walls
Whether you choose to replicate old stone structures or borrow ideas and transplant them into contemporary designs, there is certainly a treasure trove of design concepts to be found in the masterworks of those who've gone before us. Indeed, stone has been the raw material of choice for many of the world's greatest architects, landscapers and watershapers, each of whom has relied on stone and its timelessness in fashioning works of beauty. In the first two articles in this series, we toured
It's the little things that often make the biggest difference in creating beautiful spaces within gardens or near watershapes. A well-articulated retaining wall here, a clever treatment of a stone footpath there or the perfect placement of a stone stairway can, at various points, lend variety, balance and even a sense of antiquity to the work. In the first installment of this series of articles on classic uses of stone in gardens and watershapes, we began with an overview of stones set among plantings and used as simple structures in some of the world's most beautiful
A good friend of mine once told me that his idea of the perfect yard was one where he could walk around naked - and none of his neighbors would be able to see him. What a concept! Unfortunately, few of us can afford a yard so large that we could not be seen by neighbors under any circumstances. So what can you do to create that perfect private environment? As we'll see here, you have a lot of choices. DISCOVERING PREFERENCES Many people go all the way in creating privacy by building structures that make them feel safe and enclosed. Others prefer a less claustrophobic approach, such as soft plantings. Either way, and particularly when you are dealing with watershapes where your clients may want to enjoy communing with nature in the buff, creating some type of barrier against neighbors' intruding eyes is essential. Your clients' preferences may
