“All Gardening is Landscape Painting”—Alexander Pope

By Leslie Watkins

“The two arts of painting and garden design are closely related,” landscape architect Beatrix Farrand wrote in 1907, “except that the landscape gardener paints with actual color, line, and perspective to make a composition . . . while the painter has but a flat surface on which to create his illusion.” It’s not surprising that many well-known garden designers were also artists, and vice versa. Color, texture, balance, depth, pattern and rhythm are the tools of gardeners, artists, writers, and musicians. Samuel Morse, Gertrude Jekyll, Frederic Church, Claude Monet, Frida Kahlo, Celia Thaxter and Beatrix Potter were all gardening artists, to name just a few.

Gardens can be more than a collection of plants, shrubs and trees. Many people let their creativity loose when in their gardens, which can be whimsical, stately, super-manicured or all natural. Some are as small as a shady bower with seating for just one. Shrubs and large perennials make great walls, and careful pruning makes windows. Trees and vines provide ceilings. Add some nice stones in strategic places, and you can define your secret spot.

One of the pleasures of transforming a two-dimensional image or idea into an interactive space is the magic that happens soon after its creation–the arrival of visitors. Both humans and animals turn a botanical stage set into a living environment. By selecting particular plants you can attract the birds, insects, and animals you would like to see and hear most.

Gardens can provide refuge and privacy, places to meditate or commune with nature, retreats filled with sensory pleasures and places to entertain. Good garden design can help you attain the feelings you want to experience. When visiting friends’ gardens you may feel your mood shift. Maybe a walk in the woods calms you down or soothes you. You may prefer the bright openness of a meadow or the gentle sound of water among mossy rocks. If you are interested in having a special place of your own but not sure how to begin, why not take the time to notice how you feel in different places? What is it about a place that makes you feel a certain way? Visiting public and private gardens may provide inspiration for making your own personal sanctuary. Keeping a garden journal and taking photos of your garden throughout the seasons can help you to develop it further.

August Chore Checklist

Pick berries to freeze and for jam.

Dry herbs and store in jars.

Make pesto and freeze.

Keep pulling weeds and water new plants well.

Dry and store seeds for next year—label with date.

Sow peas and spinach.

Root cuttings from pelargoniums, lavender and begonias.

Pinch back tomato plants.

Remove diseased foliage and discard in trash.

Take pictures of your gardens.

Illustration by Leslie Watkins © 2015