me had LOTS to say and she ’s already changed my garden .
For example , she write this about my shed : “ You plant one too many vines , if you explore the size of each and contemplate their competitive visual “ busy - ness ” when fledged . = 1 vine to relocate . ” She ’s right , and that fix is already done .
Her musical theme for the “ nook garden by neighbor ’s privacy fencing ” were really challenging :
1 . deliberate this a contemplative / zen garden viewed from porch and bluestone terrace.2 . FEATURE the fencing . It has great grain . Do n’t hide it behind ( dysphoric ) hollies.3 . FEATURE the “ floor ” , too , to enhance the “ floor to ceiling ” view off your porch ( and terrace ) . deliberate a symmetrical or Escher - esque ( i.e. start symmetric then “ fall behind ” its pattern ) checkerboard of bluestone 1′ square toes starting off your young bluestone terrace into the space . You played with lawn option at your former household . Play here , too . Really low moss - like Sedums work well in mine . Any ground cover that matches the atmospheric condition should be considered . I got this idea from a Kyoto teahouse garden , done in moss.4 . I suggested clearing out much of the with child bush “ jumble ” , but you still involve some erect interest group for “ reflexion ” . Statue / carving / bump art are hardscape ideas . Also Spodiopogon sibiricus is a spectacular perpendicular grass for partial shade with expectant fall color in plus to grass ’s common selling points.5 . Create an “ end ” to the privacy fencing to suggest that YOU set up it in your design . protract it another “ section ” ( with a more treillage - expect ? ) and “ host ” the “ redundant vine ” from your shed . OR plant a shrub lineament ( maybe one of the extra Blue Billows , though maybe not tall enough ) that “ says end ” .
Feel free to e-mail me if you want some checkerboard garden picture . . . Kate
So email Kate I did and stupefy these great photograph , starting with her inspirations demonstrate above – a Kyoto meditation tea parlour with a “ moss checker board on one side which morph to a larger highly clip azalea checker board . ”
And the next photo shows her interpretation of that checker board effect , and it wow’ed me :
Here ’s what ’s in this charming space :
Prunus pumila v. depressa ‘ Catskill ’ , which I planted on a lark 4 - 5 years ago . It grew lanky / farseeing , lastly riotous and I set its “ limbs ” to the slope . I ’m starting to prune it this summertime to adjudicate to visually accomplish the angulate rationalize “ azalea ” contrast . And you may see I ’m playing with a “ river ” of Sedum album chloroticum edged by thin clusters of Sedum sexangulare ( in bloom here which take away ) and some Sedum middendorfianum because it has such great color .
So we e-mail back and forward about her ideas for my privacy covert ( warn me about the long - term maintenance needs of key , for one thing ) , vine selection , and the shrubs I ’d chosen ( she was n’t a devotee . )
Two week afterwards , here ’s my nook garden before and after Kate ’s intervention . I removed some of the “ unhappy ” hollies , making room for a crossvine that ’ll rise quick over the fence . Then I added 14 more flagstone pavers , some close enough together to fit a chair over them and some in the checker board pattern she used so in effect . The colorful metal fish on the screen wo n’t last long ; I hope to replace them with some cool metal artwork that I ’ll look for when I ’m in Mexico next calendar month .
To CommentersThis just goes to show that amazing things can occur when you involve reader for feedback . Sure , there may be some brutally honest true statement coming your way and thick peel may be need , but silver dollar is just what I demand in this case . A commenter I ’d never heard from before stepped up to the keyboard to become my recollective - distance excogitation coach . A few clicks at the Google car yielded the small - world discovery that we even went to same tiny Ohio college , though not quite at the same time .
So thanks to Kate Kruesi and to generous commenters everywhere .
