Re: Habitability

I also like gardens that get you to move around to see everything. My mother has the idea that the garden should be entirely visible from the sidewalk in front of our house, but I planned it out to feel like you were crossing a dry creek and that meant islands of plants here and there so you had to walk to the house to get a look at everything. 

Exactly!
If you can see it all at once, where's the fun in that?
Perhaps though this is a style of gardening that appeals most to those of us who are the curious exploring types. Some people like to see everything all at once - this may be back to Jay Appleton's thing about security.
I used to be a tree officer, trying to protect trees from inappropriate removal or pruning. I met a disturbingly large number of control freaks who thought that trees were only beautiful when they were pruned into restricted unnatural shapes. I ended up thinking that the people who liked lollipopped trees, the ones who always wanted to control everything, who basically felt threatened by trees, were people who were more afraid than trusting of the world. For Harry Potter fans, think Dolores Umbridge, especially as brilliantly portrayed by Imelda Staunton in the film of the Order of the Phoenix, losing it and screaming 'I will have order!'. Those of us who were lucky enough to have parents who helped us to trust other people, and lucky enough to grow up in societies which encouraged us to trust the world, are I suspect the ones who enjoy exploring, who don't demand perfect grooming, who enjoy plants being encouraged to do their own thing... 


On Thursday, Jul 21, 2011, at 17:43 Europe/London, B. Garcia wrote:




On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 6:04 AM, Ben Armentrout-Wiswall 
I was just wondering about some other people's favorite gardens or garden spots, and what makes them favorites.  Are they formal or naturalistic? In sun or shade? With long views or close and intimate? Open or secluded?  Could the site be reproduced, or is it a unique feature?
My favorite gardens are the naturalistic, the ones that don't care about making sure everything is perfectly groomed, and also allowing for the plants to grow and spread (within reason) as they naturally do. I've never cared much for topiary, clipped shrubs and perfectly uniform lawns. I like that feeling that it could be an actual wild space if only in the imagination.
I much prefer secluded gardens rather than ones where everyone can just see in from outside of the property. I like the idea of having a back garden (at least) that has a wall of green around it, but once inside feels like a living room, set apart from your neighbors (part of this may be because both neighbors next to us have windows that can see right into our back garden). I actually thought that if I owned my own place, I'd surround the borders in a wall of green.
I also like gardens that get you to move around to see everything. My mother has the idea that the garden should be entirely visible from the sidewalk in front of our house, but I planned it out to feel like you were crossing a dry creek and that meant islands of plants here and there so you had to walk to the house to get a look at everything. She still thinks I should've put ALL of the tall stuff at the house and short things at the sidewalk.
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