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Gardening
for Artists and Writers
Gardening is
a vast subject area and we would need a whole website devoted to
gardening alone to cover even part of it. However, bearing in mind
our site mission to provide useful information and resources for
artists and writers, we have selected some helpful sources below
that we feel should aid artists and writers in their work. To this
end we have categorized our sources into the following three sections:
Garden
Design
Perhaps the most obviously creative section of our gardening resources,
here we provide some helpful sources for garden design ideas and
methods.
Inspirational
Plants
All plants could be said to be inspirational, at least to someone
somewhere, so this could be potentially be an unending section!
Consequently personal taste has to come into this. Therefore we
have concentrated here on plants that have either been inspirational
in some shape or form to the editors of this page, or plants that
have recently become fashionable (I know, we shouldn't be followers
of fashion, but fiction writers and commercial artists, for example,
often have to produce work that is to some extent or another, 'fashionable').
Gardening
News
Again on the idea of providing fashionable plants or gardening ideas
which commercial artists and writers may find useful in their work,
here is a selection of the latest news items. Of course this is
bound to be a mixed bag, with greater or lesser use to say, plant
artists and garden writers, but at least it changes regularly. So
check back often.
Garden Design
Gardening
Software .com
Garden design and home design software, etc. Well software isn't
usually considered the best way to go in creative projects, however,
software does have a place. It's a tool, just like any other tool,
and if it can speed up a design or creative task while not affecting
the outcome then it should be seen as a valuable aid to creativity.
After all, you wouldn't find many writers now who would object to
using a computer to produce their work, whereas only ten years ago
the idea would have been abhorrent to many, if not most.
Gardening
Search Engine .com
A search engine and directory dedicated to gardening in all its
forms. This is a useful site for finding stuff to do with garden
design in particular, so below we have detailed some links to specific
parts of this site.
Boundaries
and Rooms in your Garden
This page discusses the best ways to make boundaries and rooms in
your garden. It looks at ways to separate off sections of your garden
and what materials to use to achieve this, such as lattice work,
natural drystone walls and arbors. It's a starting point for ideas,
an introduction for those new to the concept of breaking up a garden
into separate 'rooms'. Many famous English gardens, by the way,
make good use of this concept.
Pumpkin
Sculptures
A bit of fun here for the kids of artists and writers. Pumpkin sculptures,
yes I know, but we have to encourage creativity in our children
to bring up the next generation of Dowse artists and writers :-)
Japanese
Garden Lighting
Here's a different way to get inspiration from your garden -- change
the way it looks after dark. Lighting really can make a huge difference
in this respect, but Japanese lighting is a subset of this, with
its own distinctive aspects, as this introductory article reveals.
Garden
Decor
'Garden Decor' sounds a rather odd phrase to my ear, but it's borrowed
from the phrase 'home decor'. This article is an introduction to
the idea that the garden can be treated as an extension of the hoem,
and designed for pleasure and beauty accordingly. Both artists and
writers could apply this approach to their own gardens. They could
even provide a place to work in their own gardens by applying the
ideas in this article on canvas
gazebos.
Outdoor
Entertaining
Writers and Artists all too often work alone, and it's easy therefore
to lose perspective, not to mention a lack of sharing ideas. Therefore
we at dowse thoroughly
recommend the ideas here on creating an inspiring garden area specifically
for entertaining your friends. It is, after all, through sharing
ideas and experiences that some of the greatest artistic works have
come about.
Inspirational
Plants
Ginger
Lilies
Ginger lilies are more popular now than ever before, particularly
in the UK, where the desire for a more tropical-looking garden,
inspired by cheaper over-seas travel and better worldwide communication
perhaps, has led to gardeners making good use of this 'new' plant.
Of course, gardeners in warmer climes have known and grown these
beautiful plants for many years and are well aware of the vast number
of species and varieties available. The link above is to a commercial
site, but it is a good source of information and images of Ginger
Lilies.
Juniper
Trees
Juniper Trees are such versatile plants, bringing a sense of wilderness
and permanence to a garden. Here's a new site setting out to explore
the use of junipers in the garden.
The
Heather Society
Heathers are inspirational to those who love the moors and mountains
of Britain in particular. Here's a link to the site of the UK
heather society.
Heathers
at A Cottage on the Moss
More heathers
and moorland plants for those inspired by them, like me. This book
is about a cottage, its garden and its surrounding landscape in
the English Peak District. It's an autobiographical work by Lawrence
Dyer that charts the new life he and his wife embark upon in
an "isolated stone cottage with no mains water, invaded by
mice, rats and swarms of insects, a place where giant snowdrifts
sever the electricity supply and all connections with the outside
world..." Read about their heather garden in particular, as
well as Dyer's descriptions of the landscape and its plants.
Growing
Orchids in Greenhouses
Orchids are, of course, among the most exotic of plants and the
most beautiful for artwork. Perhaps because of this many people
believe they are difficult to grow. Some types are, but many are
not. Here is an introductory article on just how easy it is to grow
orchids in your greenhouse. I know, because I've done it myself,
which has dispelled the feeling I had before that they were 'difficult
plants'.
Monet's
Giverny Garden
Art prints of
Claude Monet's garden, revealing his famous treatment of his own
lily ponds and lake, as well as his interpretation of the herbaceous
borders he grew.
Natural
gardens
Natural gardens listings and resources: Natural gardens on the net.
There may be something of interest here, but it is not an extensive
site.
Plant
an Herb Garden of Your Own
Plant your own herb garden. This site is instructional in planting
herb gardens in ordinary backyards.
Claude
Monet Information
Monet Information. More
on Claude Monet and his at-the-time extraordinary style of painting
the plants and gardens he knew.
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back here regularly to read the latest gardening news items.
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