I'm not formal, or organized, or elegant. I think my dream garden would be just what I have -- only, without Bermuda Grass and Iceplant.

Jeri

What keeping the oxalis and tangle weed? lol oh wait, that is my garden (only a couple of patches of bermuda grass and no ice plant! I think that if I ever disliked some one, I would spread bermuda grass seed in their lawn. My friend is thinking a plus about selling her house, is she can leave her bermuda grass behind)

One thing is for dang sure! It would be FLAT, LEVEL and NOT the nearly 25% slope of this one! It would also be a completely different soil type, not this ancient, imploding sea floor which vacillates between sticky clay to dry talc and corn meal, with no water holding capabilities at all. Kim

I'm pretty happy with the direction things are creeping along. A large infusion of capital would speed things up. The flimsy vinyl arbors supporting the grape vine need to be replaced with something sturdier. The bricks replacing the rotting timbers along the back walkway have stalled for want of funds. A border of blue fescue grass hasn't happened yet. Stepping stones have not stepped in yet. There are a number of garden rooms in the works, but mostly it's still an open floor. Foundation shrubs are still small because I start with 1 gallons. It's a bit like painting the interior of the house one wall at a time.

I love an informal garden overflowing with flowers, arbors draped with vines, and stepping stone paths that curve out of view beckoning you to explore further.

I've done a lot of thinking on this subject and I've come to the realization that my childhood shaped what I want in my Dream Garden; a fruit and veggy garden like my Grandma and Grandpa had, privacy from the neighbors like my Father's home (we had just enough forest separating us to not be able to see each other at all,) a courtyard garden like my late Uncle's, and a bright and informal flower garden like my Mother and Aunt always had. All of that, plus some of the mystery and overgrown wildness of the Secret Garden or the hanging gardens of Babylon. Oh, and lots of rocks. I love stone in the garden, whether it's boulders, stepping stones, or a rock wall, a garden doesn't feel right to me without some good stones anchoring it. Having grown up in Lake Tahoe I developed a love for a rustic motif with lots of rough hewn wood and grey stone.

My garden is dreamy on a summer morning that starts with fog and then turns into a sunny afternoon. What it needs is to have the grass pathway edges defined with edging, or actually to have them replaced with pavement so I would never have to fuss at my husband again for NOT MOWING THE EDGES of the path and letting them creep into the flower beds. (And he always counters with "I was afraid I would mow something you wanted".

We finally had a paved patio and walkways put in around the house this year and we love it so much! It really ties the house to the landscape and makes it so much easier to maintain. Now if I had edges on all the beds with them raised up a bit from paved walkways it would be fabulous!

I am pretty satisfied with my eclectic garden. It has some formality near the house and is wilder on the perimeter. I wish I had better soil, not so much heavy clay, but most of all I wish I had planted more ornamental trees 18 years ago. I have no trees with beautiful bark. If I could afford to buy full-grown trees I would get Prunus serrula, Himalayan birch, a couple of magnolias and a few more Japanese maples.

I really love where I'm at currently and I'm pretty darn happy with how things look, but in a dream garden the layout in our back yard would be much different. I'd change the layout of our deck, I'd have the trees positioned for afternoon shade instead of morning shade, and I'd relocate all the utility lines that prevent us from planting around the perimeter of the yard.

Basically, if we want to plant anything, it has to go smack in the middle of the yard where everyone walks or plays.

And in my little dreamland there'd be a lot less grass to mow because I'd have it all occupied with plantings. I also want some weather-proof artwork out there; a tiled waterfall, or some sound baffling for the air conditioner. But there's only so much a human can do in a year without ending up in the emergency room.

My garden is dreamy on a summer morning that starts with fog and then turns into a sunny afternoon. What it needs is to have the grass pathway edges defined with edging, or actually to have them replaced with pavement so I would never have to fuss at my husband again for NOT MOWING THE EDGES of the path and letting them creep into the flower beds. (And he always counters with "I was afraid I would mow something you wanted".

We finally had a paved patio and walkways put in around the house this year and we love it so much! It really ties the house to the landscape and makes it so much easier to maintain. Now if I had edges on all the beds with them raised up a bit from paved walkways it would be fabulous!

My dream garden wouldn't be terribly different from what it is now except that all the roses would be free of disease, lush and filled with blooms all the time. The soil would be rich and the sun wouldn't be so hot. I'd have beautiful climbers that have a lot more flowers than mine do and the garden would have to be watered about once a month instead of every two days. I'm sure some day soon all of these things will come to pass....

Ingrid

Well, Stourhead, or Giverny, or Hidcote, or Filoli; any of those would be acceptable...but I know what my dream water bill would look like: not like the real one! ;^)

Peachymomo,

I have a wonderful rock picture for you and cannot figure out how to post it. Can you PEM me? Perhaps you can find out how to share it.

Veronica

LOL Hoovb, I think the biggest thing I would like in my dream garden is regular rain, not a downpour, but a nice gentle regular rain. (today was watering day-and fertilizer day too)

Kim, I think we have made 50 trips up and down our hillside in the past 2 days, I would love either nicer terraces, a funicular car, or a full shed with restroom and break room at the bottom of the hill.

one that is mine.

I don't own anything - I rent my house from the council and also my allotment. Recently, I have been hearing the dreadful sound of heavy machinery as developers crowd the entire perimeter of the allotment....and the council are making unsettling noises about 'downsizing' now my children are older - not that they are going to evict me just yet, but even so, the first stirrings of anxiety and insecurity......

My dream garden is the classical English garden, but I ended up out-Frenching the French.

My garden is too tiny for mystery, riotous growth, noble vistas and scenic grace. The best I could strive for was elegance and a measure of depth.

If my garden were a person, it would be one of those people with not a hair out of place. Spick and span.

It's largely symmetrical, formal and elegant. If I can't have natuarl grace, give me unnatural grace any day :)

A large open space with no tree shade or tree roots to contend with! It should not be mostly clay but a nice organic loam instead. And preferably in a place that gets regular and adequate rain fall. Lol, yeah, like that's gonna happen!

Mostly I just wish I had more open spots that get enough sun for roses. I wouldn't have to have them in pots then.