Considerations for garden visitors, by Rebecca Wells 
I read this through before I read any of the comments, but I agree very much with Tim Richardson.
For me what is SO EXCITING about garden design and making is that it a holistic activity. You touch on some of these factors in your piece but I would add questions such as:-
Are there any aspects of the garden design which lift the garden above the ordinary and which intellectually satisfy you? These may be eg. clever use of materials or ways of guiding you around the garden, the clever placing of artifacts, the framing of views, etc.
What do you find beautiful about this garden? Here I would include light/ shadow/ shade, ephemeral aspects, fine details and the Big Idea. Not all of these will have been designed in and may be as slight and as lovely as a drop of water in a lupin leaf.
How does this garden delight your other senses? Are these senses used to move you around the space? Does the sound of hidden water draw you on?
How many of your senses does this garden engage and how fully?
What does this space make you feel? Does the design reach to your emotions and, dare I say, soul?
How has the garden moved through time? How powerful is the historical context or reference? Is there a sense of it being stuck in aspic? Is it a museum piece which helps us appreciate the way people used to live and their concerns at the time? How has the garden developed from its initial building? How has it been maintained? After all, we plantsmen deal in time.
And, yes. Do you want to come back? Not all these questions could be applied to a garden that has not been
designed but all gardens need some thought put into their layout or they become an unsatisfactory mess.
Rebecca Wells
88, Broadway, Exeter, Devon EX2 9LZ back to 'condsiderations'