Design Free Garden
Mine is a woodland garden and recently I learned a valuable lesson. I do not need to design anything about it. Phew. I’m free. I had no idea that I was bound, but now that I’m not, the relief is amazing.
I’m a woman who grew up in the mountains and learned a love of the woods early. Life has taken me many places and I have had a few gardens, all of them meticulously laid out to create ordered chaos, studied and planned to bits. I am mad about design. I see layouts I admire and designers who are staggeringly gifted. They have my respect. However while my background is art and design, my heritage is those hills I came from.
What taught me to leave the concept of design behind was a walk in the woods. That simple. Real, natural woods. There is a quiet little woodland park I go to where every few years volunteers clean up the invasives and the result is an amazing collection of natives growing where they may. It has texture, depth, color and form. And life, so much life! It’s beautiful. And you know what? I haven’t been to a more peaceful place in a very, very long time. Not since I left my mountain. This park is no planed garden and it is where I want to be. It just struck me how perfect that was.
So I went home, looked at my woodlands and was completely content. The angst and unseen pressure of caring about designing was completely gone. I will always manipulate and think a spot needs height, fall in love with a leaf texture and will never be able to stand a horizon not having an easy line (makes my teeth curl), but it’s very relaxed now. I can putter. No more endless pads of paper, pencils, stencils and rulers. I don’t think that I am a gardener any more, just someone who takes care of the woods.
When the Going Gets Tough, Go Outside
Enjoying your blog very much! I too am a reformed obsessive garden designer and life is SO much easier when you can put down the paper and pencil and let nature do the design work!
While clearing out the invasives may sometimes feel like a losing battle, it is amazing how relaxing and peaceful native woodland can be.
Allowing ourselves to relax our design obsessions creates room to really enjoy the wonders of nature.