I really like the scenery in UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN. Near the end of the movie there is a lovely scene where the writer hosts her adopted son's wedding reception in an Italian garden. Another great scene is when her best friend comments on the "spooky Italian trees". I also agree about the Lord of the Rings trillogy. I own the dvds and have been known to pop in the first movie just so that I can watch the Shire scenes. When I first saw the film I had fantasies of living in a house under a hill with a big round front door. Did you notice the pretty cottage garden in front of BagEnd? Now THAT is my idea of idealic. The Rivendale and Lothlorian scenes were also breathtaking. Two things that stand out in my mind is the silvery garden temple in the first Rivendale scene where Frodo is looking out from his balcony at the elven colony. Another scene is the Elven Queen's scrying well (she calls it the Mirror). I want that well! Mine of course would be surrounded by white roses. Here is a link that might be useful:

This was the thread that helped me put a name to the style of garden that I love best. I have been working towards the cottage style for many years and never get tired of the evolution of it. Loved reading them all again today. Cheryl

The crepe myrtles near the house are an old Southern tradition (& it seems like I remember that cherry laurels sometimes were used that way, too). They shaded the porch area so you could sit outside during the hottest parts of the day, & when they matured, they shaded the roof, helping to keep the house a little cooler inside. There's a ton of space there for the taking (grass! lawn! ick!) without sacrificing a lovely old crepe myrtle. I'd keep the crepes & clear everything out from under them, cover the soil with a light layer of mulch (don't pile mulch up next to the trunk of any tree, it'll encourage insects & rot), & liberate some of that lawn area. You could start along both sides of the sidewalk, then the strips next to the driveway, adding mulch or brick or rock paths as you go... uh... what was the question? I read this wonderful book called "The Garden, An English Love Affair", that traces the development of gardening in England over 1000 years. The book says that cottage gardens were originally filled entirely with passalong plants, since cottagers worked at the manor house or on the manor land, & they worked their own gardens in their precious spare time. Some similarities came about just because of the nature of day-to-day needs: hodge-podge plantings, food & flowers in the same areas, & espaliered fruit trees because there wasn't much space central pathways to the front door bisected by horizontal paths because that's the most efficient way of getting through the garden herb gardens by the kitchen door for convenience fragrant flowers close to the house for enjoyment when you had to be indoors (no air circulation systems, no aerosol fresheners) hedges &, later, gated fences or walls to keep out wild animals I've had the thought that cottage gardening *as a style* (rather than as a necessity, as it was in the past) speaks to something in our natures that loves lushness & abundance.

Thank you Marlorena for posting these stunning photos. That first photo is extraordinary, well all of them are really. The wisteria walk, the apple tree framing the garden and farmhouse, the plums..... wow. And the sunrise photo in East Sussex made me think of Diane's garden - love the colours. Marlorena, I once saw a painting by possibly one of the pre-raphaelites, and I thought it was called 'Utopia'. Wildly off topic, but the apple tree photo reminded me of it. I've never been able to trace it, google though I may, and I wondered if you might know the painting I mean. It occurred to me years later, when I bought a house with persimmon trees, that the tree in the painting was possibly a persimmon. Ring any bells? Trish