Garden Getaways...

Ask yourself: are you making the most of your garden? Does it inspire you to steal away for a spell and read, chat, daydream...or create? While it can be as simple as a great Adirondack chair or a breezy hammock, have you ever thought of creating a place that is yours alone? We are in the midst of building our daughter a playhouse, and it has me thinking that someday I'd love such a place for myself..

photo: Butik Sophie

The current summer issues of our favourite magazines have wonderful examples of cabanas, potting sheds, artist's cottages, pool houses and boat houses with glorious lofts. Each option sounds heavenly, doesn't it? Well, of course we can't all conjure up (or afford) such perfect spaces, but we can carve out our own little corner of the garden for our use.

photo: Victoria Magazine

photo: www.coastalliving.com

The next photo is of my mum's former backyard (frequent moving runs in the family...). This is a shot I took of her pretty garden shed. She also has a sweet, little potting shed in the garden of her present home. It is not as large (or functional, she might add) as this one, but it is charming all the same!

A couple of homes ago (which I know sounds odd...), we had what we jokingly called a secret garden of sorts. It was a small area at the bottom of our deck steps that served as a threshold to our open-area backyard. It was a sheltered spot, with a canopy of trees that provided the only shade in our garden. We knew it was also the only spot that afforded us some semblance of privacy; so we decided to create a garden within our garden: a place to sip a cold drink on a hot day - shaded as we watched our then-toddler daughter play with the neighbourhood children.

Below is the only picture I could find of it...and it was obviously taken during the construction phase!

My husband built a bench with a trellised back on which to grow vines and hang flowering baskets. The floppy branches of the trees above served as the perfect spot from which to hang our outdoor chandelier. We used pea gravel as the ground cover, and we placed an iron bistro set underneath. We thinned the little wooded area (more scrub than woods) for our boys to play in, and planted shrubs and flowers in the planter behind the bench. It turned out quite charming, and was the only pretty spot in our otherwise treeless, back garden.

My sister has a wonderful big yard and plenty of trees to shade herself under. She has wooden, outdoor chairs that I have coveted for many years now, and they are the perfect spot to sit and chat when I visit her each summer. She loves to comb the local yardsales every Saturday and her incredible finds kill me...!!!

My current yard's tiny proportions are utilized to capacity, but someday, when my children are grown, I will strive to create a beautiful garden get-away of my very own to perhaps pot flowers, create something of interest, nap or just read. I am a shade lover anyway... so by that time, I will undoubtedly also be trying to prevent further wrinkles as I enjoy the great outdoors. For now, I will enjoy ducking my head as I enter Sophie's playhouse to admire our work and squish myself into one of her little chairs and pretend I am seven again. It is a bigger project than I first anticipated, and I look forward to sharing the outcome of our joint venture with those of you who share an appreciation for whimsical get-aways!

photo: source unknown