What Makes a Garden by Jenny Bloom, one of the world's leading garden designers, is a unique book that is filled with creativity on every page.
Many gardening books these days are just a collection of boring pictures of plants and lists of things (flowering and edible plants for each season, pests to watch out for, beneficial insects, pollinators, gardening techniques to follow). ), which can be easily found. on the Internet. . .
What a Garden Makes (Quarto, 2023) is about the size of a coffee table, but much larger. There is something to learn on each of its voluminous pages: 248 of them, filled with engravings, artistic photographs and drawings of garden design. Additionally, Bloom's philosophical musings are a welcome addition to his extensive knowledge of all aspects of garden design.
Bloom refers to psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, with self-actualization at the top. "It is natural that gardens are at the top of the hierarchy of human needs," he wrote, "at the top of self-realization and completeness." To connect with the garden you worked so hard to create.' and strive for self-realization in the best possible way.'
It is said that the design of a garden and the plants in it can tell a lot about the character of the gardener who created it. If you have a cactus garden, you may be a loner with a picky temperament. In contrast, the owner of an herb garden is likely to be a generous person who will invite visitors to bring home seedlings for tea or propagation.
When it comes to pots, Bloom recommends using large containers because the plants are "tougher" than when grown in small containers. He also recommends placing containers on carts so they can be moved around easily. This is good advice for light-loving plants, for example, because you need to move them from time to time as the sun changes in the sky, and the sunniest spot in your garden can change from season to season.
Some of your favorite plants for large containers include fragrant sweet olive (Osmatnus spp.), broom (Genista spp.) with neon yellow spring flowers, and citrus trees. I will add a recommendation to plant semi-dwarf citrus trees, since when growing fruit trees in containers, it is recommended to completely change the soil once a year.
One of Bloom's most interesting discussions is about her favorite aromatic plants of each season. In winter, enjoy the scent of honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.); In spring, bulbous flowers such as lilies and daffodils provide an olfactory delight, the most common of which is the paper white (Narcissus papyraceus). I highly recommend purchasing white paper bulbs as they will easily establish themselves in any garden and it is a pleasure to watch the number of planted plants increase from year to year.
Their favorite summer scent comes from thistles (Erysimum spp.). Yellow blooming flowers are one of the heaviest garden plants and fully deserve a prominent place in any garden. Finally, in autumn, Bloom talks about her craving for the scent of classic autumn flowers: "I love the sharp, resinous scent of chrysanthemums, whose sticky smell from the leaves is almost impossible to eliminate."
The author not only discusses the soft or horticultural aspects of garden or landscape design, but also pays close attention to landscape features and materials. You will probably agree with the saying, "Landscape makes scenery harsh." Bloom describes gravel as "one of the most useful materials" in landscaping projects. I strongly support this decision. One reason gravel is attractive is its cost. Another reason I recommend using it as mulch. It has a dual purpose: it holds moisture in the soil and prevents weeds from appearing.
California Environment of the Week : Black oak (Quercus kelloggii) is a beautiful tree, but you'll have a hard time growing it in your yard because of its potential size. The trees vary in height from 30 to 80 meters with an even distribution. A black oak with a low potential size may be a desirable specimen tree, but a tree with a high potential size can be a problem, even though it is usually classified as medium. Black oak is deciduous, but its foliage provides year-round aesthetic appeal, turning pink in the spring, bright green and an attractive yellow-orange in the fall. If you're foraging, black acorns are considered the tastiest of those grown on native California oaks, but be sure to follow a pretty careful protocol to make them (or any other nut) edible rather than chewable.
If you have any garden design tips, send them to joshua@perfectplants.com. We always welcome your questions and comments on any planting, gardening or questions.
