Sometimes small changes make a huge difference, or as I wrote last fall, Little Things Mean a Lot. I was writing then about some small changes I’d made at the Skating Pond at Glen Villa, my garden in Quebec. Later in the fall, after I wrote about the changes, I made one more. I added a bench.
The slate under the bench was left over from a previous project.
My sister immediately said the bench looked wrong — and she was right.
Looking up at the first bench from the boardwalk told me that my sister was right. I needed to change the bench.
It took me almost a year to replace that bench. The new one does everything I wanted it to do. Unlike its predecessor, it almost disappears into the landscape.
From the far side of the Skating Pond, the line of the bench echoes the line of the boardwalk.
The materials are simple and appropriate for the setting.
A side view of the new bench shows how simple it is — two rocks and two planks.
From the boardwalk looking up, the bench appears like a natural element, not a decorative seat as the previous one was.
This view from the boardwalk shows how comfortably this bench fits the landscape.
I’m happy with this modest change. As small as it was, it re-affirms for me how important it is to keep looking and to make changes when you need to.
What about you? Have you made a small change in your garden that has made a big difference?
