Published on-line for Cox
Interactive’s Rhode Island website: OSO.com
On starting your new garden
~~~
You
may have just bought a new house. You may have bought an
old house You may have a bare lot and are waiting to build,
or you may simply want to revamp the garden of your existing
house. Whatever your reason for wanting to start a garden
you have to answer the question: am I planning this garden
for me, or for the neighbors to see and admire? You can,
in fact, accomplish both, but the point is that your attention
to this question will help you focus in on what you want
the garden to do for you. It’s important to know the
space around your house and how you want to use it. If you
have a family of six young rambunctious children, two dogs
and a cat you may be forced to plan accordingly and design
a soccer field - at least until the children have moved
on to cars. If, on the other hand you are heading for a
leisurely retirement and want to potter for hours in your
garden you may be able to design a labor-intensive garden
with lots of flowers to take care of. Whatever your current
life style the garden should reflect that. And remember,
it is your garden to do with as you wish.
| “Whatever your
current lifestyle the garden should reflect that.” |
|
Spend some time thinking about the garden
-- really thinking. Walk around the space as it exists now.
Take a chair out and sit in different areas to see how they
feel and how they look from different points in the garden.
Look out of your windows at different times of the day and
think about what you want to see from them. Observe how
the sun plays around your house. Is the garden shady, sunny,
or both. Are you happy with the amount of privacy you have,
or would you prefer a little more. Do you want to create
a privacy barrier (a nice one, of course) between you and
your neighbors. Are there existing trees on the property
- do you like them? On this one, however, you may be financially
forced to like them since removing trees is costly. Which
brings us to the next question you have to ask yourself
- how much are you willing to spend?
Size
of budget does not dictate beauty of garden. Having a design
and a plan of action will do more to dictate that, and will
help you spend your money wisely. An immediate, and not
expensive path to take is to hire someone knowledgeable
to walk around your garden with you for an hour. You might
ask someone from a local nursery or garden center, or a
landscape designer, or even a knowledgeable friend to give
you some time and advice. Don’t expect the gem of
a fellow who mows your lawn to necessarily know about landscape
design. He may well know, but just be sure. During that
hour you will come to know your property more intimately,
and get a good sense of a design direction in which to go
-- or even get a couple of options to choose from. This
is a minimum investment but is time and money well spent.
| “Size of budget
does not dictate beauty of your garden.” |
|
Now, do you intend to do the gardening
yourself, or is it your intention to get a gorgeous garden
but have someone else tend it. Be truthful because a large
garden can easily become a burden if it requires too much
maintenance. Don’t put in a huge flower garden thinking
you will do the planting, weeding, fertilizing, pruning,
and dead-heading if your husband and children are expecting
you to go canoeing with them every weekend. Adjust the size
of your garden workload to your lifestyle. Don’t become
hostage to your garden. Gardens beckon and seduce the unsuspecting
- it happens all too easily. You should know, however, that
there really is no such thing as a maintenance-free garden.
Anything you plant will need some maintenance whether by
you or by someone you hire.
Are you an obsessive enough gardener to want
to go the whole nine yards yourself in designing and creating
your own garden, or are you more comfortable seeking the
services of a professional landscape designer? If it is
the latter you have options. You can hire a professional
to do the whole job: design, installation and maintenance,
or just a portion of the job, such as the design. Some designers
prefer to do everything, some are more than happy to create
a garden design and hand it over to you to implement. Just
know which way you want to proceed, and take your time.
Creating a work of art is a process and change is inherent,
but changing your mind four of five times will cost you
money so make sure you know your mind. When you work with
a professional you are not just paying for a garden design
you are paying for that persons knowledge of plants and
also of people in the nursery industry. If the landscape
designer is not going to install the garden for you they
will still be able to advise you on where to buy your plants,
or who to hire to plant them for you.
| “Don’t become
a hostage to your garden.” |
|
Creating a garden takes time. Enjoy the process,
even over years. Taking a garden from design to mature growth
spans years, and the garden will get better as time passes.
While it is hard to imagine that a new garden freshly planted
with 12" plants will ever grow into the lusty perennial
border of your dreams (or of the original design) chances
are it will. Patience pays off in gardening. Your excitement
about your new garden is understandable and appropriate,
but don’t go the seductive route of immediate gratification
buying the biggest plant at the nursery. The plants will
be healthier and better adjusted to your particular garden
if they grow to maturity in your garden, not in the garden
center. Allow your garden to mature naturally. Don’t
force it. It will pay off in spades in terms of longevity,
and beauty.
