Pattern 3: Pathways

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We want a path that gets us where we're going as quickly and in as straightforward a manner as possible; at the same time, we don't really want to see the end of the path when we first put foot to paver. We don't want to look up to see all that lies ahead, any more than we want to know the ending of a novel or a movie before we spend time reading or watching. Here's the conundrum: while at the most basic level efficient passage is the intent of any path, in our hearts we prefer a bit of enigma, the puzzlement of a garden at least partly obscured. Since the function of a path is to lead us from here to there, curves, obstructions, and surprising destinations must appear uncontrived, integral to the design. So wind a pathway around a tree, hide a tea table and chair at the farthest point of a dead end, train trees or vines to meet overhead, or place scrim plants to obscure a bend in the road — but never, ever forget where the path is leading.

Who could resist traveling this curvaceous trail, lapped with russet-toned Anemanthele lessoniana and ending in a mysterious yew-hedged circle at the edge of the forest?

Copyright ©2007 Timber Press, Inc. Text excerpts from A Pattern Garden copyright © Valerie Easton. Photographs copyright © Jacqueline Koch, except photos on Bridges, Gates, and Shelters pages copyright © Allan Mandell; and photo on Water page copyright © Richard Hartlage. All rights reserved. Posted with permission of the publisher.