The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be on Wednesday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m. at SIGN on North Street. Our special guest speaker will be our own Frank Woloschuk who will be telling us “The Secrets To Large Container Planting” and also “What’s New At The Greenhouses for 2015”. Frank is a wonderful gardener, and makes magic with his stunning container plantings, so I know we will be in for a treat! We’ll get lots of inspiration for the year ahead!
You and I have talked about this many, many times, but once again I’d like to remind everyone that you don’t have to be a member of the Horticultural Society to attend the meetings. If one of the topics of our speakers interests you, please join us! Our mission is to promote an interest in horticulture, so if you would like to come hear our speakers, we would love to have you there! And if you decide you would like to join the group, then welcome! As with any group, we know that everyone may not be able to attend every meeting; but even if you can only come occasionally, we always welcome another gardener.
If you are in the process of doing landscaping around your home, please consider attending a meeting. We have gardeners who have developed yards from scratch, gardeners who have re-done yards, and gardeners who are maintaining well-established yards. You can get lots of ideas and friendly advice! No matter whether your yard is a blank canvas, waiting to be planted, or an established yard that may need some updating or rearranging, it is important to follow certain elements of design. We always hear that expression but what does it mean? Elements of design are like the do-re-mi of planting; they are the basic tools that all gardeners need to create a beautiful space.
One element is line. Our yards, no matter how large or small, are full of line. There is the line of our house, the line of the driveway, the line of where our property begins and ends. As gardeners we want to add trees, shrubs and flowers that will enhance these lines and make them beautiful. The line of our yards is important to consider because we want to keep things in proportion, but make them interesting at the same time.
This is where the next element, form, comes in. We want different shapes within our space. The largest forms that will go into our yards are trees and shrubs, and this is where it is so important to “plan first, plant later”. Talk to the experienced people at our local greenhouses to find out what size and shape a tree will be when it matures. Also, you don’t want all plants to be the same size; if you have a taller tree, you may want a rounded shrub near to it to make a contrasting form. Or maybe a shrub that is quite low to the ground will draw your eyes to a different section of the yard. Texture is another design element, and one that is one of the most fun! This is the element that invites you to plant wispy grasses near dense cedars, or large-leaved rhubarb at the edge of a flowerbed near a soft cloud of baby’s breath. You want variety and contrast in the textures in your garden. Imagine if you were taking black and white photos of your yard: would everything look more or less the same? If you think it would, then it’s time to incorporate textures: spiky dracaenas, puffs of baby’s breath, velvety lamb’s ear, cascading ivies or lobelia, waving grasses, plants with large leaves like canna or rhubarb… you get the idea!
That leads us to our next element, color. The sky is the limit, whether you prefer a formal, monochromatic yard or the exuberant mixed beauty of an English country garden or just a wild riot of color because it makes you happy: whatever you choose, there is no right or wrong, it is your garden! And just because you have always had one kind of flower doesn’t mean you can’t ever change it; always try something new! Make it a personal challenge.
