The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

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When I am designing a garden (and I use that term loosely; althought it does sound all sorts of professional, so let me role play for a minute) I find the biggest challenge to be how to best account for plant “change”. And when I say “change”, I mean how to take advantage of plants at different stages of their growth, be it in their prime while blooming or taking advantage of their fall foliage color. 
Designing also incorporates hiding plants when they are not at their best (think deciduous shrub in the early spring or bulbs after they have bloomed). This little “dance” where you account for change can be maddening but challenging and fun at the same time. It’s what keeps me up at night and puts the “obsessive” and “neurotic” in this blog title.
This all came to mind this weekend as I witnessed the bulbs first emerging out of the soil. The bulbs can hide things now but will need to be hidden in the not so distant future.
A case in point: 
Here are daffodil bulbs first emerging in front of an ornamental grass that was cut to the ground in late winter:             

And the bulbs further along in growth and beginning to truly shield the dormant ornamental grass:

Eventually, the daffodils are in full bloom and the ornamental grass is pushed out of mind:

Another example is here where the daffodils are hiding a hydrangea that has only begun to leaf out:

When I walk up my front walkway, I don’t even notice the hydrangea:

Eventually, those bulbs are a distant memory as the sedums take center stage and hide the hole left by the now dead and gone daffodils:

And that once dormant grass is now the show-stopper:

As mentioned earlier, change in the garden can also be seen when comparing how plants look as they are in their growing stage.

The photo below shows a catmint (in front) and an astilbe (in back) in spring after they just started growing:   

A pretty cool color combo with nice contrast for a week or two.

But soon after, by early summer, the true combo appears when both are in full bloom:

After the blooms on the Catmint are spent, they are cut back by a 1/3 and the spent blooms on the Astilbe remain, still attractive and ornamental.

Even one plant can impress like mad as they change throughout the season. Take the red sedum below.

They offer much welcomed color in winter:

And look fantastic in late spring, albeit in a different color shade and much fuller:

Times they are a changin … and let’s celebrate the hell out of it.

John

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4 Responses

  1. Oh my goodness, if I could live in your garden I would ask to be adopted into your family. 🙂

    Loved the ornamental grass,chopped back, and with the daffodils in front. Our daffodils are up but not yet open.
    We have a similar grass called pink crystal. It looks a lot like your grasses. Wonderful post.

  2. I think trying to coordinate this dance between hiding and hidden is one of the most fun parts of garden planning. I highly recommend David Culp’s “The Layered Garden” for some nice ideas (and gorgeous pics) on this topic.

  3. In some areas where hiding comes into play, my solution has been to
    use potted plant containers to fill the space! Just an honest
    suggestion you may want to try sometime!

  4. Wonderful blog! I spent a few years in the landscaping field, which ultimately led me to find botany as a true passion. Now, I focus on wild, native plants mores but I can still admire a beautiful garden! Check out my blog if you’d like – Mike

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