I'm a collector, not a designer!

A dear friend asked me last Saturday to help her design her new property. She only has 15 acres of weeds!

Yikes! I am not a designer or landscaper, I am a plant collector! My "style" is to make heroic attempts to cram yet another plant into my garden. Can't do it? Enlarge the garden!

But I have a hard time saying "no" to any Kathy *sly grin* so I will give it my best shot. Kathy is recovering from Chemo, and moved into this house 15 months ago. She hasn't done anything with it yet, but her former house had a masterpiece herb-garden! I still can't figure out why she asked me to help her.

BTW, did I mention that I am color-blind? LOL it will be a memorable sight if she wants me to color-coordinate the thing, too!

LOL Kathy...you will have so much fun! I know nothing about garden design either. If I like it, I plant it LOL....Take pictures for us...if it ends up looking anything like your gardens, it will be beautiful!

How marvellous Kathy and like vic says it's going to be so much fun for both of you. Looking forward to seeing those photos of the land so we can get a bigger perspective. Fifteen acres of weeds huh - what about trees, there must be some surely. :-)

Not a tree on her property. It was all farmland that was parceled into 15 or 20 acre lots and sold. Kathy bought the piece with the farmhouse, not a single tree or shrub, save a few overgrown yews (her description). Just a magnificent old farmhouse (1880s).

Kathy had the most elegant herb garden in her old house that I have ever seen. It can best be described as "elegant country". That describes her as well. Down-to-earth without being earthy, open, friendly, but with exquisite taste. Hhhmmm, sounds like I am describing a few of my DG friends, too!

As an example of her former garden, it was outlined in dwarf clipped box, shaped in a heart. The garden was enclosed by a low river-rock wall. Just breath-taking! All the herbs were grown to fit in with the heart-theme, too! How do people do it!!!!

With everyone's encouragement, I gotta give it a try!

Wish me luck!

Kathy, perhaps your friend just wants time with you... focused on things you both love?

I know I'd enjoy spending time with you!

I know you'll have a wonderful time.

If you want inspiration, talk to Tomtom
http://homepage1.nifty.com/heartsease/

janiejoy my thoughts exactly. what is more fun than hanging out with a friend doing what you love together. sounds like an instant solution to success allthe way around.

I think I'd go to the library and find some landscaping books and pick and choose, mix and match what would work there. For gosh sakes, get her some fast-growing shade trees. I like Quaking Aspen for that, and maybe some tulip poplars.....

This message was edited Friday, Aug 1st 7:02 AM

better homes and gardens website has a garden planner that is fun to use.
http://www.bhg.com

Melissa

Kathy when you get round to choosing the plants/trees etc for the windbreak/bones of the garden give me a nudge. I have many young tulip trees and I know you want something to grow fast and these, along with Leyland Cypress are the fastest growing trees I know of.

Melissa, where the heck do you find the garden planner on Better Homes and Gardens website?

The link is on the left hand side, it says Plan a garden

Here is the direct link to the garden page

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/gardening/index.jhtml;jsessionid=YWMX5CUYTE4GPQFIBQSCBHWAVABBWIV0

Melissa

I've done some design and garden grunt work for several friends.

After the last garden ... Never Again!!! I'll stick to my own or at least have a very long signed contract *G*

As it happens it turned out well and they are happy with the results ... now... grrrrr!

Best of luck :)

I go to see her property on Saturday.

I am making preliminary designs in my mind, but mostly they are dreams of what I would do if it were mine!

First will have to be soil testing, the land is probably in shocking condition. It was poorly-managed agricultural farmland for 3 years before she bought it. When she got it, only a few weeds grew. Not even enough to mow. Now, a year later, more weeds are growing, but probably the land is still very poor.

So even before any tree or shrub planting (or even planning) will have to be figuring out how to get it into something that will allow plants to grow again...

Perhaps I could design something with that in mind. Pioneer plants changing to first-growth plants? The visual effects of that could be worthwhile, if done right. But leave the bulk of the fields fallow at least another year. Or perhaps have soil-enriching cover crops sown and plowed under next fall.

Still just daydreaming for a few more days...

I second your notion about the cover crop or green manure.

....."A cover crop should be tilled under about a month before you plant your garden. This presents a problem for gardeners in areas where the soil wet in early spring. In these regions, plant your cover crop early so that it can be tilled under in late fall to decompose over winter. The damage done by working wet soil outweighs the benefits of the green manure"......

Here is a list of crops, when to sow and when to dig under.

http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/greenmanure.htm

http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/greenmanure.htm

Lupy where are you?? Oh yes, I just remembered, probably taking photos of the proposed garden!! Great - looking forward to seeing them. You don't say what surrounds this area. Is there a nice vista or is it all 'open' fields??

Oh, thank you for the links :)

Actually Windsurffer and I spent Monday at the State Fair. Walked our legs off! (mine are now about 3" high ;~D

I will see her land this coming Saturday. I have the feeling that there is not much of any type of worth-while view from anywhere on her land. A very large farm was divided and sold off in odd-sized pieces. It is all rural, a creek runs through the area, lots of wet areas with spring flooding, almost no trees, no hills, no mountains, no vistas, just flat land of weeds :(

It is raining here (again!) so I am daydreaming of the landscaping that I can do.