Garden Gnomes

November 29, 2015 Today I’m visiting our friend Kathy who has created a fun landscape with the help of so called mythical creatures. Garden gnomes are those creatures of woodland legend and represent a most elemental spirit of the earth. Gnome is a derivation of the Greek word for “earth dweller”. In eastern Europe they are called dude, which sounds a lot like a greeting in California? With their help Kathy has created some very interesting combination plantings. Just look at this plant combination using this Treebeardesque planter. The thin round spikes of Blue Arrows juncus prove to be an effective thriller plant and the variegated spider plant is a good filler. Angelina sedum just seems to spill out over the container edge. And for a little fun Kathy has added silk lavender flower spikes. I just love the layering effects of the garden art in this shady setting. Kathy has used the old French wine boxes to create the planting pockets for the creeping fig and impatiens. The sweet pineapple scented chartreuse foliage of the Golden Delicious pineapple sage shines in this planting. And again Kathy has added silk flowers for color and texture. Here an antique bottle tray creates individual planting spaces for late season mari-mums, creeping jenny, variegated ivy and of course the lavender spikes. Garden gnomes are said to bring good luck to the garden and gardener who invites them in. It’s a little gnome fact that they are the actual caretakers of any garden in which they inhabit. I’m horticulturist Gary Bachman for Southern Gardening.