Organic

Introduction

Landscape design explores the use of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals to create pleasing and functional outdoor spaces. Design techniques are the result of good use of suitable plant material for the site, one’s own design experience, climate, and personal taste.

That sounds like one of the dusty old horticultural textbooks that sits on my bookshelf. It also sounds tremendously boring if you ask me, but the truth is that landscape design is anything but boring. There is an added dimension of risk and gamble if you live on the Canadian prairie, as I do.

It’s all very well and good to know what a peony requires to be happy, or the best way to grow roses, or that carnations make good cut flowers. Facts about plants and flowers can be learned by anyone who has the time and interest, but what do you put that rose next to is often the better question. No plant exists in a vacuum, and yet most of our prairie gardens are random and hodge-podge collections of either plants that happened to be on sale or plants we happen to like, and the resulting gardens are usually colourful but haphazard and incoherent.

In this book, we are going to start by examining some of the practical considerations you’ll have to think about to design your garden, and from there we’ll move on to inspiration, expectations, and risks. Are you excited yet?

I’ll teach you about the bones of the garden and creating a sense of permanence, we’ll look at ways to analyze your space (and thus use it wisely), and of course, we’ll also have to explore topics such as soil and sun, shade and weather, and all those pesky matters like death and disease and critters that will eat your plants and critters that will hopefully eat, well, the other critters.

By about the middle of the book we’ll be looking at trends and fashions in gardening; there will be much ado about trees and shrubs, and I’ll even take you through grass and groundcovers. Rocks, focal points, ponds . . . it’s all in here! Colour, texture, bark, and berries rounds out the back of the book, followed by some (hopefully very helpful) worksheets that can help you along the way.

A garden is always a journey—ever changing, ever evolving, and never “finished.” Ask any gardener about their yard and they will say, “You should have been here last week when the lilies were in full bloom” or “Come next week when the lilacs are in flower.” Real gardeners are never satisfied. There is always a hunger and a thirst for bigger and better things. I want to help you realize your vision for your garden, and my hope is that with this book, I’ll be able to do just that.

Introduction

I have been gardening my whole life. Some of my earliest memories are related to gardening. Planting seeds, being in the garden, touching blossoms for the very first time—all of these experiences helped to shape me into the person I am today. Over the course of my life, my garden has been a friend, a sanctuary, and an excellent teacher. It can be those things for you as well. Some of the things I’ve learned in the garden have been very practical; others have merely been surprising or unexpected. I hope you’ll find this book to be the same way!

We should start with introductions. I’m Lyndon. I started working in the garden industry at the age of sixteen, and I’ve lived a fascinating, strange, wonderful, and complex life as a result. I will become that voice in your brain that says, “Only old people plant geraniums” and “You definitely need that dark red daylily.”

Though I now live in Calgary, I was raised in a rural setting just north of Saskatoon. From the time I was very small, I was helping my mother and my grandmother in the garden. An interest became a hobby, a hobby became a passion, a passion became an obsession, and an obsession became my career.

Everyone wants an attractive, functional yard, but not everyone wants to learn the name of every single plant or be enslaved by a vegetable garden. It is possible to have a beautiful yard that requires little and gives much, even in a harsh climate like the Canadian prairies.

A garden is a living, breathing work of art. It is a kind of communication tool. Your garden says something to the world about you. That statement can be “I love food” or “I love things that look tropical” or “I’m lazy and can’t be bothered to pull weeds.” My job is to help you figure out what you want your yard to say and find the plants, flowers, and trees that do this most efficiently. Dolly Parton once said, “The magic is inside you. There ain’t no crystal ball.” I’m going to help you find that magic.

You don’t necessarily need to know the name of that tall thing with the blue flowers (it’s a delphinium), but if you know that it blooms like crazy and does well in that spot by the kitchen window, that might be all the information you need.

You do not have to be chained to your garden. You should be able to go away for a week in the summer without your garden completely falling apart.

You should also not be afraid to make mistakes because mistakes help you learn and they are invaluable. Gardening is supposed to be fun.

I am constantly telling people that low maintenance is not the same thing as zero maintenance. You’re going to learn a lot, I hope you’re going to laugh along the way, and you’re not going to take yourself too seriously. This is just gardening after all, and it should relieve (rather than cause) stress. Going to the local garden centre should be exciting! I’ll help you figure out what to spend money on. I’ll make sure you choose plants that will work with (and not against) the conditions in your yard and will flower over a long period.

One of the first things I hear from people new to gardening is “I don’t know what I’m doing.” They are frightened, anxious, stressed out, and feel overwhelmed. I understand these feelings, but you must set them aside. You can screw up six ways from Sunday and the right plant in the right place will still find a way to survive. Plants are amazing!

Before you ever plant anything or spend a single dollar on seeds, you must open yourself up to the magic of the earth, the surreal thrill that comes from interacting with leafy green, growing things. Try to see the wonder in it all. To put a seed in the ground and watch it turn into a flowering plant is nothing short of miraculous. To make dill pickles with cucumbers you grew from seed is overwhelmingly satisfying. I should also warn you right now that once you begin to see the magic, it’s easy to become totally seduced.