Elsewhere Online: The Plant-Free Garden

Well-designed garden hardscape CAN make a beautiful garden, as the folks over a Garden Rant discovered recently. Click on the link to their article and witness a wonderful expression of urban gardening that harkens back to earlier centuries.

I have some troublesome areas in my garden that could do with a similar hardscape treatment, although the cost is somewhat prohibitive at the moment. Heavy shade makes it difficult to grow much of anything in the alleys on the sides of the house, but a lovely brick walkway, like the one shown in the article, would do wonders for the "charm" of the garden.

The Plant-Free Garden

Today, the Wall Street Journal has a deliberatively provocative piece called "The Concrete Gardener" about a big trend in gardening: no plants whatsoever.  Just hardscaping.  And TV's, dishwashers, couches, hot tubs, and all the things that really make heading outdoors worthwhile.

Of course, here at Garden Rant headquarters, we think this is all horrible, reprehensible, these people ought to be stopped--except I was stopped by the accompanying photo of a side yard in Alexandria, VA.
(Via Garden Rant.)

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