warm thoughts on formal gardens

Have I mentioned how hot it’s been lately?

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It’s the kind of heat that gives a boho plant nut a deeper appreciation of the cool, austere lines of a formal garden.

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A garden built not on the scaffolding of flowers but leaves, eschewing lush variety for lean repetition.

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It’s the kind of heat that makes the formal garden, that ancient response to dry climates, seem fresh and innovative again.

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Katherine Spitz’s garden, Mar Vista, California, 2012 (Katherine Spitz Associates)

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That’s how hot it’s been.

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2 Responses to warm thoughts on formal gardens

  1. Kris P says:

    The current temps certainly do feel grueling, don’t they? Do you think we just got complacent due to the unusually cool temps in June and July? Or, as Hoover Boo recently suggested, is the problem that we’re not getting the cooler night-time temps that generally follow our hot days and the lack of sleep is making us testy? Whatever the case, I’m finding it simply miserable. I do a little work outside early in the morning and then hunker down in the house with AC blasting all day (disregarding the cost until the bill comes, when I’ll probably have a heart attack). I’m more than ready for fall!

  2. Denise says:

    Kris, all of the above!

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