Planning a New Garden? by Charlie Proutt
Late Spring 2004, Vol. 17, No. 2

Planning a new garden can be as fun and rewarding as doing the planting. Over the years, we have developed some tricks for success that allow gardeners great flexibility in choosing plants that work well together.

First, give the garden a clear and concise role - for example, I want my garden to define the left side of the our property, screen the neighbors pool, and provide seasonal interest from summer through fall.

Second, begin with the largest plants and work our way down. In our example, you may want to include some small trees that either bloom in the summer or have remarkable fall foliage. Consider Japanese tree lilacs, tree form hydrangea, or red maples. Next, you would fill the gaps for screening with mid-size to large flowering shrubs. Note the article inside the newsletter on Viburnums. Finally, you would want to face the planting with a mixture of groundcovers, perennials, and possibly some annuals.

Third, repetition throughout the planting will tie it together. The garden will feel well balanced if species are repeated. With more effort and planning, you can achieve balance through the repetition of color, habit, and texture.

Finally, whenever possible, repeat patterns that you find in the natural surroundings of the landscape you are trying to enhance. Feature the rocks if your garden abuts a ledge. Plant daisies and coreopsis if you are near a meadow. Try ferns and pagoda dogwoods in your woodland.

The gardens at Horsfords provide lots of ideas and inspiration for (hopefully) successful combinations. We planted them to show how plants truly grow in Vermont. We invite everyone to wander our grounds with a trail map, which now covers more than forty acres. Our growers can answer your questions and help you better understand your soils and exposure, steering you toward their favorites for certain situations. We choose the plants we grow because they succeed in Vermont.

download Late Spring 2004 Newsletter (pdf 1.6mb)