In the next few
months you’ll be creating a design plan for your new garden. This month we provide background information
and apply some design basics to selecting hardscape elements. Next month we’ll discuss some additional
design principles and use them to create a planting design. If
you’re just joining the ‘Designing Your New California Garden’
series, we suggest starting at the beginning (July 2013 - http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2013/07/designing-your-new-california-garden-1.html)
and working forward. The monthly
activities will help you design an attractive, functional, sustainable and
water-wise garden.
Background
Introduction
The idea of designing a beautiful and
interesting garden may intimidate you.
Don’t worry – that scary feeling will diminish as you work on your
Garden Design Plan. If you’re designing
the garden yourself, realize that garden design is a creative process that
takes time. We’ll walk you through the steps, but give yourself
plenty of time to plan – and revise your plans.
Good garden designs have usually gone through several months of revisions
and reality checks.
Fortunately, it’s actually easier to design
a New CA Garden than it is to design
the old variety of California garden.
What gives a New CA Garden its
foundation is the use local native plants and materials. In fact, selecting a plant palette from your
local Native Plant Community(s) is the easiest way to design a garden that
meets many of the elements of good garden design (discussed next month).
Hiring
a Landscape Designer (optional)
You don’t have to hire a landscape designer
– trust us, you can design your own
garden. In some ways, you are the most
qualified; you intimately know the site, the climate, the family preferences
and garden requirements. You have done
the background work that allows you to place functional areas appropriately. You’ve collected examples that you can adapt to your garden. So yes, you can design your own garden.
You’ll have the fun and satisfaction of doing so, and save money as
well.
If you want to do the design yourself – but
would like a little help – consider taking a garden design workshop through
your local native plant nursery or native plant garden. Many native plant nurseries offer short
(several sessions) workshops specifically for homeowners. Taught by experienced native plant designers,
these workshops can be a tremendous value.
The teacher helps students design their own gardens – in fact, most
students ‘graduate’ with at least a rough design. Participants benefit from learning about
other gardens and interacting with like-minded gardeners. Many have found these workshops invaluable,
fun and well worth the cost.
Design workshops are available locally through
the Theodore Payne Foundation, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and the Madrona
Marsh Preserve (310-782-3989). Madrona
Marsh’s ‘Designing Your New California Garden’ workshop requires that you to
complete the exercises in this series (sessions 1 though 10) before you take
the workshop. The workshop itself focuses
on design aspects, plant/hardscape choices, creating a design plan and
installation.
Some native plant nurseries offer another
option - a short consultation with an experienced native plant designer. The Tree of Life Nursery’s ‘Designers in
Residence Program’ offers a 30 minute design consultation at a reasonable
price. Clients are required to bring
photographs, their Base Plan (site map), physical assessment and other
materials to facilitate their time with the designer. Information about this program is available
at: http://www.californianativeplants.com/index.php/retail/designer-in-residence-program
After considering the options, you may decide
to hire a landscape or garden designer to help bring your ideas to fruition. Landscape designers are professionals with
education and experience in both horticulture and design. Many have degrees or
professional certification in addition to practical experience. To learn more about landscape designers see: http://www.apld.org/.
Some landscape/garden designers are
designers only; others offer additional services. Some are licensed landscape contractors,
capable of designing and installing hardscape and plants. Some who specialize in California native
plants will even design, install and maintain
your garden – for a price.
The advantages of using a landscape/garden
designer are several. First, they have a background in design. They are trained
to use the design elements we’ll discuss next month and can suggest design
solutions you may not have considered. They
are experienced at integrating landscapes into a functional whole that looks
like it was planned.
A second advantage is that a good
landscape/garden designer is well versed in hardscape. S/he understands if a hardscape idea is
feasible and knows the relevant building codes.
S/he will be familiar with available materials – including brand new
ones – and be able to suggest appropriate choices.
A third advantage is that good
landscape/garden designers know their plants.
They have used a variety of
plants in local landscapes. They
understand how the plants mature and know which plants work well with your local
conditions. This ‘on the ground’
knowledge can be an invaluable supplement to information obtained from books or
the internet.
These advantages being said, all landscape/garden
designers are not the same. If you want to create a sustainable landscape,
using local native plants, you need to be particularly careful in your choice
of designer. Some are willing to work
with you, using the background materials you’ve collected, to design a New California Garden. Others, quite simply, will want to impose
their own ideas, regardless of your desires and the actual conditions of your site.
Landscape/Garden designers are expected to
‘keep current’ with new ideas, materials and plants. In fact, licensed/certified designers may be
required to take continuing education courses.
As water-wise, sustainable gardening becomes more popular, designers are
learning about the relevant topics. But
some continue to use old ways. You’ll
need to search out a designer who will work with you to design a New California Garden.
One of the best ways to locate a good
designer is to find a garden you like. Notice the wildlife visiting the garden
– and how people react to and use the garden. If you like what you see, find
out who designed it (most homeowners will be happy to recommend their
designer). You can also ask for recommendations at local native plant gardens, native
plant nurseries, preserves, arboretums or colleges/universities (try the Botany
or Biology department). When considering a designer, ask to see
samples of the gardens s/he has designed.
If possible, visit the gardens and talk to the owners about their
experience working with the designer.
Here are a few things to consider when
choosing a designer:
1)
Cost. Be sure that you can afford the designer’s
services. If not, consider one of the lower-cost
options discussed above.
2)
Willingness to work
with you. If you’ve completed the exercises in this
series you know a great deal about your site and your family’s
preferences. You likely have pictures of
gardens and plants that you like. A good
designer will be happy to work with a client who already knows so much about
their site, their needs and preferences.
3)
Willingness to
design based on existing conditions. A good designer
takes the time to assess a site, then creates a plan based on soil, water,
micro-climate and other conditions. You’ve
already done much of the leg work. When
interviewing a potential designer, emphasize that you want to work with the
existing conditions of your site – to work with
Mother Nature, rather than modifying the site to suit the plants. A designer who recommends extensive soil
amendments and tropical plants is likely not
the designer you want.
4)
Experience in
designing gardens that are both water-wise and life-friendly. Many California
designers have gotten the message about water-wise gardens; fewer have
experience in designing gardens that are also life-friendly. Explain to a potential designer that you want
a garden that is people-friendly and also provides habitat for butterflies,
native pollinators and birds. Ask about
his/her experience designing habitat gardens. A designer who understands habitat – and the
importance of native plants for creating habitat – is your kind of designer. Alas,
not all designers have this orientation and experience.
5)
Knowledge/experience
with CA native plants.
Many designers began their careers when native plants were not readily available. They have added water-wise plants to their
palette, but these are often plants from other places with a mediterranean
climate (primarily Australia and South Africa).
Some garden designers work only with California native plants; others
are just starting to use them. If
possible, choose a designer who has at least 5 year’s experience using native
plants. S/he will understand how to use
them in the garden setting. If possible,
select a native plant designer who has created successful gardens in your local
area.
Once you’ve selected a garden/landscape
designer, you begin the fascinating journey of working with him/her to design
your garden. Here are a few tips for
getting the most from the relationship:
- Discuss what services the designer
will provide – and the costs – right away. Get a
contract in writing.
- Send background materials to the
designer prior to your first on-site visit. Include pictures of existing conditions,
your summary of the site physical assessment, functional analysis and
bubble map, and water management plan.
Include also a copy of the ‘Gardening Life-style’, ‘Overall Look’ and ‘Garden Style’
questionnaires. These help the
designer understand the site and your needs/desires. Your first meeting
will be much more productive if your designer reviews these materials
ahead of time.
- Be open to new ideas. Your designer may suggest novel options
you haven’t considered – that’s one of the reasons you hired him/her. Be open – but don’t agree immediately to
anything that ‘seems unusual’. If
you feel uncomfortable about a suggestion, give yourself time to think
about it before giving your designer the go-ahead.
- Stand firm on things you feel strongly
about. You have thought hard about what you
want for your garden. The designer
is working for you – don’t let him/her talk you out of the important
things.
Garden Design Software (optional)
You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to
design your garden – paper, colored pencils, a ruler and some plastic templates
are all you really need. Professional
designers mostly use design software these days, but many a lovely garden has
been designed using pencil and paper. In
fact, you’re following a long tradition if you use these simple, inexpensive
tools.
If you like and feel comfortable using
computers, you may want to consider using a garden design program. There are many to choose from, including
some that are free and others that are on-line.
More new programs are released each year. We suggest that you read a recent on-line review to see what the experts (and users
like you) think before you decide to use a program.
Even PowerPoint can be used for simple
garden design work. In fact, we’ve designed several gardens using PowerPoint
and have converted our rough hardscape plan for 112 Willow Street into a
PowerPoint image (above). The easiest
way is to scan your Base Map (or other maps) and import the scanned image. You can then use the shapes available in the
‘drawing tools’ to add hardscape and plants. We’ll show you how below. It’s easy to move the shapes around and try
different arrangements, sizes, colors etc.
And the program is readily available and easy to use.
Some garden design programs – even those
under $100 - are quite sophisticated, allowing you to upload pictures of the
existing house/garden, paste pictures of plants into the landscape, take virtual
‘walk-throughs’, etc. One limitation is
the lack of California native plants in most the plant databases. The plants tend to be common landscape plants;
many are appropriate for climates other than S. California. You’ll have to use plants with a similar
appearance your native plant selections if
you want to use the virtual image features.
Design Basics
By this point you
may be feeling somewhat over-whelmed with all the ideas you’ve collected. Like many beginning designers, you’re
tempted to include everything you like in your garden. This
is not a good idea. Unless you have a
large estate you’re going to have to prioritize, limit, prune, simplify.
The best garden
designs are often simple. They include a
limited number of elements, plant species and colors. One of the best tips we can give is to
simplify: it’s hard to simplify a design too much.
A Few Words About Garden Themes
One good way to simplify is to choose a
theme for your garden. Effective garden
designs often start with an over-arching theme. The theme guides everything in
the landscape plan; it’s the underlying melody that echoes throughout the
garden, tying everything together. The
theme makes the garden look like it was planned rather than something that just
happened.
You can choose just about anything for a
theme. Several famous gardens have
color-based themes: ‘white/silvery foliage’ or ‘purple flowers’. Other effective garden themes have their
origin in gardening traditions from other parts of the world – for example a
Japanese garden or English cottage garden.
Other themes focus on functionality: for example an ‘edibles garden’, ‘bird
habitat garden’, ‘scented garden’ or ‘sculpture garden’. One of
the easiest themes is your local Native Plant Community(s).
The gardeners at 112 Willow Street, our
example garden, chose ‘food for all’ as their theme. They interpret the theme as follows: the
plants must provide food for the family and/or for birds, butterflies and
insect pollinators; hardscape elements must enhance habitat to support the
theme.
choices. Some of
this is straight-forward - the vegetable garden plants and apple tree are clearly
appropriate for the ‘food for all’ theme.
But plants in the ‘Butterfly
Garden’ and ‘Meditation Area’ – even the front yard - will also be chosen based
on the theme. In fact, a plant that
provides food for family, birds and insects will receive the highest priority score. Fortunately, many California native and
edible plants are in that category.
theme. Our gardeners have already chosen
some hardscape elements that do just that; for example, the raised beds and
rainwater storage in the vegetable garden and the tool shed. But
the theme suggests other features not yet considered. A simple sink with running water for washing fruits
and vegetables would enhance the garden; it could drain back into the garden,
conserving water. So would a compost bin
for kitchen green waste. See how helpful
a theme is?
The gardeners must also consider the needs
of birds, butterflies and pollinators.
What else do these creatures need?
What will encourage them to stay longer in the garden? Would additional hardscape elements ‘enhance
habitat’ as defined by the theme?
All living things need a source of drinking
water. The garden at 112 Willow Street
currently has none - a lack that becomes apparent when the gardeners compare
their hardscape choices to the garden theme.
They decide to add a simple birdbath, which they locate near the ‘Butterfly
Garden’ but within easy reach for filling and cleaning (see above). They may also place a few shallow clay
saucers, filled with gravel, mud and water, for butterflies to drink.
The gardeners also realize, after reading
up on local birds, that their garden may not provide enough year-round food. They will consider adding a bird feeder – and
maybe a hummingbird feeder – once the garden is installed. Because cats visit the yard, the bird
feeders and birdbath must be tall enough (and strategically located) to provide
safe access for the birds.
Overall Design: the
Concept of ‘Garden Rooms’
Many conventional gardens are designed so
that the entire front or back yard can be seen at the same time. This is analogous to an ‘open floor plan’ in
a house. An open plan may be a good choice for your
garden, but it’s not the only option.
Indoors or out, some people love open floor
plans; different functional areas are easily accessible and activities benefit
from the large open area. Open plans can
facilitate interaction between family members, even if they’re involved in different
activities. And an open plan can have a contemporary,
life-friendly, California feel.
But even in open floor plans, some
functional areas (bathroom; utility room; closet; bedroom) are usually housed
in separate rooms, with walls and doors to insure privacy or hide a less-than-attractive
view. Some activities are best done in private; and
some activities add little to a home’s charm.
Garden designs are a bit like house plans;
they can be entirely open plan or they can include outdoor ‘rooms’. An outdoor room need not be ‘furnished’ in a conventional
sense. But it does need to be set apart,
in some way, from the rest of the garden.
To learn more about garden rooms see: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,220399,00.html
Consider your functional areas as potential
garden rooms. As indoors, two types of
functional areas lend themselves readily to treatment as separate garden rooms:
utility areas (or other areas that are unattractive) and areas designated for
quiet pursuits (such as the ‘Meditation Area’).
Garden rooms are set apart from the rest of
the garden – at least somewhat. A common
method is to use a fence or free-standing trellis/screen (for example to hide the
vegetable garden or trash barrels). Another
common method is to use a hedge for the same purpose. But these are not the only options. Placement of functional areas can help define
rooms. For example, the ‘Utility Area’ and ‘Meditation
Area’ at 112 Willow St. are located in the side yards – away from main activity
areas in the front and back yard. Their
location alone makes them seem like separate rooms.
Outdoor rooms need not be blocked entirely from
view. For example, the gardeners at 112
Willow want a glimpse of the vegetable garden from the patio. But they’d also like a transition between the
formal ‘Lawn’ and the more informal ‘Vegetable Garden’. They could use a low, open fence but decide a
border of kitchen herbs would be more efficient (see below). The herbs will be pretty, attract pollinators
to the vegetable garden and serve as
a transition. Now that’s smart planning!
The ‘Utility Area’ at 112 Willow St. will
be entirely functional and not particularly attractive. Locating it in the side yard is a great
idea. The gardeners can also use a
simple arch between the ‘Lawn’ and ‘Utility Area’ as a transition. That will have the additional advantage of
allowing roof runoff to be directed to the garden storage tank via a pipe
hidden in the arch. Judicious use of shrubs might further hide the
utilitarian features of the ‘Utility Area’ from view. The gardeners add the arch to their
hardscape plan (above).
The ‘Meditation Area’ is already
well-placed, hidden from the rest of the yard in a shady area. The pavers form a path into the area, creating
a sense of entering another world. A perfect
setting for quiet activities like reading, meditation, etc.
In reviewing their design, the gardeners
realize that they aren’t happy with how the ‘Lawn’ and ‘Butterfly Garden’ run
together. They decide to provide a low border
of rectangular stones or blocks, chosen to complement the crushed rock and
pavers. This will provide an edging for
the lawn (helpful for mowing) and the garden.
The look is neat but not too formal.
That seems just right for the 112 Willow St. garden.
Formal vs. Informal
Designs
More than almost
anything, hardscape defines the ‘look’ of the garden. It is often the first thing we notice. The walls, walkways – even the mulch – give
the garden an appearance that is pleasant or not. Hardscape is literally the skeleton of the
garden design. A well-designed garden
plan helps us choose hardscape and plants appropriate for the ‘look’ we wish to
achieve. One of the first decisions is how formal the garden should be.
Your family
likely has opinions – perhaps even strong opinions – on how a ‘nice’ garden
should look. These opinions often
revolve around how formal or informal the garden appears, so it’s important to
determine your preferences from the start. We provided some tools for
determining your garden style in January, 2014.
If you haven’t done so, we recommend you determine your Garden Style
preferences now: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2014/01/designing-your-new-california-garden-8.html
If your
preferences are strongly formal or strongly informal, then you’ll need to
choose your hardscape carefully to achieve your desired result. Formal gardens
require formal hardscape elements. For
example, you’ll want to choose formal seating (for example, classical or simple
modern furniture) rather than stump seats or rustic lawn furniture. Stump seats, nice and sustainable as they may
be, usually don’t ‘look right’ in a very formal garden. The
table below gives some guidelines for formal and informal landscapes.
Formal landscapes | ||
General | Hardscape | Plants/Planting |
· Appropriate with ‘formal’ house designs (including modern) · Straight lines · Simple, geometric shapes · Neat, tidy appearance · Restrained · Calm, static appearance | · Brick, gravel and stone paths/patios (regularly shaped/cut stone), concrete · Gravel or fine grade mulches · Classical fountains, pots, sundials, sculpture as accents · Classical/simple garden furniture · Enclosures: hedges, formal fences around garden | · Lawns · Plants with ‘old fashioned’ appearance · Clipped/pruned hedges · Shrubs in large pots · ‘tidy’ appearance · Evergreen shrubs · Limited plant palette (species and/or color) · Massed plantings · Plants planted in regular/ geometric patterns · Repetition/symmetry in plantings |
Informal landscapes | ||
General | Hardscape | Plants/Planting |
· Appropriate with cottage, bungalow, ‘ranch’ or modern homes · Curved lines · Complex, irregular shapes · Relaxed, informal feel · Lively, changing appearance · Organic; natural | · Decomposed granite, ‘urbanite’, irregularly shaped stone, cinder block, concrete · Most types of mulch · Informal fountains (made from stone, pots, etc.) · Hardscape materials appropriate for local landscape · Plain, rustic or eclectic garden furniture · Rustic fences if any | · ‘natural’ lawn, prairie or meadow if any · Informally pruned hedges (less regular) · Leaf mulch; leaf litter may be allowed to remain · May include summer/fall dormant plants · May be more varied plant palette (more species/colors) · Plants planted in irregular patterns (more like in nature) · Plants appropriate for local landscape (incl. CA natives) |
If your
preference is ‘somewhat formal’, we suggest using hardscape elements a bit more
formal than you might ordinarily consider.
Plants, particularly California natives and edibles, tend to increase the informal appearance of a
garden. The plants will ‘soften’ the
formal look, while the hardscape provides a tidy appearance. You’ll likely be delighted with the result.
If a garden
planted by Mother Nature herself suits your taste, you’ll usually want to
choose informal hardscape designs and materials. The table above gives some suggestions. In
general, informal designs feature hardscape that tend to ‘blend in’ with the
natural landscape. Local stones,
decomposed granite, wood, recycled materials are all appropriate for informal
landscapes.
Unless you have
a very good design reason for including a very formal feature in an informal
garden, don’t do it. Nothing is more
jarring to the eye than a garden that mixes formal and informal elements
higgledy-piggledy. Talented garden
designers can get away with it – most of us should stick with the tried and
true.
Our gardeners at 112 Willow Street have an Overall Look score of 17 – in the
middle of the formal-informal continuum. They
like gardens that look relaxed but somewhat tidy. A good way to achieve this is to select hardscape
that’s on the formal side. The plants they plan to use – herbs, vegetables
and California native plants – have an informal appearance and will ‘soften’
the hard edges of the hardscape. The
overall look should be right on target – relaxed but somewhat tidy.
Let’s look at the hardscape plan for 112
Willow Street and see how an Overall Look score of 17 influences specific
hardscape choices. If you missed the
last posting (10. Walkways, Seating Areas and Other
Hardscape –
May, 2014) you might want to review it now.
The overall layout of the garden looks
pretty good in terms of formality. The
backyard will have a clipped grass lawn which makes it look more formal. The shapes are simple and geometric; even the
vegetable garden has a formal layout.
to separate the front yard from the side yards.
The backyard already has a five ft. wood perimeter fence. It’s of simple design, neither formal or
informal, and perfectly appropriate for their tastes. They choose a similar design for the two side
fences/gates.
areas. The “Shady Seating Area” under
the apple tree will serve as an informal seating area. After some consideration, the gardeners
realize that the chairs should be light-weight, so they can be moved from sun
to shade as needed. Most readily available patio/yard furniture
is slightly formal in appearance, appropriate for most garden styles. Fortunately there are lots of options in
wood, metal and plastic; chairs that are light-weight, simple, comfortable and
durable will do. They will need to consider
color, but more on that later.
The ‘Meditation Area’ presents another set
of circumstances. The seating needn’t be
portable and room for two is all that’s required. Two small-scale garden chairs or a small
garden bench, either simple/contemporary or more traditional, would work well. There are many options in wood or metal or
they could construct a simple bench themselves.
They will choose one that has a
back and can accommodate a pad for comfort.
They will avoid outdoor furniture described as ‘rustic’; rustic
furniture is too informal and of a larger scale than is appropriate.
The ‘Vegetable Garden’ will be visible from
the porch, seating area and house. The
area will be partially screened by the shrubby herbs. But the raised beds will be an important design
element in the landscape, so their appearance is important. The gardeners decide they’d like the
beds to ‘fade into the landscape’ rather than stand out. This is helpful as it limits their options; brick
would be too prominent and cinder block too informal. They decide to build simple raised beds of
wood (using a design from the internet).
The gardeners plan to cover the vegetable
garden paths with chipped wood mulch. This is a practical, inexpensive option that
is well suited to the application. The
same mulch will be used around plants in the ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Meditation’
areas, providing visual continuity. The mulch will be medium brown, aging to a
lighter gray-brown. If possible, the color
of the other main paving material – crushed rock – should be chosen to complement
the mulch.
The gardeners have chosen to cover the
‘Utility Area’ and around the driveway with crushed rock. Crushed rock creates a somewhat formal look –
it is used extensively in formal gardens in Mediterranean countries and will be
perfect for 112 Willow St. It can be
used for the ‘Shady Seating Area’ if the gardeners so choose. Using the same crushed rock in several
areas helps to tie the garden together.
Crushed rock is available in colors ranging
from dark blue-gray to tan, gold, even red-brown (colors vary by area and
vendor). Color choice becomes very
important when it will be used in large areas.
The homeowners will want to be sure that the crushed rock’s color
complements the house, other path materials, mulch and other hardscape. After some consideration, they realize that
they want their paths/mulch to look natural and blend in. They choose a crushed rock color that is a
warm, tan-gray.
A Few Words About Color
Color is an
important design element. While we tend
to think of flower and foliage color, in fact the color of the house, fences,
walkways and containers are at least as important. Colors are warm (make one feel excited, warm,
lively) or cool (make you feel calm, cool, relaxed). The color wheel below shows warm and cool
colors. Choose flower and hardscape
colors that convey the feeling you want to create.
Beginning garden
designers are tempted to use too many colors; this is another example of the ‘simplify’
principle. When choosing a color scheme,
it’s often best to stick to a few main colors.
Several easy but attractive color schemes work well in gardens. Gardens that feature colors that are either
opposite (complementary colors) or adjacent on the color wheel (analogous colors)
look well-planned. These are tried and
true color schemes that always work.
Complementary
colors provide maximal contrast; when paired, they make each color appear more
lively and vibrant. For example, pair a purple wall and bright yellow pots or
flowers to get the maximum color impact.
Analogous colors appear calm, restful and neat. For example, you might pair a set of bright
blue pots with plants with pale blue, purple and red-purple flowers. The result
will be calm and restful. For more good
combinations search ‘color theory’ on the internet.
Colors that are
bright (saturated) or light (pastels or ‘tints’) appear to advance while colors
that are dark or grayed (‘tones’) appear to recede. This can be very helpful when choosing the
color for a wall, fence, pathway or piece of garden art. If you want the fence to stand out or appear
closer, choose white or a light or bright color. If you want the fence or wall to disappear,
choose a medium to dark grayed green or grayed brown. Once you plant in front of it, the fence will
appear to vanish into the distance.
Color preference
is a very individual matter. Choose
colors that you like, keeping in mind the advice above. Remember
that color will have a strong impact, so choose carefully. Bring home samples of paint and hardscape
colors. See how they look in your garden
and under different light conditions.
Take your time choosing colors; live with the samples a while. You’ll find this is time well spent.
Let’s see how
the gardeners at 112 Willow deal with color in their hardscape. The house is painted a warm white with warm
gray trim. This will be easy to work
with. The perimeter fence is stained a
light brown and the fence is an obvious feature in the back yard. Since the yard is small, the owners would
like the fence to recede or ‘disappear’. Staining it a darker gray brown, then
planting in front of it will achieve their aim.
Likewise, the
gardeners would like their paving/mulch to blend in. One good idea would be to choose materials
that are as similar as possible in design and color. Their choice of warm gray is a good one; it
is neutral, readily available and looks natural. They will want to choose a shade that’s a medium
tone – not too pale. If you’re having
trouble visualizing, search ‘medium warm gray paint’ on the internet. They
will use variations of this color in their mulch, crushed rock, pavers and
edging.
At this point,
the garden is fairly neutral appearing.
Plants will provide much of the color and interest. But other hardscape elements could also be
used. For example, brightly colored
chairs, cushions, containers or garden art could be used as accents. The
gardeners won’t know what’s needed until they’ve developed their planting plan.
That’s enough
for this session. The 112 Willow gardeners
– and you – should be thinking about your flower color preferences for when we
return next month (July 2014).
We
value your comments (below). You can
also contact us directly at mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com.
