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Get out in the Garden
Bring the Comfort of Home Outside By Jacqueline Rupp
Just because you're trying to add some color to the backyard doesn't mean you should forgo the grass completely. Think of how good it can feel to walk through the grass barefoot for the first time in spring or how the kids love to roll around in it. The green stuff can also work well in complementing the gardening you have done. "Keeping open spaces allows for the eye to take in the pops of color and the overall design," says Thompson. "Open spaces can be quite relaxing when they flow right; flowers are complemented with grass and the lawn creates a sense of place."
At Chanticleer, rolling hills of lush green grass are actually just as beautiful to look at as the multitude of plants. To maintain a thick, lush lawn like those of Chanticleer, Thompson suggests caring not just for the grass, but the soil. "Think below the ground when growing anything," he says. "The problem is usually in the ground. Aerate carefully with a fertilizer, using organics to get the soil healthy."
Another way to add some interest to your outdoor space is to include touches of your personality. If you like to play chess or checkers, why not make an outdoor large-scale board. If you have a passion for art, maybe paint a mural on a retaining wall or even on a paved area of ground.
Wayne Rizor of Kalamazoo, Mich., used a lucky find to bring his garden together. "While cleaning out some old storage boxes, I came across an octagonal-shaped, horizontal sundial that I had made years earlier," he says. "My wife and I saw the possibilities and found a pedestal and started planning a garden around it. Between the three gardens, I laid out a 10-foot circle, placed pavers around the perimeter and made a paver path on the north-south and east-west axes of the circle. We placed the sundial in the center. My wife took over and planted three rings of flowers outside the circle. The sundial garden is now the focal point of the yard and gardens."
Incidentally, Rizor's find inspired a business, Garden Sundials
