Garden Bones and garden vignettes

   In Hopalong Hollowscaping,
 having a garden full of blooms is a jolly good thing, but it takes more than plants to create a really harmonious garden...it takes great GARDEN BONES. What are garden bones? They are the structural, permanent elements that give your garden interest, shape and form. Especially important in the winter, when nothing is growing, Garden Bones provide an eye-pleasing, interesting space in an otherwise stark garden. Fences, statues, birdhouses, walls, TREES, small structures are just a few examples of garden bones. Today, I want to talk about one of the best bones you can have:
Garden Paths as Garden Bones.
If lain properly,
they gently guide you through flower beds, courtyards,and outbuildings in a pleasing and rhythmic manner.

Paths can be made of many materials, but I maintain a similarity in materials  to create a continuity in the many walkways we have. Using  a rustic mixture of salvaged brick, found stone, broken concrete and timbers is compatible with our country gardens and home.

The purpose of paths is not just to simply get you from one place to another, but to make it an interesting journey.

Paths should enable you to stop, for a minute or two...
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and "smell the roses" so to speak. You will observe the intricate delicacies of tiny plants, hiding beneath tinier plants, the intertwining of varied leaves and blooms, and bitty insects making their way to and fro.

Paths slow you down, and entice you to see things you would never have noticed from afar, by taking a closer look...

They persuade you to expect the unexpected..

as they lead you through secret places.

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If paths lead hither and thither, one must make a decision...should I veer off the path and go left? 

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or right? 

Whatever direction you take, be assured that you will find interesting sights along the way; which leads us to Garden vignettes. If Paths are Garden Bones, and plants are the Heart of the garden then I consider garden vignettes as the HeartBEAT of a garden...

 For they express the heart of the gardener

Artistic details are  placed in specific locations for quiet impact.

Always, nature helps out with a few brushstrokes of her own.

Below, the Morning Glory vines ramble and twine around the lantern in harmonious confusion.

That makes for a glorious vignette; placed by the gardener, enhanced by the plants.

 Set your decor, the growth will complete the picture

Paths that crunch beneath your shoes,

escort you up and down slopes,

 provide you with a seat,

and tease you with anticipation of what lies beyond that corner, that curve...

 are Garden Bones of the most engaging kind.

 Garden Vignettes

 can be playful, 

soothing,

amusing, rustic, serene or nostalgic, it all  depends on your gardeners heart.

 In keeping with our cottage gardens and rustic paths,

  The garden vignettes in

Hopalong Hollowscaping

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 are all of the above,

  and can be observed by walking those Garden Paths.

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All of our animal family members use the paths...

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and sometimes even BECOME living Garden Vignettes themselves,

as this sitting hen in the English Ivy will attest to.

Lest I forget the main purpose of  the Garden paths, please allow me to show you what one such walkway envelops.

Below is a small bed  that I renovated in a garden video last year. 
(You can see the BEFORE garden in one of my YouTube videos. You can also see how I created it's  garden path.)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNnQeqmmB6E

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 So remember, when  next you plan your garden, plan your garden paths as well.

They are such good bones.