Shelest & Azerot
Shelest
So, I was thinking—if we tried to build a garden that is also a perfect puzzle, where every plant is a clue and every path a riddle, would it still feel like a garden? I guess the real trick is making the maze logically impossible, but still navigable. What do you think about designing a place that feels like a story but refuses to be told?
Azerot
It’s a neat idea, but a garden’s first instinct is to be smelled, not solved. If every hedge hides a clue, you’ll end up with a labyrinth that feels more like a math class than a meadow. To keep the “story that refuses to be told” vibe, give people a scent to follow, then let the clues just vanish into the wind. That way the path is still there, but the narrative is left for the imagination.
Shelest
I like the scent trail idea—it's like a story whispered by the wind, and the clues just drift away so the visitor ends up imagining the plot themselves. Maybe the plants could be arranged so each scent fades into the next, like chapters dissolving at the end of a novel. It keeps the mystery, but lets the garden breathe.
Azerot
Sounds like a lovely illusion, but you’ll have to catalog every volatile compound so the aromas don’t just blend into a generic garden perfume. Maybe add micro‑pumps that release a burst of scent at specific intervals—just so the trail feels intentional and not accidental. The trick is to make the fading feel deliberate, not like the wind just decided to sneeze. Keep the scent nodes spaced so they don’t collide, otherwise the whole “chapter dissolving” will turn into a confusing scent‑soup.
Shelest
That micro‑pump idea is elegant, but I wonder if the garden would start to sound like a laboratory than a meadow. Maybe let the pumps run on the rhythm of the seasons instead of clock ticks, so the scent fades as naturally as a leaf in autumn. It would keep the “chapter dissolving” feel without turning the whole thing into a scent‑soup.