2008-08-11T14:50:00.334-04:00

Appreciating Gardens and the Natural World

Nature Enthusiast and Landscape Designer, Rose Young,

shares enlightening tips on connecting with nature.

Having a water feature in the garden adds the element of cleansing sound. Whether from a small fountain found at a department store, to a full scale pool with a waterfall feature, you can add the benefit of refreshing water sounds to your garden. The lilting tones help mask the noise of neighbors, air conditioners and passing cars. (This waterfall was manmade as part of a swimming pool and landscape design in Concord, MA.)

Mowing Less is a new desire most of us have now that gas and ozone are becoming rarer. Here is a fun example of doing something different with that large area you mow regularly. A mowing maze is simply like a crop circle but far easier. As shown in the photo, you don't mow the center of a circle and then you do mow concentric rings with access paths. Try it out, you can always erase it later and try a new design. And kids love to run the circles and pathways too.

Morning dew illuminates the field grasses and highlights the garden feature.

Burn more calories ... use your walk behind lawn mower

Plants are like Lingerie . . .Or plants are to the landscape as lingerie is to a woman's form. Plants soften, drape and enhance the house structure. A Peek-a-Boo landscape creates more curiosity and enticement than seeing and knowing the house and garden all at one glance.

Does your garden Hug you?
When you enter your property you want the sense of arrival. Your private sanctuary starts when you cross the driveway or stroll up the walkway. Allow your plants to hug the borders, to create a softness of privacy around you and the edges of the outdoor spaces or rooms you live in. A garden hug is memorable. It is the privacy that gives you a sense of peace when you are outdoors. click here for article What is the Genuine Value of the Lay of Your Land?
(Photo of a Landscape Design on the coast of Mass. A newly planted herb garden is in the foreground and a privacy border in the background shields the street. A combination of evergreen trees, shrubs and flowering perennials will continue to soften the yard as time goes by. )

Swimming Pool with waterfall in Concord, MA. This was originally a flat open field.

Memorial Gardens - Visiting a special place which helps us remember our loved ones is an ancient tradition. You can create your own sacred space with a garden, tree or small planting. I have had the privilege to create several memorial gardens for my clients. From very small to one acre large they were done with a thoughtful reminder of the loved one. The whole family finds it a peaceful place to pause and reflect. Either create a small memorial at home in your yard or meadow, or go public and create a sculpture garden on town or university property as a donation (please see example of this below).

The Lois Blonder Sculpture Garden,Monmouth University,NJ
Design and Project Mgmt. by Rose Young
This memorial sculpture garden is a place for functions or quiet contemplation for visitors, students and staff. Artists utilize it for outdoor drawing and painting - 'Plein Air'.
Before, During & After Photos

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know your Garden Style?
Here is how to learn your style and communicate it in three steps:

1. Start by tagging your favorite photos in magazines and do the same with all those catalogs you get in the mail (or pull out the pages and create a file). Tag photos in your garden/landscape books . Then go to the big hardware stores/depots and pick up their handouts on walkways, patios, stonework etc. Bring your camera with you everywhere and start collecting photos of what you like. You are beginning to create a personal file of your style. (Photo: Backyard in Harvard Sq., Cambridge, Ma. Everything except the Crabapple is new including the fence and carport.)

2. Once you have tagged and photographed everything you like, notice if you have a repetitive theme. Is it formal, semi-formal or rambling and wild like a cottage garden? Sometimes near the house you will want a somewhat formal feel and the further away you get the more informal or cottage garden-like it can become. (Photo: Swimming pool landscape was once a sloping open field. See bottom photo from another angle. Concord, MA)

3. Whether you get advice from a garden center or hire a designer, this collection of photos will be very helpful so they may advise you, give you what you like, and price it out effectively.

(Photo: A sweeping drift of perennials,150ft long, divide a formal lawn from an organic agricultural field in Concord, MA. At the time, this property was owned by the President of the Mass. Horticultural Society.)

This was just a plain sloping field when I started the design. The pool/guest house was under construction.
In this design we have the swimming pool with diving rock, stonewalls,
perennial and shrub gardens, fencing and arbors to create a new garden room the whole family enjoys. (Concord, Ma)

Additional Information:

Rose Young has operated her landscape design business for 20 years in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She is a design consultant, freelance writer, photographer and nature enthusiast who loves to share her inspirations from the natural world. Please contact Rose by email: remy33@juno.com for information on articles, photos and design consultations.

All photographs and landscape garden designs in this blog are by Rose Young.

Our Partnership With Nature