The external structure of the new room is up. Now I can see the pattern and geometry of the facade that will form the most prominent side of the garden--the entry side. The surprise is how very off center is the twelve-foot-wide door opening to the garden. (The doors are black, and their sharp definition against the rough masonry facade has a lot of visual punch.) The scale of the back wall in comparison to the door opening creates a simple but powerful geometry I can't ignore. It will be a dominant element in the garden.
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The grand revelation. Now I can see the back wall of the new garden
room, and it demands reimagining the garden. |
I'm remembering what I learned in the books of John Brookes about using a grid derived from the dimensions of the house, or a significant component of the house, to define the garden space. It appears I need to work with a series of rectangles--the rectangle of a single door, the rectangle consisting of the unit of four doors, and the rectangle formed by the back wall of the extension. And, of course, the position of the door opening within the wall itself, which will determine how the body moves out of the house into the garden, which in turn sets certain spatial and aesthetic expectations.
The garden has to 'grow' out of this nest of shapes, and invite the human body to enter ... what? To be determined ...
I don't intend to abandon earlier concepts, those described
here, and
here, and
here. But I do have some rethinking to do.
I'm quite happy about this. More challenges, more problems to solve. More fun!
James,
ReplyDeleteYour doors to the garden look great! I like your thought process.
My thought process seems to be to adapt to what comes next. I'm glad I chose black.
DeleteI really like those doors...the black frames are really striking. I can't wait to see how you adjust your plans now. I think the most important thing for me would be, how do I keep the rectangles from overwhelming everything else and becoming overbearing (not that I think they are, from what I can see). Seeing all that construction debris gives me a little PTST about all our DIY home projects in the past few years!
ReplyDeleteThanks for confirming my decision to go black. The construction debris, yes, it's hard to imagine a garden emerging from all that mess come spring. But I have to remember Federal Twist was a messy, unattractive cedar woodland exactly seven years ago. And by year three, it was clearly a garden.
DeleteA tweak here and a tweak there. Be nice to throw those doors open on warm evenings.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if I can import frogs from the country. Only problem is urban predators. My neighbor had chickens and all but one were killed by a racoon! The frog sounds would be a nice addition to the Brooklyn summer evenings.
DeleteThe country frogs would prefer to stay quietly at home. But if you have water, a pond, might you not get frogs from neighbouring gardens or a park?
DeleteNo frogs I know of around here in Brooklyn. I don't think the country frogs would mind a city life. But we have predators (cats, racoons) that may make a frog's life miserable, or worse.
DeleteBlack doors, how elegant.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but summon a Neapolitan (or Pompeian) vision, with red plaster walls, black flagstone paths, and -- dio mio - a red and black colour scheme for the plantings.
What an imagination you have, though I admit a Pompeian garden has its appeal! I'm thinking seriously about trying to construct that masonry wall at the back of the garden, and painting it red (or orange). But these are just fantasies. I'm sure I'll be taking it slowly--plant trees, dig a hole, construct a pool, spread a couple of tons of gravel ... the tasks seem endless. This is a time for slow gardening. Delayed color decisions.
ReplyDelete