As a child of two avid shade gardeners, I was born to love plants. When I purchased my current home, situated on a wooded lot, I began to transform a blank canvas into an interesting palette of color and texture. Since home to me is intended to be a respite from the crazy world around us, I designed my own property to be a casual and welcoming place where visitors can relax in the cool shade, watch the birds at the granite bird bath, and meander around naturally occurring boulders along the woodland path. This time of year I love seeing my garden change with each passing week.
I also love when Mother Nature gives me design ideas. For example, I have a number of foxgloves that self-seed. Normally, they stay in the vicinity where I planted them originally. This year I had foxgloves coming up in unexpected places. One was in a bed of hostas and other shade loving plants. I realized this was the perfect place. The tall blooms tower over the hostas now which provides for a lovely vertical element, but as the blooms and foliage decline, this unsightly but important process of regeneration will be hidden behind the hosta leaves. Perfect! Nature certainly has a lot to teach us if we pay attention. As a landscape designer, paying attention to Mother Nature helps me to pick the right plant for the right place, providing for an interesting and long-lasting landscape!
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| My sunny garden dotted with foxgloves |
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| A foxglove planted by Mother Nature in the perfect place! |
Of course, I can’t spend all my time looking for cues from Mother Nature; this time of year there is plenty of work to do! So I’d better stop writing and get out in the garden and do some work! See you next time! I hope you enjoy my blog! Please share your thoughts and ideas with me!
Carol – If you have them, I would love to see before & after photos of how you transformed your blank canvas into what it looks like now.