Plant Gardens 101

Gardens usually reflect their owners in one way or another. An untidy, relaxed person will often have an untidy and relaxed garden, whereas as elegant person who likes everything to be in its place may well opt for a formal garden. Such a garden is usually a positive feature of the home rather than just an outdoor space.

What is a formal garden? Generally, a formal garden is one that has some formal qualities about it. This usually means that the shapes within the garden are geometric. Thus lines tend to be straight or in precise curves, such as a circle, rather than sinuous and informal. Beds are frequently square, rectangular or circular. Sometimes they might even be triangular, but this is an awkward shape in the garden because the corners are difficult to plant as well as being tricky to mow around.

Another aspect of formality is that there is often regular repetition, in other words certain plants or even whole beds may be repeated at regular intervals. This creates symmetry, which is an important part of such gardens. Calmness and tranquility are the qualities that usually sum up the formal garden. (more…)

There are various styles of garden to choose from, although there are no definitive rules and there is no reason why gardeners should not choose a mixture of designs. Having said that, there are a number of styles that have a proven track record, and it is perhaps worthwhile considering the pursuit of just one of them until you are confident enough to mix different styles.

The basic advice is simple, choose a style of garden that you like. There are however, various other factors that may be worth taking into considerations. Your lifestyle is one of the most important of these.

However much you may like formal gardens, there is no point in designing a neat garden that needs to be kept in pristine condition in order to look its best if you are not naturally a tidy person or never have the time to keep it neat. (more…)

The north side of a house or as known as south in the southern hemisphere, is often considered a problem area because of its lack of direct sunlight. Again, it is quite possible to create an effective border there simply by choosing plants that like the shade.

Most woodland plants, for example, will grow there.

So, why do we need dry shade for shady gardens? An area that is both dry and shady is one of the worst problems to cope with because most shade loving plants are woodland plants, which thrive in a moist, fiber rich soil. Soils can be improved by adding plenty of well rotted organic material to them because leaf mould is a natural material to use. (more…)

Once upon a time there was only one type of dry garden, one that was naturally so. Nowadays, with the increasing desire to create a number of habitats in which to grow the widest range of plants, many gardeners set out actually to create these conditions. In either case, there are a large number of varied annuals and perennials that suit a dry environment.

What is a dry condition? Just because a garden is dry does not necessarily mean that it receives very little rain. There are many gardens that receive a lot of rain and yet are still dry under foot. The reason for this is that the soil is very free draining and any moisture that falls, either from the clouds or from a watering can, passes quickly through it.

There are mainly sandy or gravely soil, but chalky soils can also be very free draining. As well as losing water quickly, many dry soils are also poor in terms of nutrients. The water passing through leeches out the nutrients, taking the food that plants require well below the level of their roots. Many seaside gardens are of this nature. (more…)

Like so many other problems in gardening, this one will go away if you make a slight adjustment of attitude and decide to embrace the shade rather than be daunted by it. A visit to any of the big gardens will show shady areas that have been successfully planted, and there is no reason why you should not do the same on a smaller scale.

So, how do we cope with shade? For some reason, many people simply ignore the fact that an area is shady and attempt to grow annuals and other sun loving plants in it. These inevitably languish and frequently die, and the gardeners get very despondent.

There is really no excuse for these problems as a large number of plants are available that actually like shady conditions. Perhaps the colors of these plants might not be so dazzling as the sun lovers because there are not many bright reds, for example, but they are still colorful enough to put on a good display. Many plants that like shade are yellow, and so stand out well in the gloomy light. (more…)

Many wildflowers will not grow in grass, needing disturbed soil to flourish. Poppies, cornflowers and corn marigolds are examples of these. They are mainly annuals and can be grown from seed in pots and then transplanted or sown directly from seed. Once established they will self sow and then reappear every year. A border can be devoted to them or they can be mixed into a general border.

What about woodland plants? There are a number of woodland species that make very attractive planting in shady areas, perhaps under shrubs or trees or perhaps on the sunless side of a house or fence. Most woodland flowers tend to grow in deciduous woods and put in an appearance in the early spring before the trees come into leaf. (more…)

With the increasing reduction of wild habits for many plants, many people have begun to look afresh at what they are losing and have gained an appreciation of their native flora. This has encourage them to create areas within their own garden in which wild flowers can flourish, partly to help preserve these flowers and partly because they simply enjoy them.

What is a wildflower garden? A wildflower garden is one in which native flowers are grown in as near wild conditions as possible. The idea of wild conditions is not so much to create picturesque landscape but more to create conditions in which the flowers will grow.

There are several types of garden all based on habitats in the wild. The most common is a wildflower meadow. Next are those based on plants of the cornfield and arable land, which like the disturbed soil of the open border. Then there are the woodland plants that need a shady garden. Finally, there are the wetland plants, which need a pond, stream or boggy area. Once established, wildflower gardens or borders are wonderful for attracting native birds and insects. They are, after all, their natural food. (more…)