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| Garden features |
Lighting
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Lighting is a wonderful thing to have in the garden, giving an added dimension and longer enjoyment hours of all your hard work. It is better to see the light and not the lights, with subtle and hidden light fittings that create glows rather than stand alone light features. You will find up lights, down lights, flood lights, wall lights, step lights, funky fairy lights, and pond lights. Make sure what you highlight is something you actually want to see.
Candles can also look stunning in a garden and should be used all the time. In lighting the garden make sure to retain some spooky and shady places, the garden should retain a certain mystery and no show all of its pleasure at once.
Some of the better lighting firms will draw up a lighting plan for you and in a larger space this is well worth the extra fee. It is imperative to employ an electrician (or very competent handyperson) if installing garden lights. All fixtures should be waterproof, and underground wiring protected from unsuspecting spade users.
Water
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As a garden is a microcosm of nature at large, it makes sense to include water in your personal world. Humans have a strong draw towards water, stemming naturally from the fact that It is essential for our survival. The desire for water in the garden (even in these days of water on tap) is a throwback of our ancient necessity of proximity to a water body.
The most important thing to consider when contemplating a water feature are scale, style and sound. The practicalities can be worked out later, but you must first think about what it is you want to achieve with the inclusion of water into your garden life. The first big decision is whether to go for a natural water body or a formalised one, any wishy-washy in between styles never really work unless carried out with great design talent. The choice will be dictated by the overall style and context of your garden.
It can be wonderful to create a naturally looking pond in a large garden and the wildlife (frogs, herons, ducks) will love you for it. In order to satisfy wildlife, there are certain things to remember, like sloping banks and varying depths – you should find this information in any gardening for wildlife book.
The creation of a marshy or bog garden should also be considered if you are going down the natural route, visually it creates the appropriate transition between dry land and the water.
A favourite garden touch is the creation of a wooden deck suspended over the edge of a natural pond. Sitting on the deck gives the feel of hovering over the water, and brings you right up close to the ripples on the surface. The history of formal water gardening is long and varied. Take your inspiration from Moorish rills, French raised ponds or Italianate fountain sculptors, to name but a few.
The past ten years or so have been fruitful in terms of garden water feature design, with designers creating slick and subtle constructions showing water off in an unusual way. Computer controlled fountain sequences and new building technology have sparked a golden era in the history of formal water design, so keep your eyes open in public spaces and corporate landscapes for the latest and greatest trends.
There can be nothing more unnerving than a water feature that sounds wrong. Different people find different water sounds pleasing. For some the only satisfaction is gained from a massive gushing of gallons, some others crave the soothing murmur of a bubbling spring. It’s up to you but as the book says, know thyself.
Art
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At most times in human history gardens were considered art. Landscape design was considered an art form and much philosophical debate was given over to approaches to the moulding of the outdoor world. The last century of popular garden design, however, may come to be symbolised by the garden gnome, a great comedown from the great era of artful garden design.
Strangely enough, the golden eras have lived on in some of the ‘garden art’ often offered by way of garden centres. The ubiquitous Venus de Milo and Three Graces statues we see in garden books hark back to an era when Renaissance, and later Georgian, gardens were created as an allegory of the great Greek and Roman mythologies.
The discerning should look for something a little more personal. Many sculptors work with materials that will survive the elements. Works in metal, stone and treated wood can transform an ordinary garden in something a lot more meaningful. Again the buying of art for your personal space is dependant on what kind of person you are.
Carefully consider the best placing of an artwork, as this can determine the difference between something appearing to have been ‘plonked down’ and something appearing perfectly happy in its surroundings. Many kinds of garden art can work in a garden, its up to your tastes.
According to some definitions, if someone calls it art, it is art.I have found that the most endearing gardens are filled with mementoes and found objects placed lovingly and caringly by the owners. Things can be hung from trees, hung on walls, placed in beds, personalising the space. Ideally, the entire form of the garden should read as an artwork, although you may need to get in the professionals for this class of sensory experience.
Organic stuff
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On a final note, whatever you do with the garden, don’t forget that it is only yours to borrow. The garden is your tiny part of the world, but this does not separate it from the wider environment. Any chemicals you use in the garden become part of the general system as they are washed into the soil or through water outlets. Pesticides kill beneficial insects as well as ones that eat your plants. By using a pesticide you are killing the good bugs that eat the bad bugs that eat your plants.
A far better solution is to ensure your planting is strong and healthy so it can stand up to intermittent attacks. A healthy soil full of compost and organic material should fertilise plants as much as they need, reducing the need for chemical fertilisers. Again the right choice of plants is essential in this regard. If you have children playing in a garden, the need to cut down or cut out chemical use is even more important.
By planting native plants and trees, you are playing an important part in developing and maintaining ecosystems. Much of the green space of cities or towns is made up of private gardens. For the birds, insects and small mammals that survive in cities, gardens are essentially stop-off points in their travels. Help them out by planting native and enjoy their tuneful company.
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The above article is courtesy of House and Home, Ireland's favourite interiors magazine which also publishes 'Build Your Own House and Home', the annual 300 page reference to building a home in Ireland.
www.houseandhome.ie
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