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An Unusual Approach - Page 2

© Kirk Johnson

Of Mark's four design elements, the idea of a garden having lines of movement is the easiest for me to understand because it is quite traditional. In a large garden, lines of movement are a natural outgrowth of how one moves through the garden. The main mistake that designers make in large gardens is when they create dead ends which force visitors to return along paths that they have already taken. My garden had this flaw until I completed the path along the back of the lilypond so that it linked up with my driveway; now the driveway functions as the grandest of my garden's walks.

In a small garden, lines of movement have to the considered very carefully, especially when the garden is intended to function as an outdoor living space, rather than as a living picture to be viewed from a deck or inside of a house.

Mark's idea of a hierarchy of still points baffles me, but I can see how his concept would help people to figure out their priorities. My garden is for walking through and gardening in, not sitting in. I do have benches but they mainly serve as simple sculptures; maybe I will use them as I get older. It is also possible that I might be more inclined to use my benches if I fully understood Mark's concept and created still points that really fit the way that I live.

Garden design is one of the more traditional of the arts, so it is always exciting when someone can come up with nontraditional ways to design gardens. I suspect that I am being too traditional in the ways that I interpret Mark's ideas, but he makes me think about how to create gardens that are works of art, rather than just collections of plants and that is my goal. As I absorb Mark's ideas, I may come closer to realizing that goal.

How do Mark's ideas fit your gardens?

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