An Iowa Garden

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I knew better; before ever I started my present garden, wandering around in the brushy woods, dreaming about the garden that was to be, I knew that the pathways should be, as the British garden books always tell us, "wide enough for two people to walk comfortably side-by-side". I intended therefore to have a garden with broad and inviting paths. Well, good intentions don't always lead to good conclusions. What the garden books don't tell you (I guess they figure on a little higher level of garden savvy amongst their readers than they found at this address), is that constructing a suitably wide garden path doesn't do much good if the gardener then proceeds to plant carloads full of shrubs and trees and giant hostas right next to the path. Many of the paths in our garden have become something akin to a deer trail; tenuous in appearance and treacherous to those tall or unwary.
I will say that my garden visitors do get a superior view of the flower beds at least on one side when going on garden walks... slowly shuffling sideways down the paths does that for you. I have, however finally tried to reform, and have been slowly reclaiming (as best I can at this late stage), many of my paths... above are shown one of the old pathways at top, and below two of the paths that I revised this last summer.
So far, so good, but I know my weaknesses all too well, and the spring flower catalogues have just begun to arrive.


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