Diary July 2005 - Basics of Design

July 2005


Last weekend I had a chance to visit one of my dearest friends in Elora, Ontario. Sheila, a Master Gardener, is as obsessed about gardening as I am. We spent hours admiring every single plant in her garden and both enjoyed every minute of it.

I told Sheila about this website and she was quite excited. When would it be ready? What was it about? I answered that I was going to plan my retirement garden and make it as close to “perfect” as I could.

“What are your concepts ?” she asked
“My concepts???” I echoed, looking blank.

Gee whiz – what were my concepts? Had I even formulated concepts yet?
Well, OK – let me think (quick!) Ummmm…. Let’s see:
The garden will need STRUCTURE. I want an arbour, a patio, a bench, sculpture, flagstone walkways – structural elements that will ground the plants. So the first concept would be structure.
The second concept would be a LAWNLESS FRONT YARD. No grass. No maintenance. NO fertilizing, no mowing. Something much more unique to look at than boring turf. (I may have to fight my husband on this one, though).
The third concept would be drought tolerant plants. Summers seem to be getting increasingly hotter and drier. A lower maintenance garden would have plants that can manage on little rain or watering.

There- I knew I could come up with concepts that would form a great foundation for my future plans. Throughout this planning section on the website, I will expand on all 3 concepts and more.