I am keeping it easy today. I have been working on posts for the last two and half hours and not finishing anything. I just have other things on my mind and really feel like I need a little respite.

Arabella Lennox Boyd is one of my personal design heroes so I headed to her site today for a little inspiration. Her gardens are elegant and classic but with a modern sensibility. I think gardens are places to heal and nourish yourself. Here are a few gardens from Arabella’s portfolio that I found particularly pleasing and hopefully you will find inspiring.

This London town garden has a beautifully designed circular step. And the detail in the paving is also one of the elements that, to me, makes a garden such as this extraordinary.

Another London town garden, the paving in this garden is a very contemplative spiral design. There are so many elements here, it take a few minutes to really take in all the layers of the beautiful design.

A garden on Rue du Bac in Paris.
I never tire of this effect. I find the somewhat modern shapes applied to a classical topiary practice to be exciting and soothing all at once. I have never created this type of thing in a garden. Have you? I am wondering how many years until it would really start to come together.

I am not sure I will be back today…if I can find a little focus, I will pop back in later this afternoon (and hopefully be able to finish some of those half done posts)