Woodyoak - I like it! How creative!

I would go with the mirror and put a statue of some kind in front to hide the reflection of a person - you wouldn't want to see yourself coming as you walked up. Plant some shrubs or a vine to reflect into the mirror. Maybe some more shrubs to hide the chain link fence close by. I've seen this done in books, and would love to see pictures of the finished project when you complete it in spring.

What a great winter project!

One of the problems with this area is it is very dry - under white pines on our property and old spruce trees on the neighbour's property. (In the picture, the large tree trunk on the right is one of our white pines and the smaller one on the left is one of the spruce on the neighbour's side.) We've tried growing things along the fence but it's too dry for anything large enough to hide the fence. It's a fairly long way to drag a hose so we're not too inclined to keep things alive by hand watering - for the most part, things in my garden are expected to survive on what nature provides.

Seeing yourself in the mirror is one of the reasons I'm not sure I want to go with a mirror. I need to do a bit of research/looking at examples to see what are viable options to deal with that if I went the mirror route.

A painted 8' x 4' sheet of plywood standing in the woods would not fool me even a little bit, especially as it would probably acheive the opposite of what you want.

Aunt Maud: "What is that thing in front of the tin shed?"

Woody: "It's a trompe l'oeil arbour."
Aunt Maud: "What does that mean, is it French, it really stands out?"

Reject.

"things in my garden are expected to survive on what nature provides" perhaps your expectations are too high. What I see there is a fallen tree or a folly (a pile of stone)or a decaying barn.

No room for a folly - there's only about 12-18" between the fence and a path that runs along the base - there's a sloping mound of soil about 12-18" high piled against the fence (many years accumulation of leaf and pine needle litter...) A fallen tree of sufficient size to disguise the shed (a) is not available, (b) would be difficult to impossible to get down there, (c) would be too wide for the space, thus presenting all sorts of hazards. There are a few 'nurse' logs on the ground in the nearby garden spaces but they are for holding moisture and providing nutrients for plants growing near them. If the bank of soil was removed I could, I suppose, make a rank of firewood along there to fence height but we have no need for firewood and, even if we did, it would be an inconvenient place to store it. A fence-height pile would also not hide the shed.

Fortunately, the shed is not visible from the house as the pines still have branches close to the ground and shrubs nearer to the lawn edge of the garden also add screening. The shed is only really visible when you are under the trees or looking down the path towards the fence.

My intent with the panel could be considered in the spirit of a folly - it's clearly not intended to be entirely realistic but rather to invite one to participate in a fantasy that the garden is longer and you can walk away/past the shed. It's meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek and amusing.

I agree that it could look really bad - OR absolutely amazing! Since this is your winter project, and you're not rushing into anything, you'll have plenty of time to do the research and get it just right.

Perhaps if you put the mirror at a slight angle? Would that help with the 'seeing yourself' reflection? A statue would hide that, or a bench at an angle with some plants around it, or even some baskets hanging from the 'arbor'. There are a lot of options to help make the illusion complete. Could you put some vines along the fence to grow up the 'arbor' and be reflected in the mirror?

You are obviously talented enough to make the arbor realistic, or you wouldn't even consider it. I think one of the keys is the plantings around and up to it, so that the reflection of these plantings help with the illusion. Since it's dry mostly there, perhaps you could plant in pots - self-watering ones would be great! I saw a gadget in a magazine that makes any pot self-watering, so that's an option.

I KNOW you can do this because I've seen examples in books that were so realistic, I had to look really hard to see that they were mirrors. And I still think the mirrors would be better than a painting for several reasons. Although heavy, mirrors that have lost some of their silvering (most of the time just around the edges) can be had for a song at garage sales, etc. I once bought a 5' x 7' mirror for just $50. It almost achieved the same effect, as it was across from the front door in the foyer with just a table and some flowers in front to block your reflection - but made the entire room seem so much larger. I've given it away now - should have saved it for the garden!

I like the idea of the mirror at a slight angle - there's lots around that it could pick up and reflect. I would need a metal mirror though. I'm afraid a glass one would break and the broken glass would be a danger to the dogs - and me. I'll have to keep looking for a source for a metal one.

Pots are definitely out - my biggest watering chores are pots and I'd dearly love to get rid of all pots! Unfortunately there are a few things that I have no alternative but to grow in pots. But I will not add to the problem with this project. As for vines, I can't think of anything that would grow in the dry shade under there that wouldn't otherwise become a problem plant (e.g. ivy...)

One advantage of doing it on a panel this winter is that if it doesn't turn out well or I don't like it when I try it out in place, I can just discard it. If I built something in the ground and then didn't like it, it would be a lot more wasted time and effort and more difficult to remove.

P.S. Ink - I did have a (Great) Aunt Maud... She would have enjoyed a slightly wacky project like this~ :-)

Try googling something like "outdoor acrylic mirror". Think this is what you're looking for.

Ah. I only wanted to engage woodster, you know me.

The way I see your rubbish drawing is a straight path leading to a focal point that is 8' x 4' of plywood in disguise. Straight path leading to unusual object equals... ?

Forget the mirror please.

If you are intent on creating an illusion dig deeper, your Aunt Maud probably won't be coming by any day soon and from all the reading you did you must see who is at the centre of this 'fantasy' in your words.

Patrick (Phrago) e.mailed me this week to remind me of a conversation we had here a few years ago about the meaning of gardens and it occurs to me that tapping in to Aunt Maud's appreciation of the 'wacky' may be your way to go.

If you're going to paint something, consider painting a garden shed on the plywood, or else build a shed and forget the arbor. It seems like a lot of expense and effort if you're not going to spend time using it.

I don't like the idea of the mirror simply because it'll cause death and injury to a lot of birds.

Here is a link that might be useful: sheds

Ink - are you saying I should deliberately make it more wacky?

To put more context around it, here are pictures which show the path - and the shed if you look carefully - at various times of year. Whatever I do would have to ensure wackiness doesn't get too garish as the panel would be more visible than the shed so I wouldn't want to trade one unsightly mess for another!
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annz - a shed painting might be interesting but it would take a couple of sheets to hide th neighbour's shed so that would be more work to do. A single panel wouldn't be much work or expense and we have all winter to work on it :-)

Oops........I totally missed that the shed is in your yard!

I would 'dress it up' instead of trying to draw attention from it.

annz - no, no - it's not the blue shed I'm trying to hide! It's the cream-yellow metal one you can just vaguely see through the trees to the left of the path under the pines. The blue shed is still a bit 'naked' because it's fairly new and the plantings haven't filled in yet, but that one will eventually settle into the garden more comfortably.

I just went through my photos looking for one that shows the metal shed more clearly. This is the best that I could find:
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The panel maybe a bit too much, as in your photos your neighbors shed is not that visible,and you have to strain to see it. You have enough focal points in view that searching through the woods to see the metal shed wouldn't bother me much. I'm sure any visitor wouldn't even notice it, but you live there so it stands out.

Instead of a panel, perhaps chaning your sight line by adding a slight bend in the path to provide more concealment.

If you are really thinking that you might use a mirror as the focal point/backdrop, I would suggest that you consider using it in a layered fashion. I'd mount the mirror in a framework that simulated a door frame, set this with some interesting foliage plants to partially enclose it at either side with wisps of foliage, and perhaps set a small trellis out about 5 feet from the mirror with a vine or some such to frame the mirror and door, all with a path leading up to it. The extra depth provided by two structures with some plants in between will make the illusion of this connecting to some other part of the garden more convincing. I wouldn't rule out the idea of some drought & shade tolerant plantings in containers as part of the illusion, surely there are some plants like Yucca species hardy to your zone that could be pressed into service for containers that could survive on just one every 10 to 14 day hand watering.

I actually enjoy seeing mirrors used in garden settings, most often at property boundaries within small gardens to give the illusion of more space, and if there is a long view from across the garden to this focal point, it can be quite attractive. To keep the illusion real, it may help to frame the mirror to keep rain off it, and raise it up with steps so that mud is not splashing onto it, as a dirty mirror ruins the illusion rather quickly.

Isabella - you're right that the shed probably bugs me more than it would visitors who wouldn't notice it for the most part. But it does bug me!

Bahia - and others... OK, it sounds like I need to do another review of hardy, shade and drought tolerant shrubs/trees/vines and grit my teeth and be prepared to do some watering! I must admit, looking at the pictures I've posted above and trying to distance myself from it all, some sort of vegetation would probably make a better/more appropriate screen... But the idea of something that gives the illusion that the garden/that path is longer really appeals to me. I do like the suggestions of having vines or other plants merge with the artificial structure proving the illusion. Thanks everyone - back to the mental drawing board....

Just chiming in briefly because I always enjoy your garden developments. We have a similar lot size, zone, etc. What you do with your garden, however, goes far beyond anything I've attempted lately. Bit of the doldrums here.

As for white pines, dry soil, I can vouch for the fact that the best survivors aren't anything you'd want. Ivy and poison ivy do best for me! All removed, for the nonce, but the poison one will return. It hides at the neighbor's and creeps back when I'm not looking...yeah, bad joke.

But what about the much ballyhooed epimediums? Not vertical height, I know, but don't some get about 24" tall? If so, 24" is better than nothing.

As for vines, I betcha morning glory would grow. It might not produce flowers in that level of shade, but poor, dry soil wouldn't phase it much. Cheap possibility to attempt at any rate.

Wellspring

Wellspring - I always enjoy your perspective on things. I'm glad you enjoy my projects.

I have tried epimediums there - no luck with them. A few hostas have survived one year but don't look too happy. A few rhodos survived a few years but last year I shovel-pruned the last of them - actually the neighbour to the north took pity on them and gave them a home! They grow wonderfully well for her (pout, pout... :-) Bloodroot and trilliums do fine - no doubt because they go dormant for the summer - but they don't do a thing to help hide anything! I think vines will have to be a part of the solution ultimately, so I'm giving some thought to a structure for them to climb on. I do have another winter poeject in the planning stages to build some tripod-type supports for clematis in the front so I may be able to use some of what I'm thinking of for that to go in the back too. I will probably stick to something perennial and, if it's something flowering, just not expect flowers. I was half thinking of maybe a very vigorous type clematis (e.g. Paul Farges) that maybe I could tie/train in from a not-too-distant sunnier spot. It would produce lots of foliage to act as a screen - if I can give it something above the fence to grab onto. Maybe Virginia Creeper might fit the bill - but it's a bit scary so maybe not.... I'm starting to look at all possible options....