When creating a private garden in its long life, the relationship between the Creator, the owner and the one who will take care of the garden later plays a crucial role. Consider two natural options: the first – designer, the second-Amateur.
Designer gardens
In my opinion, the main thing in creating a garden to order should be the ability to please the owner and not to lose their own honor. The biggest mistake is the creation of a composition alien to the master’s taste. Do not think that I urge you to create commercial gardens, contrary to the laws of the genre and their own artistic preferences – from such orders self-respecting designer should refuse. But a compromise is also possible.
A true designer should be a diplomat, able to create the owner’s belief that the ideas proposed to him the concept of the garden is fully consistent with his desires and needs. It should be borne in mind that in our country, a garden designer, even if famous and expensive, is not an indisputable authority, why any differences with the changing tastes and needs of the owner of the garden will lead to its inevitable alteration.
It is impossible to forget about it, and the designer is obliged to calculate prospects of further life of a garden and to provide opportunities of its transformation. For the future of the garden is vital, because otherwise from your, albeit brilliant, work will not remain a trace in a year.
Every designer should be aware that complex, exquisite compositions are static, do not allow foreign introductions and even with appropriate care can get bored with the owner – what is good for the exhibition, may not be suitable for everyday life.
Extremely short-sighted I think the creation of compositions that requires painstaking care — those that use complicated trimming, paving to decorative gravel, pebbles, mosaic, laying or planting capricious, requiring specific care of plants. Such gardens can have a long life only in exceptional cases – if they are constantly and expensive care gardeners of high qualification. Unfortunately, the majority of owners, having laid out for a garden huge money, it is convinced that the house service can quite cope with it.
Knowing this, many designers are on the path of least resistance and create commercial gardens “easy care”, collected from standard components – extensive lawns, ponds, conifers and groups of ornamental shrubs. In principle, in this “European standard” there is nothing wrong, and with high-quality performance such gardens could visually unite the entire village in a stylish array, but, unlike Europe, this is prevented by high fences and pretentiousness of the multi-style architecture of cottages.
Joy should be only that which is in the oblivion began to leave the gardens with the rocks and waterfalls in the middle of the plot. However, instead of the rock piles began to come gardens created in pseudo-Japanese (Chinese, Moorish, Italian or Mediterranean) style.
Ethnic miniatures can successfully fit into the composition of a private garden and be made very stylish, but against the background of the “borrowed” landscape of birches and neighborly buildings look very ridiculous.
Amateur gardens
Unlike gardens created by professional designers, “Amateur” gardens are made from and for the soul, why are a true manifestation of national taste. I am absolutely convinced that they form the style of the national garden, as they are created by Amateur experimenters.
And this is not an insult, but the honorary title of those who, sparing no money and effort, “passes” through their gardens and heart a huge number of plants. This reflects the irrepressible folk energy, a thirst for creativity and good sense, respect for authority, without which the creation of new impossible.
Much of what is happening in such gardens, shocking, it seems terrible, but we should not forget that everything new and unusual often causes rejection and only over time, finding certain criteria and framework, becomes a style. I can say with confidence that there are elements of identity in these gardens, and they should be considered carefully.
In my opinion, modern gardens are divided into two alternative areas – “natural” and “bouquet”.
Natural gardens
Natural garden occurs most often in wooded areas or Badlands with poor soils and difficult terrain. Gardeners refuse from such sites, so in most cases such gardens are owned by aesthetes and plant collectors, for whom the landscape composition becomes the basis for growing rare and unusual plants.
Native trees in this garden never become a hindrance to cultural vegetation and even contribute to the growth of vines, rhododendrons, conifers, ferns and exquisite undergrowth plants.
There is a place in such gardens and lawn, pond, rockery, small architectural forms. Another thing is that all these classical components are devoid of any artificiality and organically fit into the natural composition as its integral natural elements.
Another significant advantage of natural gardens-the lack of superimposed on them utilitarian landscape in the form of neighboring buildings. Moreover, the natural style allows you to include in the garden of such complex compositions as “Japanese” gardens, for which isolation scenes and crowns of trees is required.
The only counter-intuitive, and sometimes impossible in execution of the artistic elements become flower beds, collected from flowering perennials. These plants are not so much contrary to the style of the natural garden, but can not fully bloom in the shadow and poverty of the soil.
A natural garden can be created on a fertile Sunny plot for gardening, which is often practiced in Europe.
Bouquet gardens
Bouquet garden, I think, embodies the dream of any novice gardener. If we do not forget that the flower abundance appeared on the markets relatively recently, it is safe to say that it has attracted the vast majority of summer residents.
There is nothing to be surprised here: we, gardeners, are eager to be satisfied with abundance not only plants, but also various garden accessories. It seems impossible for a sane designer or agronomist to combine all this into a single composition, but “there are no obstacles for us”, and therefore every year new acquisitions appear in the garden.
What does it turn out to be? Oddly enough, the garden! And not any, and “bouquet”. I suggest this term because it is more than other responsible for observations of bouquets of flower shops-here it is, similar to our gardens abundance of colors, sequins, figures and other bright cheerful tinsel. In a modern bouquet you can” cram ” anything.
Surprised you can see how in such a small area in 6-12 acres, amid a terrible neighborhood buildings are placed: lawn, pond, rock garden, flower beds, shrubs, trees and garden plants. The “advanced” gardeners in these compositions may include elements of a Japanese garden decorative lanterns, and lots of assorted figures.
If you are interested in whether I like it, frankly: absolutely not! But it does not matter, because everyone has different tastes, and everyone builds a garden for himself. I am sincerely convinced that criticism is possible only for public or custom gardens, and a private garden, if it brings joy to the owner, is always good.
However, it can be assumed that since these gardens are typical and widespread, they may well be considered the progenitors of the new original style, which has undeniable advantages that are absent in the gardens of other styles. One of the most important is the interchangeability of plants and components, i.e. the possibility of continuous transformation.
I will explain more clearly: such gardens-the fruit of improvisation, where at any time any of the components can be eliminated, changed or swapped without any damage to the composition. And the very concept-composition – in such gardens is very conditional, because most of them are planned on the principle: “plant where there is free space.”
That is why even the main actors of such a garden – plants — often can not find a permanent place of residence. None of them (except fruit and few conifers) is constant. Moreover, the death of any of them does not harm the garden. Such a garden as a sponge is able to accommodate everything that is so necessary for gardeners to quench their thirst for acquisition, and this is true happiness for them!
Of course, many of these gardens are extremely oversaturated, but — and I have no doubt – it’s just a “growth disease”. I am happy to watch the bouquet gardens-veterans – their owners gain experience, reject excess, form compositions from plants and achieve the desired – continuity of flowering and decorative effect, which makes them owners of fabulous and cheerful-bright gardens. It is impossible to miss or relax in these flower gardens-surprises, gifts and surprises are waiting for the owners every day. I treat such gardeners with great respect, because their gardens are open, clear, generous and abundant!
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