Garden stairs provide transitions between level in your yard. Here are some great ideas for different materials and designs you can try.

image via pinterest Planted steps do require extra care and are really suitable for secondary staircases that get little traffic or those used only seasonally. They not only help to soften the masonry but add as sense of drama and old world charm to your design. Other than sod, which would need to be trimmed occasionaly, planting any of the "steppables", as the landscape world has dubbed them work just as well. If you are really adventurous sedums, clipped dwarf bowood, beehive euonymus and flowering thyme, to name a few, could work as well. image via pinterest image via providence ltd image via pinterest image via pintrest image via pinterest image via pinterest image via pinterest image via pinterest image via pinterest image via johnsen landscape image via botanical seed

Often people make the mistake of thinking of art as something that is to do only with the senses and nothing to do with practicality. People who think like this are right in thinking that art can please the senses and wrong in that they think art has no practical use. Did you know that some arts have practical uses? In fact, when you consider aspects like elegant backyard pond ideas, you can see both the practical and artistic aspects of art. In fact, it is a good idea to involve younger people like teenagers in practical projects that also involve art to ensure that this aspect of their personality develops as they grow into adulthood.

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"Feeën Trap" Aan het einde van Wordsworths tuin op Rydal Mount ligt een lang vergeten trap. Ik kan me allerlei oude mensen voorstellen die deze met mos bedekte treden betreden. Kun je? 11x14 Luster finish, gesigneerde foto. Professioneel gedrukt op professioneel Fuji Crystal Archival-papier. De print komt ondertekend, met een adellijke titel en gedateerd op de voorkant. De afbeelding zweeft op een witte achtergrond, klaar om in te lijsten. Het wordt verzonden in een beschermende hoes in een stijve envelop om ervoor te zorgen dat het veilig aankomt. Het watermerk verschijnt niet op uw afbeelding. Neem gerust contact met mij op met eventuele vragen. De meeste foto's zijn verkrijgbaar in verschillende formaten en ik zou graag met u samenwerken om te bepalen welke het beste bij u past.

Is there anything more beautiful that Secret Gardens? Sit back and enjoy the view! : ) Are you going to plant one this year???

A GIRL CAN DREAM Lately, I have completely ignored the outside areas of my home and it really needs some attention... but while curb appeal is important, there are other outdoor areas to consider... I think it is just as important to have a little private spot to relax, read, bird watch, and entertain Here's my outdoor to do list... 1. GUTTER SYSTEM FOR DECK I'm dying to do this to my deck off my master bedroom - not for the deck itself, but so that when it rains I can still sit outside under the deck with a book and leave my furniture cushions in place without them getting soaked so I could actually go from this... to this... I would love to be able to eat outside with the rain sprinkling around us ... There are a few companies that do this - I'm looking into this one 2. FENCE REPAIR... no brainer - its just old and falling down... 3. MOVE THE BUILT-IN BARBECUE because the previous owner put it right smack in the middle of the patio - the BBQ really needs to be moved to the edge of the patio and while we are at it.... can we do this too?.... 4. ADD AN OUTDOOR FIREPLACE so I have somewhere to roast my marshmallows... An inviting fireplace with the built-in barbecue to the side would be wonderful on warm summer nights or cool fall evenings... of course... now it snowballs... If I move the BBQ I will need to.... 5. REDO PATIO FLOOR Belgard pavers would be ideal - I'm a fan of their products - and the patio really needs a facelift check Belgard products out here they are like the Mercedes Benz of pavers... amazing range of color and product style 6. SIDE YARD REVAMP although I guess its not really a 'revamp' if it was never finished in the first place... I'm thinking of a nice crunchy gravel pathway - (functional for easy pet waste pickup) but I also really like this look Its a shady spot, so thinking of some ferns, and lots of green... more inspiration..... 7. I NEED A GOOD POTTING BENCH with a shelf or two this is a diy project - cute huh? This one below is $900 from Restoration Hardware seriously? $900? I think I'd rather see if Mr. B can make Ana White's version and maybe add shelves... ? 8. PATIO FURNITURE Once the gutter system is installed in the deck above, I can add some deep seating to my patio without it getting destroyed by rain and muck - an extension of living space right outside my family room... (but holy crap, have you seen the prices of patio furniture these days?) especially sectionals like this.. Ana White thinks I could make my own... what do you think? 9. DINING TABLE & CHAIRS We love eating outside and entertaining there... but our current round table only seats about 5 people comfortably... I've been thinking that CraigsList may have some tables for cheap... Ana has plans for great tables too... Ana White is so amazing - you have to check out all her plans and tutorials.. she makes you believe you can do it yourself... anyone have a good handyman who can follow simple plans? These are all Ana White creations. Love them. 10. UPPER DECK DECOR... I have a good sized deck off my master bedroom.. after a few needed repairs it will be ready to 'deck out'.. it doesn't have any shade there... wonder if we can build an arbor over part of it... or a canopy? not good in wind though.. I will need cozy seating and plants, too It seems my outdoor list is nearly as long as my indoor list... I haven't even mentioned redoing the flower beds and adding more boxwood.. or repainting the benches but I did recently redo a flower bed and plant several hydrangea shrubs there... because I need more hydrangeas in my life... and more boxwood... Better go work on that list... I might actually be able to finish it in say - 5 years? Ha! ******************************* Hi there- I have enjoyed reading your blog. I really love your ideas. I am searching for help to pick out stone and exterior colors. I am attaching a picture of our exterior house plans (no stone or detail added) and a picture of a home that we used as inspiration when designing our home. I like the placement of their stone. I currently like colors like Anonymous by Sherwin Williams and Copley Gray by Ben Moore. I am just having such a hard time deciding though. I have no idea what to do color wise with shutters. 3rd picture is a home that I love the colors/design of. Any help or advise would be well appreciated!!! Thanks! Jessica Hi Jessica, I think that stone placement on the 2nd photo is good - not too much, but a nice accent. And, until you choose your stone you can't really pick out paint. Your stone palette, whether it be faux or real stone, will dictate the tones you use in your paint. You want something that will compliment the stone. I would say that Copley Gray is probably a safe bet, based on the fact that most stone veneer will have grays and browns. But its best to take a swatch with you to the stone samples to have a look. The white trim always pops nicely against stone, but choose a white that compliments the house color, too. Some whites are very light grays, some are very light beige or cream if you still need help once you have chosen the stone, email me again with photos and I will be happy to suggest some colors. Good Luck!

seen in Évenos, Provence; France 110502_1908_kw

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user name / Renaud GLENAT photo title / garden path location of photo / Kyoto time photo was taken / 26 June 2010

All these lovely garden images shown here are from Pinterest! Just a reminder that on the first we will be sharing our summer garden views here on Favorites on the First! So start snapping photos to share the views in your garden this summer! Loving these petunia topiaries..... wow. We can't wait to see what you post on the first! ~ Alison See you here on August 1, 2, and 3rd!

I don't believe that my English heritage has anything to do with my love of English gardens, but my love of English gardens has certainly in...

If one is known to be a lover of fine books, one of the best times of the year is quite near. Thanks to this short list of selections from Random House's Monacelli Press, we can happily enjoy some of life's finer pleasures.

Occasionally I receive an email from a reader that just blows my mind and sends me reeling into the throes of excitement. One such email came from Michael Fus, the preservation architect for the Chicago Park District. In 2005, Michael had the good fortune of visiting the grounds at Skylands as part of a group tour for landscape architects. The focus of the tour was the work of Danish landscape designer Jens Jensen, who designed the grounds of this marvelous Maine property for Edsel and Eleanor Ford, a property currently owned by Martha Stewart. Jens Jensen In Michael's email was an offer to send me a disc of his personal photographs from his walk through the Skylands acreage as well as an academic thesis on the history of the Skylands property written by Jane Roy Brown - a marvelous study of Jensen's work with Edsel and Eleanor Ford, who commissioned Jensen in the 1920s to landscape the property. The thesis, entitled "Skylands - A Jens Jensen Landscape in Maine" is fascinating, compelling and revealing. Brown was able to attain original plans, documents and letters written between Jensen and the Fords, tracing the formative ideas behind this great property, to write a splendid independent project on the early development of Skylands. Michael and I agreed to share these photographs and some of the more interesting points of the thesis with the Martha Moments audience. The landscape is too beautiful, too alluring and too fascinating to keep it all to ourselves. It must be shared and experienced. Michael and I both hope you enjoy the photographs and the information. This mahogany sign on the property is one of several in the area denoting the names of the various estates in the region. They were once placed along the public roads to indicate where the drives for these estates were located. Today, the signs are more nostalgic than anything else and are kept on private property. The name "Skylands" was likely devised by the Fords. The situation of the house, between land and sky, indicates an obvious derivation. Some early records and correspondence regarding the estate show the use of the name "Skylands" appearing as early as 1930. It also appears on postcards from the 1950s that depict the house.Jensen's landscape at Skylands is unique for several reasons. First, it is the only maritime landscape project he ever undertook, making it all the more special for the region and for the history of American prairie landscape design. Jensen was initially taken aback by the rugged wildness of the property. He was used to midwestern landscapes of flat expanses of terrain, deciduous forests, grasses, prairie flowers and gently flowing streams. The crashing waves of Seal Harbor, the dense coniferous forests of spruce and hemlock, the proliferation of rocky outcrops and promentories presented quite a challenge to Jensen's philosophies. In his book, Siftings, Jensen writes this about the Skylands property: "It is far from the prairies of the west to the rocky coast of Maine, to a different landscape with its different beauty - a new world for the prairie mind to understand and to learn to love. The general tone of Maine's landscape is rather dark in comparison to the sunny openness of the prairies. In Maine, spruce predominates on the granite bluffs, and granite appears like black loam of the plains. There was much about these hard, rocky precipices that fascinated. Plants strange to me clung to the bold rocks, and beyond was the sea with its changing colors and vast horizons." Jensen's original plan for the landscape immediately surrounding the house. Among his main concerns for the design of the property was the great swaths of coniferous trees. In some of his letters to Ford, he referred to non-deciduous forests as 'drepressing.' Prefering the seasonal evidence of trees whose leaves change colour in the fall, and that disappear in winter, Jensen called for the planting of numerous decidious trees on the property, including sugar maples, red maples, lilacs and ash. Above is a photograph of shad (Amalanchier), planted on the property to provide ornamental contrast to the predominance of spruce and hemlock. In his original landscape plan, shown above, there is a striking use of deciduous trees around the property. The moss, which grows naturally on the forest floor was encouraged and kept clean of debris to create a carpet of green underfoot. The architecture of the residence, designed by Duncan Candler (a darling of Seal Harbor's elite communities during the '20s) is vaguely Italian Renaissance in style but with unique features that make it wholly distinct. Built of pink granite quarried on site, the facade of the home is imposing. A slate roof with wide oak beams and stark, square windows of leaded glass give the home a geometric solidity against its rugged backdrop of undulating hillsides and deep forests. Flanking the front door of the house, Martha has planted two beautiful copper planters with tree ferns and native mosses, creating a planted microcosm of the Skylands forest. One of the enormous fronds is about to unfurl.Martha has also planted hostas, one of her favourite shade-loving plants, along the front of the home. Several varieites are in evidence.In the center of the circular driveway in front of the house is a field of ferns. In Jensen's original plan, he had called for asters and prairie flowers but Martha prefers the feathery monochrome of these lush ferns, punctuated here and there by strategically-placed boulders. Pink granite is everywhere in evidence on the property. Meandering, pine-needle-covered pathways that hug their rugged edges highlight the beauty of their forms. (To me, they almost look like barnacle-covered whales, an allusion to the sea just beyond the trees.) Here is a great view of the house from the mountain meadow. Architect Duncan Candler had originally called for an enormous dining terrace in this location, but Jensen had it removed to allow for more sunny openness on the property. To the left of the photograph you will see the dining room windows. Candler did a beautiful job designing a room with windows on three sides to capture all of the available views: the sea, the forest, and the 'cracked ice' terrace on the other side.The 'cracked ice' terrace is a massive outdoor space designed for large-scale entertaining. This small portion of it, shown above, showcases Martha's numerous potted plants and two terra-cotta sphinx sculptures by artist Emile Muller.Above the terrace and the entrance to the Great Hall is a vertical sun dial, surrounded by prolific kiwi vines.Majestic granite staircases lead visitors to all the various terraces and sections of the landscape that immediately surround the property.The stone railings of the pergola off the living room look almost Mayan in scale.Perennial kiwi vines (Actinidia) and dark purple elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) soften the edges of a granite wall and staircase.One of the few flowering plants Jensen called for in the landscape was lilies. Here they feel quite at home in planting niches that line one of the stairways connecting the terraces to the grounds.A painterly use of plants on this stairway leading up to the south terrace. Pathways of pine needles (consistently cleaned of any debris) connect the various sections of the property. Jensen was a great proponent of 'circulation systems' outdoors that guided the explorer gently and easily through the landscape. Jensen designed the landscape to be emblematic of the Maine coast itself: rugged and lush. Martha installed a subtle lighting system to help illuminate the pathways for treaders at dawn and dusk. The playhouse on the property is one of several outbuildings. Designed by Candler, it features a massive stone fireplace, pool tables and squash courts within. Water features are key to almost every Jensen landscape. Skylands was no exception. Jensen believed the sound that water makes as it trickles over stone has inexplicable healing powers for the human soul. As such, he designed several natural pools, ponds and fountains on the property. One of Jensen's signature elements is the intersection of flowing water and a main pathway. This feature is found at several other properties designed by Jensen for the Fords, including Fair Lane, in Dearborn, Michigan. The philosophy behind such a design is to interrupt the walker and cause him to pause and reflect, to be aware of his surroundings and the inherent beauty. A cliff at the edge of the mountain meadow is topped by a crenellation of large boulders, similar to the "Rockefeller teeth" that line the property's crushed-granite driveway and the routes leading to Acadia National Park. A large pond plays centerpiece to the meadow's curves and hillsides. Reflecting pools along the edges of pathways catch raindrops and form miniature ecosystems. A beautiful wooden gate, left unstained and gorgeously aged by the elements, opens to the service entrance. Crushed pink granite covers the driveways of the property. Each fall it is collected, cleaned and stored for the following year. Originally designed to be used only by the staff and servants, the service area, which once functioned as a laundry yard, is actually a favourite of Martha's. She frequently uses this expansive outdoor space for entertaining and is often where she enters and exits the home. Not far from the service entrance is the council circle. Originally in Jensen's plans, but not constructed by the Fords, it is another feature much loved by Jensen. When Martha purchased the property in 1997, she had the council circle built, based on Jensen's plans. Its circular shape encourages conversation and a feeling of equality among its visitors. At its center is a fireplace for warmth and contemplation. Along the granite benches is a firebird motif, also in the original plans. Jensen explained the design to the Fords in one of his letters: "The story is of the firebirds going into the sun for the fire for the hearth. You will notice two birds flying towards the sun; the smaller dots are the stars. It is the humanity that dances around the hearth rejoicing for the fire, the first symbol of civilization brought there by the fire birds. I think it is a lovely story for the children and it does not hurt us either. The more imagination, the sweeter life." The stables on the property, also designed by Candler, are located quite a distance from the main house. A vegetable and cutting garden on the property, adjacent to the stables. This portion of the property was adjacent to the location of a tenant cottage for Eleanor Ford's mother, which is where she stayed when the main residence was being built. After the completion of the home, however, the cottage was razed and only the foundation remains. This portion of the property is located at the edge of an extremely steep cliff overlooking the ocean. Eleanor had asked Jensen to plan an elaborate cutting garden here with benches for seating, shown above. Today, the gardens are gone but you can see a glimpse of the plans below, formal in its layout and designSources: Jane Roy Brown's thesis: "Skylands: A Jens Jensen Landscape In Maine," Photos by TJD&A and Michael Fus, Preservation Architect Chicago Park District

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Often people make the mistake of thinking of art as something that is to do only with the senses and nothing to do with practicality. People who think like this are right in thinking that art can please the senses and wrong in that they think art has no practical use. Did you know that some arts have practical uses? In fact, when you consider aspects like elegant backyard pond ideas, you can see both the practical and artistic aspects of art. In fact, it is a good idea to involve younger people like teenagers in practical projects that also involve art to ensure that this aspect of their personality develops as they grow into adulthood.

Liegt Ihr Grundstück an einem Hang? Dann nutzen Sie die Höhenunterschiede für eine attraktive Gestaltung auf verschiedenen Niveaus.

Getting from one place to another is rarely a problem when it comes to exterior design because, unlike interiors, you seldom have to worry about permanent