How to make a beautiful garden
How to make a beautiful garden
In the Small Garden Design section, we're getting a feel for what lies beyond the garden. We also take a look at why gardens sometimes don’t feel ’right’. Plus: the first of our Little Latin corners
This week, I’m revealing your next assignment in the Small Garden Design course
As ever, it’s meant to be fun, rather than homework, so do get stuck into it, and I’ll be launching a new SMALL GARDEN Chat thread where you’ll be able to share your thoughts and have a look at each other’s ideas.
If you’re unsure how to use the Chat, we’ve got a Zoom session coming up on Sunday 3rd March at 5pm UK time for anyone who’s following the How to Design Your Small (or large!) Garden course - we’ll get together and talk through experiences so far, and it’s also a good opportunity to chat with newly-made acquaintances here on The Gardening Mind.
And if you’d like to catch up on the Small Garden Design Course, there’s a full-round-up of all the assignments and articles, in chronological order, here. So whether you’re just about to join in for the first time, or if you want to catch up, you can find each relevant piece here to work through at your own pace.
Plus, a bit of demystifying gardening Latin - don’t run away, you voted for it!
We’re also going to be having a teeny-tiny quick and easy Little Gardening Latin lesson - from the poll I held, the consensus was that I should do a ‘little and often’ series on demystifying those Latin terms which make everything seem just so hard, but which, in fact, once you know them, actually simplify things.
This week’s words are no exception. And don’t worry, there won’t be a test…. or maybe we should have an end-of-year quiz…. hmmm, there’s another idea…..
Gardening Mind Growalong and Gerald the Goat - I kid you not
Over on the Chat, we’re also having a potato Growalong / Chit-along / Chittachattalong here - do please come and join in - I’d love to know your opinions on chitting. To chit or not chit, in fact.
And, don’t forget Sunday’s regular Show Us Your Plots1 on Chat . Wherever you are in the world, do show us what your garden is looking like - we’d love to see - and we’re not judgemental! All-comers from everywhere are welcome. We now even have a regular appearance from Gerald the Goat who is fast getting his own fanclub:
Let’s start off this week by taking a look at another garden design principle, which will really help you in your garden, whatever size it may be:
The idea of BALANCE
It just doesn’t feel right.
Have you ever looked at your garden space and thought Hmmmmmm? There’s something about it that doesn’t seem quite right, even though the layout seems fine, the plants are all flowering and everything is as healthy as it can be?
This not-quite-right feeling could possibly be due to the fact that there’s something amiss with the BALANCE in your garden. ‘Balance’ is the element which makes a design feel organised and ordered. A garden can feel balanced symmetrically, and it can also feel balanced asymmetrically, and both are jolly good things.
Bear with me here. I’m going to explain this in a super-simple way, and once you’ve had a look at these two photos, you’ll start to see what I’m talking about: