ShareThisSetting a romantic mood in your garden:-- Room for love: Design your garden as if it were a room, said stylist/designer Tommy Brandt. "Use hedges or trees to define the space, so it's intimate. You want to separate it off, for privacy." If you have a porch, "furnish it just as you would an indoor room, with a beautiful sofa, rugs, pots and lots of candles. Hang a chandelier. A porch is very romantic." And it gives you a way to enjoy your garden without having to slap mosquitoes, he noted.-- Think cozy: You don't need much space to create a romantic garden. A tiny yard, or a little corner of a larger one, is ideal. "A big, grand landscape is not as romantic as a small, intimate one," said Martin Stern, owner of Squire House Gardens in Afton, Minn.-- Overload the senses: A romantic garden is more than pretty flowers. It's scents and sounds and textures, woven together to create a complete emotional experience, said Scott Endres, owner of Tangletown Gardens in Minneapolis.Add soft wind chimes, a fountain or other water feature. And choose plants for their fragrance as well as their appearance. Brandt suggests heirloom roses or flowering jasmine.-- Soften with hardscape: "Arbors are sweet," said Peggy Poore, owner of Uncommon Gardens in Minneapolis. "And they can transform a walkway, so it's no longer just a sidewalk, it's a magical thing." Statuary also adds an element of romance, she said. "Make sure it's not super-modern. Think old, timeless, European.""Ancient-looking" containers of stone, iron or concrete add romance, she said.-- Evoke shared memories: "When we're working with clients, we ask about gardens they've been drawn to," said Endres. "Often they're connected to a romantic trip they took with somebody special, and they want to bring that feeling home. Think about the most romantic trips you've taken, and include elements from those places," he said. "It's all about the bigger experience."-- The shape of things: For a romantic look, Stern suggests plants with a lax growing habit, not stiff and straight. "Like clematis: That's a romantic plant, because it's twining."-- Have a seat: "Benches are irresistible; they make you want to go sit there, maybe have a glass of wine together and talk," Poore said. And you can't get anymore romantic than a pergola with a pair of chairs.(Contact the writer at kpalmer(at)startribune.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Tips for setting a romantic mood in the garden
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