83. Garden Visit II
The second garden visit happened earlier in the year to our neighbour’s parents’ garden. Her father had recently passed away, her mother a few years before that and the garden had been her mother’s pride and joy.
It is laid out with an oriental theme, with the space divided up into individual “rooms”, each one with its own focal point. She used statues, balls and colour very successfully, drawing the eye in as you move from room to room.
The garden’s personality is in the detail. Her mother used different textures by mixing stone, cobblestones, pebbles of different sizes and paving stones for the surfaces. The pots are all different colours and shapes. The buddha statues are made of different materials and have different poses and expressions. The lanterns and pagodas and coloured balls are dotted throughout the garden at different heights. There are even some coloured pebbles. The planting is mainly all about foliage with different shades of green and textures providing a good foil for the stones. The overall impression is of peace and tranquility.
Some of these lovely things have found a happy new situation in my mother’s new Japanese garden, bringing their personality along with them. It is a wonderful collection that deserves a new lease of life for another generation.
