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| Photo Credit: Eva Monheim |
| David went with me to make the plant selections for phases I and II. |
David and Bryan are busy people. They like to do things themselves, but don’t always have the time to get them done properly. So when they wanted to transform their back yard into a garden paradise, they called me in to be their “garden coach” and guide them through the process.
And that’s exactly what I did. The first thing we needed to do was find out how they wanted the space to work for them. Here’s a quick checklist we came up with after talking about how they wanted to enjoy their space. Their garden needed to:
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| Photo Credit: Eva Monheim |
| Bryan began planting along the fence in the first phase of the plan, and he picked out some special features to create a great focal area. |
● Be beautiful year-round
● Control water runoff from neighboring properties
● Have small seating areas for intimate conversations
● Be constructed in stages so that each stage could be completed over a weekend for quick results (and to keep things tidy)
● Have focal point areas, as well as places to sit and watch animal activity through the seasons (which meant including bird feeders)
● Be dog-friendly
● Be used in the evening for relaxing or entertaining (which meant adding lighting)
● Camouflage the fence
● Have a place for a hot tub
● Have a great view from the upper deck
● Be more sustainable
● Have a pond created from runoff
● Feel like a retreat
Next, we took an inventory of the plants they already had in their existing garden, and we talked about the “right plant for the right place” concept. David and Bryan had some great selections – but these plants were in the wrong spots. Just by moving a few plants around, they’d see better growth and get more enjoyment from them. We also realized that many of their hostas could be moved to give greater coverage in the shady bare areas, and their spent spring bulbs could be divided and moved to other areas in the garden to increase coverage for more early spring color.
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