When I started my garden many years ago, I just began planting and added more and more beds over time. I know now that it is not the way to design a garden for maximum effect. But my garden, nevertheless, has provided me with a lot of pleasure anyway. However, if I were to start over, and knowing what I now know, I would start with a plan and a clearer idea of the type of garden that I wanted to end up with.
For example, imagine having a fragrance garden, where all of the plants are chosen for their delightful scent. That would be intoxicating and a sensory delight.
Or imagine a water garden with in-ground and above-ground pools or ponds. Or tinkling fountains with water sparkling in the sunlight, creating both visual and auditory delights, day and night.
Or perhaps a rock garden with both natural and manufactured slopes and outcroppings of rocks, troughs, and walls with alpine plants scrambling over them to create ground hugging carpets of colors and textures.
Or, for lovers of wildlife, a habitat garden full of plants that beckon to birds and butterflies. Hummingbirds darting by, and goldfinches, blue jays, and cardinals at the birdbaths and feeders.
An all-shade garden could be calm and peaceful, replete with colorful foliage and plants of different shapes and textures, and lacy ferns and shy little wildflowers each spring.
So many optons….so little time!
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on types of gardens.
