Perspective

All of the gardens that we saw last night were on quite large properties. The trees incorporated in all of the gardens are really quite large, yet looked perfect in these gardens. They fit right in and didn't look oversized as they might on some of the smaller properties around our cities. It is unlikely they will ever be too large for the property. One house had a large weeping Purple Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purpurea-Pendula') that while large for some gardens will always look just perfect for this property.

There was a property not far from where I live in the Forest Hills area that had at least a half dozen large evergreens. I'm sure that when they were planted, they fit in quite well and didn't overpower the house but as time went on they became far too large for the space they occupied.

When choosing a tree for for our house or garden, we need to pay close attention to the size the tree will eventually become and the length of time it will take to reach that size. There are many dwarf, and weeping varieties of some of these very large trees that will look just right on many of our sub-urban properties.

Another perspective to keep in mind is that we all create gardens for ourselves. The garden that we create for ourself may not be everyone's cup of tea, but we like it otherwise we most likely would have created something else. We all have a favourite style but that doesn't mean that we can't learn from someone else. I invariably borrow ideas from many of the gardens I visit, my style or not.

So I was reminded last night to keep things in perspective.