What do I want from my Garden?
May 15th 2006 08:43
A Course in Gardening #3: What do I want from my Garden?
Maybe nothing. But it does pay-off to spend a little time thinking about what you want to get out of Garden, however small it may be.
How do I do that? Here's a few pointers from a fellow gardener....
Purpose
You may not know the purpose of life, but you can vent your frustrations by playing God in the purpose of your Garden. It should (nay must!) be beautiful, but you can also think about:
*Are you looking for privacy from the neighbours/voyeurs?
*Do you want to attract the wildlife to your garden? (see here)
*Can you see it from the house? What selection of plants will look best where?
*Is it going to get trampled by the little ones?
There are many more obviously... but just try to think of some issues that may effect the garden in the end.
Analyze the site
You need to understand the basic conditions of the site if you want a successful garden.
*How much sun does it get? What type? Afternoon? Morning? Both?
*What is the pH level of the soil like?
*Do you want to cover up nearby undesirable features?
Limitations
With unlimited time, and unlimited money, you could probably make friends with all the lady-bugs in your garden, but we have constraints in our life (cest la vie):
*What's the budget?
*How much time can you spend on gardening?
Style, Baby
What do you want it to look like?
*Formal/Bohemian?
*Changeable with the seasons?
*Will it compliment the house? Stand on it's own as a bold little garden?
Plants
This comes last. We've thought about what the garden is for, the site, how much time we can invest in it, and what it will look like. Now comes the crucial bit of selecting the plants to do the job.
*Planting for the kiddies? Choose something (pastels are great) that will bloom at their eye level.
*If you don't have heaps of time, choose low maintenaance plants.
*Select some plants you like, but keep in mind their season of blooming, their colour, texture, and look.
It pays to pick some plants that will be consistently good all-year round. Ask your nursery.
Now play around with the selection until you feel satisfied with a combo. Drawing little pictures/diagrams helps me.
Above all. Don't stress it too much. Gardens can change, and these guidlines are just to provide a basic (and adaptable!) outline for your garden. If you really need some stress relief, maybe you could massage your brain.
Maybe nothing. But it does pay-off to spend a little time thinking about what you want to get out of Garden, however small it may be.
How do I do that? Here's a few pointers from a fellow gardener....
*Are you looking for privacy from the neighbours/voyeurs?
*Do you want to attract the wildlife to your garden? (see here)
*Can you see it from the house? What selection of plants will look best where?
*Is it going to get trampled by the little ones?
There are many more obviously... but just try to think of some issues that may effect the garden in the end.
Analyze the site
You need to understand the basic conditions of the site if you want a successful garden.
*How much sun does it get? What type? Afternoon? Morning? Both?
*What is the pH level of the soil like?
*Do you want to cover up nearby undesirable features?
Limitations
With unlimited time, and unlimited money, you could probably make friends with all the lady-bugs in your garden, but we have constraints in our life (cest la vie):
*How much time can you spend on gardening?
Style, Baby
What do you want it to look like?
*Formal/Bohemian?
*Changeable with the seasons?
*Will it compliment the house? Stand on it's own as a bold little garden?
This comes last. We've thought about what the garden is for, the site, how much time we can invest in it, and what it will look like. Now comes the crucial bit of selecting the plants to do the job.
*Planting for the kiddies? Choose something (pastels are great) that will bloom at their eye level.
*If you don't have heaps of time, choose low maintenaance plants.
*Select some plants you like, but keep in mind their season of blooming, their colour, texture, and look.
It pays to pick some plants that will be consistently good all-year round. Ask your nursery.
Now play around with the selection until you feel satisfied with a combo. Drawing little pictures/diagrams helps me.
Above all. Don't stress it too much. Gardens can change, and these guidlines are just to provide a basic (and adaptable!) outline for your garden. If you really need some stress relief, maybe you could massage your brain.
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