Two years ago I had the opportunity to design a garden for a new homeowner. A considerable portion of her yard was devoted to food growing in 4 large raised beds. I designed a flower garden surrounding the perimeter of her edible garden. When I first meet with new clients to consult on their ideas, needs and space I get a better understanding of their garden vision. For me it is important to capture their personality in their garden. This busy homeowner is a successful business owner who loves gardens, flowers, cooking and eating healthy fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit. Her favorite colors are pink, red and purple. She rescues dogs and is a lover of the natural world. It was important to her to have an organic garden that attracts and maintains habitat for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. I incorporated all of this into her individualized design.
Her playful garden, two years later, is buzzing with life. A wonderland of colors, textures and fragrance for winged creatures. Some perennial favorites of this colorful cottage garden:
Agastache
Cotinus
Dahlia
Echinacea
Eupatorium
Penstemon
Peonies
Poppies
Rudbeckia
Sedum
Spirea
Annual-allysum, California poppies, cosmos, nasturtium, snapdragon and sunflowers-round out the perennial garden. The evergreen barberry and euphorbia provide winter interest. The spring, summer and fall are a riot of color and garden activity.
Please note her dog supervising me from the window in this photo!
On a recent visit in this garden busy winged creatures happily buzzed all around me as I gardened. I observed 3 species of bees, 2 species of wasp, a butterfly and a hummingbird and a variety of tiny beneficial bugs.
This garden offers ample cutting flowers to bring the bounty into the indoor space to enjoy while working, cooking and relaxing.
The edible garden has produced tub after tub of fresh food this spring: arugula, basil, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, chives, dill, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, oregano, radishes, rosemary, sage, scallions, spinach, strawberries, thyme. I just harvested the first zucchini already and cucumbers will be mature later this week. Beans are climbing and tomatoes are flowering.
It is truly meaningful to see the plentiful rewards of my individualized design. Happy garden creatures, healthy soil, bouquets and fresh food are all a part of this biodiverse garden.
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