Your garden is extraordinarily beautiful in every season so I hope you take the time to embrace the gift of discovering the wonder waiting for you now, in Autumn ~ a most bewitching time. “Wonder is important because it calms the nervous system, sparks creativity, and drives human learning and connection.”

I cannot help but feel giddy walking in my gardens or discovering the little miracles beckoning me in others’ ~ whether a private pleasure garden, a community edible garden, or a beloved city pocket park tucked into a block or cul de sac ~ fueling the souls and forging intimate bonds for the neighborhood.

To that point, I’ve long been fascinated by the ability of a garden’s inhabitants, especially its plants, pollinators, and art, to beguile us. Gardens beckon us with their charm, their beauty, and promise of endless fascination. They seem to whisper secrets, tempting us with enchantment.

Upon every garden walk, I find something that leaves me speechless and also fills me with untold joy.

As a garden designer and a writer, I’ve tried to capture that nexus of mystery and wonder.

I learned that wonder often begins at the boundary of what we know versus what is concealed from us. That is often why good garden designs start with a magical gate or paths that lead us on in a series of “reveals.”

Think of it as a secret that acts as a locked door; and wonder is the realization that the door exists and you then act upon the urge to see what lies behind it.

A secret or mystery represents a hidden “something” waiting to be uncovered, while wonder is the emotional and intellectual spark that drives us to investigate the unseen or unexplained.

It can be argued that the pursuit of that emotion is what drives us to travel ~ to seek new lands and cultures; to try new recipes ~ to try new flavors and ingredients that will excite our palates; and new drinks in much the same way. Or like me, experience perfumes and fragrances that will touch our hearts and ignite memories.

I know that seeing a plant’s first blossom opening up on a seasonal plant is cause for taking out the smartphone and taking photos from just about every angle like it was the long-lost discovery of the “Amber Room!”

I want to capture that feeling of awe, mystery, wonder ~ and beauty.

That sense of wonder and awe is heightened by the knowledge that it is ephemeral. Its presence is fleeting. The quest always is how to capture that magic and share with others. While I may neglect my social media because of work and other creative tasks, my intention is sincere and committed.

Here are a few of my priceless moments of Garden Wonder as I came upon those first blooms this season. (click arrows to slide left or click on thumbnails)

hydrangea bobo white to pink close up blooms.jpeg

That marveling at the secrets and mystery in our ecstatic state of wonder when coming upon a first bloom or an edible’s emergence from the soil or the changing colors of a tree’s leaves, sparks our curiosity. We are motivated to learn why this plant attracts that specific butterfly or why this shrub changes color, or why some flowers offer such potent fragrance, or how some gardens are, well, just much prettier and more compelling to us.

Creating Wonder and Igniting Curiosity

The garden conversations I’m hearing lately around my neck of the woods are, interestingly, different. Decidedly so. Some are putting their garden to bed, pulling up those dahlia bulbs. So soon? I immediately think. 🤔

And others are on a kind of garden “cruise control” ~ waiting until the weather forbids them to do much of any garden work 😉

And then there’s the planners. The ones who placed their spring bulb orders during the summer, scrolled the verdant catalog pages, smugly anticipating the promise of spring.

I delight in following a schedule and ritual that borrows a little of these three strategies.

With one Notable Disruption ritual. Regrettably, severe storms, especially during hurricane season, render the usual Autumn chores just about irrelevant! ha. To whit: I have spent two full days cleaning out the shredded leaves, twigs, “conifer minis” and other storm debris from our garden beds and borders, not to mention pruning off the branches that suffered from near constant nor’easter winds for days on end resulting in dessication and wind burn . I still have much to do. I urge you not to neglect this now, all-too-recurring autumn chore..

** And today’s storm is scattering its leaf litter on what I just completed :( I told you that gardening is a most humbling enterprise!

I will be writing soon about designing more climate resilient gardens soon. (Stay tuned.)

So, while maybe not exactly the planning lessons we learned from the fairy tale of “The Little Pigs” but more like “Holly and the Hedgehog,” taking this time to plan the garden for its winter slumber while still embracing that good garden design that sparks curiosity, whispering secrets, and eliciting wonder is yours to create. I’ll focus on just two garden elements in this post.

(For more robust tips on Autumn Garden Chores, please read here)

How to Generate Garden Wonder

In pursuit of some garden wonder to add to your space, I suggest you might best start like this: Visit gardens, parks, arboretums, your neighborhood ~ lots of visuals to feed your soul and your aesthetic.

I found the diminutive Albert’s Garden “pocket park” on the lower east side so charming, unexpected, inspiring ~ and wondrous. The videos capture the awe and respect I felt walking its paths, seeing folks reading, enjoying morning coffee with their pooches, chatting with one another, not unlike our feathered friends enjoying the community bird bath. The wrought iron gates allow you to peak in, igniting that curiosity and sense of mystery for what lies beyond; the creativity and design in a rather small space sparks admiration for its beauty and the garden love for its ongong care and maintenence. I found that same sense of wonder peering into other pocket garden spaces and window boxes in town (see below).

Albert’s Garden; Pocket Park Community Garden, Gotham

Then, take a notebook and walk your garden, whether it’s a yard, your community plot, your patio or terrace containers or window boxes.
What do you see? What do you want to see? What can you eliminate? That design choice is the zen of good gardening where space and nature find harmony and balance.

What would bring you more joy?

Would it be color, texture, edible food, fragrance, easier access via raised beds or walkways that can add year-round interest? It’s your Wish List so go ahead, take note.

Then determine what you’ll need to achieve your garden dream. Pace yourself!

Use a mood board or Pinterest or a file of gardens you drooled over in magazines or on Instagram. Please look back to my media ~ here on Garden Glamour in the Art of the Garden and on my newer post-hack Instagram 🫤: Garden Glamour by Duchess Designs.

When you’ve curated the look that will make your heart sing, make your plan to implement the design.

Will you DIY? Or hire a garden designer?

Garden Paths

Now is the best time to determine your garden paths to better meander and facilitate your garden walks.

You can draw your design, plotting the style ~ determining if you use bricks, slate, decomposed granite, pea gravel, sea shells, rustic local stones ~ we are privileged to be able to use Peanut Stone. In my plethora of paths, I have all of these materials. They fit the look of the “garden room” where they reside.

In addtion, I have to add a special note of wonder for our local Peanut Stone ~ the natural mixture of quartz, pebbles, and iron oxide that people sometimes call "Mother Nature's concrete." This Peanut Stone is part of the Garden State’s Inner Coastal Plain. Italian and Portuguese immigrant workers used it to create some fo the most recognized “romantic architecture in the country,” especially the 1896 Stone Bridge over Grand Avenue, the “Stone Church and so many roads whose curbs are peanut stone. I find them when creating new garden beds and use then to line the garden beds and Herb Garden paths.

This is an example of taking into consideration your geographic location ~ the genius loci ~ or, in other words, the spirit or the place.

I even once designed and made a series of sweet stepping stones to transport a client’s young triplets through a "Dinosaur Garden.” The T.Rex footprints were a delightful, whimsical addition; tempting the children to explore the garden.

Think about your paths in new and different ways.

Plants

Of course! You will need those glorious plants to bring on that heart-clutching wonder. You want to experience that moment of breathless anticipation as they unfurl their petals and inflxx.

In a border garden, you will look to use bulbs and perennials, anchored by trees and shrubs, for that sequential garden performance.

Use a mix of plants for color, texture, and varying heights. You can create a border bed of changing, seasonal blooms.

I love this, especially in our front border garden that honors the distinct seasons we so very much enjoy experiencing there ~ along with the walkers who often stop to comment and admire. This is video is a quick tour of the autumn border.

I found this Garden Design Magazine tip summary and think it will benefit your garden path designs.

For example:

Combine more than one material such as pavers and gravel, stepping stones set in bark, or grass edged with bricks. Change materials to mark the transition between areas. Alternate pavers in a checkerboard pattern and plant the spaces in between with tough ground covers such as creeping thyme, Corsican mint, Scottish moss, or chamomile.
Get creative. Think outside the box. Wooden slabs can be used in place of concrete stepping stones. Pour your own concrete stepping stones (* Read my suggestion above) with different shaped molds and decorate with mosaic tiles or other materials. Sprinkle smooth glass pieces, colored pebbles, marbles, or plastic beads amongst gravel to catch the light. (* I use solar powered stones in our driveway and colored marble stones in our outdoor shower)

Garden Art

While any time is wonderful to consider adding art to your garden, I could argue that now may be the best time as you consider the look and perspective of winter in the garden. And consider how plants look with winter’s glistening snow and sparkling ice. I love how snowfall makes our Water Garden parterres look like they are adorned with white gowns or veils; ornamental grass shimmer in the season’s glow.

But it’s also true that with the absence of green and flowers, garden art resonates.

This year, I was determined to add a few pieces of enduring art to our gardens.

The organic, metal female bather next to our outdoor shower is magnificent. Day or night.

I looked to my local Arts Council where I’m a member to source a sculptural artist. The talented Dorsey Lucas who specializes in clay and metals. I fell hard for “Star Dancer” the moment I laid eyes on her sinuous shape. As noted in the June post about the Native Plant Society tour we hosted, Dorsey is an AHARTS artist whose work is widely recognized and displayed ~ most recently at a Clean Ocean Action benefit.

Initially, I thought Star was a wee bit too tall for the spot I had in mind, but then realized I could sculpt or accommodate the conifer around her. She was my girl!

Stewarding the outdoor shower on one side and the red shade garden on the other, Star adds such beauty ~ that I know will be especially appreciated in the winter season. Day or night.

Same for Carlo’s “Martha Dancing” peony photograph printed using the dye-sublimation process that is weather proof and damage resistant.

Art in its many forms elevates garden design in a profound way. I still marvel at the art in The Madoo Garden Conservancy in Sagaponick, that I saw on an NYBG garden tour there decades ago. It undoubtedly influenced me.

Recently, I was reminded of the Madoo garden art when Bill and I found we were lucky invitees to a nearby private garden that also featured red garden art!