Here's another landscape plan I put together for some family members. The edges of this area would be in the sun while the inside area would be shaded by the existing eastern red cedar and a crape myrtle. A rough edged stone patio, dry creek bed, and a bench give the area a rustic appearance. The dry creek bed would funnel water from the downspout of the house underneath the patio and out the other side. Ferns, hostas, heuchera and astilbe plants make up the shady areas. Daylilies edge the sunny areas for color while the evergreen azaleas provide some spring accent colors near the house..
Showing posts with label garden design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden design. Show all posts
Landscape Plan: Side Garden
Here's another landscape plan I put together for some family members. The edges of this area would be in the sun while the inside area would be shaded by the existing eastern red cedar and a crape myrtle. A rough edged stone patio, dry creek bed, and a bench give the area a rustic appearance. The dry creek bed would funnel water from the downspout of the house underneath the patio and out the other side. Ferns, hostas, heuchera and astilbe plants make up the shady areas. Daylilies edge the sunny areas for color while the evergreen azaleas provide some spring accent colors near the house.Designing the Winter Garden: All Planted...for now!
I managed to plant all the plants for my new winter garden on what was a warm December day. With temperatures in the 50's it was somewhat pleasant, which is about the best you can expected from December in Tennessee. You're probably wondering which plan I decided to go with, the Symmetrical Plan or the Asymmetrical Plan. The answer was neither! Inspiration struck over the weekend and a new idea formed. I added another kind of plant that, while it won't provide winter color, will give us a burst of blooms in the spring. The goal of a winter garden should be to provide year round color from a variety of sources which is hopefully what I've accomplished, after all winter is only one of four seasons.
In the picture to the right you can see what the area looked like just before I planted. The Yoshino Cherry is standing between the two rocks. The new garden went in to the left of the tree. What plants are the foundation of this winter garden? Three red twig dogwoods, two Bird's Nest Spruces, two Cotoneasters, a Schip laurel, three rosemary plants, and two redbuds. I came home this weekend with 6 transplanted redbuds and placed them in the yard. Two of them are now forming corners of this garden. They are spaced far enough away from the Yoshino Cherry so that all the trees will have plenty of room to grow. Redbuds tend to be shade tolerant and would do fine underneath the cool shade of a cherry tree. These redbuds are small with the tallest at only three and a half feet tall. Since redbuds are slow to moderate growers the Yoshino cherry should have no real competition for light and will become the dominate tree in the garden. I can't wait to look out the window in the springtime and see the white flowers of the Yoshino flanked by the pink blooms of the redbuds. I may consider trimming the redbuds to keep them on the small side but they have a long way to grow before that should be necessary.
Here's the winter garden now after planting. Admittedly it doesn't look terribly impressive right now. After I mulched around each plant I covered the spaces in between with collected maple leaves to kill off the grass underneath. In the spring I'll cover the spaces with newspaper and mulch the whole area. The leaves make the small plants very hard to see but I added annotations to help with identifying where the plants are. In the front of the garden I'll add an additional planting area to round out the garden with annuals and perennials for spring through summer (see Future Planting Area).
The picture on the right was taken on the left side of the garden looking toward the street. At the top of the bed is one of the Redbuds. The cotoneasters are on the left and the Schip laurel is planted closer to the house and to the right of the cotoneasters. It should provide evergreen color interest.When it grows larger it will stand behind the redtwig dogwoods and form a green backdrop to help highlight the red stems.
The two Bird's Nest Spruces are planted near each other as a small evergreen grouping toward the front side of the bed. In this last picture the red twig dogwoods are planted in a diagonal pattern. It's here that I'll add one of the most fun elements, a dry creek bed. The dry creek bed will only be for decoration and not for drainage. It will start near the Schip laurel then travel either between the first two dogwoods and skirt around them toward the front or go between the last two dogwoods and skirt toward the front. I'll play with it some and see what looks best.
It's all planted, at least for now. I'll add to it as the inspiration hits. Unfortunately you won't be able to see how it all works until next winter when the plants have grown a bit but as spring progresses I'll highlight the garden's growth process. I wonder how ornamental grasses would look on the top side?
Previous Winter Gardening Posts:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
Designing the Winter Garden: An Asymmetrical Plan
In the picture to the right you can see what the area looked like just before I planted. The Yoshino Cherry is standing between the two rocks. The new garden went in to the left of the tree. What plants are the foundation of this winter garden? Three red twig dogwoods, two Bird's Nest Spruces, two Cotoneasters, a Schip laurel, three rosemary plants, and two redbuds. I came home this weekend with 6 transplanted redbuds and placed them in the yard. Two of them are now forming corners of this garden. They are spaced far enough away from the Yoshino Cherry so that all the trees will have plenty of room to grow. Redbuds tend to be shade tolerant and would do fine underneath the cool shade of a cherry tree. These redbuds are small with the tallest at only three and a half feet tall. Since redbuds are slow to moderate growers the Yoshino cherry should have no real competition for light and will become the dominate tree in the garden. I can't wait to look out the window in the springtime and see the white flowers of the Yoshino flanked by the pink blooms of the redbuds. I may consider trimming the redbuds to keep them on the small side but they have a long way to grow before that should be necessary.
Here's the winter garden now after planting. Admittedly it doesn't look terribly impressive right now. After I mulched around each plant I covered the spaces in between with collected maple leaves to kill off the grass underneath. In the spring I'll cover the spaces with newspaper and mulch the whole area. The leaves make the small plants very hard to see but I added annotations to help with identifying where the plants are. In the front of the garden I'll add an additional planting area to round out the garden with annuals and perennials for spring through summer (see Future Planting Area).
The two Bird's Nest Spruces are planted near each other as a small evergreen grouping toward the front side of the bed. In this last picture the red twig dogwoods are planted in a diagonal pattern. It's here that I'll add one of the most fun elements, a dry creek bed. The dry creek bed will only be for decoration and not for drainage. It will start near the Schip laurel then travel either between the first two dogwoods and skirt around them toward the front or go between the last two dogwoods and skirt toward the front. I'll play with it some and see what looks best. 
It's all planted, at least for now. I'll add to it as the inspiration hits. Unfortunately you won't be able to see how it all works until next winter when the plants have grown a bit but as spring progresses I'll highlight the garden's growth process. I wonder how ornamental grasses would look on the top side?
Previous Winter Gardening Posts:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
Designing the Winter Garden: An Asymmetrical Plan
Stones and Bones
You often hear people mention the phrase the "bones of the garden." It's basically used to refer to the garden elements that provide some sort of structure. Many people refer to evergreen plantings as the bones since they add structure and don't lose their leaves when the weather changes. Structures like arbors and garden shed could also be bones of the garden since they are more permanent fixtures that you can build the garden around. One other element that I like to think of as part of the bones of the garden is stone. Stone can do all kinds of things from building walls to creating patios or simply outline a garden border as in the picture below.
My stone border in the sideyard does two things:
The stone is an element that is always there, doesn't change, and won't float away in any May floods!
Stone is often used for surfaces to walk on like in these stepping stones. They aren't set into the ground yet but will be soon once the weather warms up a tad! I like to add stepping stones into the grassy areas to allow people to walk through the yard without getting their feet wet in the morning dew (that's usually just me though!) It also helps to formalize the pathways.
Stone bones can also be used as decorative elements in statues, water features, or in a plain ole rock stuck in a garden bed! What bones are in your garden?
My stone border in the sideyard does two things:
- It defines the garden space between my yard and my neighbor's yard (the border).
- It separates the grass pathway from the garden.
The stone is an element that is always there, doesn't change, and won't float away in any May floods!
Stone is often used for surfaces to walk on like in these stepping stones. They aren't set into the ground yet but will be soon once the weather warms up a tad! I like to add stepping stones into the grassy areas to allow people to walk through the yard without getting their feet wet in the morning dew (that's usually just me though!) It also helps to formalize the pathways.
Stone bones can also be used as decorative elements in statues, water features, or in a plain ole rock stuck in a garden bed! What bones are in your garden?
Designing the Winter Garden: What would you do?
OK, here's your chance! Your weekend assignment is to come up with a garden/landscape plan that would fit a roughly 6' by 10' area that incorporates as many elements of the winter garden as you wish. There are no rules or guidelines to follow, just do something that you think will look great and show it off! Do your best to put it on paper and blog on by Monday December 8, 2008 and I'll add links to your blogs into this post. Don't worry if your drawing skills aren't what you think they should be, a simple outline would be enough to show everyone what you have in mind. If you don't have a blog tell us about your ideas or send a picture to thehomegarden@gmail.com and I'll add it to this post. This should be fun so get out your pencils and paper, markers or even crayons (we have a zillion of them around the house) and start designing!
On a related winter gardening note: due to extremely cold weather conditions (at least in my mind) the planting of my garden will be put on hold until I have a day in the mid 40's or higher. This weekend is out since we have plans but I should be able to get the final installment of my Winter Gardening Design series finished next week.
Previous Winter Gardening Posts:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
Designing the Winter Garden: An Asymmetrical Plan
On a related winter gardening note: due to extremely cold weather conditions (at least in my mind) the planting of my garden will be put on hold until I have a day in the mid 40's or higher. This weekend is out since we have plans but I should be able to get the final installment of my Winter Gardening Design series finished next week.
Previous Winter Gardening Posts:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
Designing the Winter Garden: An Asymmetrical Plan
Designing the Winter Garden: An Asymmetrical Plan
Here is the second of the two hand drawn sketches of my winter garden layout. The first one was symmetrical. This layout uses mostly the same plants just puts them in different places. One addition to this plan is a miscanthus that I originally planted in the Japanese Maple garden. It was only placed there temporarily until a better spot came open.
In this plan I put the rosemary on the left with the red twig dogwoods down in front. The Bird's nest spruces are in the back and the cotoneasters are in front and in back of the Yoshino cherry. The Schip laurels aren't pictured in this layout either. Like I mentioned in yesterday's post this is just a sketch and I may or may not stick with it. Sometimes inspiration strikes when you're planting and the plan goes out the window! The big advantage in this plan is that it is more expandable than the symmetrical plan and I like expandable plans. It also will look much more natural.
I'm leaning toward a variation on this plan but tell me, what do you think?
Previous Winter Gardening Posts:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
In this plan I put the rosemary on the left with the red twig dogwoods down in front. The Bird's nest spruces are in the back and the cotoneasters are in front and in back of the Yoshino cherry. The Schip laurels aren't pictured in this layout either. Like I mentioned in yesterday's post this is just a sketch and I may or may not stick with it. Sometimes inspiration strikes when you're planting and the plan goes out the window! The big advantage in this plan is that it is more expandable than the symmetrical plan and I like expandable plans. It also will look much more natural.
I'm leaning toward a variation on this plan but tell me, what do you think?
Previous Winter Gardening Posts:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
Designing the Winter Garden: A Symmetrical Plan
Now before you go looking at my hand drawn art please note that I do not claim to be an artist, just a gardener. The paint I am used to is usually accompanied by foliage, flowers, and fruit. The "artistic rendering" below is intended to illustrate the image inside my head for one of the two concepts for the winter garden. The illustrations in this post and in tomorrow's post hopefully will give you enough of an idea that you may be able to offer suggestions about the placement of the plants. In the end I may decide to take your suggestions, go with the original plan, or even do something completely different!
So now that I've given you the disclaimer here's the drawing!
This view is all about symmetry. Symmetry in the garden can be great but does have some pitfalls. If one plant dies and the other survives then it may be difficult to match the original with a replacement. Symmetry looks very organized which makes natural looking plants feel a little out of place. That being said I think this plan could work nicely.
The Yoshino Cherry tree stands in the middle and is flanked by the cranberry cotoneasters. To the front would be two red twig dogwoods. Toward the back would be the Bird's nest spruces and in each "corner" of the garden would be a rosemary plant. There are a few plants that I put in the picture that would be worked around these foundation plants including several irises, creeping phlox (not purchased yet I'll wait until spring for them), and a couple 'Mystic spires' salvias. I plan on keeping at least 5 foot radius clear around the base of the tree to prevent any damage to the Yoshino's roots while digging. Most of the trees roots will live in the top layers of the soil, not down deep in the ground which makes it important to provide adequate moisture or add complimentary plants underneath. Sedums make good choices for underplanting trees since they are extremely tolerant of drought conditions so I may add some 'Dragon's Blood' sedum in the spring. The whole garden is on a slope and most of the moisture should move toward the red twig dogwoods.
This is just one plan and it has its problems. I think I like my second plan better as its layout is asymmetrical and groups the plants rather than spreads them out. I'll show you that one tomorrow, stay tuned!
Edit:
I have a couple of Schip laurels that I am considering adding to the plan. I would probably put them behind the Yoshino between the Bird's Nest spruces if I move them a little farther apart.
Previous Posts on Winter Gardening:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
So now that I've given you the disclaimer here's the drawing!
This view is all about symmetry. Symmetry in the garden can be great but does have some pitfalls. If one plant dies and the other survives then it may be difficult to match the original with a replacement. Symmetry looks very organized which makes natural looking plants feel a little out of place. That being said I think this plan could work nicely.
The Yoshino Cherry tree stands in the middle and is flanked by the cranberry cotoneasters. To the front would be two red twig dogwoods. Toward the back would be the Bird's nest spruces and in each "corner" of the garden would be a rosemary plant. There are a few plants that I put in the picture that would be worked around these foundation plants including several irises, creeping phlox (not purchased yet I'll wait until spring for them), and a couple 'Mystic spires' salvias. I plan on keeping at least 5 foot radius clear around the base of the tree to prevent any damage to the Yoshino's roots while digging. Most of the trees roots will live in the top layers of the soil, not down deep in the ground which makes it important to provide adequate moisture or add complimentary plants underneath. Sedums make good choices for underplanting trees since they are extremely tolerant of drought conditions so I may add some 'Dragon's Blood' sedum in the spring. The whole garden is on a slope and most of the moisture should move toward the red twig dogwoods.
This is just one plan and it has its problems. I think I like my second plan better as its layout is asymmetrical and groups the plants rather than spreads them out. I'll show you that one tomorrow, stay tuned!
Edit:
I have a couple of Schip laurels that I am considering adding to the plan. I would probably put them behind the Yoshino between the Bird's Nest spruces if I move them a little farther apart.
Previous Posts on Winter Gardening:
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
Garden Design Ideas: Create a Focal Point
A few years ago I helped my parents build together a focal point in their yard. It is made of two concentric circles of decorative concrete retaining wall, with the center circle taller than the outer one. The circles serve as a central location in the yard for some garden pathways. In the center ring is a weeping cherry tree that provides beautiful spring flowers. The outer circle is home to mums in the fall and often holds pansies. You could easily plant any type of annuals or perennials in the circles. A focal point could be anything from walls and fences to fountains and trellises. It would be fairly simple to create an elegant fountain or water feature in place of the weeping cherry tree. The sky is the limit! Just use your imagination.Designing the Winter Garden: Starting Small
In all our gardens we start small and add plants as we go. If you look back the the birdbath garden you can see what I mean. What started with a birdbath and five small plants has slowly turned into a medium size garden area with about 15 different plants. The winter garden will be no different! With economics being what it is no to low cost gardening is a must, but money cannot stand in the way of a great garden! All the plant selections that will form the founding plants in the winter garden are either discount plants or came from propagation (cuttings or divisions).
The first plant to tell you about is the foundation, the Yoshino cherry tree. I know what you're thinking, "cherry trees are great in spring, summer, and fall but in winter?" My goal is to make the winter garden a garden with year round interest which validates the cherry tree, but have you ever looked at the bark of a mature cherry? It's a nice shiny glistening reddish brown that I think is very attractive. At least that's my excuse! It's also in the front yard where we will see the garden year round and growing season interest is important.
The second plant that I will install (sounds like an appliance) will be the red twig dogwood. You're probably tired of hearing me talk about the red twig dogwoods, but really, they are great plants! I have several that I can move from other locations to add to the winter garden that I've gotten from cuttings and in one case a division. I'll start with two and grow from there.
The third subject to join the garden will be a pair of Bird's Nest Spruces. Like other spruces they are evergreen and will add a bit of color to the garden. I learned an interesting fact recently about the origin of one variety in the most recent edition of the American Gardener from the American Horticultural Society. The Bird's Nest Spruce 'Little Gem' was developed from the Witch's Brooms that appear as a mutation on another Bird's Nest Spruce tree (Picea abies 'Nidiformis'). I won't be planting 'Little Gem' but I thought that was a pretty cool to have a dwarf plant come from another dwarf plant!
Two Cranberry Cotoneasters (Cotoneaster apiculata) will also join the garden as berry producing plants for the birds. They produce red berries in the fall along with burgundy red foliage. It will lose its leaves but should retain its fruit until the birds eat their fill. It's not a native plant but isn't listed on the Tennessee invasive plants lists. It's a low growing shrub with a height of 3 feet as its maximum but spreads out to five feet. It's also capable of rooting where it touches the ground much like forsythias so caution should be taken to prevent it spreading where it's not wanted.
The last plant to go in will be another one I have around the yard, Rosemary! It's purpose will be to add a scent to the garden to hopefully repel any marauding deer and it looks great in the garden. In our area it does very well as an ornamental edible and serves as a great evergreen planting.
There you can see a few of the choices that will go into the garden. Initially there are only a few but I'll add to them over time. I'm a little apprehensive with the cotoneaster but as its not listed on any of the invasive lists here in Tennessee it should be OK. Tomorrow I'll show you one of two sketches I made of the winter garden area to see which arrangement you like best.
Previous Posts on Winter Gardening
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
The first plant to tell you about is the foundation, the Yoshino cherry tree. I know what you're thinking, "cherry trees are great in spring, summer, and fall but in winter?" My goal is to make the winter garden a garden with year round interest which validates the cherry tree, but have you ever looked at the bark of a mature cherry? It's a nice shiny glistening reddish brown that I think is very attractive. At least that's my excuse! It's also in the front yard where we will see the garden year round and growing season interest is important. The second plant that I will install (sounds like an appliance) will be the red twig dogwood. You're probably tired of hearing me talk about the red twig dogwoods, but really, they are great plants! I have several that I can move from other locations to add to the winter garden that I've gotten from cuttings and in one case a division. I'll start with two and grow from there.
Two Cranberry Cotoneasters (Cotoneaster apiculata) will also join the garden as berry producing plants for the birds. They produce red berries in the fall along with burgundy red foliage. It will lose its leaves but should retain its fruit until the birds eat their fill. It's not a native plant but isn't listed on the Tennessee invasive plants lists. It's a low growing shrub with a height of 3 feet as its maximum but spreads out to five feet. It's also capable of rooting where it touches the ground much like forsythias so caution should be taken to prevent it spreading where it's not wanted. The last plant to go in will be another one I have around the yard, Rosemary! It's purpose will be to add a scent to the garden to hopefully repel any marauding deer and it looks great in the garden. In our area it does very well as an ornamental edible and serves as a great evergreen planting.
There you can see a few of the choices that will go into the garden. Initially there are only a few but I'll add to them over time. I'm a little apprehensive with the cotoneaster but as its not listed on any of the invasive lists here in Tennessee it should be OK. Tomorrow I'll show you one of two sketches I made of the winter garden area to see which arrangement you like best.
Previous Posts on Winter Gardening
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
Designing the Winter Garden: Aspectual Musings
One of the areas that I would like to improve upon in our garden is the lack of winter interest. I can look outside our windows and see lots of stark naked deciduous trees waving in the wind. If they were covered in snow we would have plenty of winter interest but here in Tennessee snowfalls of that magnitude are few and far between. Over the next several days I will talk about planning our winter garden and will end with planting a few things into it! Yes you can still plant trees and shrubs this time of year, in fact winter dormancy is an excellent time to plant them.
So what makes a winter garden? To me a winter garden has something unique to look at when the other plants are sleeping. Cool bark on trees, colored berries, interesting branching patterns, evergreen foliage, flowers and seed heads that sway in the wind are all things that come to mind when I think of a winter garden.
Birch trees are a favorite tree of mine for their bark and their foliage but there are many other choices in trees and shrubs. Could I talk about cool bark without talking about red twig dogwoods? The bright red stems are a perfect choice for winter color. There are also yellow twig dogwoods that have yellow tinted stems that look great en mass. A Coral Bark willow (Salix alba 'Britzensis') is another good choice for red stemmed bark. When I think of good bark I would be remiss if I didn't mention the crape myrtles. These southern delights have fantastic peeling bark on their trunks and branches if they are allowed to grow into the tree form. The list of interesting bark is very extensive to go through in one post.
Colored berries are good for the eye as well as the birds. One of the reasons I garden is to attract wildlife. The deer come of their own accord (unfortunately) but the birds need motivation and providing garden plants that give them nourishment in the winter is a favor they will likely return with their presence. A family favorite the orange berry bush, better known as Firethorn (Pyracanthus augustifolia), is a great choice. The birds love the berries and the thorns provide them with a protected place to build their nests safely tucked away from any cat that might be hanging around. Many berry bearing plants like pyracantha are evergreen and do double duty in the winter. Hollies fit the bill. Their year round green color is decorated in the winter with red berries that birds really enjoy. One favorite holly of mine that I'm ashamed to admit I don't have yet is the Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticulata). It's actually deciduous but that just enhances its appeal. When the leaves drop off and reveal the abundance of bright red berries you end up with a spectacular winter show.
Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
Interesting branching patterns can be found on many trees and shrubs. The corkscrew willows do exactly what their name entails and twist their limbs into various contorted formations. Speaking of contortions, what about the Contorted Filbert (Corylus avellana), also known as 'Harry Lauder's Walking Stick'. This small tree grows up to 15 feet tall and is one of the most twisted trees you will ever see. Vines also have interesting branching patterns and once they lose their leaves all is revealed.
Evergreen trees and shrubs abound. This list ranges from tall pines to dwarf conifers, arborvitae to evergreen azaleas. I'm partial to Bird's Nest spruces and the dwarf cherry laurels ('Otto Luyken' or Schip are both also called English laurels) but there are so many great plants to choose from in the evergreen category. Even evergreen herbs like Rosemary can add winter interest. This time of year you will see quite a few rosemary plants trimmed up into little Christmas trees but you can trim them up into all sorts of topiaries.
Some plants even flower in the cold winter months. Heaths burst out in an explosion of little tiny blossoms during the winter months. I've added at least 5 Mediterranean White Heathers to various areas of our garden because of the flowers and evergreen foliage they present. Witch hazels are another good plant for flowers in the colder months. The streamer like blossoms that appear in the later winter and early spring are also very fragrant.
Seed heads might not be the most thought of element of a winter garden but really have a great amount of winter interest. Ornamental grasses are probably best known for their seed heads that flutter about like feathers in the wind, but what about other perennials? The seed heads of echinacea (coneflowers) are pretty in the winter as are the round seed globes left by gaillardia in the fall. There are all kinds of options out there.
I've given you a small glimpse into my mind's planning process for our winter garden. (Hopefully it didn't scare you any!) Tomorrow I'll highlight the three kinds of plants with which I'll begin our winter garden. As all my garden areas have the winter garden will expand over time.
So what makes a winter garden? To me a winter garden has something unique to look at when the other plants are sleeping. Cool bark on trees, colored berries, interesting branching patterns, evergreen foliage, flowers and seed heads that sway in the wind are all things that come to mind when I think of a winter garden.
Salix alba 'Britzensis'
Birch trees are a favorite tree of mine for their bark and their foliage but there are many other choices in trees and shrubs. Could I talk about cool bark without talking about red twig dogwoods? The bright red stems are a perfect choice for winter color. There are also yellow twig dogwoods that have yellow tinted stems that look great en mass. A Coral Bark willow (Salix alba 'Britzensis') is another good choice for red stemmed bark. When I think of good bark I would be remiss if I didn't mention the crape myrtles. These southern delights have fantastic peeling bark on their trunks and branches if they are allowed to grow into the tree form. The list of interesting bark is very extensive to go through in one post.Colored berries are good for the eye as well as the birds. One of the reasons I garden is to attract wildlife. The deer come of their own accord (unfortunately) but the birds need motivation and providing garden plants that give them nourishment in the winter is a favor they will likely return with their presence. A family favorite the orange berry bush, better known as Firethorn (Pyracanthus augustifolia), is a great choice. The birds love the berries and the thorns provide them with a protected place to build their nests safely tucked away from any cat that might be hanging around. Many berry bearing plants like pyracantha are evergreen and do double duty in the winter. Hollies fit the bill. Their year round green color is decorated in the winter with red berries that birds really enjoy. One favorite holly of mine that I'm ashamed to admit I don't have yet is the Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticulata). It's actually deciduous but that just enhances its appeal. When the leaves drop off and reveal the abundance of bright red berries you end up with a spectacular winter show.
Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
Interesting branching patterns can be found on many trees and shrubs. The corkscrew willows do exactly what their name entails and twist their limbs into various contorted formations. Speaking of contortions, what about the Contorted Filbert (Corylus avellana), also known as 'Harry Lauder's Walking Stick'. This small tree grows up to 15 feet tall and is one of the most twisted trees you will ever see. Vines also have interesting branching patterns and once they lose their leaves all is revealed.Evergreen trees and shrubs abound. This list ranges from tall pines to dwarf conifers, arborvitae to evergreen azaleas. I'm partial to Bird's Nest spruces and the dwarf cherry laurels ('Otto Luyken' or Schip are both also called English laurels) but there are so many great plants to choose from in the evergreen category. Even evergreen herbs like Rosemary can add winter interest. This time of year you will see quite a few rosemary plants trimmed up into little Christmas trees but you can trim them up into all sorts of topiaries.
Some plants even flower in the cold winter months. Heaths burst out in an explosion of little tiny blossoms during the winter months. I've added at least 5 Mediterranean White Heathers to various areas of our garden because of the flowers and evergreen foliage they present. Witch hazels are another good plant for flowers in the colder months. The streamer like blossoms that appear in the later winter and early spring are also very fragrant.
Seed heads might not be the most thought of element of a winter garden but really have a great amount of winter interest. Ornamental grasses are probably best known for their seed heads that flutter about like feathers in the wind, but what about other perennials? The seed heads of echinacea (coneflowers) are pretty in the winter as are the round seed globes left by gaillardia in the fall. There are all kinds of options out there.
I've given you a small glimpse into my mind's planning process for our winter garden. (Hopefully it didn't scare you any!) Tomorrow I'll highlight the three kinds of plants with which I'll begin our winter garden. As all my garden areas have the winter garden will expand over time.
Garden Designs and Layouts
Here are a few garden layouts, plans, and designs that I have put together for my garden. Some are landscape plans while others are diagrams of my vegetable garden. The herb garden layouts were never actually implemented in my garden as I went with the interplanting approach. Eventually I may incorporate a formal herb garden in our landscape. You are more than welcome to use the layouts and designs as a guide for your personal use.
After you have perused the layouts below stop by and see my recommendations for designing your raised bed vegetable garden plan.
My 2012 vegetable garden layout is an adaptation of the 2011 version. It adds a perimeter bed of about 2' in width to the outside edge of the garden.
My 2011 vegetable garden layout is representative of the parterre garden style. It's a French style of potager or kitchen garden. The idea is to make it into something both aesthetically pleasing and highly functional.
Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Layout
This is my current vegetable garden design and seems to work well so far. The pathways are 2' wide everywhere except the middle north to south walkway.
Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Layout for 2010
This is mostly the same as my previous design but I have changed the large ground beds into 10'x2' raised beds for easy access for my children. I also added a long strawberry bed for perennial crops.
Vegetable Garden Layout with Raised Beds
This layout uses an "L" shape for each of the raised beds. The beds are actually made from 3 different beds - 2 long and one square.
Parterre Vegetable Garden Layout - Raised Beds
This more formal look for a vegetable garden is great for small gardens and even for small yards. It would also work well for formal flower beds.
Vegetable Garden Layout for Companion Planting
Companion planting can be a good way to prevent disease and pests from harming your garden. This layout is one possible idea from many potential ways of designing a garden for companion planting.
Fall Vegetable Garden Layout for a 4'x8' Raised Bed
This is my concept for gardening in the fall. A single 4'x8' bed is enough for our family of four and it produced lettuce all the way into December.
10'x2' Raised Bed Design
The goal of this raised bed is to better reach the middle of the bed from each side. It should be a good design for people with smaller arms like children.
Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden: 11 Things to Think About
Planning a vegetable garden with raised beds? Here are 11 things to consider before you do!
Herb Garden Layout
This is a circular formal layout of an herb garden.
Herb Garden Layout (Corridor Pathway)
This herb garden is good if you have a straight pathway you want to edge with aromatic herbs.
A Birdbath Garden Layout
This is the layout of the second year of our birdbath garden. It has evolved a lot since then!
Sidewalk Garden Layout
This layout is the concept design for along our sidewalk. Russian sage is heavily featured in this plan.
On the Fence...
While construction hasn't been started on our vegetable garden fence yet this design has two ideas for the fence rails.
For a look at a few more Garden Layouts, Designs, and Plans please check out Garden Plans & Ideas. It's a blog page where I'm putting some of my newer garden design ideas together.
I hope you enjoy these designs please do not distribute them or reprint them in any form without permission.
After you have perused the layouts below stop by and see my recommendations for designing your raised bed vegetable garden plan.
Vegetable Garden Layouts and Designs
This is my current vegetable garden design and seems to work well so far. The pathways are 2' wide everywhere except the middle north to south walkway.
This is mostly the same as my previous design but I have changed the large ground beds into 10'x2' raised beds for easy access for my children. I also added a long strawberry bed for perennial crops.
Vegetable Garden Layout with Raised Beds
Parterre Vegetable Garden Layout - Raised Beds
This more formal look for a vegetable garden is great for small gardens and even for small yards. It would also work well for formal flower beds.Vegetable Garden Layout for Companion Planting
Fall Vegetable Garden Layout for a 4'x8' Raised Bed
This is my concept for gardening in the fall. A single 4'x8' bed is enough for our family of four and it produced lettuce all the way into December.10'x2' Raised Bed Design
Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden: 11 Things to Think About
Planning a vegetable garden with raised beds? Here are 11 things to consider before you do!
Herb Garden Layouts and Designs
These designs are suited for herb gardens but could be adapted to many other types of gardens as well.This is a circular formal layout of an herb garden.
This herb garden is good if you have a straight pathway you want to edge with aromatic herbs.
Landscape Designs
A Birdbath Garden Layout
This is the layout of the second year of our birdbath garden. It has evolved a lot since then! Sidewalk Garden Layout
On the Fence...
For a look at a few more Garden Layouts, Designs, and Plans please check out Garden Plans & Ideas. It's a blog page where I'm putting some of my newer garden design ideas together.
I hope you enjoy these designs please do not distribute them or reprint them in any form without permission.
I Like the Islands!
Earlier this week I spent an afternoon outside with my oldest daughter who had a half day off from kindergarten. She was running around outside and playing on the swingset while her brother (our youngest) was napping in the stroller nearby. Since he rarely ever naps I was not even remotely tempted to tempt fate by moving him indoors and stayed outdoors looking for something to do. Let me just say that something to do is never far away!
What I ended up doing was completing a new island bed that I worked on earlier in the summer. I'm a big fan of using multiple island beds to break up the yard into smaller sections. Every time a new island garden is added it creates a new zone along with new pathways to walk down. I've always thought of pathways in the garden being just as important as the plants in the garden. The paths take you places and create a structure for organizing the garden. They can be as natural or as formal as you want them to be as long as they lead you onward through the garden.
Before this island was just a single viburnum (Viburnum dentatum). Then I added a yellow knockout rose I bought on a discount rack. I spaced it out several feet away from the viburnum with the intent to fill in the gap in between with mulch and other plantings later. A couple months passed by and I had a minor inspiration. I went over to my 'Husker's red' penstemon and used the easy propagation method for propagating penstemons. Then I brought 6 small rooted sprigs of penstemon and spaced them out between the viburnum and the rose. Eventually I'll have to move them when the viburnum spreads too wide but I enjoy having to do that since every time I move plants I end up with extras - funny how that works! I also divided a ponytail grass (Stipa tenuissima) into three sections and replanted it into a larger mass planting. Since I saw those for almost $4 a piece in the stores this year I may have saved myself $8 with that minor little task (They divide very easily.)
Here is the end result after dividing, planting and mulching.
By spring everything should be settled in and ready for new growth. There is a purple coneflower that was the result of an "I need to plant this somewhere, oh this spot looks good" moment. Usually when that happens I end up having to move it later! The bags of mulch that I used were broken open at the store and I received a discount for purchasing them and since most of the plants were free this small garden expansion cost less than $10. Originally the viburnum was also a discount rack find which I have been thrilled with each of the last two years. Who says discount plants don't work out?
What I ended up doing was completing a new island bed that I worked on earlier in the summer. I'm a big fan of using multiple island beds to break up the yard into smaller sections. Every time a new island garden is added it creates a new zone along with new pathways to walk down. I've always thought of pathways in the garden being just as important as the plants in the garden. The paths take you places and create a structure for organizing the garden. They can be as natural or as formal as you want them to be as long as they lead you onward through the garden.
Before this island was just a single viburnum (Viburnum dentatum). Then I added a yellow knockout rose I bought on a discount rack. I spaced it out several feet away from the viburnum with the intent to fill in the gap in between with mulch and other plantings later. A couple months passed by and I had a minor inspiration. I went over to my 'Husker's red' penstemon and used the easy propagation method for propagating penstemons. Then I brought 6 small rooted sprigs of penstemon and spaced them out between the viburnum and the rose. Eventually I'll have to move them when the viburnum spreads too wide but I enjoy having to do that since every time I move plants I end up with extras - funny how that works! I also divided a ponytail grass (Stipa tenuissima) into three sections and replanted it into a larger mass planting. Since I saw those for almost $4 a piece in the stores this year I may have saved myself $8 with that minor little task (They divide very easily.)
Here is the end result after dividing, planting and mulching.
By spring everything should be settled in and ready for new growth. There is a purple coneflower that was the result of an "I need to plant this somewhere, oh this spot looks good" moment. Usually when that happens I end up having to move it later! The bags of mulch that I used were broken open at the store and I received a discount for purchasing them and since most of the plants were free this small garden expansion cost less than $10. Originally the viburnum was also a discount rack find which I have been thrilled with each of the last two years. Who says discount plants don't work out?
October in the Garden
Yesterday during a reprieve from the rain we went out to examine the state of the garden. The past two weeks I've been mostly concentrating on the greenhouse project and I felt it was time to see what I've been missing.
The celosia I planted from seed this year did really well. It's a virtually no maintenance annual unless you consider the weeding of extra seedlings I may not want next year.
The Dusty Miller I planted in the spring has finally emerged from behind the purple sweet potato vine. The Potato vine took over the location beside the arbor covering the Dusty Miller, Columbine, 'Purple Homestead' Verbena, and variegated liriope. The Dusty Miller is a semi-hardy annual to tender perennial here. It can handle some of the cold temperatures we get and may come back the following year. It's cheap to replace and usually gets treated as an annual.
Beside the back deck I planted a 'Shasta' Viburnum. It didn't bloom this year as it was probably protesting being moved from it's previous location. In the background is a 'Firebird' Penstemon. 'Firebird' Penstemon is rated to zone 7 cold hardiness but I planted this one last year and we live in a frost pocket so I would guess that it's relatively safe up to zone 6. It's easy to take a cutting from and overwinter indoors or in a pot in the garage.
My 'Dale's Strain' Heuchera is doing great. I bought it last year and divided one of the two plants to make a grouping of three. The two that were divided are smaller but still doing well. 'Dale's Strain' has a nice green and white variegation that turns into caramel coloring in the winter.
If we hop over the wire fence into the vegetable garden we can see my strawberries have run amok! It must mean that it's time to expand the garden. I hope to add some more raised beds then transfer the rampaging strawberries over. After the strawberries were done fruiting in the spring I fertilized them with bloodmeal which combined with the rich soil in the raised bed spurred lots of runners (don't fertilize strawberries before fruiting since that will produce green growth and not fruit growth). Strawberries need rejuvenated every couple of years by eliminating the mother plants and replacing them with the young runners. Every runner will eventually turn into a new mother plant and the process can be sustained indefinitely. This strawberry bed began as 3-4 plants from a pot and 6-8 plants from a plant swap.
My grass is green and shiny thanks to all the rain! I haven't fertilized the yard yet in the two and a half years we've lived here and really have no plans too with anything other than sifted organic compost. I believe that a lawn can be environmentally responsibly grown. I overseed with a new variety of grass every fall. Now if they would just come out with a riding reel mower...
My 'Daiblo' Ninebark (Physocarpus) has grown a little. It's a new addition to the Birdbath garden this year and is paired with a pair of 'Powis' Castle artemisias. I'll need to keep the artemisia trimmed lower to prevent it from completely enveloping the ninebark but that will just give me an opportunity to make more free plants! I don't think you can go wrong with planting silver and purple foliage plants as companions. In the background you can see the current state of the greenhouse shed. It's coming along!
And here's a closer look. The plantings in front of the greenhouse will need some reworking but I'll worry about that after construction is complete!
The Evolution of the Birdbath Garden
Today I put the final touches on the birdbath garden for the 2008 gardening season. It's come a long way since it's inception last fall. In the beginning it was merely a birdbath with a couple plants next to it. A few irises, two coneflowers ('Sunset'), and a butterfly bush made up the whole garden.
Later I added some discount salvias and expanded the area. Here is what it looked like at the beginning of June. The coreopsis was grown from seed in the fall and I added a couple ornamental grasses (Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus') were planted on the left side for their foliage.
In July I added the stone border and a few other small plants like Salvia 'Black and Blue' and a phlox. You really can't see them too well from the photos. The purple leaf plum was doing well despite the deer nibbles.
Recently I added this dogwood to replace the birch that kept getting eaten by the deer. My wife was wanting a dogwood and this one was a very good choice. It's an 'Appalachian Spring' dogwood which is a variety that was developed at the University of Tennessee and is currently it is the only anthracnose resistant dogwood variety. Unfortunately it became a target for a rutting deer. The leaves were never touched, just the bark on its trunk. I'm hopeful that it will survive.
This week I added a couple new plants to the garden. The first was a native coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) that was on the edge of our property. We are bordered on one side by a woods where many coralberries are growing. While it can spread through runners it should be containable in the birdbath garden area. The other addition was a 'Birkwood' Viburnum (Viburnum X burkwoodii). What is really cool about this viburnum is that it has evergreen foliage, something that I know is lacking in our garden. I definitely need to add more evergreens. It will also produce brilliant white fragrant flowers in the spring and provide the birds with food in the form of reddish berries that darken into the autumn. I've been adding viburnums to the garden every chance I get. This one was another discount plant find at 50% off!
Here's how the garden looks now. Unfortunately darkness was approaching when I took the picture but maybe you can get an idea of how far the little garden has come. The coreopsis finished blooming over a month ago as did the salvias but the butterfly bush hasn't quit. I moved a volunteer coneflower to the new deck garden and I'm planning on moving the Zebra grass to another location in the spring.
It's fun to look back and see how far things have come. I wonder how it will look next year? Gardens are always evolving!
Later I added some discount salvias and expanded the area. Here is what it looked like at the beginning of June. The coreopsis was grown from seed in the fall and I added a couple ornamental grasses (Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus') were planted on the left side for their foliage.
In July I added the stone border and a few other small plants like Salvia 'Black and Blue' and a phlox. You really can't see them too well from the photos. The purple leaf plum was doing well despite the deer nibbles.
Recently I added this dogwood to replace the birch that kept getting eaten by the deer. My wife was wanting a dogwood and this one was a very good choice. It's an 'Appalachian Spring' dogwood which is a variety that was developed at the University of Tennessee and is currently it is the only anthracnose resistant dogwood variety. Unfortunately it became a target for a rutting deer. The leaves were never touched, just the bark on its trunk. I'm hopeful that it will survive.
This week I added a couple new plants to the garden. The first was a native coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) that was on the edge of our property. We are bordered on one side by a woods where many coralberries are growing. While it can spread through runners it should be containable in the birdbath garden area. The other addition was a 'Birkwood' Viburnum (Viburnum X burkwoodii). What is really cool about this viburnum is that it has evergreen foliage, something that I know is lacking in our garden. I definitely need to add more evergreens. It will also produce brilliant white fragrant flowers in the spring and provide the birds with food in the form of reddish berries that darken into the autumn. I've been adding viburnums to the garden every chance I get. This one was another discount plant find at 50% off!
Here's how the garden looks now. Unfortunately darkness was approaching when I took the picture but maybe you can get an idea of how far the little garden has come. The coreopsis finished blooming over a month ago as did the salvias but the butterfly bush hasn't quit. I moved a volunteer coneflower to the new deck garden and I'm planning on moving the Zebra grass to another location in the spring.
It's fun to look back and see how far things have come. I wonder how it will look next year? Gardens are always evolving!