Taking the Long View
Today I thought I’d focus on views of various parts of the garden, rather than particular plants. I was inspired to do this by a meme hosted by Cathy at Words and Herbs that she calls The Tuesday View. It’s certainly important to step back and consider a garden’s look from the perspective of a little distance.
So let’s get started. Here’s the view from our front door looking out towards the street.
Looking down the path to the front door.
The Driveway Border from the other side of the driveway, or as I like to call it, the Left Bank. The Clematis ‘jackmanii’ is definitely winding down, but still has a few flowers.
Looking up the Driveway Border towards the front door from the sidewalk.
The Sidewalk Border. I’m not showing the Parkway Bed because it’s almost all green at the moment. It will color up in August.
Here’s the Left Bank Bed seen from the sidewalk.
And the view from the other end. I’m not showing the north end of this bed which is mostly full of herbs – that will be the subject of another post.
Here’s the path along the side of the garage to the back garden.
View from the arbor.
View from the steps to the back porch.
And here’s the view from the northeast corner of the back. You can see Rupert the Rooster relaxing on the patio. Hi Rupert!
I don’t think I’ll do these long views every week, but maybe every other week or so. That’s all for now.
gardeninacity 
Jason and Judy, this is really a great cottage garden! How many years have you been working on it? (FYI, my daughter has the same sitting gargoyle.) Also, I’m guessing you use one of those moon-shaped edgers to keep the edges so sharp. I’m envious in a good way!
We’ve lived here 14 years almost exactly, and I started working on the garden literally the day after we moved in. Yes I have one of those edgers, but the secret of my edging success is a battery-powered weed-whacker. I love my weed-whacker.
Jason, loved seeing the bigger views of the garden – so lush and full of bloom! That stand of ‘Raspberry Wine’ monarda is impressive; your garden must be a haven for pollinators of all kinds.
I love the orange flowers amongst the greenery and the day lilies. The left bank bed is eye catching. The whole garden looks so lush & green it is very pleasant looking at these photos during our dreary winter. Congrats to you both I’m inspired to share planting again soon.
Beautiful garden. So full and lush. And the added bonus of not much yard to mow!
Exactly!
I like seeing the long views. Yours are very impressive. I don’t see all that much change in mine from week to week but every month or so would be an interesting exercise.
I agree, though at certain times of year it can change pretty fast.
Really fun post; loved seeing the long views! Your garden looks wonderful! I’m just starting my third garden after moving from my previous one after working 22 years on it. I hope I live long enough so mine looks even half as good as yours!
Leaving an old garden is always hard, but starting a new one is exciting. Enjoy your new challenge!
Love seeing these broader views and getting a better sense of your gardens.
If I had your garden I’d never leave home!
Thank you! (I wish I could just stay at home.)
If you’ve shared these over-view type photos in the past I’ve missed them. Wow! What a stunning garden you guys have made, lovely! A great tour.
Thank you. I don’t think we’ve done this sort of overview before this. Might do it as a regular thing now.
I really like these long views – they help me envision your garden so much better. Everything is looking so lush and lovely. Nice work gardening!!
Thanks, Jane!
These long views are marvellous! It helps me place everything. Your back garden is much larger than I had imagined, and the front drive border photographed from the left-hand side is new to me. It all looks wonderful Jason. It must give you and Judy so much pleasure!
Jason, I love your Left Bank Bed, nice daylilies and onions. The white lily on the Driveway Border is wonderful!
You have so much color in your garden and it is a rich tapestry of textures. . I take these long view pictures of my garden once per month. I don’t usually share them. Maybe I will once per month since I take them anyway.
Do it – I’d like to see them.
I love seeing these photos of the garden. Sometimes I wonder if I am overloading my blog with pics and yet I love looking at everyone else’s garden.
I used to limit the number of photos to no more than 10 per post. Now I try to keep it to 20.
Thanks for the tour, your gardens are beautiful.
It all looks so lush and colorful! The long views are nice, as you get a sense of the color pallet that you use and the flow of the garden. I love your pathways leading to the back garden!
Your garden is looking lovely – taking a long view of mine this year made me realize that I don’t have much colour going on in the front yard during the summer other than a few lilies and a small patch of Echinacea. I’ll have to remedy that.
It’s worth trying to view any garden from a greater distance, I think.
Like everyone else, Jason, I enjoyed seeing the longer views and being able to put the pieces of the garden together into a whole. Stepping back gives a different perspective and photos of the longer views show things the eye probably disregards. The fire hydrant, for instance. Do you notice it in daily life and does it bother you? It’s so well framed in your first photo —
a ‘borrowed view’ that I think would bug me. But then I have a fire hydrant next to a pond (thanks to insistence from the insurance company) that I never notice anymore.
Oh Pat, so funny you would mention the hydrant! Yes, of course, in the photo it makes me crazy! (But not as crazy as the cars I couldn’t edit out.) There’s another shot Jason didn’t use of the front beds, a bit wider angle, and it had a red lily in the Left Bank balancing out the red hydrant on the right – I was laughing about the composition as I took the photo.
As I said, the cars bother me more. On another day, I wouldn’t have taken the shots with cars in them – but Jason had asked for long views. But in life, as opposed to photography, the eye sees just what it means to see – and my brain totally edits out the hydrant, my sight line stops at the street. The view from the front door is one of my favorites. The porch is up about four steps, and by this time of year, the flowers are towering above me as I stand at the door – I see a world of flowers.
And now your response makes me laugh. I had to go back to the photos to find any cars! So definitely the eye sees what it chooses to see.
Your description of flowers towering above you brings a fabulous mental image. Lucky you.
I loved seeing these long views of your great garden. I think about the long view about as much as individual plants in our garden, I think, and am very attuned to “editing” plants that get out of scale in their space. And having just come back after three weeks away, there are a LOT of things like that to notice…
I tend to focus more on the individual plants, so this exercise is useful.
Loving the long view idea! I love the view looking out from your front door! Summer looks good in your garden. Mine is resting!
The view from the front door is wonderful. We used to get a daily paper (now we subscribe online), and my first stop every day was the front porch, to enjoy the flowers and get the paper. I still peek out the front door first thing most mornings to take in the view.
Ours will rest starting in October or so.
As always, your yard is so inspiring!
It’s beautiful from near or far!
Thanks!
Thanks for the tour of your gorgeous garden–so much color and texture, I look forward to more.
Beautiful!! I love your garden, Jason!
Thanks, Tammie!
Is that Dicentra foliage still looking green and lush in the fourth photo up from the bottom, labeled “Here’s the path along the side of the garage to the back garden”? Mine always collapses by early-to mid-summer, like a spring ephemeral. It just doesn’t get enough water once our dry season starts, even if I water it. Your garden is looking good, mine looks tired. I realized recently I don’t have enough mid-summer flowers, either.
Yes, there is a bit of Dicentra foliage there. Most of it has gone the way of all leaves.
Beautiful!! Thanks for the tour – the long views provide plenty of inspiration.
You’re welcome!
A good idea – “the long view”. You have such a delightful garden and it is interesting to see it from different angles at this point in the growing season.
The idea was borrowed, like most good ideas.
This was really helpful in getting a clear picture of how your garden fits together. I love your view from the top front step especially!
It’s all looking pretty marvellous at your place, Jason. I love the Left Bank seen from the sidewalk and the view from your front door.
Spectacular. The path to the front door is simply amazing. No wonder the hummingbirds hang out by you.
What a nice tour of the garden, it really gives an excellent feel for the place. I love your sheltered backyard. It looks like a great place to relax.
Lovely seeing all those borders, it gives me a good feel for your garden. Everything is looking healthy and lush.xxx