My customers are always surprised when I insist on looking at the space they wish designed from inside the house as much as from outside. But most of them quickly recognize the logic of my emphasis. We see our gardens through windows and doors much of the time and it is important to plant with an eye to these view lines. This is, of course, particularly important when we are planting for winter interest, a major element of garden design in the northeast.
In a similar vein, I pay attention first to certain features of hardscape when called in to design gardens. From my perspective, there is little point in a client’s spending a lot of money on an entrance garden or foundation plantings if the path from the driveway to the house is a narrow concrete strip that takes the shortest possible route and ends in a stingy landing backed by steep stairs. Movement and landing are two of the primary elements of the garden experience and for this experience to work both paths and stopping points need to be generous.