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April 14, 2009

A modern parterre garden

A parterre is a formal garden that consists of planting beds edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging and gravel paths. The layout of a parterre is usually symmetrical.

Here’s an example of a traditional parterre garden with hedges, bay trees, and topiary at Bickham House in Devon, England (photo from pro.corbis.com).

parterre pro corbis

And here’s a modern take on a parterre garden in Vancouver, BC. It was designed by landscape architect Ron Rule:

garden 1

I love how the white hydrangeas with their green foliage stand out against the dark gray house.

garden 2

The fountain is made from an antique Chinese wheat grinding wheel.

garden 4

I always like decks and patios that have multiple levels. In this case, you can see the eating area to the upper right. The lower level looks like a great place to lounge around in front of the fireplace.

garden 3

This water wall is an interesting take on a water fountain. The design is beautiful and unique, and would be lovely even without the flowing water.

garden 5

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All pictures from Style At Home May 2009

8 comments:

mrsben said...

Oh so pretty Kelly! Thanks for sharing the photos.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous! I love parterre gardens. And I love that other people have to keep them trimmed and lovely ...

Maria Killam said...

Kelly,
Gorgeous photos you've shown. . . makes me want to run outside and pull out all my summer furniture!!

qerat said...

great photos
love the water wall and the fireplace.
wouldn't be great to have a nice book and just sit there??

amariaf2000 said...

These outside gardens are so beautiful!! I'd take either! Although I like the modern, my heart (and all the romance) is in the English symmetric gardens :) I can just see ladies strolling around the English gardens in big poofy dresses!
~angela @ peonypatch

Anonymous said...

Gardening is such an art and they make it look so easy. I just bought some plants today but my yard looks nothing like that! Gorgeous.

Dumbwit Tellher said...

Crazy about the photos. I really miss hydrangeas from my WA days & I will be saving the outdoor fireplace photo. Would love to copy that for an outdoor space for our San Diego home. The fountain is spectacular too.

Thank you!!

~CC Catherine said...

Kelly, Gardens are fascinating to me...these you showcased are just lovely! ~CC Catherine

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