Design Ideas: Creating Your Perfect Garden
Rooftop Gardens
Projects in Place
Here's just one example of a rooftop garden. This can be a great way of growing food and flowers, attracting birds and pollinators and decreasing hot rooftop temperatures.
"The planters were a unique design. Plastic industrial sinks (cheap and nearly indestructible) were mounted against the parapet in a continuous line forming a railing. They were then lined with filter fabric, with a plastic drain attached to the bottom. They were then filled with layers of garden soil, organic peat (water retention) and perlite (light weight and free draining) to create our own custom-lightweight growing media."
"The planters were a unique design. Plastic industrial sinks (cheap and nearly indestructible) were mounted against the parapet in a continuous line forming a railing. They were then lined with filter fabric, with a plastic drain attached to the bottom. They were then filled with layers of garden soil, organic peat (water retention) and perlite (light weight and free draining) to create our own custom-lightweight growing media."
Rock Walls and Retaining Walls
Wooden Walls and Fences
Stucco courtyard with window
Tall grass finally matures in Fall
Archway entrance to backyard.
Creeping Virginia turning red in fall.
A clump of grass softens a corner
wooden fence with lattice.
Small Rock Garden
De Lat, Vietnam
© dang ngoc tai - flickr
i just love this tree.
Climbing Vines
Clematis is a popular garden staple. Look at this gorgeous combination of purple and red!
Height with Hollyhocks
Love 'em or hate 'em, hollyhocks are great for adding height and bursts of color to a garden. They reseed vigorously and once established are almost impossible to eradicate...
Pathways
Jupiter's Beard on the left in the raised brick bed. Roses across the path on the right and climbing to the balcony in the background. Both the roses and Jupiter's beard tend to crowd out this path but with a little pruning make a beautiful combination
Columnar Apple Trees
Many trees come in columnar varieties, straight and tall rather than wide and broad. This style is great for narrower areas, to gain height but not width and to create structure in your garden.
Groundcover
There are so many varieties of ground cover. It can be a great addition to edge a border and to soften the ground. Consider plantings rather than using mulch in all of your bare areas.
Color
Choose colors that feel good to you. There are almost unlimited color schemes for your garden, and these can change with the time of year. Color combining is important. You can go with a vibrant mixture of every color in the rainbow, or just a one or two for a more refined or calmer feeling.
Benches
A bench can add great structure to your garden. It also draws people to it, creating flow around your garden and areas of interest.