Lois de Vries' Garden Views

The other day I was asked what my favorite gardening websites are and why. The first one that popped into my mind was Gardening Gone Wild http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?p=9088 because of its pieces on photography and design, the ability to interact and cross-blog, and the hosts’ ability to generally stir up the imagination of gardeners everywhere. So this post is an entry in GGW’s Picture This Contest for November, aptly named End of the Line. My interpretation is a literal one (top photo) – a winter scene of our cedar arbor at the end of the line formed by a decorative fence that marks the boundary (or end of the line) between where we actively garden and the next, semi-wild zone. But there’s more. There are the horizontal lines of the arbor itself. And the upright lines of the tree trunks and the tips of the fence pickets. The sentry-like vertical forms of the snow-covered rhododendrons. And finally, the curving line of the wild grapevine. Once I started looking for an approp

Here’s a contemporary pavilion with a Japanese flair that’s produced by the unusual treatment of the beams at the eaves and the decorative detailing at the gable ends. The simple lines of the slat roof and the supporting columns create interesting reflections in the water and shadows on the decking. While the construction of a similar structure is not for the faint of heart, the basic form is within the capacity of most contractors or experienced do-it-yourselfers. The trick with translating such buildings from public spaces into home gardens is, as always, reducing the dimensions to human scale, while maintaining the correct proportions to suit the house and grounds. While this type of open-air shelter doesn’t offer much protection from inclement weather, the closely-spaced roof slats would create welcome shade in an otherwise open, sunny yard as well as a level surface for work or entertaining. Benches can be built-in or free-standing to accommodate large or small groups of people.

Floral sculpture: Inta Krombolz, ikrombolz@comcast.net  Want some insight into what your favorite gardener might be dreaming about during the long, cold winter? It’s not likely to be another trowel or pair of mud gloves. For something your gardener won’t soon forget, choose something from my fantasy gift list: Wind Sculptures – We bought one during our trip to Utah this year and just love it. In addition to its inherent qualities, it stands in the lavender garden as a symbol of our visit to Red Butte Gardens, our niece’s wedding, and a fun vacation. Designed and built by Lyman Whitaker, these contemporary abstract sculptures are designed to move with the slightest breeze, yet have controlled movement in high winds. More info at http://www.whitakerstudio.com/index.html , where you can link to art galleries that sell his work. Garden Tours – No matter how big or flower-filled any garden is, its owner will run off to look at someone else’s at the drop of a hat. For those with