Photo Courtesy Of Julia PowersGarden design provides the perfect opportunity to showcase ones creativity. Every plant can have a voice and a personality of its own within the gardens overall theme.

Everyone has some experience or memory that can provide a starting point for creating a garden. It could be a story, a movie, an historical era, a favorite painter’s work or a personal belief.

One of my favorite projects was for a client who had loved her grandmother’s garden. She also liked a scene from the Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland” in which a chorus of flowers sung to Alice. The client’s garden includes all the old favorites such as dahlias, gladiolas, geraniums, hydrangeas and roses. Plants go in and out of style. Some that are great performers get overlooked eventually because they seem too common, but usually there was a reason grandma loved them. In this garden, every plant seems to have a voice and a personality of its own.

Another client grew up on a tea plantation in India. The tea bushes (Camellia sinensis) grew on hillsides under a forest canopy of deciduous oaks. This beautiful image was a long way from his hot, flat backyard, but it inspired mounding along the perimeter and the planting of a number of deciduous trees. He was also a fan of Peter Max, the iconic artist of the 1960s, so we chose plants in vibrant colors like the purple of potato bush, a hot pink bougainvillea and a bright orange trumpet vine.

I recall one garden where the shape of a large urn by the front door always reminded me of the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.” In another memorable garden, the owner had planted the rose “First Kiss” near the front door where she and her significant other shared their first kiss.

Landscape designer Danna Breen’s enthusiasm for her work seems to be contagious. One of her clients was so intrigued with their plan for a curved steel fence that he took a welding class to learn how to help his contractor build it. Another of Breen’s clients was so inspired by the process she became a landscape designer herself.

Whether you are filling in a few empty spots in an existing garden or starting with a completely blank slate, no one knows your property better than you and no one knows what will resonate for you. So whether you work with a landscape designer or do it yourself, brainstorm images, memories, fragrances or experiences. If a certain plant reminds you of someone you care about, put it in. If the smell of oregano gets you to start simmering marinara sauce, plant it by the kitchen door. If you love a certain color combination in your bedspread, repeat it in your garden.

There is an art to knowing which plants can thrive in what space, and how to achieve balance and proportion, but inspiration drawn from your own experiences will make your garden unique and meaningful.

Julia Powers is a landscape designer and member of the Association for Professional Landscape Designers. For more information, visit www.juliapowers.com or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Email (will not be published)

Name

Title

Comment
 remaining characters

Post

We reserve the right to use comments submitted on our site in whole or in part. We will not publish comments that contain advertising or website links.