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| Hi everyone! I have several large gardens in my yard. They range from cottage to tropical-esque to just miscellaneous whatever I saw at the nursery. They actually go quite well together. However, I am an Aquarius and we need to change things. :) I'm thinking of putting either my statue or fountain in the middle of the yard then redoing the gardens so they go out in sections, kind of like spokes on a wheel. What I can't picture in my head is the separation between the sections. I will just have grass in between. Anyway...is there a name for that sort of design? I am trying to search for ideas to coordinate it all. Thanks for any advice on searching or any advice in general about the idea. :) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Fri, Nov 30, 12 at 10:24
| Saw some interesting pics googling wheel garden. You may also want to look at knot gardens. I might put a little curve in the sections, more like a pinwheel. Then there would never be a view of nothing but path from any point within or without. And straight lines don't belong in a round entity, IMO. |
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| We did something similar in our side yard. We used the house on one side and a fence on the other to outline the garden. Then divided the area with paths. We used brick, but grass paths would work the same I would think. We also placed a large fountain in the center. This picture was taken in 2005, but the layout has stayed the same. The beds have filled in much more now as well as the plantings on the fence. DH took the picture from up on the roof of the house. Hope this helps! |
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| Mary Lu, just had to say (again-I think I say this every time you post your pictures!) how much I love your gardens! I love, love, love them and Scully, I bet you will like yours if you do the same thing! |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Sun, Dec 2, 12 at 7:54
| WOW! |
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| Purpleinopp, you're right, that is the thing I should be searching. And, marylu, that is exactly what I had in mind! But, boy, looking at your flat ground and then my yard, I'm not so sure. I have a flat area that goes into a slope toward my deck. The curse of living in a neighborhood known as the "North HILLS". Aptly named. :-/ Still, Bluestone catalogue arrived yesterday, so I may go crazy and TDy it anyway! :) |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Thu, Dec 6, 12 at 17:12
| What about terraces/steps/little walls...? A slope also gives you a chance to do a little stream... What do you think of this sloped yard? It doesn't have to include water features, but if you scroll down a bit, you'll see the "before" pics showing the terracing and reinforcements added to keep the contours in place. Making walls out of rocks also gives you places for "rock garden" plants where they can be more dry and happy and easily seen from their raised position when you stand on the level below. If you keep looking at pics, an idea will form and congeal in your imagination. |
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| "However, I am an Aquarius and we need to change things. :) " So true, I'm going to use this! LOL If I were going to do a project like this I'd first take lots and lots of pics of the garden from all directions. Sometimes one sees things in pics one doesn't see IRL. I'd also look at lots of pics online for inspiration and ideas. Here's a site with lots of pics which might help. This is a huge project so if you are going to DIY it is best to do it in stages IMO. The first stage for me would be a center bed for the statue or fountain. Then I'd walk around and decide where the paths work best. I've been doing this in my garden now even with snow on the ground and have formed several new ideas. After that you can design each separate garden area. If you like a formal look it will have to be fairly symmetrical. Since your area is not level it will likely be easier to do a more relaxed and asymmetrical garden. I like purple's idea of a pinwheel. Mary lu's gorgeous garden is a wonderful inspiration and the paths are curved. It also looks as if Mary lu's entire garden is on a gentle slope. If you have a steeper slope you may have to use retaining walls or at least low terraces and perhaps stairs. |
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| Some wonderful ideas! As soon as my terribly busy season at work is over I think I'm going to start sketching out some ideas. Part of the problem is that I actually like the way it is now too. But I'm pretty much out of space for flowers so... seems like a redo might be in order. :) Thank you all so much for the suggestions. I might post some pics next month to get some concrete ideas. |
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