We recently had a request from an elderly women to design and install a memorial garden for her departed love ones. It was a space in her urban "back 40" underneath a giant horse chestnut tree. It's a full shade property boxed in with large laurel hedges. She was inspired by moon gardens. A historical concept developed to enjoy ones garden under the moonlight (before the invention of outdoor lighting). Flowers and foliage in shades of white and silver quietly reflect the moon's presence. It's an advantageous idea because most of the shade plants available showcase white blooms or are hybridized to have variegation in golds, silver or shades of white. We were inspired by the idea of a lost garden. We incorporated intricitly stamped ornate planters. They look like they were aged by time. Some bronze and copper shades were brought in so that the garden has more depth in the afternoon as well. Marmalade and copper coral bells, japanese painted ferns, and bronzy ornamental grasses were brought in for colour and texture. The gentle foliage of ostrich fern obscures the base of the central planter. Trilliums, heucherellas, variegated hostas, astilbe, solomons' seal and various other white blooming perennials anchor the perimeter. White annual impatiens were peppered throughout the naturalized moss floor. A pocket of sunlight above the back fence is the perfect place for a bronze foliaged clematis to wind its way up the large limbs of the chestnut tree. Underneath the display is a small moss covered stone gurgler obscuring the sound of traffic. A definite place for reflection.
No comments:
Post a Comment