What's Next?

Pockets of snow still linger here and there, and it's too cold to do much in the garden. Since I'm stuck inside, I figured I might as well get the wheels rolling on a plan for the next project. Inspiration is the tough part though. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do, other times, coming up with a good design is like pulling teeth.

I can't always visualize what my ideas are going to look like, so it's hard to convey them to my husband. He's the builder, I'm the gardener. Needless to say, we see things a little differently, and lately ideas and arguments have been flowing freely.

To improve the lines of communication and nail down a design both of us could agree on, we began sketching out  our ideas on photographs we took with our Ipad. We drew over them in Art Studio - an inexpensive program you can download from your apps if you have an Ipad. If not, you can do the same thing by printing out a photograph, covering it with a piece of tracing paper and drawing on it. It's a way to draw quickly and doesn't require much artistic skill. 

Here's the project .... we refer to it as the 'seat of creativity'. Phil carved it out of a dying plum tree he cut down last fall.  Genius idea, but now I'm trying to figure out how to connect it with the other plantings so it doesn't look like it's floating around. As you can see, it's right on the corner and I'd rather not see the street sign and traffic going by. The soil is sandy and pebbly, so I'll have raise the beds and bring in loads of compost. Whatever we end up doing, there has to be enough room around the seat to prune the quince hedge behind it.

Last weekend Phil told me he wanted a cuddly garden with trees in it. Hmm, does that mean he's going to cuddle me in it? He thinks those trees are going to stay that size!

I like the idea of a tree in the backdrop though, what about just one tree, with some kind of weeping shape? It would shield us from the road. Maybe I could curve the bed around it and plant big sweeps of groundcovers or perennials.

Both of us are partial to the idea of an edible garden, but the soil is terrible and we'd have to build raised beds. He sees boxes, which can be easily built. I see curves, but don't know how to engineer them.

Maybe this could work...

Or this...maybe we could extend that curve he's got going on.

Lest you think this is an futile exercise in Mars versus Venus, these quick little drawings have generated lots of ideas. It's less intimidating than drawing a plan and a lot more fun. Let it snow!