At last!

Dear readers, I bet you thought I would never post again. I have been taking a design class this summer at the Landscape Institute in Boston. http://the-bac.edu/education-programs/the-landscape-institute It was really fun but oh what a lot of work. I have finished my final design, and can't wait to share it with you. But it will take a few days to get the plan uploaded. So...in the meantime i am posting a small paper I wrote on one of the many remarkable allees in Stan Fry's garden. Enjoy.

STAN FRY GARDENS - PETERBOROUGH, NH

Linear space review by Laura Campbell, 7/2/12

The existing gardens were started in 1991.  Sited on a relatively steep slope,  terraces have been used to create level spaces and garden areas in the 12 acres. They feature over 40 garden areas.  The limited palette and repetition of plant material gives a unity to the whole. Evergreen material, such as boxwood, yew, and arborvitae have been used to provide structure and winter interest. The terraced form of the gardens has lent it to featuring a series of allees, typical of an Italian hillside garden.

To my mind, one of the most delightful linear spaces lies across the street from the main garden. on the edge of a formal hedged garden.

This space is quite long. The path is grass. Snowdrift crabapples flank either side in a staggered arrangement. The serpentine sheared boxwood hedges frame and accentuate the staggered arrangement. A border of hydrangeas (I think) lies beyond the street side boxwood hedge. On the other side, the lawn continues and a stone terrace with a tall yew hedge runs parallel to the allee.  This is the border of the formal garden, hidden from the street. there are two breaks in the boxwood hedge on the wall side to allow for cross paths from the formal garden. At either end of the allee, an urn planted with red annuals provides a focal point and terminus.

This linear design is on private property and not meant for heavy traffic. Still I think that using grass instead of having a line of paving material is important for the design. It gives one a sense of a different kind of movement. The eye travels down this long expanse, but without unnecessary speed. My eye wants to meander a little and take in those undulating curves and notice the shrubs  and wall beyond.

The crabapple allee is probably at its best in spring when the trees are blooming and one can walk through a fragrant world of white clouds. In the summer, the choice of the crabapples for the allee, works against a rigid formality. The trunks are just a little variable. They branch out at different heights, and some trunks are less than vertical. It looks like one tree had to be replaced, as it is smaller than the rest. Still, I think this less than total formality is appealing in this undulating grassy walk.

On a final note, because of the nature of the sloping site, the allees all run parallel to the slope and to the street as well. If one is walking or driving along the street, this space looks more like an edge than a path. It is like a pervious screen that gives glimpses of something mysterious beyond the line of trees and shrubs.