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Garden Design Basics - Put Some Color In Your Life |
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It's that time of year when everything around you starts
to blossom and, if it's in your blood, the urge to plant rises to the
surface. Every garden store you pass calls you, every home improvement
giant which you usually studiously avoid, now lures you like a siren
to her web. Every magazine which you pick up details how magnificent even
the smallest space can be with a clever little plant concoction.
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It's that time of year when everything around you starts to blossom and, if it's in your blood, the urge to plant rises to the surface. Every garden store you pass calls you, every home improvement giant which you usually studiously avoid, now lures you like a siren to her web. Every magazine which you pick up details how magnificent even the smallest space can be with a little clever plant concoction. When you start to design and
plan a garden, there are some basics to consider. Will the garden be
mostly in sun or shade? Is the soil light in texture and dark in color,
or does it appear to be little softer then cement? What climate or
planting zone are you in? What's your average rainfall? Do you want to
go native, or are you willing to throw in a few more exotic perennials?
Do you want a monochromatic garden (shades of only one color: blue,
pinks, yellows) or do you want a multi-colored garden Things that you want to consider when selecting plants for a garden are height, bloom time (you don't want your garden to all bloom the same week, but spread out over a few months), flower and leaf color and texture. I live in New York State, in the suburbs of New York City. The USDA (United States Dept. of Agriculture) tells me that I am somewhere between Zones 6 & 7. You can Google the USDA zone maps for your area. Here the early spring bulbs,
planted the fall before or left to naturalize from previous seasons
include daffodils If you have a lot of shade, you
might consider hostas The middle of the garden can
include plants such as monarda For the taller plants, usually
found at the back of the garden, I have often used foxglove,
delphinium To fill in a new garden, it is often advised to plant at least 3 of each type, giving them room to grow throughout the season. The nice thing about gardens is that if you regard a few basic principles, mainly sorting by size so that the plants to the rear are not overshadowed by the plants in front, it's hard to go wrong. You have to be conscious about watering, not too much, but definitely not too little, deadheading or snipping off the remaining part of a flower head after it has bloomed is helpful in promoting new blooms, and if you pick colors that you like, you'll like your garden. Be thoughtful, though, sometimes you'll see a plant in a nursery or garden center that you don't love, but it's size or bloom time fits what you need. Try it! It's amazing how something in the right spot, looks right, even if it's not perfect on it's own. Plants do fun things. Alchemilla mollis or Lady's Mantle is a low plant with yellow flowers, nice, but not in any way spectacular in and of itself, but it's leaves are cup shaped with almost serrated edges and they collect water in the most beautiful way, both in the center and along the edges. Some plants provide flowers, some leaves, some color, some texture. Yarrow has a flatter top with tiny flowers, daylilies are extremely hardy and can be divided frequently, providing more plants as the years go by. Enjoy! About the Author: Susan Rosenstadt-Bresler is an architect, with an MBA from Harvard Business School and an architectural degree from Cornell University. She works in real estate mid and highrise multifamily residential development, architectural visualization, 3d model creation, and website and software development. Gardening and photography are among her most valued hobbies. Her software and website can be found at 3D Home Decorator and her renderings and architectural visualizations can be seen at Architectural Visualizations |
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