“Garden as though you will live forever.”

William Kent is quoted as saying “Garden as though you will live forever.”  I will embrace his words as I undertake the acres surrounding Chesapeake’s Cottage.  William was a highly regarded English architect, landscaper, and furniture designer in the 18^th Century.  His accomplishments include; The Temple of Ancient Virtue, Stowe; Badminton House; Houghton Hall; along with other distinguished homes and gardens in England.

As I begin the fine-tuning process of my stable my thoughts race ahead to the surrounding landscape and inevitably I think about how it will relate to the entire property.   I trust Mr. Kent and will forge ahead knowing that it will take time to see my landscape reach maturity.   

Today I came across some breathtaking English homes with glorious gardens that just happen to be for sale.  These were highlighted in today’s Telegraph UK.  I will be looking for ideas and hope you will find some also. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four photos from Telegraph UK

 

Just had to include one of my all time favorites!

 

Photo Veranda Magazine

 

 

Sunrise on a foggy morning...my blank slate...

quite a bit of work ahead of me

Stables

It has been rainy and foggy for two straight days here in South Carolina.   Thursday was the last I was able to ride and the weather was so very nice that I went on a long ride with several of my friends.   I stayed way too long at the barn afterwards.  Yesterday, I spent more time getting acquainted with my new computer which was easier to do since I could not ride due to the heavy rain.   Change can be very good; however, I find myself more resistant to change when it involves computers, cameras, and phones.  Today, I decided to take a break and focus on a future barn design for my property.  I could just use the search feature on my new computer and not worry for several hours about  all the more detailed features of the new computer.  What type of design, stalls, type of roof, flooring, lighting, tack room, feed room, wash stall? So many things to think about and of course every barn looks better with the right landscaping.   The rain? The new computer?  They are still here; I just forgot about them for awhile.

 

 

I am ready to have the pastures green again!  My friend Karen and her horse Bandit enjoying

 

                                     the final lush days of  the pasture in late fall.  My photos

 

Good design buts needs some lush landscaping

 

 

I could be happy with this garden at one end of the stable!

Veranda Magazine