Borrowing ideas from other people’s gardens

Touring other people’s gardens is a great way to get ideas for improving your own. Every two years, the Huntington Junior League Garden Club makes this easy by offering a tour of some of the best gardens in Huntington. This year’s tour in June featured a nice variety of large and small gardens full of inspiration.

Here are some tips gleaned from this year’s tour that you can incorporate in your own garden:

Avoid the straight and narrow. Curves are much more attractive in your landscape. When planning a new bed, lay a garden hose on the ground and keep adjusting it until you get the curved edges just right before digging.
	Provide a place to sit. A stone bench is nice, but a pair of outdoor-type wood or metal chairs will do. Place the bench or chairs in a location where a pretty part of the garden may be viewed.
Experiment with colors. For example, while you might not want to mix lavender and red in your home décor, the combination can be stunning in your garden. Experts remind us that nothing clashes in nature.
	Express your whimsical side. An imaginative “critter” peeking out between some leaves is sure to evoke smiles from your garden visitors.
If you have a path through your garden, let plants spill over into the path to soften the effect.
	Large drifts of the same kind and color flowers is sure to catch your eye, but a group of lots of different colored flowers makes a more personalized statement.
Group plants together according to their requirements of sunlight and water. For example, lamb’s ears, sedum and artemisia are all drought tolerant and need full sun. The contrasting color and shape of their leaves make an attractive combination, especially against the background of a small evergreen shrub.
	When using large stones in your garden, incorporate them among your plants for a more natural look.
Plant flowers which attract butterflies. Coneflowers are good, and their dry seedheads will lure yellow finches in the fall.
	Provide a focal point. In this case, it’s a large fountain, but you could use a birdbath, a large urn or a piece of sculpture. It’s best to place the focal point at the end of a path or on the far side of your garden to draw visitors in.
Consider texture when choosing plants. A mixture of delicate fern leaves next to the thick round leaves of hostas and the small jagged leaves of astilbe provide interest even after the flowers fade.