Showing posts with label Color. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Color. Show all posts

Friday, March 17, 2017

Garden Design: Jackie Kennedy

This is my sister's favorite era, below.  It didn't last long.  Sister, same age as tiny Caroline, below, had a terrible surprise about a year later, I showed up in a crib.
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National news and Life magazine were rife with pics and film of the Kennedy's during my earliest years.  Cars.  In those days, they were CARS.  Even my dad worked in iconic design, have you seen the casing of a Saturn V booster, or the capsule of an Apollo rocket ?
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Perhaps the prettiest images remembered though, are the Kennedy worlds.  Vietnam, Marchin' Luther King, the University of Texas tower shooting, dominated our black white console tv with rabbit ears.  At my age, no cognition, merely reaction to visuals.   Though I must admit, even so young, I knew the beehive hairdo was wacko.
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Of course those Kennedy visuals were iconic.  The world's top photographers, and who was the interior decorator, below?  Which international couturier designed the dress, below?  Which maestro cut her hair?  So many layers of design, and professional experts.
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It's a potent Garden Design conceit, below.  Paint it all the same color, overdose on a theme, form/function with exterior furniture, keep it simple.  This is an iconic Garden Design example of your garden as backdrop, merely a proscenium, YOU are the star.  


Jackie and Caroline:
Pic, above, here.
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Once I began to study Garden Design deeply I realized my schooling truly began during the Kennedy era.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T
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Remember well mom's last salon appointment for her weekly beehive 'do'.  While they were finishing her up, of course she brought me, no baby sitters, I decided to investigate one of the hair dryers.  You know, the sit down, cover your head type.  At the head was an interesting coupling with screw.  More interesting, when unscrewed the entire head assembly pops apart and rolls into various directions, loudly.  Who knew there could be so many components, I hit the jackpot.  A snitty rat faced balding man came toward me leading his parade with a black plastic comb pointing his march.  He was so rude.  He made me stop my investigations, and I wanted to do more.  Odious man.
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Arriving for next week's hair appointment, mom stopped at the door, NO CHILDREN ALLOWED.  That previous week was her last beehive.  Go me !!
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After 3 decades I know the points in a woman's life she's most likely to hire me, when the last child begins school, when the first child is about to graduate high school, when the first child marries, when the first grandchild arrives.  And, within that list, of course, I know which is the most popular.  Have you already guessed?
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With the first grandchild.  More than a first grandchild, closing the chapter of  'doing' for others at great expense to self.  Husband always bought his fun/toys, kids had their due, now, 'my turn', total double dog dare anyone to make a remark other than positive.  That woman is powerful.
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If women took that power sooner in their lives, the world would be a different place.  Thus ends today's feminist lesson.  

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Partake the Chiaroscuro in Your Garden

First, who among you already partake of chiaroscuro in your garden?  Dawn, dusk, both, a favorite?   Have you ever burst outside, to partake, after unexpectedly noticing from a window?  Do you have a singular, lifetime moment, chiaroscuro in your garden?
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I've never shot a chiaroscuro in my garden.  How could I?  Those moments too deeply lived.
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Quite good comparison, below, to chiaroscuro experienced recently, in my garden.

moonlight:
Pic, above, here.

Crossing the threshold of chiaroscuro, below.  Mere moments too.

Winter Swan.. | by E.M. van Nuil:
Pic, above, here.

Again, moments away, below, from a complete chiaroscuro.

Great Dixter, East Sussex:
Pic, above, here.

apositivelybeautifulblog2.tumblr.com/post/104144000658:
Pic, above, here.
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Again, moments away from chiaroscuro, above, a life prize, subsidiary to the hunt for chiaroscuro.  Seems odd, we are given chiaroscuro, here, when so much that is not to be had or known, those things requiring philosophies or Belief, momentarily given.
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Late, a few nights ago, I walked in the garden, not seeking chiaroscuro, my mind, sadly, upon the profane, not sacred.  There it was, bathing me, hugging me, lifting me up, first noticed at my feet, pure, liquid mercury.  Quickly glancing up, there it was, moon thru our century old pecan trees, beyond what the top pic conveys.
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Made me smile, looking up, in thanks, and Belief.  What of the profane, bringing me to that moment?  Profane became a color, banished by chiaroscuro.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Garden Design Class in a Single Pic

Hello gorgeous, below.
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You got me with your almost brutally modern architecture, smashed into historic Garden Design.
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Then you dropped those orbs with a glint of art nouveau reverie taking a ride with Tinkerbell.
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Your furniture borders on cliche excepting it's an ode to cubism.
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Well do I appreciate the hands & intent pruning, a cocky marvel, to those who know.
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Finally, ending with how lush can you be with the smallest amount of input.
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You're darn tooting I want to see the rest of the garden.
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 :
Pic, above, here.
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Adore garden pics telling a story, and teaching a Garden Design class.
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What do you see, above?
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Saul Zaik: Integrated Indoor & Outdoor Spaces

Zipping with speed thru pics, this deck, below, stopped me.
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A hearty bravo to the brainwave.  Then, overdose-on-a-theme, the roof !
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Another bravo to whoever designed the interior of this home, from my favorite vantage point, the garden.  Landscaping along the windows is a bit odd, glass rectangle edged with ferns, creating a terrarium'ish style.  What to do instead?  (First, replace sofa with a pair of similar styled chairs, that turn 360.  Why the fortification of sofa only looking in?)  Remove ferns & existing path, replace with bluestone rectangles, sized in width from outer edge of deck, fully to the house, scaled in length to each window, spaced the same distance apart as the window frames.

Speaking to his original design, architect Saul Zaik says, “We were really just building boxes with a bunch of windows but experimenting with how you integrated indoor and outdoor spaces.” The house has seven different openings to the exterior, allowing different courtyard or patio settings for a range of outdoor activities, including seating for a gathering on the street-facing side. The Milfords hired Lilyvilla Gardens for the landscaping around the house, including variegated bluestone st...:
Pic, above, here.
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Color of patio chair, echoed inside with the bowl, and dark gray from chimney top to foundation.
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Next.  Axis looking into the home is marvelous.  What is its opposite axis?  Double axis.  If you have a focal point in one direction you must have another in the opposite.  Has me curious.
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Lawn & large shrub at corner are thriving, sculptural.
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Almost a Garden Design course in a single pic.
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Garden & Be Well,    XOT
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Notice the gutters at the roof line?  Great example of darkish color rising up into the roof.  Too often, gutters are painted much lighter than a roof, pulling the height of the roof lower.  Another counterintuitive Garden Design layer.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Garden Design Course in a Single Photo

In many others, and my own, there is a demanding Muse for Garden Photography.
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Every layer, below, Muse's demand, decadently satisfied.
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A Garden Design course can be taught from this pic, below, alone.
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Muse's demand?  Speaking to Jean Cocteau, Sergei Diaghilev said it best, "Astonish me.".

1. Boxed hedge of ivy for outdoor seating area 2. Grass borders:
Pic, above, here.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T
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Want bonus points?  Label every layer, above.
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Love pairs of words, ASTONISH ME, double lovely !  Had to use this new pair after discovery in an article about Andre Leon Talley in NYTimes yesterday.

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Front Door: Choosing Color

Thirty years I lived in this architecture, below.  Looming driveway/garage, wall with large windows, finally, a teeny tiny sliver, and voila, the front door.
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Garden Design's focus, at the front of the home, is the front door.  More than knowing you by your front door, I should know you from the curb.
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Fun opportunities ahead for this home, below.
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A few changes to make in the coming years, below.
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Move the flag holder from the column to a corner of the house.  No need to crowd the front door more, and zero design sense having 2 focal points side/side.  Garden Design rule, one focal point per area.
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Add stone, left/right of the sidewalk at the front door.  Take out the shrub, below, to the right of the front door, place stone, and to the left of the front door, remove the shrub, add stone.  Finally, breathing space.  And the front door 'stoop' opens to the left, and to the front.  Place a classic iron urn on plinth on the stone, to the right of the front door, at the brick wall.  Plant it seasonally, never more put a wreath on the front door.  Nor, have a cluster of pots at the base of the column.  They're crowding the space, shortening the column, and hiding a portion of the zone's best feature, a proper round column.
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Shutters, at right, below, need to be replaced with properly scaled shutters, with an arc at top.  Yes, very nice.
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Let's spend more money.  In addition to the stone already added, stone the front walk, and the front porch step.  Replace the light fixture.  Theirs is nice and more than acceptable.  Light fixtures are jewelry for the house, go for it.  More money?  Replace shutters at left with custom shutters too.
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Brick exterior with black shutters, greige trim and Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue front door. Kylie M Interiors E-design, Edecor and online color consulting

These pics are from a color consultation by Kylie M. Interiors.  I've done exterior color choices for 30 years with my Garden Designs.  Along with patio/deck furnishings, views into windows with window treatments/furniture arrangement, lighting, urns, all in an effort to get clients OUTSIDE.  Never as an extra profit center, what a quaint world my career began in.
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Black front doors are hard to get right, when they are, wow, shazaaaam.  Mostly, black front doors look like a void, as if the door is open, not there.
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In addition to choosing a front door color to coordinate with house siding, roof, trim it must also, for me, pop from the interior art & textiles.
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Blue, below, is excellent.  However, I would need to go inside this home, see their art, and other color choices, before a final 'blue' choice.
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Choosing color this way is too fun, "Oh I love that color."  Well, I know, you've chosen it in your art.  A zone that makes you HAPPY.

Brick exterior with black shutters, greige trim, Wythe Blue painted front door. Kylie M Interiors Edesign and E-decor color consulting online
Pic, above, here.
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Garden Design choices for, above, I see 'instantly'.  Having a brain 'fixing everything' is tiresome while driving thru neighborhoods.  How many times has Beloved heard, "Gosh I want this whole neighborhood." ?
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A past client posted a pic on Facebook yesterday, she's bought a new home out of state.  Many comments congratulating her.  Me?  It's obvious my comment to her, "You need me !!!!!"
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Garden & Be Well, XO T
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Client needing me, above, a lot like me, no kids, doesn't cook.  I designed/maintained her townhome garden for several years, decades ago, every Friday.  Chose that day wickedly.  Her townhome was in the hi-rent zip code of Atlanta, and Fridays were the best estate sales.  And I drive a truck,  A nice match, still living with many of those pickings.  One Friday, she was cleaning out her fridge.  She had left a large tin of lasagna in her fridge so long it had eaten thru the tin.  More stories with her but they cannot be written in this forum.  So, what kind of forum?  A lunch with me in the Conservatory, just a few of us gals, wine, laughter, everyone's stories.  There is my gold, for writing.  Wish I had been taking notes all these decades.  There is a safety in women's sharing.  All share, none will tell or they'll be exposed too.  Yes.  Total safety.  You men should be worried what is shared.
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No worries, I know the reverse is true with men !

Monday, December 12, 2016

Historic Layered With Mid-Century Modern

Divine smash-up of mid-century modern AND historic Garden Design.
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My kind of maintenance too.  Rustic, refined.  Sharp mind, sure hand.  
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Ooooh, that color on the furniture.  I'm in.  Had me at hello.
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How little can you have in your garden, and it's useful, and it's beautiful, and it's easy to maintain ?
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Keep it simple sweetie, check.  Pushing all the right buttons.
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Both masculine, feminine.
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Can you label the parts?

creeping-fig-wall-matthew-williams
Pic, above, here.
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Canopy trees, understory trees, wall, floor, focal point, flow, axis.  Exterior architecture, a garden room.
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Garden & Be Well,   XOT

Friday, November 25, 2016

Paired Down Richness

Minimal embellishment, below, yet, I want what they are selling !  Whatever it may be.  At the front door, they have me.
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Color, potted plant, and font.
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Oddly, there's a great example too of Garden Design and downspout color.  At right, below, downspout color is the wise choice.  At left, below, must be neighbor's downspout.
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Best proof, ever, white jumps forward, and tries to act like a 'column' with a downspout.

p1070229:
Pic, above, here.
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A richness, above, having nothing to do with filthy lucre, and everything to do with warmth, confidence, come-inside, you won't regret it, for there is joy within.  And, you'll be back.
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My favorite Garden Designs are the ones with the fewest ingredients & richest living.
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Notice how they handled the slope, above?    Becomes a non-issue.
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I'd like to keep these in my phone to empower myself from time to time.:
Pic, above, here.

 christian dior:
Pic, above, here.
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Intuitively I sense, owner/s of Brassica live/breath, quotes, above.
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Garden & Be Well,    XOT

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Garden Design: Design in the Silence

Garden Room, below, designed around the Grace of silence, speaking volumes.

clean slate sawyer berson2
Pic, above, here.

 "As a writer you try to listen to what others aren't saying...and write about the silence." --N.R.Hart:
Pic, above, here.
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Image result for themistocles quotes
Pic, above, here.

 Image result for themistocles quotes
Pic, above, here.
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Many compulstions to have in a garden.  The best compulsion?  Simplicity.
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Garden & Be Well,     XOT

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Garden Design Course: In a Photo

More a Garden Design course, below, than simply another garden.  What can you label, below, as the Garden Design 'rules' followed?  Decades I've taught at the local college and Atlanta Botanical Garden.  Never, ever, tire of this phase of Garden Design.  Name it to claim it.  If you know what you are looking at, and can name it.  YOU can do it.
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Color, contrast, flow, layers, mystery, expanse, minutia, shapes.
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Color, did you know green gardens are the 'fastest' to look like something?  Green gardens are also calm, less drama, perhaps best said, more of the right drama.  Then, within the green are myriad greens.
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Contrast, big leaves next to small leaves, rounded shapes next to cone shapes, woody plants next to herbaceous.
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Flow, the pathway has me, feet want to travel, finding what's around the curve, mystery.
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Layers, all checked, pocket of open sky, canopy trees, understory trees, walls of tall bushes, wainscoting of medium bushes, low bushes/groundcovers are flooring & carpet.
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Space too large, 100's of acres, a garden room similar, below, nearish your house will warm & own the expanse.  Space to small, neighbors homes jutting into your face, a garden room similar, below, around your home, creates a huge landscape, eyes drawn to the expanse of canopy trees and sky, which is infinite.
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Minutia of hair like foliage, velvet like moss on the trees, chartreus with dark greens and etc.  Drama change for winter, the garden, below, holds together in all seasons.

Cynthia Woodyard Landscape Design & Horticultural Photography | projects > Love the Italian trees in a cluster instead of a row = very different:
Pic, above, here.

Understanding the Garden Design 'rules' and principles, above, please tell me this makes you laugh, below, in the 'knowing' what they've done, below.  Well done, dramatic pairing, fun drama with Garden Design 'rules'.

 Cornerstone, Sonoma, The Garden of Contrasts by James Van Sweden:
Pic, above, here.

 
Pic, above, I shot yesterday in our garden.
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Yesterday, my harvest table was finally unloaded from the truck.  Temporary location while 'macro' garden construction is completed, you know, drilling a well, graveling drives, renovating sheds, adding a porch, and too much other garden infrastructure keeping me away from my beloved 'micro' gardening.
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Laskett immediately on top of harvest table, owning it.  Behind him, the materials yard awaiting its new barn.  Yes, chaos of materials yard getting on my last nerve.  Alas, at least another full year before it's cleared.
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Harvest table denotes 1st move into my shed, Beloved using my shed until his barn built.  "Where is the Gator going if you put your harvest table there?", Beloved asks.  "No, they both won't fit there.", he responds to my answer.  I smile in return, thinking, "Go away, I've got this."  Poof Beloved's gone, I arrange table, Laskett & I do what we do so well together, bask in each other's adoring presence, Laskett affirms every thought in my head.  Sitting a moment to shoot table/Laskett/setting sun, I glance at the open space for the Gator, with a smile.
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With great pleasure, I walk to the gravel drive where the Gator is parked, crank it up, pull it into it's new space, 2' to spare, turn the Gator off, pull the brake lever up enjoying its sound, surveying the Gator's new domain.  Beloved still working in back at the pond, Laskett & I walk to the house, gardening day done.
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Best irony about my shed, it's a century old, Beloved moved it last year, renovated it, new walls, new window, new door, new floor, added a tin roof to two sides, and it's my shed.  We knew up front he had to use my shed for many of his things, many, until his barn is built.  Has been a great chapter getting here, I'm not in that chapter anymore.    You've already noticed this new chapter title, My Shed.
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Thought you would appreciate a little raw reality gardening.
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Garden & Be Well,  XO T

  
    

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Fear of Color

My sister, older than me, loves pink.  PINK.  Sadly, she lives in a gated neighborhood.  Not much pink, if any, legal in that controlled universe.
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Saving colors on Pinterest I save a lot of pink, wishing it was hers.
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There's more, she has little pink inside her house.  Don't know why.
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I do know, when time passed, and the day arrived, my starter home finally needed painting, I felt the need to 'conform'.  Painting it a color that made me happy?  Oh no, can't do that.  More time passed, my starter home needed painting again.  Time had finally given strength, to be me.  On went the Monet green paint.  Wow.  Made me so happy.  Who was that person, conforming to the grand void of worrying about what other people think?
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Where does 'color' fear come from?

01 Christian Dior Granville home:
Pic, above, here.

When the several billion dollar lottery comes my way, I know exactly where some of the money will go.  A country house, above, and a town house, below, bought for my sister.  With plenty of cash for her to do the interiors, maintain a staff & her new pink lifestyle.

 :
Pic, above, here.

Truly, I'm curious to know my sister, as the woman living with her pink.

 :
Pic, above, here.

Yep, I see us, above, lounging by her country pool, drinking tea, dogs wearing their pink collars, and I finally meet my real sister.  Mom looking on, saying, "You 2 are ridiculous.  What are we doing for lunch?"

My rule of life: #1 "If you want something you never had, you have to do something you've never done.":
Pic, above, here.

 Trust the vibes you get, energy doesn't lie.:
Pic, above, here.
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When it comes to your favorite color, are you afraid to dive in?  Don't be.  Trust it.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Interior Art is your Exterior Color Trinity

I adore this painting, below.  Selfishly, love the entire canvas.  Is it good art?  Don't know.  I do know, this painting would be my starting point for choosing exterior colors.  Shutters, trim, front door, patio cushions, furniture, stone, etc.  Color answers are in this painting.  

Collins:
Pic, above, here.
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Every garden must have a color trinity chosen, green - brown - white is the classic.  Not mandatory, in the least.  Nor is choosing a color trinity limiting or cliche.  Instead, a Garden Design tool that has worked for centuries.  Within a color trinity are limitless selections of shade.  Making your choice of trinity, uniquely you, and more intensely you.
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Aging is never a bore.  Younger, I could not abide this style of art, above.  Now, love it.
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Not chosen a color trinity for your exterior?  Look inside your home, at your art.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

Monday, September 5, 2016

Choose the Classics: Add Your Character

This would be a fun Garden Show template, below.  All entrees must use a day bed, 2 wicker chairs, wicker coffee table, wicker end table, the same amount of space, but after that, no rules.  Color, cushions, accessories, free to choose.
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The classics with infinite variety.


Pic, above, here.
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Next to, above, I would like to see the entry belonging to modern cutting edge techno masculine.
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Garden & Be Well,  XO T
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No budget for , above?  Hunt/gather furniture basics, paint all the same color, you're on your way.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Inspiration for Front Door Color

Yes, your front door matters.  Whether you think so, or not.  Your front door can tell me who you are, or tell me you don't care, or more likely, I care but it's on the to-do list.
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Had to smile at this front door, below.  It's the most often color choice I make for front doors, and I don't mean the blue.  I search interiors for a recurring color in the house, important but not boastful.  Typically, it's found in several pieces of art on the walls.  Clients will say, "I didn't realize I had that color in all my art."  Of course the door color must work with exterior colors already chosen, it's rare not to have it work.
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When clients have a dark foyer, I like to put in the glass door, below.  Literally.  We buy a panel door, and have our carpenter replace the panels with glass.
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Ironically, a year in our ca. 1900 American farmhouse, I've not painted the front door, it remains the seller's blood red color.  Up front, total arrogance, I thought it must be painted quickly, MY color.  It's on the list.  Oddly, the arrogance has disappeared.  The blood red is working for me, until the time arrives and its list number has been reached.

In Good Taste:  Sullen Gregory Design:
Pic, above, here.

Look around your home, what color is 'popping' from the art?
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Does it scare you a bit, and excite you too, wanting to put it on the front door?  It's probably your color.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Footprint: Power of Color

Without the matching column, below, the house ends at the corner.  With the column's matching brick color, the house ends at the column.
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There should be a technical term, a word, describing this phenomenon.  It doesn't have to be matching materials, merely color.  The power of color.
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Using color to expand the footprint of the home, the shutters, front door, siding/trim, are all fair game choices.  Each situation dictates a more-correct choice from the trinity of choices.

A wrought-iron gate at the side of the house separates the back and front…:
Pic, above, here.
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Brick column, above, seems newer than the home, the brick is smoother than brick on the home.
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Perfect choice for stone step, above, its color melding into the garden, and rough hewn edge adding welcome/warmth verses a saw cut edge, in this situation.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T
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Off topic, below.

She's whiskey in a teacup.:
Pic, above, here.

Found this, above, a few days ago.  How could I not think of my best ever older boyfriend, by decades, crush.  Studying historic gardens across Scotland for 2 weeks, our group of 23 stayed in small hotels, most had been a hunting lodge, or some other interesting thing a century or 2 ago.   Since it was Scotland I had bought a bottle of Laphroaig.  After touring all day, our group would retire to fluff & puff for dinner, meeting in the parlor before dinner for socializing a bit, before the splintering off to our tables.  First, I must mention my best ever older boyfriend was quite married, and his wife, and her sister, were in our group.  Adored them too, his wife adored me for taking her husband off her hands for a few minutes at breakfast and dinner.  Heading to the parlor before dinner, my roommate & I would be carrying a tea cup.  
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Sitting on the sofa, in the parlor, talking with friends, I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders from behind, then best ever older boyfriend dipped his head low over me.  He squeezed my shoulders quite tight, whispering into my ear, "Tara you're alright, you're just alright."
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Best ever older boyfriend had an instinct.  Doubting my tea drinking, he was leaning in to smell my tea cup, and definitely got the mystery solved.  The color of strong tea, it was, of course, Laphroaig, neat.
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Seeing the quote, above, brought back those halcyon days with best ever older boyfriend.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Why Exterior Color Doesn't Always Travel

A past client moved from their much loved family home, not by their own choosing.  Circumstances beyond their control, poof, they're in a new city, new home.  Off I went, creating a new garden for them, garden #2.
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It was good being with them again, though this time, there was the gift of simply bearing witness, in memory of their previous home, turning the page, in joy, creating their new garden. Counterintuitively, home #2, regardless of circumstance, absolutely one of the happiest houses I've been in.  Partly, I think, from her use of the color salmon in many of their antique rugs, and on the walls.
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First garden I designed for them landed on the cover of a magazine, This Old House, here.
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Enough 'happy', remembering her salmon, and how it made me feel, I called her recently asking for the paint color.  The house we've moved into is about the same age as theirs, ca. 1900.  Our dining room similar in scale to, below.  Alas, it is a deep red, nice/good, but not for us.  I'm thinking her happy salmon, for our dining room.  A north facing room, it can do with brightening.




Another good salmon, below.  Salmon is a hard color to get right.  Which continent and where on the continent you live affects salmon.  A client outside Chicago loves salmon, alas it's not for her front door, the bricks won't work with it.

mnswick:
“ Good morning from Charleston!
”

Pics, above, here.
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Notice the drip irrigation tubing, above?  Subtle, well done.  From the front door, I must know who you are.  Yes, I want to go inside, above.  Salmon in both pics, above, are not the same.
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Client, when I called her, said she needed me to come back, late this fall.  I will arrange for Beloved to tag along.  Their home is about equally west in Georgia, as ours is east, just below an imaginary middle Georgia line.  Important to note because our sky & sun & red clay are equal in their impact on salmon.  Studying historic landscapes across Europe for so many years, it's another thing I learned, sideways, exact colors don't always translate well to new locales.  Allowances must be made.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Color & Architecture's Relationship

It's outrageous what color can do, good & bad, for architecture.
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Painting or staining a fence coming off the front sides of a home, widens its architecture.  Enlarges the footprint of welcome, to the home.
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An easy concept, and wildly affordable relative to the huge impact gained.

Dark Blue Front Entrance A new metal-framed door matches the new windows.:

Pic, above, here.
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Great example, above, about purchasing a properly scaled doormat.  This poor mat, above, looks like it came from a Pin the Tail on the Donkey store.  Dinky is Stinky, is this doormat's trinity fail.  The doors are way too fabulous to be wearing this doormat.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T
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Dinky is Stinky is a great save, protecting you from hunting/gathering the wrong things.  Another great save, 'We're not to that layer yet.'  Both from Susanne Hudson.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Following & Breaking Rules

Green-brown-white is the top historic exterior color trinity for gardens.  Who, ever, likes/wants rules?
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Late to the game, me, once I learned the trick to garden design rules.  I hadn't known or trusted garden rules deeply enough to wisely break them.  That's all there is too it.  Trust the rules, follow the rules, break the rules wisely.  Why the bother?
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Knowing the rules, breaking the rules, creates a garden & exterior more deeply 'you'.  Rules don't make every garden the same.  Rules make every garden potently different.
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Adored, seeing this garden, below.  In the pink.  I want to know this person.  Just from this pic, a tiny portion of their exterior.  More, I want to see the owner's interior.

Live Beautifully Outdoors:

Pic, above, here.
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Hope you realize that's what you're patio/deck must do, too.  Others must see it, and want to come inside.  Others must see it and 'know' who you are.  Those are garden design rules !
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

How Color Choice Affects the Size of Your Home

Calm, rustique, classic, nestled, below.  What plays the major role in this Exterior Design?  Color.
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Imagine home, below, with white trim.  Pop.  The house just moved forward, got smaller, the roof lowered, the garden shrunk.  Merely, painting the trim white.  Ironically, this home previously had a teal blue trim.  Same effect, to lesser degree, than white.
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Everything is thriving, but we do need some rain - it's been very dry here in the Northeast. From my driveway, my house looks beautiful with the tan colored woodwork - it is such a change from the teal blue. Do you remember the old trim?:

Pic, above, Martha Stewart.

In an area that is small, or with disparate components, here's the color trick, below.  Did you already intuit the trick?  Everything should be the same color, or color family.

 My longtime housekeeper, Laura Acuna, set up some refreshments on the lower terrace parterre outside my kitchen. Some cool pomegranate iced-tea and some cheese wafers.:

Pic, above, Martha Stewart.
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Exterior color, if you haven't given it much thought, does potent work to every exterior.  Make sure your exterior colors are doing the right potent work.  Potent for good vs. potent for bad.  It's your choice.  Make every layer of narrative with color choices exterior/interior and you've just raised property value, and made every day in your home happier.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO T

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Backyard: Lawn vs. Gravel

From the 1st time studying historic gardens in Europe over 20 years ago, gravel changed every thought about a 'lawn'.
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Perhaps it was coming from a region of USA with ubiquitous patchy backyard 'turf' lawns.
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Gravel, below, set with a top rate template of plantings too.  No worries what the plantings are, below, use the best plants in your zone fitting the appropriate sun/shade, size, foliage evergreen/deciduous.
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Best plants?  Don't know best plants for your zone, USA?  Go to your county/state/extension office online.  Typical mission statement for the Extension Service,        

"Mission

Our mission is to extend lifelong learning to Georgia citizens through unbiased, research-based education in agriculture, the environment, communities, youth and families.

UGA Extension offers educational programs, assistance, and materials to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, or handicap status. "

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Your county Extension Service will have a listing of the best trees/shrubs/groundcovers/vines.  Motivation is for the proper plantings, not to sell you something.
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Knowing the best plants for your specific location gives you liberty to copy good gardens world wide.
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Don't feel comfortable choosing the best plants for your garden plan?  Take a picture of what you want, perhaps below, and ask your Extension Service agent, or their volunteer Master Gardener to choose for you.  This service is paid for thru your tax dollar.

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Pic, above, here.
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Choosing gravel, align with color that may already be used with your home's exterior, or interior.  If there is a predominate stone in your location, choose it.  Measure square footage you want to cover with gravel, 2.5" thick and place your order.  The stone source you order from will turn your square footage/depth into 'yards'.  Small gravel is best, more residential.  Large gravel is commercial for parking lots or building construction.
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If you're fighting a poor turf lawn in your backyard, consider gravel.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO
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My 1st phone call to Extension Service was ca. 1985.  Going to the mailbox I noticed a vile odor.  Exploring, discovered ooze at the base of a large oak.  Their diagnosis?  Slime flux.  Solution?  Poor a mix of clorox/water on it.  It worked, and I'm still friends with the Extension agent helping me.  Weirdly, he's retiring next year.  How is that possible?  He's also the 1st person ever asking me to speak.  He created a new layer in my career.  In return I've never said 'no' when he's called asking me to speak for Extension.  About 6-7 years ago he asked me to speak on pollinators.  A disaster I thought, but said 'yes'.  Pollinators?  Boring.  How was I to know it would become one of my most requested lecture titles?  He called earlier this month, one of our 'peeps' is moving back to Georgia.  A young woman we watched grow in her horticulture career and are both so proud of.  She took a lot of my seminars, always asked the best questions, a great can-do attitude.  She moved away for a huge huge huge job, but Georgia family/friends are pulling her home.  He asked if I would give her a reference.  As if !!