Fashion forecasters continue their slow dance with romance,
predicting
”
the look of love
”
will remain a hot trend in interior home d
écor. As for outdoor décor, gardening experts say romance
continues to grow in the garden. Indeed, it’s a look with perennial
appeal.
Fashion forecasters continue their slow dance with romance, predicting “the look of love” will remain a hot trend in interior home décor. As for outdoor décor, gardening experts say romance continues to grow in the garden. Indeed, it’s a look with perennial appeal.
“Flowers are naturally romantic,” says Mieke Stap of the International Flower Bulb Center in the Netherlands. “What’s fun about the Romantic Look is how varied it can be in its interpretation. Indoors or out, the basics of creating a romantic mood are the same.
Focus on the scale of intimate spaces. Use layers of color, texture, shape and detail to create atmosphere.”
Stap says these are the common refrains shared by all romantic gardens: fragrant flowers such as roses and lilies, translucent light-catching flowers epitomized by tulips, the sound of splashing water, vertical vine-clad elements such as arbors, the promise of unseen mystery achieved by winding paths and shaded secluded places.
Specifically, she sees two primary trends or themes currently at work in how gardeners here and abroad are interpreting the concept of romance. Both of these themes, which she has named “The Feminine Touch” and “A Marrakech Effect,” is totally romantic in its own way, but each is typified by very distinct elements.
No matter what your style, any garden is more romantic with features like these, according to Stap.
The Feminine Touch
Picturing the feminine touch in interior décor is easy, notes Stap: soft sensuous colors, and layered textures. In the garden, this sensibility emerges as an overall mood that’s both serene and cozy; appealing pastel plantings of pink, blue, mauve and white flowers; English-style border gardens; white-on-white day and evening gardens; accent plants in grays, silvers and pewter; stone and cobblestone paths; decorative arbors, gazebos, pergolas and garden gates; or soft lighting along paved paths.
A Marrakech Effect
In this execution, the look becomes more aged and exotic – romance with a decidedly foreign flavor, says Stap. Think of Morocco where colors and textures are rich, layered and worn, and sensual-overload is the order of the day. Here romance is captured in the allure of life lived at a slowed-down pace, where whimsy and mystery are at home in a comfortable setting.
For the exotic-minded gardener, a romantic mood is seen in the garden’s rich color-saturated plantings with a plentitude of depth and layers; jumble of sun-dappled over-sized foliage ; abundance of exotic flowers in jewel-tone colors; or intricate stonework, mosaic or tiling.
In the end, all gardens by their nature are romantic in one way or another. But gardens planted with an eye to romance can be all that much more so. Most gardeners will find romance a fun concept to explore!
Keith Muraoka lives and works in Gilroy. His award-winning column has been in this newspaper since 1984. E-mail him at ga********@*ps.net, or write him in c/o The Dispatch, P.O. Box 22365, Gilroy, CA 95021.
