When trying to find a photo in a garden, a key concept is to look for leading lines. These are lines you, the photographer, find in a garden that can lead the viewer’s eye into the photo. These lines can frame your composition and lead to focal points as well, but fundamentally they must start at the bottom, out of the frame, and lead up into the composition. Continue Reading →
When we decided to start the Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop six weeks ago, we figured it would mostly be a fun excuse to ramble on here at GGW about some of our favorite topics. Little did we expect that so many of you would find it of interest and want to “play” too! The various posts and comments about garden paths have sparked several interesting discussions, and it appears that they’ve also inspired new projects for some of you. In case you missed any of the posts over the last month, or if you want to come back at some later date to refresh your memory in preparation for a pathway project, here’s a round-up of all the path-related posts we know about. If there are any we’ve missed, or if you write a post later and would like it added here, we welcome you to add a comment below! Continue Reading →
When I started my current garden from scratch six years ago, I was determined to create the layout the “right” way. I’m pretty good at dealing with details but not great at seeing the big picture, so I decided to enlist the help of a local landscape designer. We had several discussions about how I wanted to use the space and what I wished to have (gently curving paths being high on the list), and he created a master plan that perfectly reflected what I’d asked for, and even exceeded what I’d hoped for.
Then, I managed to muck it all up. I wanted to enclose part of the space with a fence, and instead of going with the planned curving outline, I reverted to my usual straight-lines-and-right-angles approach with a post-and-rail fence. That one decision then created a strongly geometric enclosure, which ended up completely changing the way the space on both sides of the fence has developed. While I do sometimes regret not trying harder to follow the original plan, I can’t say I’m unhappy with how things look now. In fact, one of my favorite parts of my garden is the strongly geometric walkway I ended up with along the front and east side of the house. Continue Reading →
It’s finally November, and time for the “official” start of the Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop. The theme for this month is paths and walkways in the garden. Do you have a path in your garden that you’re particularly pleased with? Let us know how you created it, and why you like it. Are you having trouble deciding where to put a new path or figuring out how you’re going to install it? Describe your quandary, and maybe you can get some helpful suggestions. Or, just show us some of your favorite garden paths or plants-and-walkways combinations, in your own yard or elsewhere. Still not sure what you want to write about? Here are some ideas to get you started: Continue Reading →
