On Saturday, Saturday meet Marianne Binetti at Huckleberry Gardens in Burienat 10 a.m. for a free presentation on “Four Seasons of Color”. Handouts and plant demos included. This is a new nursery with a great staff. For more info visit huckleberrygardens.com
The third week of April is when you may be able to start planting container gardens that are in a protected location such as on a porch or warm patio.
Many annuals such as lobelia, geraniums and petunias can handle cool nights so a late April planting date might work. If you do not want to gamble on a surprise late frost, then wait until mid-May before filling your pots. This is a reminder that April is still too early to plant heat loving tomatoes, peppers, begonias, marigolds and basil outdoors. Even a few nights near 40 degrees but above freezing will stunt these tender wimps and blackened foliage will be your reminder that you planted too soon.
If you are designing a new landscape or just reworking one section of the yard here are the design tips that I have been teaching for more than 40 years to simplify the shopping trip for plants.
Just use this recipe and repeat the planting plan to fill the space. You can use it in a space as small as a container or as large as a back yard privacy planting. Mix it up once you get the idea but keep in mind that it is repetition that makes a landscape design look planned rather than hap hazard. For a more formal look add some straight lines, but for a naturalistic design make the spacing more random.
DESIGN RECIPE FOR GROUPING PLANTS
One Tall
This will be the focal point plant (or tree or shrub) that you build the lower plants around. In a large design it could be a Japanese maple, in a container garden it might be the spiky dracaena or upright euphorbia that goes in the center of the pot.
Tip: You don’t need to use a plant for the tall focal point. In a small space a bird bath or sundial could serve as the tall focal point.
Three Medium
These should all be the same type of plant and grouped around the tall focal point. They could be in a circle for a formal design or staggered in front of the focal point in a triangle pattern for a more naturalistic look. In a container the medium plants might be fillers such as wax begonias or coleus.
Tip: Add drama by using plant material with a different texture or color than the focal point plant. Maybe that Japanese maple used as the tall plant has red foliage. Use low growing rhododendrons with a blue cast to the leaves such as Rhododendron impiditum to contrast with the wine foliage of the maple.
Five to Seven Low Growers
These are the plants that can serve as groundcovers or weed blockers for the design. Consider native kinnickick or low growing ferns in a large design or in a container garden use cascading spillers such as lobelia or bacopa. Use less low growers in a small space. Again you want to use the same plants to reinforce the repetition or rhythm or the design.
Keeping this general idea in mind you can research plants that will do well in your growing situation such as dry shade or full sun to come up with plants with the right size, color and texture for your design. Now get creative. All design rules are made to be broken so add your own twist and preferences.
April is a great month to add new plants to the landscape and to keep growing.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.