Blue Planet Garden Blog

Small Space Garden Design – Welcome to my Garden!

I’ve included photos from my own garden in posts from time to time, but I haven’t done a complete virtual tour since my last renovation in 2009. Ready for an update?

 The side yard view is still our favorite.

 

But the whole garden is shaping up nicely.

 

In January I replaced the original flagstone stepping stone and gravel path with flagstone set in DG. Although it’s not as artistic as the original (I mixed three different sizes of gravel and hand-set the largest), it IS much easier to keep free of debris. Placing high-maintenance hardscape under messy trees is a rookie mistake that I would never make with a client, but somehow my better judgment occasionally goes missing in my own garden.

 

 

I’ve continued to introduce bright splashes of color throughout the yard, both by adding colored panels and more containers. I still take a fearless approach to color, but admit to swapping out the original Purple Riot wall for a more subdued shade of acid green.

 

Five years ago I had three containers…today I counted 23. I might have been late to the container gardening craze, but I’m catching up with a vengeance. Succulents are my go to choice for spots not reached by drip, and as an added conservation bonus, the amount of excess shower water we collect in a week is more than enough to water all of them with.

There aren’t many places sunny enough for vegetables, but of course I make room for my favorite herbs and at least one cherry tomato.

 

 Overplanting is still a bit of an addiction for me. There really isn’t room for a Salvia ‘Amistad’ in front of the ‘Guardsman’ Phormium, but the carpenter bees have made it QUITE CLEAR it needs to stay.

 

Oh yeah, and the hummers like it, too.

 

A new fountain introduced this year has proven to be a HUGE hit with the birds. As many as four cutie pies at a time splash around here during the day. The flow rate is set low, and although the sound of water falling into the basin below is muted, it makes the fountain suitable for birds as small as hummers – as long as they are persistent.

 

Not everything has changed. Some of my favorite individual plants remain the same, including my most reliable fence tamer, flowering maple

 

And looooong blooming dwarf lion's tail.

The best thing about a garden that welcomes birds and bees? I might work at home most days, but I can always count on company. Thanks for visiting!

Refresh Your Garden Design - Virtual Book Party

I’m excited to announce friend, co-author and designer extraordinaire Rebecca Sweet has written a new book:  Refresh Your Garden Design with Color, Texture and Form. To celebrate, I’m joining a group of six talented bloggers for a virtual book party – and you’re invited!



Even experienced gardeners reach a point where they know the garden needs an overhaul, but just can’t figure out where to start. Inspired by her years of garden design consulting, Rebecca’s book is filled with easy-to-implement, beautifully illustrated solutions, and the timing couldn’t be better. Autumn is when many of us simplify our gardening routine and start planning for next spring. With Refresh Your Garden Design, you’ll have the tools you need to hit the ground running when the weather turns.

Or maybe not all the tools. All good parties have favors, and every blog on the tour is giving away a different prize geared towards helping you wake up your own garden. I feel lucky because I’m giving away the best prize. (Hmm, maybe because I took advantage of our friendship and asked Rebecca to customize my offering?) In addition to a year’s subscription to Horticulture and an ebook edition of Rebecca’s popular ‘Harmony in the Garden’ column, one lucky winner will receive a free, virtual consultation with Rebecca!

How does it work? Simply take a few photos from different angles of a garden bed or two in need of a refresh. Rebecca will analyze them using the principles of color, form and texture featured in both her book and the popular talks she gives around the country. Then, she’ll provide you with a customized set of suggestions.  How cool is that?

An example of a "virtual garden makeover" from one of Rebecca's presentations:


Good

Better (Tip from the book: eliminate the distraction of color when you want to analyze form and texture)

But don’t limit yourself to just one chance to win! A total of seven blogs are giving away the prizes listed below. Simply click on the links and leave a comment on each blog to enter.

The giveaway runs through Sunday, November 10th at 11:59 pm and the winners will be announced on Monday the 11th. Please note that because of shipping costs, this giveaway is restricted to residents of the continental U.S.

Check back next Monday to see if you're a winner. Good luck!

Dee Nash at Red Dirt Ramblings is offering a hand-selected bulb bonanza in conjunction with Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply.  Known online as GrowOrganic.com, Peaceful Valley was established by organic farmers in 1976 and has grown to be the largest organic gardening supply company in the U.S! This organic bulb collection is an ideal way to introduce seasonal color echoes into your garden. (valued at $50.00)

 

Pam Penick at Digging is giving away a $50 gift certificate to the irresistible online nursery Annie’s Annuals. Annie’s specializes in rare and unusual annual & perennial plants, including cottage garden heirlooms and native wildflowers. They have a huge selection of amazing treasures that are guaranteed to help introduce color, texture and form back into your garden!

 

Robin Horton at Urban Gardens is offering a fantastic garden-watering duo from the kind folks at Dramm:  the One Touch Rain Wand and Color Storm Turret Sprinkler (valued at $50). Dramm is a family-run business that makes some of the best, and certainly most colorful, garden watering tools around, helping to make your garden chores easy and fun!

 

Shawna Coronado is giving away a $75 online gift card from Proven Winners, a mail-order nursery that’s a plant lover’s dream. With the company’s goal of introducing ‘the best, most unique and high performing plants’ to the public, this prize is an ideal way to add a breath of fresh air to your garden!

 

Carol Michel at May Dreams Gardens is giving away a much-desired Fiskars tool set: a Telescoping Bypass Loper and a Long-Handled Aluminum Hoe (valued at $65).  Fiskars products are renowned worldwide for their functionality and cutting-edge design so what better way to take care of your garden, keeping it in tip-top shape!

At Gossip in the Garden, Rebecca is offering something for tech-savvy and traditional gardeners alike: a Garden App Package consisting of Sunset’s Western Garden app, Foolproof Plants for Small Gardens app and the Garden Tracker-Bumper Crop app - as well as a signed copy of her new book (valued at $40.00)

 

Quick links:

Red Dirt Ramblings is offering the bulb bonanza from Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply

Digging is offering a $50 gift certificate from Annie’s Annuals

Urban Gardens is offering garden-watering duo Dramm

May Dreams Gardens is offering a garden tool combo from Fiskars

Shawna Coronado is giving away a $75 gift card from Proven Winners

Blue Planet Garden Blog is giving away a garden consultation by Rebecca and a Horticulture combo pack

Gossip in the Garden is giving away the Garden App & Book Package

 

UPDATE: Congratulations to Kris Peterson, our contest winner!

 

 

Front Yard Design Strategies

 

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Sweet

A few days ago I attended an excellent seminar presented by the Garden Conservancy titled "Front Yard Gardens Take Center Stage." As I am acquainted with most of the speakers, I was a tad concerned all talks would center on replacing lawns with gardens. While this is a worthwhile topic I often blog about, five hours of lose-the-lawn ranting is a bit much, even for a true believer like me.

Happily for me, the seminar instead dished up a broad range of information on how to transform a front yard, presented by speakers with very distinct points of view. It would take many more posts than this lazy blogger is willing to write to pass on everything that I learned, but read on for one big idea from each of the five presenters.

Gordon Hayward - Houses should be in rather than on the landscape

Photo courtesy of Saxon Holt

Gordon's presentation focused on classic design principles, amply illustrated with front yard photos from around the country. Much of his talk centered on the importance of the relationship between home and garden, with the central idea that a front garden should be designed to support the house. Examples from his talk include using trees to balance the scale of the home or soften rooflines, fences to create context and pathways designed to roll out the red carpet for guests. Gordon is the author of numerous garden books, but should you wish to further explore how to maximize the connection between home and garden (and not just in the front) I recommend Your House, Your Garden: A Foolproof Approach to Garden Design.


John Greenlee - Meadow gardens aren't just for large properties; even small landscapes have room for a "meadowette."

Photo courtesy of Saxon Holt

Despite owning a copy of The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn and having heard John speak on more than one occasion, I confess I've never created a meadow garden for a client. Many of the gardens I design are small, and figuring out how to include a meadow has always seemed too daunting a task to tackle. But John pointed out that meadowettes are a practical solution for small spaces, whether used as a transition between lawn and a surrounding garden, or in place of small lawns (which in addition to being dull, are often too narrow or convoluted to be irrigated efficiently). The best part about tackling a baby meadow? An exciting effect can be achieved with a much smaller palette than may be required for a larger space. Some of John's favorite choices include Carex pansa, Poa arachnifera and Sesleria autumnalis or  S. 'Greenlee' (a personal favorite of mine).

Vera Gates - Every landscape project should begin with a goal
At Vera's firm Arterra Landscape Architects in San Francisco, their goal is to create gardens that are beautiful, memorable and sustainable. I love this mantra, as it so clearly addresses the complex potential of a garden. At its best, a garden speaks to the senses (beautiful) and creates a unique experience for both the owner and visitor (memorable), while also doing its own small part to support the wider world (sustainable). At the beginning of each practice, my yoga instructor sets an intention for the class and encourages us to either follow it or to set one of our own. If you are about to embark on a landscape renovation, begin by setting your own intention - or borrow Arterra's philosophy.

 

Ivette Soler - Front yard food is here to stay

Part celebration of the spreading movement to grow food instead of lawns and part thoughtful design commentary, Ivette Soler shared her passion and support for the expanding number of front yard edible gardens that are popping up across the country. While she believes no one should shy away from growing food because of design considerations, she also provided strategies for making a space filled with fruits and vegetables as attractive as possible. Her most valuable tip: Corral edible gardens with hardscape materials substantial enough to contain the inherently raucous nature of veggies. As Ivette says, front yard food doesn't have to turn into a front yard farm. Read more ideas, in particular creative ways to mix edibles with ornamentals in her book The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden

Evelyn Hadden - Less lawn means more life

Photo courtesy of Saxon Holt

Books and lectures on the lawn-free lifestyle often focus on the evils of lawn, but Evelynís talk reminded me of everything we gain when we swap out grass for garden: More scents, more sounds, more seasonal changes and more diverse wild life.  Who wouldn't prefer a garden that attracts birds and butterflies to a lawn that mainly attracts chemicals and lawnmowers? At the end of her talk, she asked for a show of hands from those considering giving up at least a part of their lawn and received an enthusiastic response. No-lawn gardens are sometimes considered a western-only phenomenon, but check out the range of photos in Evelyn's book Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives and you'll realize that gardeners all over the country are equally interested in bringing more life into their spaces.

If any of these speakers wind up in your area, donít miss the opportunity to hear them in person. I'll close by saying that even better than what I learned was the chance to spend time with several of the speakers after the seminar ended. Thanks for both the lessons and the stimulating dinner conversation!

 

 

Succulent Container Design

Recently, I had the pleasure of giving a succulent potting demonstration in my clients Carla and Lennart’s garden to benefit a very worthy cause: St. Vincent’s - The Children of Kibera. A part of the One World Children's Fund, the charity supports orphans and underprivileged children in Kibera, Kenya.

 

We covered a lot of things in 40 minutes – potting, propagating and container care just to name a few – but for this post, I’m sticking with the heart of the demonstration: designing with succulents in containers.

I consider succulents to be the most forgiving of plants when it comes to container gardening. Not only do they thrive with very little care, but their range of textures and foliage colors allows them to shine in a starring role or as a supporting player. I find that even the most carelessly composed container will still look good. That said, why go for good, when you can go for great?

 

 One is all you need

I’m fond of the minimalist look when it comes to container gardening, and succulents lend themselves perfectly to this design aesthetic. A classic container design strategy is to choose plants to echo the color of the container. With its delicate red stems and green leaves tinged with soft yellow, Sedum tricolor is a perfect choice for a small, simple container. To echo the creamy edging of the leaves, I used a yellow pot, but this would work equally well with red (jade green would be okay, but probably a bit too monotone). While it is true that other plants—coleus comes to mind—also sport multiple foliage colors on the same plant, Sedum’s softly rounded shape is perfect for a small container, and its drought-tolerant habit means you don’t need to worry about watering it every day. Newly planted, this sedum will quickly spill over the sides of the pot.

 

If one plant is a little too minimalist for you, pop an Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ in the center of a larger yellow pot to pick up the red in the stems. Gently pry apart the sedum into four sections, and arrange around the Aeonium.

 

Thriller, filler, spiller works with succulents, too

 In the hotly competitive world of garden design, there is some disagreement as to who coined the phrase “thriller, filler, spiller," but regardless, it continues to be a solid strategy when approaching container gardening. For our thriller plant, I used an Echiveria ‘Afterglow’, chosen for its larger scale and softly tinted color (and also because this was previously in my own garden and I was willing to part with it). Because I wasn’t sure where the container would end up, I opted for what I call a wedding cake arrangement (soft and symmetrical) where the thriller is placed in the center and the other plants circle around it. If I knew the container was going into a corner, I might place this slightly off center and place a tall-growing Aeonium ‘Zsartkop’ behind it for additional height. Design tip: For asymmetrical arrangements that won't be seen from all sides, succulent expert Debra Baldwin recommends tipping the rosettes towards the viewing angle.

Fillers include bright silver Senecio haworthii on the left and ruffled, blue-tinted Echiveria 'Topsy Turvy' on the right. In the back where it's not visible, I added an Aeonium 'Swartzop' for a pop of burgundy.

My usual “go-to” spiller is a Sedum for medium-sized containers like this, but I loved the pink tint to the leaves of Oscularia deltoides - pink ice plant, so went with it instead. Plants that spill with a plumper vs. a long, trailing habit work best with short pots.

Oscularia courtesy of Chhe at en.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons

 

No pot is an island

An advantage of doing this potting demonstration in a private garden versus a nursery, is that it allowed me to share one final design strategy – incorporate your container compositions into the landscape as a whole. Treating each succulent container as a stand-alone masterpiece will ultimately result in a chaotic look in the very same way choosing each plant individually without considering the rest of the garden does. In Carla and Lennart’s case, we pulled our design inspiration from the existing container collection and the natural colors of their bluestone patio – silvers and blues accented by deeper grays and soft burgundy.

 

 

Although I love succulents and my own collection has been steadily growing over the past 5 years, I don’t consider myself an expert by any means. For this presentation, to ensure all the information I shared was correct, I relied on Succulents Simplified: Growing, Designing, and Crafting with 100 Easy-Care Varieties by Debra Lee Baldwin. If you are a beginner or intermediate succulent gardener, I highly recommend this book as a resource.

 

 

On a final note, a special thanks to Robin Stockwell of Succulent Gardens for donating a living wall as a door prize.

 

Garden Design Inspiration—Illusion

 

Wear nude-colored shoes to make your legs look longer. Hang a mirror on a wall to make a room look larger. Tricking the eye to create the illusion that something is not quite what it seems is everywhere, including garden design. Small-space gardeners often seek to create the impression of more space, but illusion can take many forms.

 

Sun and Shadow

In March I enjoyed a much-needed vacation in Cancun. You may recall that the brilliant colors of Quintana Roo inspired me, but I was equally intrigued by how cultural and religious references were incorporated into the built environment, oftentimes for the purpose of creating illusions meant to evoke awe, reverence or fear.

In the ancient Mayan ruin of Chichen Itza, the Temple of Castillo is probably the most famous structure. Built to honor the serpent god Kukulcan, his presence is represented by the two stone serpents that flank either side of the staircase.

 

A true marvel of astronomy and mathematics, on the spring and autumn equinoxes, afternoon sunshine lights up a bright zigzag pattern made by the steps, creating the illusion that a giant serpent is slithering down the stairs.

 

While the complex calculations required to create a magical slight of hand of this magnitude are far beyond the tools of a simple garden designer, illusion is an important part of landscape lighting design. It’s easy to put a pathlight next to a walkway, or an uplight in front of a Japanese maple, but to create your own fantastical bit of garden trickery, take advantage of downlighting. In the natural world, light shines down from above, which is why lighting your landscape in the same way creates a much more realistic effect. One of my favorite techniques is moonlighting, achieved by hanging a small, low-watt fixture from a tree or other overhead structure, and allowing it to cast a gentle glow on the ground below.

Lighting photos courtesy of Pam Penick, taken at Zona Gardens Landscape Design in Tucson.

This type of softly dispersed light more closely mimics the effect of moonlight in a way that can’t be achieved by a focused beam, helping to feed the illusion that the light source is natural.

 

The Illusion of Movement

On a day trip to Isla Mujeres, Kukulcan in serpent shape appeared again, this time embedded in a concrete staircase. Easily one of the most artful staircases I’ve ever seen, the slithering serpent outlined in carefully chosen stones adds a subtle sense of movement to the landscape. Creating the illusion of movement makes a garden feel alive, and is a no-fail strategy for turning an ordinary space into something extraordinary.

If a hardscape upgrade isn't in the cards, an easier way to do this is with plants. With their delicate foliage that sparkles in the light and sways with the slightest breeze, finely-textured ornamental grasses are the go-to solution for many gardeners.

For large gardens, this effect is intensified when grasses are massed together to form a sinuous, wavy shape.

Photo courtesy of Tai Williams

But even in small gardens, one or two carefully placed grasses can achieve a similar effect. My favorite small-space grass for this particular design strategy is Pennisetum orientale (pictured here), but other grasses will work as well.

 

My time in Cancun reminded me that it is always worthwhile to look beyond obvious upgrades like hardscape and plants when rethinking your garden. In this instance, a few small illusions are all you need to bring the play of light, shadow and movement into your garden.