Calgary Garden Coach

Paula's garden

A regular reader and commenter (thanks, BTW!) of this blog, Paula, sent me some pictures a while ago and I've been meaning to post them.  I don't post too many "before and after" of my own garden designs for clients, since I don't usually do the actual planting, just provide a drawing, so there's nothing much to look at.  So, here are some pictures that are much prettier to look at than my sketches!

Some of the front/side garden - nice job Paula!

I especially love this one (above).  I always tell clients that the line between where the grass ends and the garden begins is one of the most important things in the overall design - because it is the line that your eye sees.  So make big, sweeping, smooth curves, not little squiggly ones.  The circular shape of this line and how it follows the circle around the base of the tree looks great.  I wouldn't necessarily change a thing, but if you wanted to go for even more impact I could see the bed around the tree becoming just a little bigger, and the grass effectively becoming a narrow pathway around the tree.  A bench in there somewhere would also be a visual treat and provide a place to sit and enjoy the view.  BTW, the repeat of pink flowers and the various foliage colours and textures look great, too!

Paula sent me a couple pictures of her morning glories, after I complained about mine.  Paula, I'm still not convinced!  Yes, yours are beautiful! Yes, I finally got flowers too this year and yes, they are big and exotic looking, but the quantity of flowers and length of bloom time cannot beat sweet peas - not to mention morning glories don't have any fragrance!  I'm definitely planting more sweet peas next year and will probably skip the morning glories...

Here is Paula's greenhouse (I am so jealous!) in the back, surrounded by lots of garden.  I love the green picnic table too - as you know I'm all about colour, there's no beige in my garden! She's done an especially great job because here's what it used to look like...

Wow, what a transformation!  And don't get me started on what a pain it is to get rid of all that gravel mulch....  Please people, it is not low maintenance, and unless you are planting a desert-style, xeriscape type of garden, it is ugly, ugly, ugly.  Paula, we should start an educational campaign about the disadvantages of gravel mulch!  The number of clients I've had who've asked me how to get rid of weeds that are growing in their "no maintenance" gravel mulch... well, I could go on but I won't. 

Here's some more "before" pictures from Paula.  Paula, I sympathize with you on the paint colours and the gravel!  As you know, I've had the same issues at my own house.  Sometimes you just want to meet the previous owners, shake them, and ask them what the &*^$#! they were thinking, don't you?!!

Anybody else out there want to share like Paula and show us some of your garden pics?

firepit design revisited

  This client had some trees removed downhill of this firepit last year, in order to get a better view of the city.  What to replace them with?

We didn't want anything too tall that would block the view again, but there is a hill that slopes downward immediately behind the firepit so anything too short wouldn't be visible either.  The client is also a fan of orange flowers, and specified NOT PINK.  This is what we came up with:

It's hard to see but imagine this in a couple years when the plants are bigger: a hedge of 5 yellow 'Dart's Gold' ninebark shrubs around the back of the firepit, a drought-tolerant garden of ornamental grass, gaillardia, iris germanica and cushion spurge on the left, and a 'Diabolo' ninebark and dwarf globe blue spruce on the right for year-round colour, plus some daylilies and sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

Here's a close-up of the left-hand side.  There is cushion spurge and iris germanica for spring colour, 3 catmints along the front for summer colour, 3 gaillardia 'Frenzy' for summer/fall orange-ish bloom colour, and an ornamental grass for season-long interest. (We still need to finish topping up the bark mulch.)

To the right of the golden hedge are 3 orange daylilies 'Frans Haal', and a dwarf globe blue spruce for year-round colour.

And on the far right, a 'Diabolo' ninebark to contrast with the blue spruce and repeat the burgandy foliage colour that exists elsewhere in the yard, plus 3 sedum 'Autumn Joy' for textural contrast with the daylilies and fall bloom colour.

Whaddya think?

a sunny, hot front garden part 2

Here again, the client decided to keep what she had, to add shrubs this fall, and more flowers next spring.  Here's what it looked like before.  She says she likes the look of bare soil, but wants colour, colour, colour.

Well, this is a start.  The 'Skyrocket' juniper is the narrowest upright juniper you can get, I think the the blue colour looks great in front of the gold wall, and it will echo the junipers on the other side of the walkway.  This one will eventually get 3 m high and only 75 cm wide.  We also added 3 potentillas (2 are 'Gold Drop' and the third was moved from the garden in the back), all with bright yellow flowers.  They will eventually form a nice, low-growing hedge in front of the bench.

I re-arranged the yuccas, heucheras and fescues, and added some daylilies, since she had too many on the other side of the walkway.  They all had to be moved anyway, to make space for the shrubs we added.  There are quite a few 'spiky'-shaped plants here, so I definately see some tall sedums in the future, as well as gaillardia, shasta daisies, cranesbill geranium...

Since the client likes the look of bare soil, I recommend top-dressing these beds with at least 2" of compost every spring.  It will help keep the weeds down, improve the soil, and fertilize the plants. 

screening an air conditioning unit part 2

This client wanted to screen the air conditioning unit, and have more colour.  She decided we would add shrubs this fall (a great time to plant!), and flowers in the spring.  Here is what it looked like before, and below is after I added the shrubs and re-arranged some of her existing perennials:

The new juniper 'Moonglow' will eventually get large enough to screen the view, without blocking access.  In the meantime, the ornamental grass 'Karl Foerster' will help block the view.

There's a Dart's Red spirea in the corner closest to the front door.  It will add flower colour in summer and have reddish-purple foliage in fall.

I also added 3 'Black Beauty' elderberries, whose purple-black foliage contrast well with the blue juniper and fescues.  They will eventually get 5 ft tall and wide.

The blue fescues were moved from the other side of the front sidewalk, and I also re-arranged the variegated grasses and yellow daylilies a little.

Also, the Karl Foerster grass will be big enough by next year to screen the view as you get closer to the house.

We haven't added any flowers yet and I think it already looks a lot better with the various colours and textures of foliage.

front yard garden instead of grass

This client was tired of looking at the garbage can when she pulled up to her house.  So, I had her take out the grass and prepare this new bed.  Then, I arrived with the following plants:

Shrubs: 

* blue spruce 'Montgomery', which will eventually get to 7 ft x 7 ft (to match one on the other side of the driveway)

* ninebark 'Center Glow'

* potentilla 'Abbotswood'

The key to placing shrubs is to space them so that they will not overcrowd each other when they are full size.  It's hard to imagine, but when these shrubs fill in they will all touch.  But in the meantime, the garden would look pretty sparse.  So here are the perennials that are designed to complement the shrubs and be low maintenance:

* 3 daylilies

* 3 bergenia cordifolia

* 1 calamagrostis 'Overdam'

* 1 perennial geranium 'Bloody cranesbill'

* 3 festuca glauca 'Elijah blue'

There!  The perennials will fill in much faster (2-3 years) and in the meantime some bark mulch between the plants wil keep moisture in and weeds down.  Besides adding some compost every year, the only other thing that needs to be done to this garden is a light pruning in spring.  And even though it will be a few years before the shrubs are big enough to actually screen the view of the garbage can, at least they are still more interesting to look at than lawn!!

planting to screen an airconditioning unit

This is the other side of the front entry.  Someone planted a few ornamental grasses, which are too small and see-through to screen the air conditioner.  Also, there are a gzillion daylilies (stella d'oro, I think) planted all along the walkway and around a tree on this side.  Despite the fact that I've seen daylilies on lists of deerproof plants, the flower buds on these daylilies keep getting eaten by deer. 

So, we need a screen, a welcoming entry, more variety and some deerproof plants here.  My suggestions:

* a juniper 'Moonglow' in front of the airconditioner.  It will match the other two already planted there, and echo the smaller 'Blue Arrow' on the other side .  It will get up to 1.5m wide, so it must be planted to ensure access to the air conditioning units.

* 3 ninebarks 'Centre Glow' or 'Coppertina' which will contrast nicely with the blue juniper and also echo the gold tones on the house

* a spirea 'Dart's Red' in the corner between the front patio and the walkway

* move and replant the daylilies so that they form more dense groups - one group in a semi-circle around the front of the shade tree, one group in a clump between the spirea and ninebark shrubs

* some groupings of bearded iris, festuca glauca and dwarf shasta daisies should be planted (more than once) to repeat the plantings on the other side

* other "deerproof" perennials to be added could include columbine, lamb's ears, penstemon 'Husker's Red', perennial geranium and sedum 'Matrona' as well as a variety of creeping sedums.  Remember the rules of plant combining here - these plants are selected for their variety of leaf colour/texture/shape and plant shape as well as their sun-loving qualities.

a sunny, hot front garden

This client has a south-facing front entry, and the heat reflected off the house and surrounding concrete makes this garden hot.  She hates the yucca and larger ornamental grasses (not to mention they are spaced too far apart even if you like the xeriscape look!).  There are also 3 purple heucheras that do not look happy. 

I think we need a few shrubs, including at least one evergreen, to provide some winter interest and balance the garden on the other side.  Although she didn't ask my advice on this aspect, I would put the bench in front of the stucco wall, rather than the window (and move the vases to either side).  The metal will stand out better against the solid colour, and the view from the inside will not be interrupted by the bench (the view will be nicer soon!).  The client stipulated she likes warm colours such as yellows and reds, not pinks or purples.  And finally, the plants should be hare and deer-proof, as much as possible.

[Update: Click here for stage 1 renovation.]

smaller trees, please!

The aspens on the left of this mixed tree and shrub bed are not doing well, and are blocking my client's view of downtown. 

I recommend taking them out and replacing with a Caragana 'Sutherland'.  This tree has a nice form, but is shorter and narrower than most.  It will still provide a vertical element in the bed, but not block the view.  It is also a drought-tolerant prairie tree and has yellow flowers in spring and interesting bark in winter.

The shrub on the right could also be taken out and replaced with a low-growing juniper such as 'Andorra' or 'Green Carpet'.

plants for a sunny, hot raised bed

Rock gardens are a great place to grow sun and heat-loving plants.  The rocks retain a lot of heat, keeping the soil warmer at night, allowing some plants to grow here that wouldn't grow in a regular garden in Calgary.

However, too much rock and not enough soil means a super hot, super dry garden where it is tough to get things to grow.  Like this one.  There is currently a coreopsis and a little patch of snow-in-summer surviving, and surprisingly a monkshood, plus a few poppies and creeping sedums recently put in.

I suggest filling it in with a variety of heights of plants around the bottom, and some spillers on the top (soil pockets not visible in this picture).  Obviously, all plants must be sun and heat tolerant.  Here are some perennial possibilities:

• creeping sedums of a variety of flower and leaf colour and variegations
• hens and chicks
• thymus (ornamental thymes of a variety of flower colours, textures and scents)
• satureja reptans (creeping savory)
• dwarf iris germanica
• achillea millefolium (yarrow, various flower colours)
• gaillardia (blanket flower) 
• lamb's ears 'Silver Carpet' (non-flowering variety)
• gypsophilia paniculata (baby's breath)
• nepeta (catmint) 'Walker's Low'
• artemesia 'Silver Mound' and 'Lambrook Silver'

And because they like the heat so much that replanting them every year would be worth it, these annuals could go in as well:

• portulaca, various colours
• verbena, various colours
• trailing nasturtiums

One important thing will be to water all the newly planted perennials daily for a few weeks.  They are only drought and heat-tolerant once they are established.

 

sitting area with a view

This client has a gorgeous sitting area with a view over downtown, except you can't see it for the trees, which are growing on the slope below.  I suggested taking out all the trees that are interfering with the view, but leaving the shrubs (such as wolf willow) that are also growing wild on the slope. 

There is also a semi-circular, flattish area in front of, and to the left of the patio which is overgrown with weeds and needs to be cleaned out and replanted.  We don't want to plant anything tall enough to impede the view from sitting.  Also, it is an awkward area to get into so everything planted here should be very low maintenance.  My suggestions include:

• * A hedge of ninebark 'Dart's Gold' (probably 5) around the back of the semi-circle.  This will add a backdrop of colour that will draw attention to this area from anywhere in the yard.  If they get too tall, their size can be controlled by pruning or cutting to the ground when necessary.

* A ninebark 'diabolo' and a dwarf globe blue spruce on the left side for year-round colour contrast.  The nienbark will also add unity with some other diabolos planted elsewhere in the yard.

* Some low maintenance perennials and ground covers in front of the shrubs, with a variety of heights, some spilling over the edge of the rocks, including:

• perovskia atriplicifolia (russian sage)
• leucanthemum (shasta daisy) 'Becky'
• veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'
• iris germanica (bearded iris)
• euphorbia (cushion spurge)
• sedum 'Autumn Joy'
• daylily (spiller, kind of) 
• bergenia cordifolia
• nepeta (catmint) 'Walker's Low' (spiller)
• persicaria (fleeceflower) 'Darjeeling Red'
• festuca glauca
• lysimachia nummularia aurea (spiller)

my brother's front yard needs help

I have forgiven my brother for moving after I designed a new front yard for him at his old house.  This north-facing one needs even more help and I can't wait to get my hands dirty!

They are going to replace the walkway with exposed aggregate next spring, so we are going to come up with a design and prepare the soil this fall, so he's ready to plant as early as possible next year.

Yikes.  They limbed up that spruce and now there's a hole in the hedge where the spruce's lower branches used to be.  Hmm, what to do, what to do...

...and what to do with the bare spot now that the lower branches are gone?  Well, I do like a challenge.

This is the view from inside - an important consideration in design!

backyard border 1 makeover part 2 - the plants

I delivered the client's perennials yesterday in the pouring rain, so didn't take any pictures of them in situ yet.  Here's the before picture and I'll post some after pictures next time I go back.

After showing this client pictures of a variety of styles of gardens, she said she liked everything (my favourite kind of client, easy going!), but this picture from Gardens West magazine (March 2008) was the one that really caught her eye:

This kind of bountiful bloom can only be achieved from lots of annuals in the garden.  The only perennials I can make out are blue delphiniums and purple phlox, otherwise there's lots of petunias and allysum (the annuals).  The only problem with a garden like this is that in Calgary, it won't look like this until at least the end of July because it takes that long for the annuals to get big.  So for 3 months May-July you are just waiting for the garden to look good, and before mid-May you won't even have any annuals at all, you'll be looking at bare soil.

So I suggested planting a few key perennials throughout this client's border, and then filling in the spaces with wave petunias to achieve the riot of colour she likes so much.   The perennials chosen all had to have at least one of the following attributes, preferably two or three:

- they had to be large and fast-growing to provide some structure to the garden

- they had to be long blooming

- they had to provide early spring colour, so the garden looks good even before the annuals are planted

- they had to provide more than one season of interest - eg. foliage colour and texture when out of bloom, winter interest, etc.

So here's what I came up with:

goldmound spireas (spring, summer and fall colour)

monkshood (long blooming, structure)

garden phlox (fall colour, paired with monkshood)

liatris (fall colour, paired with monkshood)

catmint (long blooming)

lady's mantle (foliage, paired with catmint)

hosta (foliage)

veronica 'Sunny Border Blue' (long blooming, structure, winter interest)

shasta daisy 'Becky' (long blooming, paired with veronica)

daylily (structure, paired with veronica and shasta daisy)

blue oat grass (structure, foliage, year-round interest)

dwarf bearded iris (structure, early spring colour)

She also has some cranesbills, bleeding heart and lamium to divide and move around in the border, plus we are adding an Annabelle hydrangea in the shade.  Like I said, I'll post pictures after my next visit.

backyard border 1 makeover - before

This is the kind of garden design job I like best.  Sure, I like doing complete designs from scratch and providing drawings for people, but I don't do the actual work myself so I never get to see the end result!  Here is one of the borders of a client I will be working with over the summer.  She has given me a budget of $50 for compost and $200 for perennials & shrubs for this border, and I will deliver the plants and place them in the garden for her, ready to be planted.  This way I get to shop, pick the plants myself, and see them in their future home.  Fun!

This border is on the south side of her backyard, and goes from shade on the left to sun on the right.  There are a few shrubs and trees we can keep, and others that aren't doing so well.  I stuck a fork in the soil and it went in fairly easily to a depth of about 30 cm, so we decided not to dig out and replace the soil, just to amend it.  Here are the tasks I gave her to do before I bring the plants next week:

• Pull out the plastic edging in the middle of the garden bed.  Plants will better serve the purpose of holding the soil in the sloped bed.
• Pull weeds.  Watering the night before weeding will soften the soil and make this job easier.  Be sure to completely remove any weeds with flowers or seeds on them, and toss in garbage.  Any smaller seedlings can be composted.
• Turn the entire garden over with a fork, to a depth of 30 cm (or about the depth of the fork).  Remove any large rocks.  Do not dig too close to existing perennials or shrubs so as not to disturb roots.

garden makeover step-by-step

One problem with being a garden coach is that you only give tips, advice and designs, but don't do the actual makeover work yourself.  Therefore, besides my own ongoing garden makeover, I don't have any pictures to show of my work!

My brother and his wife have asked me to help them with their front yard again, so I will be taking photos of each stage of the makeover and posting tips along with them.  Keep in mind we both have young families and summer holidays coming up, so it is going to be a slow process! 

Oh the suspense! 

Keep checking back over the summer for more posts in this category.