landscaping vision property

Step 6: Merge Your Garden Vision Into Your Property

This is where you capture the essence of your visualization experience and merge that with the features for your garden. We call it…

… bridging the gap.

Let me take you through a couple of examples of this.

• My garden vision was of a vast lake in the distance. In the foreground was a bed of roses with a fence around it. So, on our deck, which overlooks our backyard pond, I’ve planted large containers of roses. Of course our pond isn’t exactly a lake, but the approximation of the image triggers my happiness response.



• Let’s say your garden vision was of the mountains with a meadow – and you live in the suburbs. Then you’d want to consider pine tree plantings, bringing in a few large boulders and perhaps grouping ornamental grasses around them.

This step takes some creativity, but that’s one of the reasons why you’re interested in creating your ideal garden, right?

For more examples, look at John Brookes’ book, Natural Landscapes. It’s filled with ideas from natural sources such as: prairies, oceans, woodlands, wetlands, deserts, Mediterranean areas and tropical areas. There is even a section on natural habitats for urban gardens.

This same process is the basis for Asian garden design. Their ponds represent lakes, raked sand recreates the desert, stone arrangements signify the mountains, and bonsai the great trees. All are representations for larger elements.

Now it’s time to ask yourself the question...



read more . . .