Edit out what no longer works

Posted by Shelburne & District Horticultural Society March 23, 2018

Edit out what no longer works

Trish Symons was our speaker for our March meeting and she shared some great tips, beautiful pictures and some laughs as always.

"Edit out what no longer works".

Are you bored with certain plants?

Are you frustrated with certain areas?

Do you have plants that are not happy with where they are planted?

Everyone loves spring, seeing that first pop of colour after the winter always brings such joy. Trish suggests planting some kind of new spring bulb each year so that you have something new to discover in the spring. There are ton of new varieties of tulips and hyacinth and pansies to choose from.

Perfect purple tulip blend

Dream touch double tulip

Angelique tulip

Ballerina tulip

Black hero tulip

Avignon parrot tulip

Are you bored with older varieties? Maybe there is a new varieties that excites you. Such as this Apricot Peony from Trish's garden - absolutely stunning!

Photo by Trish Symons www.trishsymons.com

Don't fight the environment that you are working with - if the plant isn't happy in that location try something different. She shared that one part of her garden didn't seem to want to grow things even though she was amending the soil and spending a lot of time and effort. So she has created a beautiful scree garden that is full of cactus and succulents. Aren't these blooms gorgeous?

Photo by Trish Symons www.trishsymons.com

Try something completely new - you never know it might become your new favourite.

Plant tulips and alliums with hostas. The hosta leaves hide the other plants dying leaves as they emerge.

Consider plants that have interesting textures or colours in their structure, leaves or bark. This gives you more interest through out the seasons. Here are some great examples of using trees for colour contrast. See this post for some other suggestions for plants - Jungle Effects

Photo by Trish Symons www.trishsymons.com

When planting shrubs and trees consider ones that turn colour in the fall and look interesting when covered in snow.

Just remember when removing something consider it's bloom time and colour. Do you want to replace it with something that is similar or completely different?

What do you do with all those plants you are no longer in love with?

Donate them to you Horticulture plant sale
Donate to a church or other community building with gardens
Gift them to a new gardener
or if it is a troublesome plant not worth passing on compost it.

Here are some things to consider when improving and designing your garden.

Marian Jarvie's rule of six. Let your eye travel your garden and you should be able to see things at 6 different levels or heights, this helps keep the garden interesting and creates depth

Consider keeping it to 3 colours per garden it is simpler and more pleasing to the eye.

Look around are there any views that you could frame with shurbs or trees? Or are there views that you would like your garden to hide from view when looking out of windows or sitting on a deck?

Add scent to your garden - things like thyme, lavender, a lilac bush (Japanese Silk and Ludwig Spaeth varieties), and flowering crab trees give off wonderful scents for you to enjoy

Ludwig spaeth lilac

Flowering Crab: Photo by Annalea Kidd

Create a private secluded spot, and incorporate a simple flowing water feature into it if you can for a greater feeling of serenity. Rock walls (old foundations), fences or hedges can create a great back drop for private spots.