Garden Diary: Adding Structure, Adding Void

The top photo shows the remnants of the garden after several bouts of early, heavy ice. Comparing it to the second photo, taken ten weeks earlier at the height of autumn fullness (over fullness), shows the need for more open space (void) and structure.

Look closely in the lower right of the top photo and you will see an oblong outline made with a garden hose. This will become a raised planting area, built of dry laid stone wall, about four or five feet wide and 25 feet long. The planting will probably be geometric and minimal - perhaps a row of box balls. The new area will extend the void created by the pond and reflect its shape in a contrasting material.

My intent is to introduce more openness into the garden, create a spatial reference point, a sort of "home point" that will help the viewer judge size and spatial relationships, and provide more of a structural frame for the wild garden.

I'm also looking at the two photos to determine where I can introduce some evergreen elements to help carry the garden structure through the worst of the winter, and create more structure throughout the year.