Larkwhistle Garden, on the Bruce Peninsula.
"I see my path, but don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it." Rosallia de Castro
"Every path has its puddle." Old Proverb
Nothing gently suggests, "Walk this way" like a garden path.
A pathway invites the visitor to enter into the garden, rather than just view it.
Larkwhistle Garden, on the Bruce Peninsula.
An enticing destination at the journey's end can be suggested.
Larkwhistle Garden, on the Bruce Peninsula.
And a pleasant place to rest can be provided.
Brain Folmer's Botanical Gardens near Walkerton, Ontario.
Alternatively, a pathway's end can also be obscured and made mysterious.
Larkwhistle Garden, on the Bruce Peninsula.
A hidden and unexpected feature can thereby suddenly reveal itself.
Lost Horizons Nursery, Acton Ontario.
Pathways also offer one of life's more stress-free choices. Shall you go left or right?
Lost Horizons Nursery, Acton Ontario.
A gardener can keep the walk along a path interesting by varying the planting...
Heather Bradley's garden, Mississauga, Ontario.
and incorporating interesting objects.
Larkwhistle Garden, on the Bruce Peninsula.
A distance to be traveled can be made more intriguing when accented with an arbor passageway...
Private garden, Mississauga, Ontario.
or traversed with a bridge.
Merlin's Hollow, Aurora Ontario.
Private garden, Mississauga, Ontario.
Finally, pathways have useful as well as aesthetic functions in the garden. Paths can provide ready access to backyard structures like a storage shed and can keep the trip to this type of high-traffic destination looking neat and tidy.
Merlin's Hollow, Aurora Ontario.
Pathways also function to provide key access to planting beds for routine maintenance.
I have other inspiration for you, but fear that this post has already become a visual marathon. I will put up a Part 2 that will touch on design ideas and materials in the next few days.
Such beautiful pics - I WISH my garden had the slighets similarity to this! :-D
ReplyDeleteHello Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteIt must be wonderful to visit this garden. I wish my garden was a little bigger. Helas.
gr. Marijke
Lovely inspiration! I can't wait to get back out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tour of some beautiful gardens and their paths! I love the little path with the pond on the right and Phlox on the left. Now I'm really longing for Spring!
ReplyDeleteI want to walk down every one of the paths you have shown us. Each one draws me in, makes me want to wander their distances and try to copy some of their elements in my own garden. These posts have been good inspirations --- I look forward to the next!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures ... Great inspiration ! Summer dreams ...
ReplyDeleteLove the photos of the Larkwhistle Garden - just how I would like mine to be.
ReplyDeletePiękne ogrody pokazałaś. Podoba mi się zakątek z mostkiem na wodą. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteYou showed us the beautiful gardens. I like the corner of the bridge on the water. Yours.
Gorgeous post full of great ideas. Paths are so important and are aesthetic garden elements in their own right.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely stunning! Thanks for the garden tour and my best to you and the boys!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Beth
What a beautiful place! It is such fun to see all of the lushness of summer.
ReplyDeleteEileen
A great follow up post to your last post. So many ideas and applications.
ReplyDeleteI love to take a stroll down your garden path....
ReplyDeleteAll so beautiful and inspirational...wish that was a path to my garden studio...much neater than mine!! Thankyou for showing us all that beauty.
ReplyDeletejenni
More great inspiration! I love garden paths. What I also find interesting is all the materials used to create these pathways.
ReplyDeleteThere is something fabulous about a garden path. The ones you featured are so inviting and diverse. I noticed several photos of Larkwhistle Gardens. I have one of Patrick Lima's book and have often thought it would be a beautiful place to visit; I should make the trip happen this spring or summer!
ReplyDeleteYou are a very good photographer. The shot of the bridge is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting and commenting on my blog.
Have a great week :-)
Morning Jennifer, love the winding pathways...leading you to see what is around the next corner. We have so many moles (and other subterrainian critters?) that create soft spots and holes in our path.
ReplyDeleteYes, owls are magnificent. We caught one in our headlights as it flew across the road, just amazing.
Love seeing the paths! These are some great plantings, I love the way plants spill over pathways so you have to brush against them. But I hate when a path makes you decide whether to go right or left. I want to see it all! :)
ReplyDeleteI love pix of paths, especially those that don't show the ending. I even have one by my desk at work. I love the pix of the bridge, too. I like how paths let a garden reveal itself a bit at a time. It's a bit seductive, actually. They lure you right in!
ReplyDeleteI love bridges and paths, even not in gardens. The photos you showed are beautiful and the plants lovely as well. One can also get insights for their own.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to see all of these wonderful photographs here! It is so very cold here today, but when I look at these I can image a warm summer day. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteIt is a visual marathon but worth the journey! so many great photos here to look at and think about. Love the variation of materials used for paths and how the plants look against them. Thanks for the many many ideas.
ReplyDeleteAll those lovely plants and what catches my eye??
ReplyDeleteThe heron bird bath. Stunning! I want one for my yard...
Gorgeous journey! Loved it, bring me more!!!
ReplyDeleteNo garden feature is more evocative than a path. Your fine images invited me to take every one, enjoying the scenery as I went. Beautiful, Jennifer, just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully illustrated and I now have a real dose of garden envy.
ReplyDeleteEach picture is so beautiful and inviting. Enjoyed dreaming of having the same beauty in my yard.
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos of garden paths.
ReplyDeletePath gardens are also great for those who have dogs. It allows such pets to slow down, to have a place of privacy and have more time outside with their owners who will need to provide upkeep of such pathways and plants. This also applies to those with children who have an opportunity to witness how gardening is good for the soul.
ReplyDelete