Summer is the time when the greatest number of blooms appear in the garden. Summer temperatures are warm enough to sow or transplant out all warm-season annuals, tender bulbs, and perennials. The summer garden will include some spring-planted flowers. Flowers planted in summer are likely to give a second and even third bloom if the…
Springtime is a season of bare earth as well as a season of flowers and abounding life. Whether it is an entire garden devoted to spring flowers that is being planned or just a small portion of the garden, spring bloomers can interrupt the sparseness of vegetation and a mix of color. Bulbs will usually…
Plants are the focus of most gardens. Combining plants effectively is the key to a good design. The basic elements of a planting design include bloom color, foliage color, bloom and foliage texture and shape, plant height and width, and the seasonality. Underlying these elements are the soil, water, and temperature requirements of plants selected…
Garden structure includes fixed items in the garden. Garden structure includes hardscape—fixed decks, patios, porches, walkways and path, fences and walls, retaining walls, and edging. Garden structure also includes fixed plantings such as trees and hedges. More broadly garden structure includes the property lines and the house and other structures that sit in the landscape….
Every garden has a style; some are more successful than others. Successful gardens, gardens that are pleasing to be in, make sense. They make sense to the eye and to the mind of the visitor. Gardens that are successful are unified; the space, the plants, the hardscape, all work together. When all of the elements…
Whether you have a new house with a bare, blank-slate yard or an out-of-control overgrown landscape, the process of planning a garden follows pretty much the same steps. Here they are: Get to know the space Don’t start planting your garden right away. Get to know the space. Start a map or diagram of the…
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