Perennials, The Core Crew

Mixed Border of Perennials

Along with trees and shrubs, perennials are part of the core crew of reliable plants for the ever growing garden. Perennials are great because they come back year after year, but some are more trouble than they are worth--with brief showmanship, high care requirements, or lots of pest and disease issues.

The best perennials have a long season of bloom, great foliage, few pests and diseases and are fairly self-sustaining. The good news is that lots of plants offer these attributes. As with all things gardening, however, choices are largely regionally dependent. What works best in Georgia, Unites States will not always be the right choice for gardeners in Alberta, Canada, and vice versa. Looking at a plant's hardiness zone range gives us a good jump-off point.

Of course, light exposure is another important consideration. Most mixed borders, depending on the size of the trees and shrubs, have both sunny and shady spots. That mix, of sun and shade, is ideal for it gives us lots of plants to choose from. Keep in mind: full sun is considered six hours of direct sunlight. When it comes to perennials, we can often get away with a little light or partial shade. Afternoon sun is quite strong, however, so three to four hours of afternoon sun may give full-sun plants a sufficient "tan". Conversely, shade plants can handle--and often welcome--morning sun, but afternoon sun is a big NO. With that in mind, have fun exploring your options!

Trees and Shrubs, Bones of the Garden

Japanese Maple

The majestic trees found in our native landscapes have made more than a few jaws drop in their day. It is hard not to be impressed by towering canopies several stories high and enormous trunks that you cannot wrap your arms around.

While most of us do not have the space (or time!) to enjoy cultivating these huge botanical wonders, we can grow some of the more appropriately sized trees and shrubs, which provide significant impact in the nonstop, ever growing garden. Trees and shrubs are the ultimate structural plants. They create the framework, or the bones, of the the garden. They offer architectural stems, branches, and forms that are present in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Trees and shrubs can even wow us with beautiful blooms, attractive leaves, interesting fruit, and handsome bark.

Because woody plants require more space and can take longer to mature than herbaceous plants, it is a good idea to pick and plant your trees and shrubs before planting anything else. It is much easier to place them in beds and borders when you do not have to worry about stepping on or disturbing existing annuals, perennials, bulbs or tropicals.

There is no shortage of trees and shrubs out there to choose form. Look for options that offer long-lasting or multiple-seasonal attributes. When it comes to woody plants, deciduous selections provide the most "bling". Do not forget to throw a few evergreens in to the mix, however, which will settle in as a reliable, year round back-bone to the garden.

Garden Steps

A change in level in a garden adds interest and provides the opportunity for another garden design feature: a set of steps. The nature of those steps will depend on the physical situation as well as the aesthetics of your overall garden design. Remember that steps in the garden are different from steps indoors. Instead of designing outdoor steps to climb in as little space as possible, make the climb gradual (experts recommend a slight rise of 4- 5 inches with a comfortable deep tread of 12 inches), with landings or change of direction every 12 or more steps, In addition to making the steps less taxing to climb, a shallow rise makes it possible to run a wheelbarrow up and down the stairs; a ramp will help if you need to make frequent trips with a wheelbarrow.

STEPS ALTER THE PACE

Use steps to help regulate how people move through the garden space. People tend to walk faster on steps with low risers and wide treads than they do on steps with high risers. Curved steps naturally slows people down. If possible, make the steps wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side (minimum 4.5 feet wide). Broad stairs look more inviting and elegant than narrow set of steps.

BALANCE THE COST AND LOOK

Cost will surely be a factor in choosing the design and materials for your garden steps, but while considering budget, also keep in mind the look of the final result. Railroad ties or landscape timbers are relatively less expensive, but used incorrectly, they can make a space look less formal. Steps near the house should complement the architecture and style of the building and style of the garden, Farther away from the house, especially if the garden becomes more informal, choosing steps made out of less expensive or more natural materials, such as beach pebbles or logs.

CONSIDER SAFETY

Regardless of the style of the steps, keep safety  and function in the forefront of the mind. As a general rule, the steps should be as wide as the path leading up to them. Uneven steps with risers that vary in hight and treads of different depths are dangerous to negotiate.

A safety rail or a handrail should be considered even if the steps are not as steep as those built indoors. As an added safety and comfort feature, slope the tread ever so slightly so that water does not collect and pool on the steps themselves. If possible, choose a nonslip or porous material to make the steps. A final suggestion, though more expensive, is consider outdoor lighting. There are MANY options to create backdrop and forefront light allowing guests to stroll through the garden and on the steps in the twilight hours of an evening.

Recipe for Successful Home-made Compost

The ideal compost heap should be 3 feet wide x 3 feet long x 3 feet tall. It quickly will shrink by as much as 50 percent. That's a good sign that the material is breaking down. An additional way to check if the compost heap is working is to reach your hand inside. The compost and surrounding air should feel warm.

A compost pile should be contained so it attains a minimum height of 3 feet. A simple 3-sided wire mesh fence on posts, wood-flats or stacked hay- /straw-bales will work. If you are starting your first compost pile, dig a shallow hole and build your compost heap within the hole. This will help introduce earthworms to your compost heap to aid in the break down of your materials and invite other microorganisms to speed up the process. If you are using a pre-made container with a closed bottom, place a shovel of dirt into the bottom first, along with a small container of earthworms (can be found in the "fishing section" of most big-box retailers and convenience stores).

Alternate 4- to 6- thick layers of brown materials (dry leaves, straw, and wood shavings) that are high in carbon, and green materials (grass clippings, manure, and kitchen scraps... but NO meat or dairy) that are high in nitrogen. Sprinkle a water and garden soil in between layers to increase heat production, and thus, speed up the process of breaking down the materials. Additionally, a compost inoculant may be added to further increase microbial activity in the compost heap.

Once per week, turn the pile with a pitch-fork. Turning adds oxygen, like stoking a stove, that will help the compost to "cook" faster. After turning, add water to the heap. When the compost heap is properly watered, the materials feel like a wrung-out sponge... neither soggy or bone dry. By using this technique, the break down process will take about 6 weeks to produce finished, usable compost.

Microorganisms work heavily in your compost, and thus, need approximately 3 times as much carbon as nitrogen. Carbon is an intragal part in making compost, and yet, is most commonly found in the fall dry leaves. An easy carbon solution while composting during the spring and summer seasons is to stockpile leaves collected in the fall and add them one layer at a time in your compost heap.

The most commonly heard complaint about composting is this: There is never enough compost. The more a gardener makes, the more they use in their various gardens. :)

Compost Ingredients:

Browns (Carbon):
**need 2- 3 times as much Browns as Greens (Nitrogen)

-Dry Leaves
-Brown plant wastes
-Shredded newspapers, cardboards
-Wood chips, sawdust
-Corn stalks
-Used potting soil

Greens (Nitrogen):

-Manure
-Grass clippings
-Garden wastes
-Kitchen wastes
-Kelp meal
-Blood meal
-Alfalfa
-Human hair

Assess Your Needs and Desires

Let's Be Imaginative... Anything is Possible

Before you put pen to paper to map out a garden design, your first task should be to determine the features you need and want. The odds are that you'll need to make compromises on your ultimate desires because of space or budget constraints. But at this stage, try to list every feature you would like under ideal circumstances. It's wise to make this a family brainstorming session with assurance to all that no idea will be considered too silly or far-fetched. Later you can sift through all ideas to determine which are most important to you and most feasible. Study books and magazines that are rich with photos of garden ideas. Use them for inspiration in the same way you might use home magazines to gather ideas for interior decorating. Mark or save the pages with gardens you like; then consider what qualities in those gardens you like; then consider what qualities in those gardens appeal to you.

Don't be afraid to consider designs on a much bigger properties than yours, as well as designs in different regions. With creativity, your or a professional designer can adapt and scale designs you like to fit your property, substituting plants suitable for your local.

The Hall family in New York used this brainstorming process to develop a landscape plan that met the needs of the parents, their grown children, their live-in grandparents they were caring for and future grandchildren. They worked with landscape designer Kristen Sherlock, who listened  to both spouse's vision for an ideal landscape spanning 5 acres and 4 generations.

The Halls invested a lot of money in their landscape, but no more than they might have spent on a major house addition. In fact, the family got far more living space with the garden addition than they could have gained by enlarging the house.

Successful Landscape Design

Each of the following steps plays an equally important role in successfully designing your landscape:

1. Identify Your Dream Landscape: List every feature you want, no matter how frivolous it seems.

2. Establish a Budget: This will determine whether you need to scale back and plan to do some work yourself.

3. Determine Your Style: What are your tastes? What makes sense for your property?

4. Understand the elements of Design: Proportion, light, color, mass, and texture are the key concepts of landscape design.

5. Develop a Concept: Now that you know what you want, you can start to make it a reality.

6. Start Planning: Take photographs, make notes, and draw sketches to commit your ideas to paper.

Does Your Garden Reflect Your Personal Paradise?

The landscaping of many North American front gardens for more than 100 years usually features a house with shrubs hugging the foundation, a walkway leading to the front door, and a sapling that may (or may not!) one day become a tree. Sometimes the front lawn features an island bed with shrubs and ground covers. Typically, the backyard consists of a patio (and/ or deck) and a lawn surrounded with perimeter beds of shrubs, one or two perennials and maybe some roses.

Yeah... not very interesting, is it?

Doesn't sound like paradise, does it?


Your home's landscape offers the opportunity to express yourself as though you were a landscape painter, by creating something beautiful from a "living canvas". But instead of paint, your media will be plants, stone, and perhaps brick, sculpture, and garden furniture.

Today's homeowners have access to an amazing palette of plants, and new improved hybrids are introduced yearly. The fun--and challenge-- is working out a combination of plants that serves specific design functions, looks beautiful together, and grows well in your region. You can then combine the plants, often call softscaping, with hardscaping elements (such as boulders, paths, patios and walls) to create an environment that makes you happy. In this process, you'll begin expressing your own vision of paradise-- a place of bliss, felicity, and delight.