Amazing Flower & Gardening Ideas

Wood Nymphs and Mossy Magic

• The Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall, U.K., fell into dereliction in the aftermath of World War I, when its vast team of gardeners failed to return from the front. Heligan is an old estate -- the 1,000-acre ancestral home of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years. Its astonishing Woodland Walk meanders past sculptures like the Mudmaid, the Gray Lady and the Giant's Head, slumbering under a blanket of mosses and ferns. The sculptures seem to have grown from the landscape; the ancient trees on the property really have done so. Management of this landscape includes leaving part of every tree that falls to rot naturally in place, feeding a rich cycle of life that has existed in these gardens since medieval times.

Mur Vegetal -- Plant Wall

• The Quai Branly Museum in Paris wears its garden up the walls. Vertical wall designer Patrick Blanc planted the exterior of the museum's façade and its office wing with sheets of felt over plastic and metal sheeting. The felt has slits and pockets for green things to grow hydroponically. It accommodates a variety of plants and flowers and can even wear cold-weather evergreens in the gray gloom of a Paris winter.

Yu Yuan Garden Shanghai

• Yu Yuan Garden was built as a tribute from son to father by the scion of a wealthy, court-appointed Chinese scholar. It is a classic garden full of lakes, carp ponds, waterfalls and extraordinary rocks. The garden features vantage points that once allowed visitors a clear view of the river, fabulous Ming architecture, rich plantings of foliage, trees and ground cover, as well as many pavilions, strolling paths, bridges and moon gates. The grounds house a 400-year-old gingko tree and a 300-year-old wisteria vine. Throughout the site, bamboo, plum trees and magnolia are carefully arranged against a backdrop of ornate buildings to show off their flowers in summer and their geometric angles in winter. The garden took nearly 20 years to complete in the 16th century.

Living Doghouse Roof

• Get your pooch his LEED Gold certification with a doghouse that features a genuine planted green roof. A few enterprising West Coast types came up with the idea but, in a true spirit of community, encourage anyone who doesn't want to buy a pre-fab model to just design their own. Fido will appreciate the insulation in summer and winter and be riveted by the stopovers from butterflies and birds.