• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

April 7, 2010 · 3 Comments

A New Appreciation for a Formal Gardens

Why We Garden

Except for my driveway,  the raised boxes I use to grow vegetables and a couple of utility beds near the house, the straight line has pretty much been banned from my garden. Our house sits near a nature area, and curved shapes seem more appropriate in a wild(ish) setting. Still, I cannot help but appreciate the discipline and beauty of formal gardens.

formal garden in Italy

The formal beds of Villa Borghese

Over spring break, my younger daughter and I visited the older girl, who is studying in Rome. With two young women in the travel group, gardens were not on the top of the priority list — shopping, gelato, admiring the fashionable Italian dudes, more shopping, and visits to art galleries, old churches and outdoor cafes were our main activities. But, we did see a couple of gardens, including formal gardens.

At the Villa Borghese — the Central Park of Rome — the formality of the gardens surrounding the famous Galleria Borghese were as lovely as the Bernini sculptures inside. Here the gardens are all clipped boxwood, straight rows of iris, and formations of tulips in triangles. The garden above is one of three “secret gardens” surrounding the art museum. They are visible from inside, in one case in a surprising, delightful way.

They are spaces that seem to invite play (some toddlers were kicking a soccer ball around while we visited) and relaxation.  While formal, this is also a restful place.  The strict imposition of order and regularity seems to relax the mind.  In a big way, formal design is about people controlling nature. I’m not sure we can (or should) do that, but in some environments a formal garden is pure delight.

young women peeking from behind shrubbery

Having fun with the shrubbery in Rome.

If you are interested in what makes a formal garden, check out this guide from About.com.

Related posts:

  1. Summer Visit to Squire House Gardens Yesterday, I took a side trip on my way home...
  2. Gardening Like Monet Not many of us can garden in the fashion of...
  3. State Fair Gardens If you go to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend,...
« First Bloom
What Makes A “Perfect” Winter in Minnesota? »

Comments

  1. Christine B. says

    April 7, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    I trip to Rome sounds great right about now. It is snowing: ugh. I enjoy straight lines very much (as long as they are softened a bit with greenery).

    Christine in Alaska

  2. commonweeder says

    April 9, 2010 at 10:41 am

    Trips are so broadening – even when the gardens we see are not our style at all. We can see and appreciate new beauties.

Trackbacks

  1. My Northern Garden » Blog Archive » Fall Color Combos says:
    October 12, 2010 at 9:17 pm

    […] the gardens, which include an elegant Italian formal garden — which really reminded me of the one I’d visited in Rome this spring — a large pond with plantings around it and a number of beds featuring […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

Follow on Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Garden Ideas from Frank Lloyd Wright
  • How to Winter Sow Wildflowers
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways
  • Out-Smarting Japanese Beetles (And Some Good News)
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2022 · captivating theme by Restored 316