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Welcome to the Montage Collage

As the sunny season in the northern hemisphere peaks, it is hard to find motivation to remain indoors. We all find it increasingly difficult to keep our focus at a desk and screen, as the mind wanders to shady groves of trees, dazzling sunny beaches, and the still tranquil seating areas of a well designed garden. I’m sure each of us has a very special place that pops into mind when thinking of this. As we find ourselves spending very little of our free time indoors these days, we felt it was only appropriate that we take this month’s issue of The Collage out of doors and devote it to some of the beautiful garden spaces we have come across recently. Each of these differs greatly from the next, yet all three excellently display the personal style and tastes of their inhabitants while flawlessly catering to their needs and lifestyles.

The first garden is a small city garden just a few hundred square feet, located behind a townhouse. The family who lives there has perfectly adapted their small shared space to fit their family’s needs and desires, providing their daughters with a green escape from the bustling city around them. The second garden is a large and rambling landscape, surrounding an early German farmhouse, where a young couple have been working hard to transform the slightly dilapidated grounds into a space that feeds both body and mind. The final garden surrounds a classical New England country home, here we hear from it’s antique dealer inhabitants, who have taken clear ques from their home’s history in developing a more formal garden to fit their lifestyle. 

In the brief history section, Fritz takes us through some of the more influential styles in historical garden design, giving us deep insight into identifying those influences in modern garden design. Fritz took this lesson a step further, bringing history full circle and guiding us on a wonderful romp through the process of designing a garden with those influences in mind!

Phoebe E. Rohn – Editor