Unofficial Guide to Outlandishly Outlander Landscape Designs

In the craft industry, an artist will leave a wee bit of themselves in every piece they make. It is a secret code or nod that tells a story about the artist, the story behind the art or the individual that will benefit from the art. It never looks out of place and unless you are told about this code, you would never observe it because it fits into the art with seamless perfection. While those admiring the art never see that little piece left behind by the artist, this unwritten code in itself tells a story of the artist and/or the beneficiary of the art. This secret code is referred to as the “Easter Egg.” This same concept can be used to give a nod of realism to the Outlander love story without anyone being any wiser to your landscape design choices. This book is designed so that urban and landless gardeners can create their own Outlander inspired “Easter Eggs” that allows this timeless story to come to life through projects that stimulate the senses. It is organized by environments by which Jamie, Claire, and even Frank lived and visited. This includes Scotland, France, Boston, and even time at sea. In each one of these chapters, you will find Outlander inspired projects that tie into what the characters were experiencing at that time. While in Scotland both Frank and Claire along with Jamie and Claire, seemed to need stonewalls that appear all over Scotland to hold and sustain their love. In tribute to this, a mock dry stonewall project is presented that urban and landless gardeners can complete without stonemasons and become one with the texture of this mock stonewall. Numerous types of garden plans such as kitchen, vegetable, and even witch’s garden are described in this chapter as to Jamie’s second love and home-Lallybroch. These simple but functional garden plans tantalize the sense by taste and smell while allowing the gardener to walk in the steps of those at Lallybroch as they harvested the ingredients that would heal and sustain them. As informal and fun-loving as Scotland was for Jamie and Claire for awhile, the time in France was more of a formal affair and the gardening projects in this chapter follow suit. Many of the projects are a nod to the formal gardening design that Jamie and Claire would have seen at Versailles, France. This includes knot gardens, topiaries, and quincunx. But we all know that the Frasers did take time for a little bit of fun and games. Included is a living chess board that is fit for a King. The Time in Boston chapter is one where both the relation between Frank and Claire along with Jamie and Claire are presented. While Jamie did not go to Boston, there is a wee “Easter egg” that travels back in time to the carved “J” and “C” initials that Jamie and Claire exchanged. Frank never noticed nor understood the importance of Claire’s humble scar, which was Claire’s own “Easter egg.” Other projects in this chapter include what can be called “pocket gardens” that encapsulate a time and situation in the storyline. The last chapter Time at Sea is filled with two light-hearted projects that really beckon back to a humorous time for Jamie and Claire along with a few other characters. But as we know, this joyous time is short-lived. To celebrate this blissful time before the “storm, a cute “Coco” planter along with a “turtle” plant stand graces this chapter. Regardless of which gardening project(s) you select for your Outlander inspired “Easter egg,” you are supported through a garden primer that provides directions on how to do numerous gardening skills along with how to videos that can be found at the Outlander Botanist on YouTube. Whilst the directions for these projects are in most cases general in nature, this gives you the gardener the opportunity to truly cultivate an Outlander inspired “Easter egg” that touches your time traveling soul just as much as this timeless love story has impacted each one of us in a different way.