Welcome the A gardener in winter: dreaming and scheming Part Deux. In Part One I discussed my plans for renovating a section of my borders that I call the “birdbath border”. You’ll find that post here: https://www.mrvintageman.com/a-gardener-in-winter-time-for-dreaming-and-scheming-part-1/.
In Part Two I’m going to discuss some of the tweaks I plan to apply to other sections of my yarden.
I mentioned in Part One that most gardeners are never satisfied with their gardens. No matter how awesome it looks to everyone else, to the gardener it’s just not quite right. Just one more plant, container or piece of art is going to make it all finally match the vision in the gardener’s imagination. In the words of Cliff Clavin, there is a fine line between gardening and madness.
Plantwise, I’m only planning on adding a handful of plants to a few areas to “improve” that part of the border. In the section I renovated last year (see below), I’m only going to add a single shrub: Viking Black Chokeberry. This is a three season shrub that sets white blossoms in spring, develops black berries in late summer and then the leaves turn an orange/red color in the fall. It doesn’t get too large, just roughly 3-5 feet tall and 4-6 feet tall.
Elsewhere in the borders, I want to add a few grasses on the back corner to give that section a more “prairie” feel to it. It’s hard to tell from the picture below, but there is a large ornamental Ravenna grass way back in the corner. This plant is supposed to get to 5-6 feet tall with plumes up to 8 feet tall, but mine has never come close to that. Perhaps it is not getting enough sun or water and that is causing it to be stunted. I’m going to give it a few more years to mature in hopes it finally reaches its potential.
My plan is to thin out some of the other plants to make room for 2 or 3 “Northern Lights” switchgrass. This corner is supposed be the autumn section of the border (I like to cluster plants that bloom around the same time to give the garden more “pop”). Overall this section looks good in late summer and fall, but there is just something missing. I’m hoping the switch grasses will help fill in whatever is missing.
Behind the patio I am going to put in 2 or 3 plants called “chocolate flower”. This plant is a native to the prairies of Colorado and New Mexico. Supposedly, when the flowers open they give off a strong aroma of milk chocolate.
Everything I’ve read says chocolate flower is tough and drought tolerant, but when not in bloom the plant itself is not much to look at. Which is why I’m putting it behind the patio, where the desert 4 o’clocks will help disguise the less than ideal foliage. Well, I’m also placing them here because I am looking forward to sitting on my patio and enjoying the smell of chocolate!
My next tweak doesn’t involve plants at all. Instead, I need to find some kind of focal point for the back corner. Gardens are in a way very similar to the rooms of your house. The most trafficked rooms usually have some kind of “focal point”. A focal point can be a kitchen island, a T.V., a painting, or perhaps a fireplace. It’s something that allows the eye to come to rest and it helps create a spot where people will want to congregate.
If you were to stand in the far corner of my back yard and look toward the house, my deck and patio would be the focal point. The problem is, this is not where I spend my time relaxing and enjoying my yarden. I’m usually ON the deck or patio and looking OUT into the garden. While looking out at my borders, I just don’t have a focal point. The Ravenna grass in the corner is supposed to provide be such a focal point, but so far it has come up short (pun intended). So this year I’m going to put in something that will provide a focus. I’m not entirely sure yet what that something will be. Perhaps a windmill, or birdhouses or even a large colorful pot. Stay tuned!
Have you ever noticed if your garden has a focal point? If so, what is it and why does it work for you? I’m looking for ideas.
