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CLASSIC GARDENING LANDSCAPE
from: FancyGardening.comPeople in different places have different opinions on just what a "classic" gardening landscape should bee. People in the United States or Canada might say that the classic gardening landscape is a colonial design. Some Europeans would say that the classic gardening landscape must include Greco-Roman statuary. Others would say the classic gardening landscape should be models of Old World charm and elegance, like the famous gardens of Tuscany.
Given that a difference of opinion exists, few gardeners would disagree that the formal rose garden is a very well known classic gardening landscape. This was the preferred garden of the crowned heads of Europe, as well as the aristocracy. It was a place for relaxing, for entertaining and for enjoying the scent of one of nature's most beloved flowers.
The landscape of the classic formal rose garden should be completely symmetrical. Both sides of the garden should be mirror images of each other, with extensive lawn areas in between. The hedges around the perimeter should be of neatly trimmed, crisp evergreen. At the top of the garden is a bluestone patio, and at the bottom is a small reflecting pool set amid bluestone. The patio and pool are connected by a stepping stone path.
The focal point of this classic garden in a sundial - though a birdbath or small fountain could be used. The sundial is encircled by a low hedge, which is itself encircled by stepping stones. To the left and right of the sundial, set partway out in the lawn areas, are trellises and pergolas adorned with flowering vines. These structures are also connected by stepping stone paths, so that the connected paths form a large cross with the sundial at the crux. The lines of the cross bisect four triangular beds of roses around the sundial circles. The benches beside the reflecting pool are flanked by planters of roses. Two more planters of roses decorate the patio. On either side of the patio are trellises, also adorned with flowering vines.
On either side of the classic garden are three oval shaped trees. Planted at the bases of these trees are beds of early blooming spring perennials that provide colour in the garden until the roses bloom and keep the garden bright all summer.
Evergreen trees line the back end of the garden, and an evergreen at each corner provides visual balance. The lawn areas are kept well manicured. The overall effect of the classic gardening landscape is one of both comfort and order. It is strong in line and impact, but softened with rose arbors and overhead vines. It would fit almost anyone's definition of classic.
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