Comments on: My Dirty, Little Garden Secret

By: Desert Dweller / David C.

Desert Dweller / David C. — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:47:19 +0000

Glad I read back on some posts I missed!

This is great material, along with loads of photos I already have, for a future presentation. (a presentation sure to get me screamed at by some) The old-guard style of “xeriscape” still plaguing parts of the west is “perennials and grasses = low maintenance, water use”, when it isn’t really true. Those promoting that are more *against* design principles, neatness than they are *for* wild, weedy…maintenance and water conservation are simply terms they misapply to make their cases.

By: Susan Libertiny

Susan Libertiny — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:04:33 +0000

Apparently, my ability to edit has completely died (or I have been drinking…or both). What I meant to say in my previous comment was that I would never last past the first wilted plant when the summer heat starts and the rain never falls. Thanks for sharing your “secret”.

I apologize for the incoherent comment above…ha ha.

By: Susan Libertiny

Susan Libertiny — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:00:57 +0000

What a fantastic idea. It has to give you ideas of how to design for clients that are, well, not the least bit interested in gardening, but love the idea of having a garden. I have to commend your fortitude. I would never last past the first wilted plant when the heat start and the rain did come. Thanks for sharing your “secret”.

By: Susan aka Miss. R

Susan aka Miss. R — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:51:31 +0000

I hear the same thing. I also hear the opposite from those who think they know what to do. Wild yes, but still beautiful too.–s

By: Carolyn E-V

Carolyn E-V — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:09:49 +0000

What a smart and realistic experiment! I often hear myself saying, “Low-maintenance doesn’t mean NO maintenance,” but sometimes I just consider myself blessed if no hedge trimmers touch the shrubs. One of my most successful designs had been for my congregation, where dense mixed beds have thrived for years with a good coat of mulch and a twice-annual tidying from my company’s maintenance crews. A bit wild for some, but most people like it, to say nothing of the birds and bugs.

By: Susan aka Miss. R

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:24:52 +0000

Julie–It’s a matter of space, zone and aspect along with soil. In my two gardens that look good, I have a dwarf crabapple, a red bud, and a Rhus as trees. Some shrubs – several varieties of boxwood left unsheared, Fothergilla, a huge (read too big for where it’s planted) viburnum, Spirea ‘Mt. Fuji’, hydrangeas (several varieties) and a red-twigged dogwood. These a mixed with a bunch of rag tag perennials that are mostly transplants from other places.–s

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:07:40 +0000

Great post! I would love to know what shrubs and trees you recommend to go in a mixed bed with perennials. I love perennials and grasses, but struggle to find the right shrubs and trees to accompany them…

By: Susan aka Miss. R

Susan aka Miss. R — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:40:26 +0000

Pru–I’m delighted at how many are reaching out about this. I guess there are a few more with similar secrets. Don’t they say ‘you’re only as sick as your secrets’?? -s

By: pru

pru — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:46:27 +0000

Love this!!!!!!! I am such a fair weather gardener, but my primary focus for the last several years has been on designing for lower maintenance (shrubs, groundcovers, small trees instead of lawn, perennials, etc). And if you REALLY want to see a mess, come look at the experimental “potager” I tried this year, thinking it would cover a big swatch of grass. But I too am battling the horrible knotweed – so many people seem not to even know what it is. I have even seen large stands of it in fancy gardens on charity tours.