Gardens, as places of escape...

Thomas Balsley, a New York landscape architect feels that gardens are places to escape; they are places where we can transform not only the garden, but ourselves in the  process.  

Garden spaces have to have meaning for us.

Many of  us never began gardening because we felt that we could never make our gardens like those in the magazines.... but I have learned that  we must use what we have...start from where we are now and head in the direction we want to go... much like life, I suppose.

When our gardens are bare at the end of winter, before there is any green to distract us, we can stand back and look beyond the obvious space; to the space beyond... perhaps our neighbour has a magnificent tree that we can use as a backdrop to our own garden. We can use that vista to make a plan of our own. Maybe we can find a way to draw our eyes to the sight of that tree by  using its beauty or size or colour as a jumping off point for our own design.

How about an arbour through which to view that tree with a path bordered by coloured flowers and plants along the way?  

Take a good look at what you have first and  use it your advantage.

Perhaps we could use trees and shrubs as we would art and learn to prune and trim them for shape and  health instead of classic round balls.  Take small spaces and find an amusing way to link them together.

Take your time. If you want trees in your garden but are not sure where they should go, buy them in pots and move them around until their position pleases you.

Don't be afraid to try something new.  There really are no mistakes that cannot be fixed with a shovel; I call it "shovel-pruning". And keep trying, ask questions, find a garden club or garden site that will teach you, and ask more questions, try  more things.  

But be sure to keep track of what you do, so when it succeeds, you can do it again or share what you  have learned... or not make the same mistake twice.  At any rate, learn through your garden, no matter how small, no matter how large.

At the end of the day, if you are a gardener, you should have twigs in your hair, dirt on  your face and under your nails.  Talk about reality !