Tuesday, July 1, 2014

2nd Best Design Rule for a Focal Point in the Garden

  Their French architecture manor house is in a subdivision with ubiquitous, and aging, landscaping.
.
Fabulous timing for me to design.
.
Hidden in the small backyard, below.
.


Lucky me, able to work with this piece.  Now, their subdivision foundation plantings are a garden & this bench is between a pair of large windows with an espalier Sasanqua behind it.
.
Don't need to know a thing about gardens to know this bench, above, trumps leggy green builder's meatballs.
.
Then the story.
.

She told me how decrepit the bench is and I could have it.  My hunger to create beautiful gardens is obviously the greater ego over owning this bench.
.
No hesitation, telling her, "I would love the have the bench but will love it more in your garden to make me look good as a Garden Designer."
.
And, I know she'll fall in love with the bench in its new location.


Then, the story of provenance.
.
An estate sale.  2 beautiful ladies lost their home to a shoddy renovation gone bad and to court.  Their home/garden had been in books/magazines including one of my hardcover books.  Worse, the ladies did not win in court yet the contractors were at fault.
.
Hopefully client/me will catch up with these incredible women again.
.
The 2nd best Focal Point rule?  Just Let It Touch.  Let the foliage 'just touch' the focal point.
.
1st rule of focal points?  Focal Points must be so wonderful they will be fought over at your estate sale.
.
Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
.
 For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.
.
Award winning speaker, hire me for your group, local/out-of-state.
                                                                                 .
Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon
.
Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.
.
Construction by Award Winning:

Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction.  Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC.  3 decades of service.

5 comments:

La Contessa said...

OMG!
How good of YOU to tell her it MUST STAY............
That bench is so me!But YOU know that.............
Cannot wait to see what YOU do with this!
XXX

LPC said...

Recent subscriber, am learning so much. Thank you.

Lori Buff said...

These pictures make me think of Boboli Gardens in Florence, IT. Just perfect.

So sorry about the ladies and their lost battle. I hate it for them.

cindy hattersley design said...

That is one fabulous bench. How wise of you to keep it in its home

Anonymous said...

How generous of you to relocate it and keep it in its home!

Beautiful! La Contessa and I would be fighting over it at an estate sale! (Except I couldn't fight La Contessa about anything!!)!!

Wonderful story!