Power of One
Placed decisively, and scaled boldly, a solitary ornament will become a powerful presence in a garden.
Does a bland outdoor space require an exclamation point? Is a feature which effectively centers its surroundings called for? Does a perplexing dead-end beg to be transformed into a destination? A single decorative element that packs some serious visual punch can be used to solve all sorts of garden-design challenges!
Even the most expansive gardens are afflicted with a few, dreaded Paths to Nowhere. At the perimeter of Anglesey Abbey’s 98 acres of landscaped grounds, visitors who trudge to the farthest end of one of the property’s seemingly endless allees will find that they must stop, turn around, and prepare to retrace their steps. But the pleasant surprise of discovering this gargantuan urn at the Garden’s Deadest End is just reinvigorating enough to give the visitor the energy for her long, reverse journey.
Twickenham Urn at Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire, England. Courtesy of nanquick.com
The great estate of Audley End, which sprawls out along the banks of the River Cam, in Essex, appears today very much as it did during the mid 1700s, when Capability Brown and Robert Adam designed the grounds. A clipped hedge to one side of the main house is jazzed up by a single, majestic urn. Courtesy of nanquick.com
