Texture, Colour, & Theme

Here are some pictures I borrowed when I was planning what I wanted in my garden.

First Year Seed List Notes

I like to buy seeds the first year I plant. They are cheap, they tell me a lot about the small area of the yard I am working with, and they also tell me what is going to require more than plant it and forget it. I kept tract of what went in where and noted the results for next year.

Rosemary - planted in rear garden strip: needs to be moved next year to patio garden due to sparse growth.

Thyme ( common) - planted in rear garden strip: also needs to be moved to patio garden. Note: keep Lisa from pulling it out this year thinking it is a weed!

Oregano - planted on East side of the house. It went insane! Plant more there next year once area is landscaped.

Tarragon - planted in rear of back garden strip: sparse results. Needs to be moved to patio garden.

Sage - planted in rear strip. Needed more water.

Dill - planted in patio garden. Got very nice results.

Chives - planted in patio garden. Buy three seed packages next year: the one I bought did not come up at all.

Parsley - planted in patio garden. I found it buried under the tomato plants which got 4x4 feet.

Catnip - planted in patio garden. Needs to be moved to rear strip next year.

Mint - planted on East side. Needs to be moved to rear strip.

Blanketflower - got three up. None bloomed. Needs to be moved to front yard in front of brick wall.

Delphinium - died from lack of water in patio garden. Needs to be moved to rear strip.

Hollyhock - planted in patio garden. Got six plants. Bloomed first year!

Dahlia - planted in rear strip. Did not get enough light. Need to move to patio.

Poppies Oriental - did not come up at all.

Icelandic Poppies - will know this spring.

Butterfly weed - planted in rear strip. Came up but did not bloom. Not enough water.

Columbine - planted in rear strip. Got OK results.

Groundcover: Alyssum, Moss Rose, Forget me not, Flax, and Lobelia - failed! Not enough water.

Lavender - planted on East side and in rear strip. None of it came up. Needs to be moved to front yard.

Yarrow - planted same as Lavender. Had same result. Move next year to brick wall area.

Tomato - Red Cherry: planted in patio garden. Leave it there!

Tomato - Beef Master: planted patio garden. Started indoors in March. Need to start in late January.

Tomato - Roma: start indoors late Jan. Got nice results in patio garden.

Pepper - Red Cayenne. Got nice results in patio garden but, need to start earlier.

Pepper - Sweet Banana. Got nice results in patio garden but, need to start earlier.

Pepper - California Wonder: plant did not propagate at all. Needs to be put in new center bed.

Morning Glory - vine came up wonderfully!!! Need three more seed packages.

Ground Morning Glory - is breeding like mad! Leave alone.

The Planning Phase

Once, you manage to fight off the hoards of weeds to photograph the entire yard from every angle, you can create a plan that will appease the finickiest gardener - your neighbors cat! I also recommend photographing your neighbor's yards' as well. Ideally, you want your yard to blend in some way with theirs. This can be the edging you are using for your lawn, a few bushes, flowers that they are growing or a colour scheme they are using. This keeps you from becoming the scourge of the neighborhood and helps to make your yard look more natural in the setting.
I photographed the neighbors on either side of us, the four or five houses across the street, and my yard from the neighbors view. I also photographed the entire back of the yard as, we do not have an alley behind us - we have more houses.
Next, I recommend getting gardening magazines or books. These can be very expensive but are worth the money. I have found some great gardening magazines at thrift stores and the local library. The library should have a nice collection of landscape or gardening books as well but, do not forget to look in the architecture stacks as the landscape is important when planning or restoring a home.
I had very good luck with this. I found several hundred photographs that struck me. I photocopied as many as I could. Getting a large stack of visual material that includes any statues you might want, ceramic tile, particular colours you are fond of, plants or shrubs you like, textures, even fabrics you are fond of can be inspiration. Just begin collecting a lot of visual material. This will help greatly with your plan.
Because I am landscaping in my boyfriends yard, I needed a stack of material that spoke to him as well. I call this collection of material, "gardening porn". It is great to fawn over and look at but, it does not get you into the yard doing the job. Our collection of "gardening porn" included travel photographs from Europe, Asia, Mexico, Canada and the U.S. I added some photocopies of paintings I am in love with and photographs of textiles he is in love with.
I sifted through mountains of visual material while, drinking my morning coffee, for weeks on end. Landscaping has a purpose. There is the increase in property value, the aesthetic value, and the personal value. The personal value you place on your yard is up to you. My boyfriend and I wanted to attract birds and insects into our yard while, keeping the yard as maintainable as possible with the least amount of upkeep. His goal was to get rid of as much lawn as possible while, my goal was to keep the yard green and cool.
Next, I went online too Michigan Bulb Company, and found out which growing zone I was in. I knew I was in zone 5 but, I was also looking for the sub-zone which is helpful with some pickier plants.
Your geographical area dictates which growing zone you are in. The growing zones are generally numerical however, some companies and landscape design books will give you a sub-zone as well. This is important if you are planning on putting in plants which, do not tolerate dramatic changes in weather well. Some native plants will only grow in that niche. I recommend planting or keeping as many native plants as you can because, these are the plants you know grow in your area. There is also the issue of transplanting a plant, flower, or vine that could be highly invasive and environmentally disruptive to your area or damaging to the area you took that plant out of. You also run the risk of transplanting insects into your area that were not already there.
For example, Hobo Spiders were not native to the United States. They were introduced into the environment in Seattle, Washington by ship. Because our eco-system did not have enough natural predators to kill them, they spread across the United States rapidly. They are now listed as one of the five most dangerous spiders in North America. So, I repeat this again, do not transplant anything into your yard that is not already growing in your area!
Begin creating a list of plants you like which, will tolerate at least one zone above and below yours. If you are in zone 6a, make sure your plants will work for zone 5a and 7a. I like Michigan Bulb Company's site for doing this kind of homework because, they have nice visual tables that tell you if the plant you like will tolerate other growing zones. The main concern is of course, will it tolerate the extreme cold or heat that you may get in your area.
Their site also organizes plants, trees, shrubs ect. by growing conditions particular to your yard such as shade, full sun, acidic soil ect. or colour if you wish. Begin making a fantasy planting list. If you could put anything in your yard, what would you put in there? I had a very long list.
The next thing I recommend doing before putting together your garden design is to visit a local nursery or garden center with your list and ask them a lot of questions. These people know what will live, what will take over, and what will need to be high upkeep if you plant. They also know what works in particular types of soil.
When I mentioned to a friend that I was getting a landscape plan together, he told me to have the soil in my yard professionally tested. If you really have no idea what you are doing, have never planted anything in your life, or do not know the difference between acidic clay soil and moss laden soaked soil - this might not be a bad plan. Also, if you have problems with existing plants in your yard - this is a really good idea before you put something else in there. Landscaping can be very cheap or, very expensive depending upon what you want. You do not want to put all that time and money or, some poor peonies life in your hands without knowing what your getting into.
I did not have the soil tested because, I am a fourth generation gardener in this geographical area. I have been in the trenches since I was a child and got to grow up learning through experience what I am dealing with. I did however go outside and dig in several different spots to see what the soil was looking like in each spot and wrote it down in my notebook. Some places I did not have to dig, I simply noted which weeds were growing there. Weeds are like any other plants - they have certain conditions they really like. Bachelor buttons will grow in the poorest of soil conditions. They like full sun. In our yard, when I saw those - I knew I was dealing with clay! After I got an idea of the soil conditions, the light in various spots in the yard through out the day, and through out the year - the dimensions of the yard - how many of what I would need - I drew out my garden plan.

The moment of clarity

Last October, I moved in with my boyfriend. My almost fatally, for the yard that is, single boyfriend of 44 yrs. Like most women, I had a moment of clarity in my relationship where I saw the weeds, dead lawn, and vast space that required my attention and I decided to do something about it.
I started with sympathy. That was my first mistake. The little weeds and three mutant peonies which were struggling to survive in the vast wasteland got me right where they wanted me, watering and documenting the entire affair.
Like any artist, I am sensitive to my environment and the struggles of any creature starving for survival. So, I begun documenting my boyfriends crime against nature, our neighbor's suffering, and the wildlife that was beginning to take on a flattened affect.
When you are faced with an epic disaster, point and click until your fingers bleed because, it could save a life. Your life when the peony you underestimated becomes agro, uproots itself in the middle of the night to feed on you and yours. With an army of weeds at it's side, you do not stand a chance my dear friend. Run! Run I tell you! Run...
I maybe exaggerating a bit but, not much! Once you have begun a garden, you have hopefully begun a lifetime commitment to getting your hands dirty while, others watch from a safe distance. Even if that means your in a hail storm, wet and covered in mud, praying to get that last Holly bush in before it freezes to death because, it has had time to plot with the peonies against you. The thought has occurred to you even as your being pelted by falling ice balls that if you don't, you will join it in Hell. Damned peonies...
Having a mutant peonies in your yard is a serious commitment. The kind of commitment you agree too when you join the mob. It requires a hefty shovel and strong stomach. It also requires complete secrecy. For example, they would not be pleased if anyone knew they can survive six months without being watered. It takes away their element of surprise!
Depending upon how long you waited before you rescued your yard, martial arts training may also be a requirement! Anyone who has ever had to deal with thistles will tell you that they are tough to evict from your premises.