one of everything on the plant buffet until we had a chaotic-looking gumdrop garden and impossible upkeep chores. Or the water feature that was a source of tranquility turned into an ongoing nightmare. Or bending down became an issue – so did getting up!
Age, health, evolving interests – there are countless reasons why we’ve been driven to our gardening knees. But help is on the way. Let the transformation begin and freedom ring!
TWO
THE “CUSTOM-SIZED” GARDEN – PERFECTLY FITTED TO YOUR CHANGING NEEDS
The previous chapter may have triggered mixed emotions as you reminisced about how your garden evolved over the years. This chapter is all about dreaming up your perfect partner, I mean garden – what fits your passions, lifestyle and landscape now! Let your mind wander; twirl through the meadows like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music; think outside the garden box with no “garden strings” attached. Soon enough, we will refine these dreams to realistically fit your site and budget.
You might want to consider one or more of the following enhancements:
Beyond plants. Outdoor kitchens are all the rage. An outdoor kitchen would gobble up lawn and garden space, thereby saving a lot of maintenance and resources (i.e., water, fertilizer, etc.). Keep that at the front of your mind as you look at the project’s bottom line. Designs can be as simple as a grill for the room’s centerpiece, along with a functional countertop. More elaborate set-ups might include a refrigerator, bar, ice-maker, wine cooler, smoker, wood-burning stove, tables, chairs, couches, stereo, television, and of course, the kitchen sink. You can even install outdoor heaters that keep the room temperature just right.
Removing lawn and old planting beds can create room for an outdoor kitchen.
For a scaled down version of Julia Child’s playhouse consider a fire pit. Nice for browning marshmallows and sipping evening beverages around.
Going hand in hand with outdoor kitchens are stylish herb and vegetable gardens for harvesting fresh produce. Now it’s time for true confessions: I don’t enjoy cooking. I can unscrew jars, tear open pre-packaged boxes, and open frozen food bags. My sister was aghast that I’ve never made mashed potatoes from scratch. I thought potato flakes were the real thing. So when it comes to kitchen gardens, allow me to defer to my good friend and colleague Ellen Ecker Ogden, on how to design a lovely herb and vegetable patch. Her fabulous book, The Complete Kitchen Garden, provides everything you need to know, as well as over 100 yummy recipes. For more information visit Ellen’s website at ellenogden.com.
Given my aversion for doing anything that involves slicing, chopping or dicing, my home garden makeover projects included creating additional seating space where I could relax while enjoying take-out meals. We ended up putting in two fieldstone patios and a wooden deck.
A lovely kitchen garden designed by Ellen Ecker Ogden.
An inviting, landscaped fire pit by Julie Moir Messervy.
This jaw-dropping tropical display welcomes visitors for a cool drink under the shade pergola, a design masterpiece by Steve Silk.
Sweet shade. You might also want to consider adding a shade-enhancing pergola to mitigate a stifling afternoon sun. This can be attached to the house or be self-supporting. You can install a retractable awning as your shade source or use climbing plants such as honeysuckle, wisteria, Dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochia), bougainvillea, chocolate vine (Akebia), climbing roses, golden hop (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’) or ‘Sweet Summer Love’ clematis (a pink summer blooming, sterile alternative to ‘Sweet Autumn’ clematis). Be sure to check with your local Extension office, however, to see if any of these are invasive in your area. Some fast growing annual vines include morning glory, moon flowers (a white, fragrant, evening flowering member of the morning glory family), hyacinth bean, black-eyed Susan vine, scarlet runner bean or cup and saucer vine (Cobaea scandens). A word to the wise: Don’t be afraid to play lion tamer and prune plants as needed that boast rapid growth as one of their attributes.
A smashing, easy-care hedge of ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas.
A little privacy, please. Perhaps the need for privacy now has become an issue for you. The cute little game of peek-a-boo we played with infants has taken on an uncomfortable slant. “Pulling the blinds” can be accomplished with plants, fencing or a combination of both. First, decide if you need year-round screening or just during certain months of the year. When selecting plants for creating a hedge, remember to consider whether it’s evergreen or deciduous, as well as its mature height and width. For example, two commonly sold arborvitaes (an evergreen shrub) are ‘Green Giant’, which grows to 40'–60' tall and 12'–18' wide and ‘Emerald Green’ that only reaches 6'–10' tall and 3'–4' wide. Both look pretty similar when sold as young shrubs. But in the long run, size DOES matter.
If part of the hedge’s role is to keep out unwanted visitors like cats, dogs and two-legged trespassers, then go for thorny barriers. Possibilities include roses (rugosa are particularly spikey), Aralia, gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa, edible fruit), Mahonia, firethorn (Pyracantha), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), barberries, hollies and many spruces and junipers. Once again, check with local Extension offices to see if any of these are considered invasive in your region.
A fall photo of my backyard showing a privacy hedge of arborvitae ‘Emerald Green’ planted the prior year.
Narrow Evergreen Plants for Hedges
AMERICAN BOXWOOD
Buxus sempervirens
‘Graham Blandy’
Zones 5 – 9 ♦ Sun to Shade
6' – 8' tall, 2' wide
Spring flowers: inconspicuous
Attributes: Evergreen, narrow growth habit, deer and rabbit resistant, accent plant, privacy hedge, container plant, formal gardens
‘Graham Blandy’ is a people pleaser. It does well in sun or shade and makes an ideal hedge where deer are a vexing problem and light conditions vary along a hedge’s length. ‘Graham Blandy’ is also splendid when used as sleek sentinels in front entryways or featured in containers on decks and patios. This evergreen grows at a medium
