Newsletter - January 2010

Hi,

The New Year has started with the return of my ten-year-old niece to Portland and a flare-up of my mother's emphysema. Both family members have kept me too busy to garden and as I look outside, I cringe at all the chores that are looking back. I admit that the cloudy, grey skies contribute to my apathy. Just a little sun would urge me into the cold. How Californian is that?

The garden's weeds especially are annoying. Bermuda Oxalis is at the top of the list, but I'm also seeing petty spurge and sow-thistle. Then there is Bermuda grass (supposed to be dormant right now) winding through bushes and perennials, mocking me with its tenacity. I know I'd better get busy soon. The frost has decimated the leaves of the perennial morning glory, so that must be pruned to the ground. Then the pyracantha needs shaping, the patio needs sweeping, the fountain needs cleaning and the orchids should be fed. Sometimes a part of me envies those living in snow-covered regions, but usually my common sense takes over and I'm grateful for the weather that allows us to tend our gardens in January.

One thing that gardeners everywhere do in the winter is plan for spring. What vegetables will be planted? What flower annuals will decorate the borders? What color themes will be used? What will replace the _____ (you fill in the space) that I lost last year? These are typical, seasonal questions. If however, you're starting from scratch with a brand new garden space, your questions are many and potentially costly.

I recommend that my clients make a list of everything they would like to see in the garden from children's play-sets, to pools. Compare your list with your partners and decide what you both want to keep, eliminate, or perhaps save for the next house. Then do a little research to find out whether your ideas stay within a reasonable budget. Front and back costs including everything (hard-scape, soil preparation, irrigation and plants) except a pool should not exceed ten percent the value of your home. The immediate return from the improvements to your property should be 15%. With house prices dropping, the costs of installing the landscape must be scaled back proportionately unless you plan to stay in the current house for the next twenty to thirty years.

The next step is to have a realistic idea of the property's size. The easiest way is to measure and draw the results on graph paper to scale. Once this is done, drawing the patios, walks, and any other structures is not difficult if you keep a few rules in mind. The most comfortable patio allows 25 square feet per person. So a patio 10'x10' works for four people, but is out if your family regularly entertains three other couples. Main walkways should be four feet wide minimum to all people to stroll side by side. Main walks should also be constructed from solid materials that won't cause people to trip. Keep the stepping stones and wood plank walks to the back. Another good plan is to have access from a walk to the lawn. Surrounding a lawn completely with plants is pretty, but impractical when the mower is faced with a barrier.

My last tip is the most difficult. Try to choose plants that only grow as high and wide as required to reduce garden maintenance. If you remember that a shrub usually grows as wide as it does tall, then laying out the garden beds is much easier. If you want a four-foot high plant in a certain spot, allow a four-foot width for its development - more if you want border plants in front.

These are the best tips except, if you're doing it yourself, keep the lines and plant choices simple. I wish I could tell you that while writing this that the sun had made an appearance and that I was joyfully donning boots and gloves to play outside, but that just isn't the case. So instead I'll turn up the heat - just one notch - and carefully peruse the garden catalogues one more time. I'll write earlier in the month of February.