PlantMaster guidelines for expedient answers!

What a crazy Spring!

Many of us have experienced a range of weather conditions this spring and are already wondering just what Summer 2006 will offer. We just passed an extremely and unseasonably warm period for this time of year and coupled with lower-than-average rainfall we are watering our landscapes frequently just to keep up. Now we are having cooler weather with rain on the way.

Recently I've undertaken some major landscape renovations that have taught me patience, given me exercise when I least wanted it and offered me a new look at fresh-start gardening. I thought that by sharing some of my experiences would offer some food for thought.

An existing environment can provide comfort and anxiety at the same time. We are comfortable in our surroundings and have become accustomed to routines. Quite frequently, I become restless when I see examples, and beautiful ones at that, of what my environment could look like but won't allow for one reason or another. This applies to our landscapes on so many levels. If we break some of these levels down to basics, we'll see that our wants and desires can be satisfied.

Basic Gardening - I like variety, and I like plants, and have been called a "plant super freak." I enjoy "playing" in my garden. I decided to compartmentalize our garden into a multi-room garden with separate areas where I could play with shade-loving plants, sun-loving plants, native Texas plants and ornamental grasses, Japanese Maples, Dogwoods and other acid-loving plants and even bog and water-gardening plants. If you have fewer plant interests, this becomes a smaller task and much more easily realized.

Entertaining - Unlike so many televised home and garden shows, we decided against the outdoor kitchen. You may prefer to have one, especially if you have a lot of space to devote to this. Without an outdoor enclosed area to protect from mosquitoes and weather, we decided to put a few, small brick- and stone-paved pads in our outdoor space where we could offer a range of garden exposures and sites when we have friends and family over. On another level, this could take the form of moveable, modular pieces of flooring that you could easily store when not needed. The versatility offered by this method means that you aren't tied to specific spaces, taking your entertaining to a new level of organization.

Favorite Views - One level of garden organization might focus on views of your Roses or your Azaleas, or your Cactus or Grasses, or your lake or your creek side. Or maybe you need to screen your neighbor's bright-green storage shed. Necessity creates opportunities. Create a hidden garden with a judicious use of taller, evergreen plants and position this around your favorite view. Offer mystery by obscuring your bubbling fountain or water feature around the bend in a path. The tiniest gardens can offer the most mystery and fantasy by the strategic positioning of plants. Maybe your favorite view is just beyond the garden gate. Offer a hint or tease your visitor with a view through the fence or gate, but not the entire view - just a portion of it. Perhaps it's an intentional and curiously oversized gap between pieces of gate hardware, or maybe an intriguing cut-out design at eye-level of the fence.

Functionality - I include this here because one important function that we needed was drainage remediation. During heavy rains we experienced rushing water through flower beds and walkways to the point where we couldn't use the front door for a couple of days at a time. So we installed a dry stone creek as a functional yet interesting drainage method (a work in progress). Subterranean French drains or pipes would have cost much more in my opinion, as well as disturbed many tender tree roots. Now we have a really interesting area to place pockets of plants and create another level of interest to the garden.

Perhaps some of this has given you some ideas. As always, feel free to write The PlantMaster for assistance with gardening challenges. My plan is to gather some photos of our Summer Tropical color selections and present those to you in an upcoming issue.

Enjoy your garden and have a great spring.

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