The Enchantment of a Curved Garden Walk or Wall

Curved Walk - Jan Johnsen
The line of a garden walk can be an integral part of the overall composition rather just a simple linkage. And the layout of a garden wall can be something more than a physical barrier.

 For example, ancient Chinese garden designers used curving perimeter walls to enclose their revered gardens.  Osvald Siren described the winding grace of a Chinese garden wall in his book, 'Gardens of China':

“They seldom follow straight lines, and as a rule are not broken in sharp angles; they rather sweep in wide curves, ascending and descending according to the formation of the ground and thus often have the appearance of being elastic or modeled rather than built up.”

The elasticity of a curve lends a mysterious air to Chinese gardens.

Andy Goldsworthy, the great land art artist, did this with a stone wall at Storm King Mountain Sculpture center.



You can also attract people’s interest by laying out a walkway in a strong, playful line. Here I laid out an S-shaped steppingstone walk rather than a straightforward direct walk. Of course, this is not for carrying groceries to the house but rather, is a meandering garden path.


The curved walk adds a lyrical quality to the scene and makes a garden more enticing. Why not try something like this in your garden?





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