Simply..having it all?

On the theme of self indulgence (!) I think I am greedy in my garden to have all the styles of gardens I love in one - which can of course lead to a mish-mash and a glorious guddle! (Which admittedly has it's charms.)

After my visit to Tatton Park in August I thought how Japanese style fitted with my aim of lower maintenance yet is, to me, exciting and aesthetically very pleasing, so the new gravel drive gave an opportunity to explore that.

My daughter has a corten steel bowl like this beside some low chairs by her back door and I am always struck by how calming it is - how zen-like- just water, filled to the brim.

Minimalist, beautifully proportioned (mine is a metre wide). and almost zero maintenance :-)

I had an acer in an old pot tucked in the garden border because I didn't really know what to do with it and I was getting frustrated at the slow delivery f the firebowl because I thought all the leaves would have fallen from the acer and I wouldn't be able to judge whether it was right for this spot or not. The moss which I had thought I should remove was actually an added bonus!

Elemental. The metal will rust to the colour of the acer leaves and I may look for somthing evergreen to put beside it for the winter when the acer leaves have fallen - a small pinus mugo, or a Wallichiana pine which I love but which grows too big but could be treated as a bonsai in a beautiful pot..

Good for the soul.

Do you have a fun project which absorbs you? Challenges you, but not too much - not enough to be stressful, but enugh to keep your mind engaged and away from everyday worries and the world's bad news for a spell?

If not, can you think of one? And perhaps share it here? Tiny or huge - Heather is learning to follow a knitting pattern, Lynne is having a whole new kitchen fitted, I am thinking how to reconcile my wish for a Japanese garden with a wildlife garden, an  English flower garden, a naturalistic Scandinavian garden....