When you Can't Change the "REAL View"...

There's a lot to be said for a view.

Sometimes though, we only think about one direction when we look at "the view".  

Consider this:  Wherever you are looking, there is an opposite view back to where you are.  

In other words, there are views coming and going in a space and it is wise to consider them both.  Let me give you some visuals.

See this basic picnic table on our porch?

The photo on the left shows the "REAL view" out over the forest and the clouds in the distance, but there is also a consideration of the way the table looks against the house.  When placing the table, the french doors were a deciding factor to create symmetry in the space.  I eventually painted a honeycomb "rug" to give the space division and weight and we are filling in the rest of the porch design little by little.  First things first though -- think about the views from all angles and account for the things that will not change (i.e. the doors).

Consider the Shift of a View

Views are constantly changing as you move through a space.  When considering where to place plantings and hardscaping in the garden, move through step by step and evaluate the views at each step.  For example, the railing here has two trellises to break up the long horizontal line of the railing.  The first trellis is the larger of the two, giving more weight to the "bottom" of the railing as you work your way left to right.  The trellis offers a sense of enclosure that offers mystery...

...until you step forward into a celebration of color and a peek at a hidden "room" further on in the garden.

You see, the real joy in views is the dance of come hither and see.

Creating rooms, manipulating what people see as they walk in and out of various sections of your 

garden, THAT is the fun part.  Now consider the opposite view of that trellis, railing and rosebush:

The trellis is again blocking the view of the porch again, offering mystery and suspense.

 (as much as a garden can create "suspense"...)

From that angle of approach you see...

...but from the kitchen exit door, you see...

Here is the straight on view of the space with white corners to the front and out of frame to the left and right.

These simple white lattice pillars frame the view from every angle, creating new views from a multitude of vantage points around the deck and garden.  What areas in your garden might benefit from a changing up of the "view"?    Though you often cannot change the "REAL view", you CAN almost always manipulate a view to make your space more interesting and more of a "journey".

Photos are from my PORCH at BUNNY MEADOWS and my trip to Rapid Canyon Ranch.