February is a great time for gardeners to re-examine our gardens and consider any changes or improvements we want to make. There are always plants to be replaced, pruning to be done, but it might also be fun to think about something new, for example, devising a theme for all or part of your garden.
We’re all familiar with the lovely, traditional theme gardens: Herb, Cottage, and Butterfly, but let me briefly introduce five Theme Gardens that you might consider trying.
All five Theme Gardens can and should follow the principles of Xeriscaping—that is, requiring little water or nourishment beyond what nature provides and flourishing naturally in the environment (Regions 7–8 in our case.)
The 5 Theme Gardens are: Zen, Seaside, Apothecary, Alphabet, and Dyes Gardens.
1. Creating a Zen Garden aligns easily with the principles of Xeriscaping by following the Japanese tradition of less-is-more. The Zen Garden relies on:
- Pebbles and stones
- A few well-chosen and elegant shrubs and/or trees
- A bench or other unobtrusive seating option
- A water-feature
- Optional: a stone or plaster garden statue, such as St. Francis of Assisi or a Buddha. Also, you may want some thin wood slats for marking borders and paths.
The Zen Garden is perfect for small areas, such as condo and townhouse patios. You may want to choose a small portion of a large garden – perhaps that troublesome area where nothing seems to grow happily. Clear the area of plants and weeds. (You can put down gardener’s cloth to keep out weeds.) Decide on a curving shape for the garden, such as an oval or circle. Set up the visual feature, such as a small fountain or large water bowl and/or a garden statue. Plant the shrubs and perhaps a small, ornamental tree along the garden’s border. Use large stones as borders and cover the garden with sand, pebbles or gravel. Gently rake the area until nearly smooth. Allow your eyes and heart to rest on the quiet beauty of the scene you have composed.
2. A Seaside Garden shares the advantage of requiring little water or maintenance. You’re recreating the experience of being at a sandy beach by the sea. You’ll need:
- A sunny area in your garden
- Border retainers: wood, metal, or plastic pieces that can keep sand in and grass out.
- Sand or shell mulch. (Gravel will work in a pinch.)
- A few well-chosen pieces of driftwood or old furniture, preferably bleached white or painted light gray.
- Attractive pots planted with succulents and a few decorative grass clumps. (They need little water and flourish in the sun.)
- Adirondack or beach chairs.
- Optional: a few palms in large, movable pots. (You’ll need to move the palms into protected areas in late autumn.)
Remove plants and weeds, clearing the “beach.” Border your Seaside Garden with edgings of wood, steel, or plastic. Be sure the edging is high enough to retain the sand or shell mulch. Place your pots, palms, visual features, and chairs. Spread the sand, shell mulch, or gravel evenly around the garden. Build up the areas under the pots to help secure them in place. Finally, set out that old bike you painted and the mirror framed with seashells. Slip on your straw hat and relax.
3. An Apothecary Garden is similar to a traditional herb garden. The focus here is on plants that have healing or medicinal qualities. The two caveats to creating a flourishing Apothecary Garden are that your garden area has sunlight much of the day and can be watered as needed. You’ll plant in pots or in the soil, as you think appropriate. Here are some of the old-fashioned healing plants to use:
- Lavender: for relaxation and as a topical ointment for cuts and rashes
- Thyme: eases cough and helps fight infections
- Sage: enhances memory and helps with clarity of thought
- Lemon Balm: eases insect bites
- Echinacea: an antibiotic that is used to treat allergy symptoms
- Horehound: treats a cough and inflammation.
- Yarrow: made into a poultice it stops bleeding, provides relief for colds and fever
Cautions: Never rely on home remedies when serious symptoms or conditions arise. Consult your physician.
4. An Alphabet Garden is an amusing challenge if gardening is getting a bit too predictable. The idea is to plant or place in your garden something for each letter of the alphabet. That’s 26 plants and garden features. Now, no cheating by simply adding a little sign using the letter. I’ll offer a few suggestions to get you started. Children can be set to find all 26 letters; they’ll be engaged for hours and learn a bit about gardening.
- “Q” Queen Anne’s Lace, of the wild carrot family, in white or pink.
- “S” could be a St. Francis statue.
- “Z” Zinnia, our tough and brightly colored dears that flourish in almost all conditions.
You get the idea.
5. Finally, an interesting option is the Dyes Garden. Certain common plants provide natural dyes in interesting colors. Growing some of these plants is a great idea if you knit or weave with raw yarn or know a knitter or weaver who would enjoy creating dyes for her yarns. Like the Apothecary Garden, you’ll want an area with good sun and access to water. Since the plants are so varied, you might want to group the plants by color, with small signs identifying the dye colors that will be made from the group of plants.
The following list is exemplary, not exhaustive. So, have fun finding plants that will produce dyes in colors you like.
- Bloodroot: yellow-orange, red
- Coreopsis: pink
- Hollyhocks: red, orange, pink, blue, green, teal (not every color from every plant)
- Onion (skins, specifically): green, orange, yellow
- Red cabbage: shades of rose and red
- Roses: yellow, gray
- Sunflowers: yellow, green
Caution: Of course, you’ll do a test dye before immersing an entire skein of yarn into a vat of bloodroot. I can imagine some dazzling creations from each of these Theme Gardens.
