Unexpected Garden Beauties

Mother Nature knows: beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but it’s the details that make the difference. So she’s delighted to get a helping hand in decorating these three urban retreats.

Lovingly framed with crazy-stone pavers and colorful bedding plants, this pond brings a calming, unanticipated forest element to a compact city yard. Water lilies drift casually across the surface — look carefully just at dusk, and you might even spot fairies or other of the “wee folk” using the floating greenery as stepping-stones. Or perhaps simply pour something cool and refreshing, grab the chessboard, then pull up a couple of chairs at the adjacent wrought iron table and get set for an afternoon of friendly competition.

Tucked onto a terraced ledge amid foxgloves and heather, this seating area is like an oasis retreat. A log bench, smooth and stained just enough to enhance the natural graining, reflects the grandeur of stately cedar trees directly behind. Whether alone or with your sweetheart, give in to the invitation to savor time in nature.

This is one garden path you won’t mind being led down. Baby ’mums and geraniums celebrate springtime with dazzling yellow and crimson blossoms. Decorative grasses dance in the wind, while green mosses form soft, natural scatter carpets along the walkway. At night, a contemporary interpretation of the Japanese lanterns lights your way and guides you home.

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