Havenwood Final Garden Plan

I promised to share the Havenwood Final Garden Plan, so here it is... at least for this spring, before I start changing it again! :)


Earlier, I shared some before photos in my Beginning our new garden post, and some early surveys that were instigated by my Designing a Large Garden class with John Brookes...

A Concept Diagram from earlier in the design process.

After listing all of the elements that we would like to include in our garden, and thinking about the flow of the whole, I have decided on the following semi-formal design...

I call it semi-formal, because though many of the lines are formal, three of the main garden areas I am planning to have a rather wilder, long grass look to them (the Orchard, under the Fruit Tunnel, and the Birch Walk). And even where the beds are more formal (as in the Long Border), the planting will (hopefully!) be quite exuberant... perhaps even ala Great Dixter.

There is quite a bit of area in the woodland (off to the left in the drawing) that is not included in this plan, but which is definitely also in the works. We have already begun laying out some of the basic areas under the trees, though most of it will be free game for the kids to play in for the next few years so I am not overdoing the shade gardens right now. And I have not decided on a final pattern for the Knot Garden yet, so that one is a stand in. 

Plan with main journey lines and main sight lines

Color Key:
Green- shows the main axis of the back gardens and views in from outside the property.
Red- are main routes from inside the house to outside.
Orange- are main routes and views within the garden.
Blue- sight lines  within the house and garden.

This diagram (above) may help you to make some sense out of the overall plan. My scheme is largely developed from the idea of using the longest lines of sight within a plan. Also important is containing the views within the sight, since I am surrounded by other houses instead of marvelous views of the ocean. (This is why most of the lines end in a dot, rather than an arrow: to show that the view is an interior view.) There is only one view out, which is denoted by the blue arrow pointing left from the house. That views goes to a nice stand of deciduous trees on the other side of the street.

I have begun (on the sunnier days) to lay out some of the above measurements and tweak them where necessary. One of my big concerns at the moment is to make sure that the measurements that are drawn on paper will produce a garden that is in human-scale. (Meaning, that it will feel comfortable to be in, not too cramped or too vast, etc.) Using the grid proportions is supposed to help achieve this, but there can be too strict an adherence to the grid.

Once you have a look at it, I am sure you will agree that this is more than one a one - or even five - year plan! But it is a good direction to start in. We are excited to get going on it!
Thanks for looking!
~Julie