by Lisa Newman, Art DirectorFor the last year (at least) I’ve cornered every gardener I know, looking for advice, guidance, and direction for a yet-to-be-“gardened” area of my yard.I’ve been trying to imagine creating a garden where there is none. It used to be that I just started digging and created something, but all these years later I think I know better. Or at least I imagine I should know better than to just start without some sort of vision.My problem seems to be that I can’t commit to a design, a list of plants, or a direction. I like everything. Everyone's suggestions seem perfect.Should I go with tropicals as one friend suggested? Or a series of "rooms" as suggested by a stellar landscape designer? Containers mixed with plantings is another option, and then there’s the possibility of making this the designated space for a long-dreamed-of cutting garden. Whatever direction I end up with, then there will be the list of plants. Another quandry for me.It’s all making my head spin. Luckily I still have time. As of lunch today there’s still a solid two-foot base of snow and ice.I guess what really scares me is that I have never followed a plan, a design, a list. Much as I want to believe I can do it I just can’t seem to get there. This seems to be a window into my general “process,” or lack of. I seem to have the same approach to gardening as I have to cooking: I read and look at all sorts of inspirational material and then go and invent. For me it’s all very random, whether I’m planning the garden or creating a meal.
This exercise of writing this may have helped me to commit. When I got to this place on the page I began to imagine the following (actually it’s a marriage of all that has been suggested):
A long row of 'Annabelle' hydrangea shrubs against the fence
Three containers with 'Brown Turkey' fig trees
Replant the cannas from last year in a tight cluster
Salvia 'Spanish Dancer'
Lots of annuals for picking
A witch hazel because I’ve been wanting to add that to the landscape
And then the rest will come from inspiration when I visit the nursery—just like usual.
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