Design

I never thought about taking a picture from our front steps when we moved in 15 years ago. This is a view (from 1994) looking down from farther right. My gardening companion starting to plant There wasn't much to see, except a few large old trees, lawn, and a straight row of planted trees (Magnolia, dogwood, white pine, crepe myrtle). Red tips had been planted along the front, next to the road, and they were already in decline when we came. Happily, we volunteered their removal when the City put in a bike path. But now, it's quite nice to look out through the front door, step out onto the front steps, and look down towards the front path I put in a couple of years ago. The meadow (that's being edited) doesn't look too bad, with the least attractive blackened stalks removed.

I like to repeat this story in programs I do. When I was a new Garden staff member here (over 15 years ago now), one of our wise volunteers talked about how she'd thought about the view from the windows as she (and her husband), another Garden volunteer, created their extraordinary garden from the shell of the original front and back lawn surrounding their house. What a wonderful inspiration for novice gardeners (at the time)! We never tire of the view from our living room window, created by initial plantings that we made soon after moving into our old house, and now expanded by a front pathway and woodland plantings. View of path and forest from an earlier post

A view towards the porch. A living room view Out the front door Many years ago, a couple of our longstanding volunteers suggested to me that views from your windows were important. It was a revelation. She and her husband had transformed a normal suburban plot into something extraordinary, so I was listening. I don't think I 'd thought about that before. The house where I grew up had a lovely view into the treetops from the living and dining rooms, thanks to protection of the woods surrounding the house. My parents weren't gardeners at all, but clearly chose the lot (because it was steep and wooded with natural Central Texas vegetation) to build the house based on the surroundings. But I was thinking about the views from the windows this afternoon, as lovely fall light illuminated the landscape.