The saying goes, put your money where your mouth is. For the garden, it might be more appropriate to say: “Put your money where your garden focal point is”.
A FOCAL POINT in the garden is, by definition, “the point at which all elements converge” (www.dictionary.com). Simply said, the focal point is where your eye is naturally directed and settles for a view. A focal point earns its prominence by being the specific site that you look at most from the kitchen table, family room or back door, for example. You don’t have to work hard to find the focal point location–there it is, all the time.
For me, the garden focal point is the mouth piece of any garden or landscape. It is the part of the garden that “talks” to you – perhaps beckons you to come outside, gives you a spot to sit psychically outside or provides seasonal drama. It concentrates compelling elements in one spot, like the crescendo of a piece of music.
What I have noticed is that not all designers figure out where the logical focal point is before doing a design plan. And this leads to spending a lot of money for something that no one sees easily. Nice and fancy, but expensive with little in the way of impact. That is why I place such a premium on finding and developing the focal point area and where I advise my clients to spend their money. Let me quote another idiom: Get more bang for your buck with a well located and designed focal point.
Christie Dustman
