The Master Gardener of the Ozarks, of Taney and Stone County Missouri, held their 15th Annual Spring Gardening Workshop on March 3, 2018. Nine CCMG members attended, with five program speakers and varied plant vendors. My interest was piqued by one of the speakers, Kathryn Kufahl, on the topic of “The Right Size Garden.” I found it particularly interesting this time of year as gardeners are engaged in thinking, planning, and planting. Here is a short summary of the book that this concept is based on. ~Sam Davis
Editing Your Garden As Life Changes
Does it sometimes feel as if your garden has taken you hostage?
Gardens often multiply over the years. We like getting plants from friends and fellow gardeners. We love purchasing new plants in spring and plant addiction can run rampant. Sometimes we resist ejecting a plant from the garden, feeling that we just do not want to kill a perfectly good thing. All of these factors can creep up on us until we have disarray and chaos in our gardens.
It’s time to redefine your garden to fit your changing needs.
Conditions in any garden may have changed: trees grow and produce more shade, foundation plantings may have overgrown their space. The gardener’s abilities may have changed due to the limitations of health and aging. Perhaps new interests or life changes have entered the picture and taken more time from your schedule.
You be the judge for the elimination round.
Begin with the three R’s: remain, revamp, or remove. If a plant is still eye-catching and lush, it remains. If plantings are remote, hard to care for, not sparking your joy, it is removed. It it needs rejuvenation, just give it a tuck here or there and revamp with a facelift. Do not feel bound by prior decisions.
Expect that half of the gardens will need editing.
View your gardens with an objective eye, from a favorite vantage spot. Gardens can be compacted, square foot style. Some areas may be better as hardscape, or just simply mulched or planted in ground covers. You are looking to reach the three R’s: relief, relaxation, and refinement.
There are solutions to have refined, edited gardens.
Follow basic design elements: no “gumdrop” gardens, four or odd numbers of plants, meeting plant watering and light needs, providing interest through all seasons. Consider swapping shrubs for many perennials. Every plant should do double duty with interesting foliage as well as flowers. Beware of suckering plants and large grasses with unmanageable root masses. Consider newer varieties of plants, which may be more disease resistant and compact. Plants are not people or pets, they can be shovel-pruned to declutter and simplify your space.
Kathryn Kufahl
Master Gardeners of the Ozarks
From the “Right Size Flower Garden” by Kerry Ann Mendez @ https://pyours.com