I’ve finally had an opportunity to work on a design for my own yard and wanted to share it with you. It is for a space 10m long by 3m wide that is immediately adjacent to a 1m grass buffer that separates it from the driveway. Walking along the driveway is common, so the garden has a bit of extra detail for whomever is passing by to enjoy. Otherwise it has lots of repeating structure, texture, and colour for those driving by in a vehicle. The design is also broken up into blocks, so it can be adjusted to fit other spaces of varying sizes.

I’m really looking forward to eventually cooking this one up, and will share updates along the way as I get the site prepared for planting!

Ingredients:

Seasons:

Overview

Spring

The main component within this garden is the cool season grass Deschampsia, which takes up approximately 30% of the overall space. As it grows in spring it will be balanced by Amsonia, as well as two different Allium species and Narcissus. The Allium will also carry some interest into early summer with their seed heads before fading into the background.

Summer

Summer is the main flowering time for the garden with Baptisia, Monarda, and Phloxcarrying the visual interest. Amsonia will stop flowering in early summer, while Vernonia and Liatris will remain hidden until late summer. Salvia is the shortest perennials used, but plays an important roll as an anchor with its purple flowers. The other perennials will either be on the blue or pink side of purple.

Fall

Fall will be fairly laid back within the garden as Liatris and Vernonia will be the only plants in flower. However, Deschampsia will look stunning in the fall sunlight. There will also be some fall colour interest from Amsonia as it goes dormant, while Baptisiaand Monarda add some interesting seed displays.