Friday, February 10, 2006
Pumped up and ready to plant
Libba Wolfe
Libba Wolfe's column appears twice monthly in Extra.
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It is an act of iron will that I'm sitting still to write this. I'm suffering from an acute case of over-stimulation and garden fever.
Horticulture Magazine brought five top garden designers to speak at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond. The subject was "Romancing the Site." It was a cold, rainy day but you could feel the sap rising in that room.
Before the cold front blew in, we got a quick peek at the Lewis Ginter grounds. The daffodils were blooming and the air was sweet. If you're in Richmond, treat yourself to the 40 acres of Lewis Ginter. Take a notebook and a camera. My take-away was snowdrops. I've already made a note on my fall '06 calendar to plant all I can. They were lovely clumped along the pathways and scattered under the trees. I'm for any bulb that doesn't have to be planted 8 inches deep.
I have to admit that the beginning of the seminar left me wondering. There was talk of "20 acres," "lap pool installations" and half-mile swaths of trilliums. Would there be help for a small-time, do-it-yourself gardener like me?
In another month I can get started on my back yard. It's flat and almost bare. It needs structure and texture and a plan. I know I need to start with small trees, but I don't know where to start.
One speaker caught my attention when she said, "Figure out where you need shadows." For me, that's a new way to think about trees.
She advised us to think beyond the height and shape of a tree. Consider the size and shape of the leaves. Are they glossy or matte? Do they throw off light or absorb it? Are they best in spring or fall? Does the tree have showy flowers or showy berries? Is it fragrant? Multitrunked? A dense evergreen?
As I studied the slides, I mentally subtracted the trees. The yards and borders were dull and flat. Looks like I'll be digging lots of big holes this spring.
Dan Hinckley, the owner of Heronswood Nursery outside Seattle, shared his design philosophy: "Like it? Yep. Don't like it? Nope." Don't forget -- it's your garden. His new property is extravagant in every way -- size, the fantastic views, major hardscaping and thousands of very special plants. But it's a very personal garden; it's everything he likes.
I awoke from my dream of grounds crews, unlimited budgets and more space than Lewis Ginter when one speaker advised us to plan our gardens around the time of day when we would use it.
Early morning coffee and the newspaper? Lunch in a grove? Cocktails on the terrace? That doesn't sound like my life. How 'bout a quick Coca-Cola when I'm worn out?
I realized my interest is not about having a garden; it's about making a garden. My enjoyment is working out there.
On the trip home, my friends and I talked about what we had learned. Grape hyacinths overplanted with ladies mantle to hide the hyacinth's dying foliage; eyebrow trellises to support climbing roses; the good news to those of us with deer problems: "ferns are the new hostas"; planning to have introverted areas and extroverted areas in your garden; how design is simply "ordering space."
I keep running out back with a sketch pad. I'm full of ideas and inspiration. I'm itching to get started.
Of a garden shown on one of the slides, a speaker said, "It's not grand but it's based on grand ideas." My new motto.
Libba Wolfe's column appears on the second and fourth Thursday of every month.
