Oh man! That is a use of grass tht I can totally respect!

It hits my esthetic exactly. Like nature, but with better plants.

Thanks, Nicki!

I love that garden. The pictures that include trees in the grass/perennial border are especially interesting to me because I'm pretty sure now I want include trees. I need more shade.

It looks a lot like a Piet Ouldolf or "Dutch New Wave" garden (Noel Kingsbury also does that style) I've been checking out books from the library on these gardens and studying them. I love the look so much.
But like you say they tend to be used in huge spaces, and my back yard as you know is pretty small.

Another thing I'm considering is a variation on that look, where taller shrubs and some small trees are used along with the grasses and perennials, so that rather than being all open, you see only a part of the garden at a time.

I can't decide if I want open and airy, like in the garden you've just shown me--where you can see everything at once, or if it would be better to do the "rooms" thing, where shrubs and small trees screen one part of the garden from another.

I always read in the garden books that hiding part of the view creates "mystery," but I'm worried my space is too small and it might get cluttered or clausterphobic.

What do you think?

Bill

Check out these if you get a chance. Just click on slide show at the bottom of the page. In some of the pictures you can see the open and airy look, and in others you can see where he mixes in taller shrubs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Piet Ouldolf's gardens

the artemesia that's growing @ seminole is, i'm pretty sure, silver king. i've tried powis castle, which is a bit better behaved, but it burned out. generally speaking, artemisia (or artimisia) is underused in fla -- a tough, very drought resistant background plant.

i now have Artemisia vulgaris 'Oriental Limelight' growing, well, everywhere in my garden. it started with a quart plant two years ago, and it's now something of a problem -- it's popped up 20' from where i originally planted. fortunately, it's a pretty plant, VERY TOUGH, but a bit of a thug. i have it going head to head with purple knight alternanthera around my garden pond. i wonder which will win?

beautiful pics, nicki. i actually have the space for something like this. wouldn't it look great with some fruit trees in it?

Oh boy, you shouldn't ask me... I'm the Queen of Indecision.
But here's some random thoughts...

I've read that hiding parts of your garden can make the space feel larger because you don't see the boundries all at once. Your garden is wide, but not very deep, and it seems like your garden slopes up towards the fenceline. I think you've done a good job hiding the back boundary with the small trees and shrubs you've planted towards the back. I love the look of your cassia that's close to the house limbed up like a small tree. It's very structural. Maybe something like that, or even a chaste tree, in your meadow would break it up enough without making it feel clausterphobic? I wonder if an arch somewhere along the path - maybe before the cassia (I can't remember if there's really room for that or not) might give you a feeling like there's something "hidden" beyond it.

I LOVE the look of Peit Ouldolf's gardens - I'm bookmarking that! Wow. I really like how he creates sweeping swaths of color and texture through repetition. It's undulating and very meadowy. Makes me think once the grasses establish, the rest just reseeds and has a life of it's own.

It's great, isn't it, Amber? It blew my mind.

Yeah, yeah... rub it in Ill-Mannered One. ;-) You DO have a lot of space for something like this. It would be gorgeous along your back fence, and yes, fruit trees would be perfect. An Eden! The artemesia is Silver King - I couldn't remember... but that's exactly what it is. I tried it in my garden years ago, and it got too unruley. It might be a really nice addition for Bill, though. I have enough plants duking it out as it is.

Thanks for the ideas, Nicki. I'm going to put together a trial arch out of some bamboo and see how it looks and feels. I think there's room for it. Imagining what more trees and shrubs will look like is more difficult. I'm trying to do some sketches (it would help if I could draw!). I think it may just work, though it will give a totally different feel to the garden. And I'm definitely going to give that artemesia a shot. If it's a thug in your garden, it means it may just survive in mine.

Wish me luck!

Bill