I hate “mission statements” and “plans of action” and all of those cute, catchy and inspirational terms that are involved in any type of planning. Maybe I’m just jaded from all of the times I’ve had to brainstorm and come up with these only to be asked to go in another direction the next day. Or maybe I’m just a “simpleton”. Probably a little of both … but I digress.
I live on a decent sized lot out in the “country” (yes, that is possible in NJ) and have only scratched the surface when it comes to designing and planting my garden beds. Already though, I realize I need to do a better job of planting to scale. And what I really mean (regretfully, I do have a “mission statement”), is that I need to “Think Costco”. I need to focus on planting more “in bulk” or in larger drifts. By doing so, the plantings will have more of an impact and will be more in scale with the size of my property.
This is my plan going forward, but here are some of the challenges I know I will face:
- Cost – buying perennials in lots of 7, 9 or 11 (odd numbers of course) can be expensive. My best solution for that will be to continue to divide my existing perennials.
- Poor conditions – when I do purchase new plants, I tend to buy 1 or 2 initially as a means to test their staying power. They need to be deer proof, handle poor drainage and handle full sun. Only after careful analysis, am I confident enough to purchase in larger numbers.
- Avoiding plant lust – spontaneous purchases lead to squeezing in plants and that can impact the overall design. I end up with lots of groupings of 3 and that can take away from the garden as a whole.
Patience will be the key (as always) but I am determined to stick with my Costco tag line. Here are some additional photos that are already serving as an inspiration:
Wishing you well in fulfilling your mission statement.
I so remember making all those plans and trying to (and sometimes actually) put them into action. For the past ten years I’ve been spending half of each year at sea (10 weeks on/10 weeks off) so have not been able to keep up with the garden. I get a kick out of the plants that still return year after year from that time when I was keeping the property looking so pretty.
Lovely images – I look forward to seeing your garden throughout Spring and Summer.
Best,
Lois
love the last photo the best – the natural grasses always grab my heart more than blooms do.
This is such a valuable lesson we all must learn at some point…I know I’ve finally realized it myself in the past few year…in large part, ironically, because I really started to gravitate towards the ideals of Piet Oudolf! Even though I have a TINY garden, by any comparison, I’ve still found it valuable to plant in multiples of at least 3 (even if the 3 are broken up throughout the border…the mere repetition of certain plants really helps pull you through the garden. I’m also cautious about new plants…we have crazy heavy clay and it has claimed so many plants (farewell, my sweet Erysimum), so I often trial 1 or 2 plants as well. Luckily, I’ve found that grasses are one thing I can count on almost anywhere…luckily I adore them all!
I understand your desire to ‘ drift.’ My property is also large and it’s so hard to get it together. Finally, I am starting to see promise, but so slowly.
Good luck with your drifts of success.
BlessYourHeart
If I had a “Decent” sized lot, my OCD would kick in big time and I’d drive myself insane!
I have what we call a postage stamp yard and I still, after all of these years, haven’t been able to get it all how I want!
I forever have plans and am changing my mind. Do you have that problem?
Love Di ♥
I am good about no impulse buying but I am bad about wanting one of everything and then being not satisfied with the unified result. Because I have such a small space I really need to edit and plant many of a few varietals. But so far, I am failing. again. sigh. Good luck to you, you sound quite convincing.
That’s a funny tagline! I’m wishing for warmer weather too so I can plant my seedlings. However the next few days calls for storms. Ugh.
I have to divide and grow from seed to get the quantity I need . I buy one good perennial and put it in my garden to see if it thrives. If it does-there are lots of divisions. If it doesn’t, there’s always the compost pile!
🙂
I need to do more drifts myself….start the coleus and zinnias from seed, that will cut down your cost.
I too have the same issue, large property and the need to plant lots of just one thing. But you pointed out the issue all too well. When you’re just getting to know a property it’s hard to buy more than one of a plant (especially if it’s expensive) not knowing whether it will survive or not. another problem is if the plants flourishes then you can never find it again at the nursery! I look forward to seeing how you progress with this.
Bonnie – we’ll see if I keep with the “mission”.
Lois – I will always enjoy watching the return of the plants each year. 10 weeks at sea, interesting, what do you do while at sea?
Tex – I am a grass lover as well, they are about the only plant I can count on from year to year
Scott – count me in the Oudolf club as well and I really hope this is the year I practice what I preach. Seems like we think along the exact same lines w all things gardening. Thanks for the comment!
Dar – as you say, it is all about waiting and patience. Have any patience I can borrow?
Diana – I fight my OCD all the time but I am trying like mad to just accept “what happens, happens.” Some days OK, others … not so much.
Jess – I can convince myself easily when things are not growing yet and I’m not plant shopping. Once that hits, I revert back to all of my bad habits.
Meems – the weather = crap
Sue – that is the ideal way to go and hopefully I will do the same this year.
Darla – I do grow all of my annuals from seed but only plant them in containers. I’ve tried planting the seeds in the beds and they either fail or are quickly eaten by the deer.
Marguerite – nice to know someone else is in the same boat. We’ll see how things proceed but I really want to stick to my drift planting plan this year.
You are my kind of gardener: drought tolerant; 1, 3, 5… and divide, divide, divide, and yes, Piet Oudolf’s work is masterful. Happy Spring!
Happy that our paths have crossed. I’m no expert – appreciate the yards/gardens of others as much or more than my own. I SO identify with the “cost” & “condition” factors as well as the eagerness for warm weather to arrive & settle in!
I like the word “drift” much better than “bulk” or Costco size.
What is hard to discern, and I am grateful to Thomas Reiner for this, is that Oudolf plants his drifts in matrices. That’s how he creates his rhythm and repetition. The drifts also have a slight arc to them so that at the point when they are about to wander away, they suddenly turn back.
Great photos…..”May the Force be with You”
We just finished our humble landscape, your pictures are wonderful. We also are trying to reduce our costs, I will post pictures from our landscape soon. We did all drought tolerant plants i love them, we live in northern cali so no rain during summer in our area…
I am interesting in seeing your next posts! 😉
Thanks for the useful tips! I can’t believe I never thought to divide my plants! I planted a bunch of sunflower seeds into beds last week hoping I see some flowers this summer. Last summer I planted seeds into containers first and they didn’t last. Sometimes you just never know!
All the best!
Yes, yes, yes; drifts. Wish we had the room, but a “drift” to us consists of about 5 – 10 plants and that’s probably too much at the larger end. I’ve seen great tiny gardens and gorgeous large ones and the large ones I’ve liked have always planted in large drifts so I think you’re definitely going in the right direction.
Diana – I am almost OCD about planting in odd numbers, but it does work!
Rebecca – thanks for stopping by!
Allan – I never realized the drift pattern but looked it up and now I’m fascinated with the idea!
Southcoast – I still call Star Wars my fave movie of all time so this means a lot!
Andrea – thanks for reading an can’t wait to see your pics, and i’d take Cali in a heartbeat.
Brandi – thank you for reading and couldn’t agree more – sometimes you just don’t know what will work or why it did or didn’t work.
Asha – thanks for stopping by.
K&V – I used the term bulk but I really did mean drifts – now hopefully I can follow my own plan.
I had to chuckle when I read your plan to ‘avoid plant lust’. I have just started being able to do that in the last year or so. It takes a lot of determination. I go to the garden centres and take lists and really try not to buy anything that’s not on it.
I’ll look forward to seeing your pictures later on in the season.
Happy gardening!