Your Ideal Garden

I’m going to share a tip to help you create your ideal garden today on Southern Gardening.

Over the years I’ve changed and rearranged my landscape. I’m like many gardeners where I would buy plants and bring them not knowing where they were going to be planted. I didn’t have a plan, I needed a plan! I realized the trouble with my landscape was there was too much trial and error. Then I came across a garden personality quiz that’s brilliant. To get started you need six pieces of paper for the following six topics. Favorite Garden Uses are the things you want a garden to provide, flowers and/or vegetables. Favorite Garden Memories can range from childhood memories and inspiration from gardening friends. Maybe even the Southern Gardener? Favorite Garden Sensory Pleasures include shapes, sounds, smells, textures and flavors that you find inspiring. Favorite Hardscapes include anything from pavers to big ceramic pots or art pieces. Favorite Kinds of Plants include trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and herbs. Favorite Plants are specifically what are your must-have garden and landscape plants? A seventh page is titled My Ideal Garden and divided into the six sections. Rate each entry from 1 (must have) through 4 (maybe someday). Move the number 1s to the seventh sheet, and this becomes your garden and landscape blueprint. Be sure to keep all your work sheets to further edits as needed.

You may never fill your entire garden wish list, but who knows? Until next time, I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman enjoying our Southern Gardening.