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Every year around this time I review the posts from the previous year to assist me in mapping out an editorial calendar going forward. It's an exercise that helps me to know what was of interest to readers and what fell flat. For you, the reader, this is a chance to catch up on any popular posts you might have missed. So without further ado, your favourite garden in 2019 was (drumroll please)... Cynthia McAlindon's Shade Garden in Oakville Ontario. It's a backyard garden with a quiet, yet pleasing palette that shows just what can be accomplished with a modest-sized backyard that has part-to-full shade conditions. Coming in second was a formal garden that also had a soft, restrained use of color. Here the design of the garden offered readers pleasing vignettes and an abundance of ideas. A Formal Edwardian Garden in Rosedale There was a tie for third place. The small town garden filled with Hollyhocks very narrowly edged out a Small Courtyard Garden. Ironically one of the two third-place winners was a country garden and the other was a garden in Canada's largest city. Hollyhocks were the star in the first of the two properties: A Garden filled with Hollyhocks A Courtyard perfect for Entertaining The city garden was a space designed for relaxing and entertaining with the garden as a backdrop. The main features of this garden were a large flagstone patio with lots of seating and a small shed complete with a bar. The low-maintenance plantings flanked either side of a charcoal-coloured fence. My favourite feature was the moss dog peeking into the small waterfall and pond. In what I will refer to as the "how-to" category, the most popular post was My Weed Management Strategies. Though my garden is by no means weed-free, over the years I have discovered ways to keep weeds down to a dull roar. The other post with good readership was the first of a two-part series on moving and dividing perennials. I'm always worried when I decide to write about such dry topics, but readers don't seem to mind the useful information. Moving and Dividing Perennials, Part 1 (tips on when and how to move/divide) and Part 2 (all the basics). One of my regrets about last year's blog posts was the limited number of plant profiles I did. This post on Siberian Irises and flowers that provide Mid-Summer Color actually were well-received, so hopefully, I can make up for that oversight in 2020. New Perennials for 2019 Finally, the subject of new introductions from Proven Winners has been a reader favourite for a couple of years. I can understand the appeal of these blog posts–new plants promise improved performance and features like larger flowers or smaller overall size. It's a subject I'll repeat again in 2020, but I think I will try to balance what's "new" with information on plants that are tried and true. Now I'll move along to trends for the coming year and beyond. I'll touch briefly the background for each trend first and then tell you a bit more about the trend itself. In a couple of cases, my examples may introduce you to a few Instagram accounts or YouTube channels you might like to follow. Private garden in Oakville Ontario. Trend # 1 Smaller Gardens In Canada, Baby Boomers account for 27% of the population. Of that number, 16% are already over the age of 65. In ten years, that statistic will jump to 20% (no doubt, there are similar numbers available for the States). One might suspect that retiring Boomers would have more time to devote to pastimes like gardening. While that may be true, ageing gardeners seem to be all too aware that gardening is hard physical work. What I seem to be witnessing is increasing numbers of Baby Boomers trading in larger properties for smaller homes/gardens with less maintenance. There is a second aspect to this trend. In Canada, statistics suggest that the median lot size for a new single-family detached home has dropped in size. This means homeowners are working with smaller yards/gardens. Smaller Gardens Equal Smaller Plants Modest yards mean that gardeners are looking for small-scale shrubs. Growers have responded with new dwarf versions of classic favourites. This trend to producing smaller plants is something that has been around for a few years now and will continue into the near future. We can also expect to see a preference for breeding plants that are less demanding and relatively low-maintenance. 'BoBo' is one of my favourite dwarf hydrangeas. Among my favourite shrubs are a number of dwarf hydrangeas. Here 'Bobo' is illuminated by the sun and 'Little Lime' is the rose-colored hydrangea just behind it. The flower-filled veggie garden. Trend # 2 Moving away from Traditional Vegetable Gardens While Baby Boomers have always grown a variety of flowers and vegetables, younger generations seem to be much more focused on growing edibles. Homegrown fruit and veggies have a practical appeal. You know how and where they were produced when you grow them yourself. Growing your own food also saves money. Here are two twists on the traditional veggie patch I've noted. Unusual Edibles Heirloom varieties of fruit and vegetables have been popular for a number of years, but adventuresome gardeners are now experimenting with growing global types of produce. Spearheading this movement is Canadian garden writer Niki Jabbour. Recently her book Veggie Garden Remix won a prestigious award from the American Horticultural Society. The Vegetable Garden that looks like a Flower Garden Companion planting is nothing new, but take a look at these two pictures of Niki Jabbour's vegetable garden in Nova Scotia (here and here). Is this a vegetable garden or a flower garden? There are sunflowers, nasturtiums, flowering borage, zinnias and the long trailing panicles of Love-Lies-Bleeding. The flowers are there to attract pollinators and deter pests, but they also transform something practical into something beautiful. Here's another example– this time in Maine. On Alison's Instagram account named Finch and Folly there is again a wild mix of flowers and edibles (here and here). Every winter she draws up the prettiest watercolor plans for her summer garden. Behind this explosion of flowers in the traditional vegetable patch is a deep concern for the decline of pollinators. In particular, climate change, parasites, pathogens and pesticides used in agriculture have all had a detrimental impact on numbers of honeybees, bumblebees and wild bee species. Gardening immerses you in the natural world, so it's no surprise that gardeners care deeply about environmental issues like this. Creating flower-rich habitats, even in a vegetable garden, is a trend that is likely to continue. One of the many YouTubers who post regular videos on houseplants. Trend# 3 The Growing Popularity of Houseplants The high cost of real estate has kept Millennials indoors where they "garden" with houseplants. This generation loves to search the internet for rare and exotic specimens to add to collections. Botanical names aren't geeky. Instead, they add to a plant's prestige. Decorating with houseplants has become hugely fashionable in the last few years. What makes this trend new and fresh is the large scale and the number of houseplants. When you squeeze 500 plants into a small apartment as Nick Pileggi as done (see above), your indoor space intentionally becomes a jungle. Another YouTuber who has become very popular is Amanda of Planterina. Amanda's a bit wacky, but viewers like her all the more for it. Using houseplants to create an outdoor jungle. Taking Houseplants Outdoors Moving houseplants outdoors for a summer vacation is nothing new. What I think is trendy is the scale and number of the houseplants being moved outside. If you have a moment, watch the video tour of Amanda's summer porch. It's an original take on gardening outdoors using houseplants. Amanda literally brings a garden right up to her back door. Trend #4 An increased interest in Native Plants Pollinators have given gardeners a whole new reason to take an interest in native plants. To attract bees and butterflies common to your state or province you need to plant specific types of plants. Butterflies and bees prefer certain flowers as sources of nectar. Butterflies also lay eggs on specific "host" plants. Last summer I noticed more butterflies in my garden. What made the difference? I have incorporated more native plants. Trend #5 The Garden as a Bird and Wildlife-friendly Space As the CBC reports in this article, North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970. That's a staggering number! These weren't rare or endangered species, but rather familiar backyard birds like sparrows, juncos, starlings and warblers. This loss has ripple effects in local ecosystems as well. Birds perform vital roles in managing pests, pollinating flowers and spreading seeds. The Beauty bush where two Catbirds made their nest last summer. Do you see the nest hidden in the branches? Some bright blue plastic adorns the otherwise neutral nest. There are three babies crowded into the nest (though only two are visible). The shy, grey-colored Catbird loves to mimic the sounds made by other animals. The cry it typically makes sounds a little like that of a domestic cat–hence the name. What has caused the decline? The answer is not simple. A number of issues such as loss of habitat, urban sprawl, the fragmentation of forests, pesticide use and even the carnage caused by domestic cats. Already there is an army of volunteers who participate in annual backyard bird counts, but is there any further role we gardeners might play? I think this decline in bird populations is something that is going to garnish more and more attention in the coming years. A nest in a garden I visited in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 2020–the start of a brand new decade! Despite some problems, I have a good feeling about what the next ten years will bring our way.
Beleef de mooiste tuinen!
Colorful and shade are not to adjectives many people would think belong in the same sentence, but today I want to show you a front and back garden where the hom…
I cannot begin to describe how excited I was to be visiting Mark and Gaz (of Alternative Eden) during our September trip to London. It was thrilling to visit a grand botanical garden like the Kew, but what about a “real” garden, you know…the kind we all tend? One I've been virtually visiting (via their blog) for a couple of years? It was FABULOUS, what an opportunity. Once our trip to London looked like it was really going to happen I contacted them for advice, right away they suggested we meet up, maybe at Kew. Yes! Then they said something on their blog about working in London. That’s when I realized they were close enough maybe I could actually visit their garden. A (hopefully polite) inquiry from me and the next thing I knew they were offering to take a day off work to accommodate my vacation schedule. Yes, just to have a crazy American visit their garden. How nice is that? When I mention this to my non garden-blogging friends they look at me like I’m mad. “You what? You took the train out of London (alone!?) to spend the day with two guys you’d never met before? Wasn’t that just weird?” But you all understand, I know you do. It was like we were old friends, catching up. We immediately had A LOT to talk about… Even with all the time I'd spent admiring their garden via blog posts I still didn't quite understand the layout. We entered the garden from a door off the kitchen, and stepped onto this deck. Surrounded by exotic potted plants you could see see bit of the garden beyond, but it was impossible to tell just how big it was. The garden is roughly "L" shaped, with the bottom of the L up against the house and extending a bit beyond (there's a jig/jag in there too but I'm trying to keep this simple). The older part of the garden is the long part of the L (and that will be today's post), with the newer raised planting areas, koi pond and filter house occupying the other end (which we will see tomorrow). Mark and Gaz moved into their home the spring of 2005, those of you who follow their blog but haven't gone "all the way back" might enjoy checking out this post from 2010 where they share pictures of the very early days. Here I've stepped off the deck and into the garden. Rather than going straight we're going to veer to the right and look at another seating area. And some more fabulous plants! The big guy is a Dasylirion quadrangulatum, I want! I also want to steal the idea of red poles in the large urn (only mine would be orange, of course). You can see how this seating area abuts the deck off the back of their house. As I look out across the lush plantings I'm starting to get an idea just how big this space is... And you better be ready for some major Schefflera lust. It seemed every 5 feet there was another beautiful (previously unknown to me) specimen, this one Schefflera myriocarpa. We've now backtracked and are headed down the pathway first glimpsed in the 4th photo above. I kind of felt like this was a test to see if I made it past the guards and was allowed further into the garden. Rhapis excelsa... As we enter one of many rooms obscured by foliage, you really feel transported to the jungle. I loved it! Cutleaf Emperor Oak... And Schefflera rhododendrifolia (formerly S. impressa). If you are starting to be impressed with my mastery of names of their plants don't be. Mark and Gaz kindly agreed to identify a few photos for me. Coming face to face with this gorgeous Canna 'Cleopatra' I remembered how much I loved it when I saw it on their blog. I might have to track one of these down! Next to Cleo is Tradescantia 'Blushing Bride' That's some successful layering... Schefflera vietnamensis Euphorbia stygiana Now we're coming up on the Jungle Hut (aka The Exotic Shed from their blog post yesterday)... Wouldn't this be just the best place to sit and enjoy a warm summer rainstorm? With a book and beverage of course. Love the details, work done my Mark and Gaz themselves of course. Almost the same shot as above but pulled back just a bit. Forging onward... I didn't ask about this Schefflera assuming it was S. taiwaniana. Another private spot... In which to sit for a bit. Here though you're not alone, look at those cute mugs! (the weather had been quite stormy before my visit, hence the coverings) You bamboo lovers could go crazy here... Tucked in a back corner was one of two greenhouses. Mark and Gaz have been so busy with their koi pond project many of their plants didn't make it out of the greenhouse this year. Probably for the better with the extremely wet summer they endured. Such a collection! As we walked through the tall bamboo and dense foliage I had the feeling I was being watched, yep. Wild jungle cats! This is Twinkles (the former cat person in me really enjoyed meeting both Twinkles and Knickers). I didn't catch this guys name. Seriously...how beautiful is this!? Fagus sylvatica franken (Mark informs me its a beech)... Tree ferns! As if the Scheffleras didn't already have me green with envy... Well, that completes today's journey through the exotic jungle. Tomorrow we'll step out into the light and enjoy the garden addition and take a look at the koi pond project!
Good garden design and planning is key. Half the interest of a extraordinary garden is in the constant exercise of the imagination.
The Old Well, Houghton Lodge Now nearly a week ago in Paradise - but it is high summer here, the garden calls me away for much attention and only now am I getting to the keyboard to post few words...
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% Border Gardening: How to plant a herbaceous perennial border %
English garden for all seasons. 2010 winner "Overall Gardener of the Year" Garden News national garden competition. 2007 winner Daily Mail National Garden Competition. www.fourseasonsgarden.co.uk
Whew, this time of year is sheer madness, garden designs and installs, interior designs and installs, equals one tired gal! Thankfully the shop is in the best of hands with the best of staff. One bit I am focusing on constantly when adding plantings into the designs is my clear focus on foliage shape and color, the two most important elements to an interesting landscape, with impact. It is how to extend a colorful garden Gorgeous? YES! But.....what happens when those flowers are gone? Sure there may be some flowers to follow however it could have season long impact. In this case all green, smallish leaves = b-o-r-i-n-g Same here. It is easy to create a lovely garden in mid-summer, it is the remainder of the year that is important too Uniquely attractive, in a subtle way. Today however it is all about impact created with diverse foliage POW! YES! Virtually few perennials, massive interest with diversity of colored foliage and varying leaf shapes GROUND COVERS Lamium 'White Nancy', sparkles in the evening Ajuga 'Bronze Beauty' with the added bonus of blue flowering spikes in Spring Lysimachia 'Aurea' ORNAMENTAL GRASSES Miscanthus 'Zebra Grass' Festuca 'Elijah Blue; Miscanthus 'Purpurascens ' For shade, 'Hakonechloa 'All Gold' HERBS Purple Sage Purple Basil Variegated Thyme 'Lemon' ANNUALS Caladium 'Ansel Adams'........to die for! Caladium 'Gingerland' Coleus 'Watermelon' Helichrysium 'Icicles' Ornamental Cabbage FERNS Japanese Painted fern HOSTAS Hadspen Blue June 'Coast to Coast' 'Fire and Ice' PERENNIALS Heuchera's......In every imaginable color, well, almost Geranium 'Espresso' Brownish foliage with delicate pink flowers that blooms from late April to late September. I like to underplant it with the ground cover Lysimachia 'Aurea', shown above. This is a real POP, as this beauty can fade into the mulch. You do mulch don't you? Heucherella 'Sweet Tea' Brunnera 'Jack Frost' Actea 'Black Negligee'. Tall with architectural foliage blooms in late Autumn with bottle brush spikes laced with the scent of vanilla Stachys 'Big Ears' VINES Hello Gorgeous! Clematis 'Stolwijk' Hardy Kiwi Vine Only the MALE has this coloration Climbing Hydrangea 'Firefly' SHRUBS Physocarpus 'Amber Jubilee' This is year round, not just Autumn! Pittosporum 'Irene Paterson' Sambucus 'Plumosa Aurea' Fothergilla 'Blue Mist' CONIFERS Again, not a flower in sight False Cypress 'Gold dwarf' Abies 'Silberlocke' TREES Pyrus 'Silver Frost' Cercis 'Forest Pansy' Yes, a burgundy leafed Redbud! White Birch Cornus 'Golden Shadows' And........that is just for starters! Now, how to combine these plants in your borders. This is where the leaf shape takes center stage. The best neighbors are opposites; thick leaf next to thin leaves More of the above Thick and thin Something else to note......if you have a bed that appears to be messy, the cause is often too many small leaves. Large leaves lend order. Imagine if the above tropical was not there, there would be no focal point and the Verbena would appear medowish Let's take a look at great examples of this conversation Hope you found some inspiration, I love this topic! Thank you for reading...... Debra
English garden for all seasons. 2010 winner "Overall Gardener of the Year" Garden News national garden competition. 2007 winner Daily Mail National Garden Competition. www.fourseasonsgarden.co.uk
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