| WHY JOY BELONGS IN THE GARDEN
Here’s the thing: we talk a lot about style, proportion, flow, function, and all the practicalities of landscape design. But joy? How often is that left out of the conversation...even though it’s often the very thing that makes a space unforgettable.
Ingrid Fetell Lee describes joy as “the intense momentary experience of positive emotion”...those flashes of delight that surprise us, lift us, and invite us back into the present moment. And when you look at gardens through that lens, something shifts.
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Suddenly, you’re not just arranging plants and defining rooms.
You’re designing moments.
You’re creating places that spark delight.
You’re shaping outdoor spaces that don’t just work...they feel joyful.
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Think about the way color can electrify a space.
Or how round shapes can soften a garden, plus encourage a sense of playfulness and well-being.
Or how abundance can feel visually and sensually rich.
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These are some of Lee's “joyful aesthetics” (she covers ten in her book), and they map beautifully onto what we already do as garden designers. This book simply gives us a new framework for something many of us instinctively chase. |
