Stop it – Please! design tips

We work hard to make our gardens beautiful and noteworthy. But when they back up to woods or large open spaces, they may not get the attention they deserve. Gazing eyes tend to fly right past the intended target of admiration into the large space looming behind it. Time to raise the ‘stop sign’ and redirect visual traffic to its intended place. Many people accomplish this by installing a fence as a backdrop. Good.

You can also employ a simple hedge to frame the garden, lattice panels or create your own version of ‘room divider panels’ to define the garden. Use your imagination! I repurposed some garden trellises that used to decorate a garage wall, to frame a narrow garden up against some woods by my condo. I simply tied the panels to rebar set in the ground and poof! Now the garden has your attention.

I used a similar solution in a spot where a garden bench was placed between two trees. I planted a ‘Lemony lace’ Sambucus behind the bench that will eventually mature to become a distraction to wandering eyes. But to further frame the view, I put an iron trellis behind the Sambucus. At first it was almost invisible with its dark, iron wires but then I spray painted it blue, and presto!

Mission achieved!