Those radials are the 'other half' of the antenna, so having them
'close' to the first half is sort of reasonable, right? Then there's
the 'can't get there from here' problem. So, the 'trick' is to get
around that 'problem', and there are a number of ways of doing that.
None of them are 'best' by any means, but still do-able, sort of.
Since the objection is a 'don't care for the looks' thingy, one method
is to hide them in some way. Run the radials from the base of the
antenna, then cover them so that they sort of 'blend-in' with the
surroundings?
Lumping all the radials on one side or the other tends to make the
antenna sort of directional. Maybe not a 'good' idea, but certainly
better than no antenna at all?
Imagination!
Good luck.
- 'Doc