traditional home magazine decorating ideas

who says gardens can't be rooms, and formalrooms at that? you know, if you're into gardens or if you're into beauty, there's somethingabout a formal garden, whether you're a formal person or not, you just have to love. there'ssuch harmony in them. this is one i designed about, oh, 15 to 17 years ago. if you lookclosely, you'll see that it's made up of very few, simple concepts. you see, the gardenis symmetrical. it is 80 feet long and 40 feet wide. and the inside of the garden isreally divided into four parterres with a center fountain. and what a parterre is isjust divided earth. now, the plant material that i used to paint this garden is reallymade up of just a handful of plants. hollies -- we have needlepoint holly as the otherhedge. we have these conical hollies called

nellie r. stevens hollies -- there are fourof those. and then the rest of the garden, well, it's made of boxwood. this is calledbuxus microphylla, and you can see, it takes the knife, as they say, very well -- meaningthat it sheers beautifully. now even though we're in the midst of winter, this garden,i think, really shines. in fact, i think that one of the best times to look at a gardenis in the winter because you can really look at its bones. now, speaking of bones, thereare some other plants in here that are deciduous. there are crape myrtles here over the archwaythat creates the entrance to this garden. there's a new dawn rose. and then there areobjects in the garden that help punctuate it. there are these urns with an obelisk atthat top, and in each corner there are figures

that represent the four season. we come backto that whole idea of simplicity and symmetry. you know, it's a lot of fun to come back toa garden like this and see it mature. even though i did it 17 years ago, by basicallysketching out the initial idea on a napkin, it's fun to see how it's come together, matured,and you get this great sense of harmony just walking through it. if you've enjoyed thistip on garden design, make sure you share it with a friend, and subscribe to ehow home.

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