More of the back yard

   One of the most influential gardens I ever visited was Bellingrath Gardens, just south of Mobile, Alabama.  It has a large oval "great lawn" surrounded by shrubbery, backed up by large trees.  Both my front and back lawns reflect that design.  Quite unnatural--but striking and impactful.

   The first two photos, taken from the same location, show the before and after views of my remaking of the backyard last summer, and continuing this summer.  I reduced the size of the lawn by a third and added perennial beds around the smaller lawn.  In the second photo the Vinca minor has yet to fill in the foreground area.  The triangular bed on the left foreground was built last week, and it contains all tiny hostas.  

   The next two photos are views of the patio looking towards the house.  I only use begonias for annuals, and only one color, rose, plus white.  I gave up mixing colors and species many years ago.  I found it too busy and messy looking--like trying to look good wearing plaid pants and striped shirts.

   I designed the hanging light fixture way back in 1980, and I have three new fixtures in my gardens now.

   The next two photos show my favorite moss garden, built in 2016.  The wooden structure was designed by Leonardo da Vinci about 500 years ago.  I saw a larger version of it in a da Vinci museum in Venice, Italy.  I'll bet he never built one!  Very difficult to make, even with modern tools.

   The last photo is of one of the first moss gardens I built, around 2008.  Moss Acres, a commercial seller of moss in Pennsylvania, uses this photo in their magazine ads and on their Facebook page.