Saturday, January 10, 2009

Garden Design and My Dirty Secret




"Garden Chicks Design Tips" had a wonderful posting on
Blotanical entitled, "Where's the Love People"

It is a right on article about which we as gardeners are keeping
our gardening designing efforts secret or that we may have a
prejudice against garden design.
It got me to thinking about my own gardening efforts and
if I was one of the guilty gardeners.

Being an amateur, country bred gardener my gardening efforts
would have been greatly aided by the help of a professional
garden designer. My garden beds would most likely look much
better,not to mention the time and money that would have been
saved because of my own blundering and errors in judgment.
I love seeing well designed and structured gardens and envy those
who the knowledge of plants and know all of the Latin names,and
who know about different soils, amendments, fertilizers,not to
mention the knowledge of stone work, structures, and water
gardening,gardening history, etc.
So the answer is yes, I am guilty and sometimes a little ashamed
of my gardening designing efforts and designs over the years.
Not so much that I did not record my design plans but of the
designs themselves. (Later)

One of my main problems, if that is what you want to call it, is
that I love too many gardening designs. It is not often that I
run across or see a garden or a flower bed that I do not covet
and wish that there was room for one like it or even some of
the elements of it in my yard.
I am not a content gardener either,just as in my house I get
tired of the furnishings looking one way and I have to just move
it around and change things up, the same goes for my garden beds.
I would be a professional garden designers nightmare customer
because I would want all of their
designs and would never be able to make up my mind.

As a gardener who loves all growing things one of the things
I love most about the whole gardening experience is the freedom
and the joy in the creating process. The creation of my own ideas,
of implementing the ideas and then taking joy in what the final
results of all that hard work accomplished.

I have to also confess that I am an impulse buyer,
especially when passing by a flower that is on sale, and I
never met a new variety of flower that I could not find room for
"just one more".
Oh, come on 'fess up', you all are the same way.
So all of my well intended gardening designs seem to go by
the wayside or are greatly revised. But when I do plan a new
project it is given a lot of thought and it is put down on paper.
Putting it all down on paper helps me to better
see what it will look like in the end. It is also a record of
what plants I have planted for future reference and if I add
that " just one more", then it is jotted down on the design.
Also since I am confessing it all, at my increasing age and (ahem!)
forgetfulness a record of plantings is a must have.

Garden Chick has a picture of one of her garden designs and
it is a wonderful design, covering every detail, nice and neat,
containing everything a gardener would love in a garden.



Garden Chicks Design

Now here is my "dirty little: secret:





Hocking Gardener Design




No Laughing please!
My "dirty little" secret is out in the open and unfortunately
so is my lack in artistic talent.

Gardening Chicks gardening designs will always be needed
and appreciated in the world of gardening. Her future is
assured because believe it or not there are those who do not
like to garden (oh,no) but want beautiful gardens around
their homes or businesses.

Garden Designers are skilled specialists dealing with design
of landscapes and garden areas, offering advice, providing
supervision during construction, and management or
after-care once the garden has been made. They are able
to survey the site, source the materials, and prepare drawings
for the development of a garden from start to finish.

This post is written in the spirit of just plain fun and not to
offend Gardening Chick or any professional or amateur
gardening designer.

Her posting was right on target and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
So fellow gardeners stop hiding in the closet. Get your gardening
designs down on paper or computer programs and stop digging
into those tulip and crocus bulbs.
Planning ahead is just good gardening practice.




10 comments:

Barbarapc said...

I have a 'designed garden' in my back garden and a laboratory in my front and side yards. I had a major problem that I needed to overcome - a naughty Saint Bernard who ate everything. The back is just lovely and calming - the front and side yard because of the way they were developed beg to be pulled apart every so often and changed (and more new plants added). I get compliments on it - but know it should really be started again from the ground up with a solid design....but then, where on earth would I put all those wonderful little found plants from the nursery?

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Oh my, we sound very alike! I also love so many garden styles. I think that's why I impulse buy so often! I have tried to get my design down only to forget what's where since I'm always moving things around.

Barry said...

thanks so much for reading and adding my blog to your favourites.... I am very new and thus very 'green' at all of this. I love your blog, starting with the wonderful sounds of nature that accompany it.... I may have to 'borrow' that idea as some of the music I chose... well it was the 80's after all....
I especially love the post on garden design..... I have learned that its more about the passion that is involved that matters most to the gardener. I am also reading a wonderful book called , A Gentle Plea for Chaos' by garden writer Mirabel Osler.... I think you would enjoy it. Thanks again and I look forward to following your blog

Teza

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Lona .. I put up my guilty hand too ! .. talk about digging into the tulip bulbs (red faced YES!) .. Now I am at a point, that I am considering a pro's assessment to what I should do next .. I'm grid locked and I am yearning for my garden to look as wonderful as it can possibly be.
I am a fool for plants .. they hide in my plant mobile crying to come home with me .. how can I turn them down ???

Helen/patientgardener said...

I cant afford to have my garden designed so I just blunder on but I do wonder if you have a designed garden do you then feel obliged to preserve it as is and not add plants of your own. I am a plantaholic so this would be no good for me at all

Lona said...

Barbara; My garden beds are all laboratory experiments now also. :) But they are still on paper, does that count?

Gardenprogress; thanks for dropping by.I when I change my plants around I also have to change my beautiful garden designs on paper right away or I will forget where I moved them.

Teza; thanks for stopping by and the tip on the book. Sounds like I need to check it out:).I agree every gardener has a passion ans follows it or should regardless of the rules.

GardenJoy4Me; Whee, glad to know I am not the only one who ever dug into the tulip bulbs.I know, it is a crime to leave them plants in those bad old stores:)

Lona said...

patientgardener; I do all of my garden designing with a lead pencil for a reason :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for referencing my post! If you have trouble taking a disciplined approach to gardening because you love so many different plants and styles, the secret is to become a professional designer. Imagine getting paid to try out all your plant and design ideas in someone else's garden! (Uh oh, did I just create a competitor?)

You are right that I have many clients who just want a nice space and have no real interest in plants or gardening, but because I am also a Master Gardener, a fair number of clients are enthusiastic gardeners and propagators. They generally assure me they want a well thought out, complete planting plan, but every time I drop by to see how the garden is filling in, a few more plants seem to have crept into the mix. "Oh, I don't know where that came from! Must be a volunteer from someone else's garden!" Like I don't know they're sneaking plants in. But kidding aside, the more someone loves their garden, the more fun they are to work with - and what is a garden if not a living, breathing, evolving creation?
susan (garden-chick)

Anonymous said...

Bravo to garden designers as they have clients who want it all. They have their work cut out for them as they plan for those who have little knowledge or those even more difficult who have lots of knowledge.

I plant a little of everything and then move it several times until it cooks just right. I gave up on design a long time ago and now have a somewhat organized free for alls.

Lona said...

Susan; thank you for dropping by. I will leave the garden designing to an expert like you.It would give one a chance to try out many gardening styles though. Afraid I am neither smart enough or patient enough to do your kind of work.I admire you for the talent to be able to do a job that you must dearly love.

Flowergardengirl; I say Bravo to them to.I would not like to plan a garden for a non decisive person like myself.:)