Every pathway should get you from point A to point B. That’s the lowest bar. I think it’s not a path if it doesn’t! Really, the journey is what matters. You can tell when you’re on a well-designed pathway. It has a purpose. Its shape, layout and materials all support that purpose. We can create […]

Plenty of us have garden beds with plants in them, walkways to our front doors, and patios out back. Yep – nothing particularly special or earth-shattering. Maybe your front walkway and the skinny beds around it are weed-free, but not impressive. Maybe the garden bed out your back door has some nice colorful blooms in […]

I am fascinated with the way our surroundings impact our movements.  We take cues from architecture, color, pattern, materials, etc… and move accordingly. Long, narrow spaces cause us to move quickly.  Repeated patterns and high contrast signal to our brains that it’s time to pick up the pace.  Less contrast and open spaces encourage gathering […]

At the Brenton Arboretum, outside Dallas Center, Iowa, there is a small path that leads around their visitor’s center.  It caught my eye and I’m so excited to talk about it – I love thinking through how we move through garden spaces. This walkway is awesome on so many levels.  While it’s at a public […]