Garden Design: Working With Pre-existing Conditions

backyardgeodesicconseptfinal

Behold my abominable raised bed design that evolved out of a misguided Sketchup session. Yes, that is Princess Leia standing in for Mrs. Homegrown. I guess that makes me Jabba the Hut, which I resemble while blogging on the couch. But I digress. I emailed this rendering to our architect pal John Zapf for review. He responded in two words, “April Fools?”

I didn’t admit that I was kinda serious.

I called Mrs. Homegrown in to look at my rendering and to her credit she didn’t dismiss it immediately (she knows that I’m crazy). But we both realized that my hexagonal raised bed fantasy would be better off never leaving its conceptual stage. Sometimes Sketchup is a handy tool for figuring out what not to do.

The problem with this bed design? It has no relation to what’s around it. It would look as out of place as a UFO on the White House lawn.

zapfyard

Let’s take a look at one of the plans Zapf doodled out last week. He worked with what’s there already: a square house, square shed and square yard. Wouldn’t it make sense to work with that squareness, to not try and put a round peg in a square hole? What I like about Zapf’s plans is that he extends the lines of the house and shed. Maybe that puts the kibosh on the geodesic Princess Leia Biodome folly, but that’s probably a good thing. Sometimes jarring contrast works, but in the case of our fuddy-duddy old house I think it’s best to go with what’s there already.

Leave a comment

8 Comments

  1. I sent too soon. I meant that to say:

    A true garden Folly!

    I cannot make sense of the second drawing because I cannot orient myself to it. Could a few labels be put on it? I tried seeing it as an elevation, but obviously, it was not.

    • In our case we have soil contaminated with lead and zinc. Raised be gardening is the only option for us. Some other advantages are that it inhibits nocturnal skunk issues and it can be good for people who are disabled and would have trouble with a normal garden. But if your soil is good you’re better off in the ground.

Comments are closed.