16 — Friday, May 4, 1990 - North Shore News A little planning makes for a great garden THERE ARE many good reasons for making changes in the family garden. Perhaps the children have grown up and the sandbox and sw- ing are no longer appropriate. Your tastes may have changed and now you would like to try different kinds of plants and flowers in new colors. The first step is to put it all down on paper. Make a scale drawing of the space you have now and the plants it contains. For small gardens, a scale of 1:20 gen- erally is most appropriate. Al- though it’s not possible to please everyone, make a list of all the re- quests each family member has for this precious garden space. Then, one by one, eliminate those that don’t fit into the budget, until you are left with a more manageable wish fist. Before you start designing the changes, remember to keep what is good. There may well be certain elements with which you are quite pleased. Put them into the scale drawing first and work in new ma- terials around them. A_ well- developed shrub or a nicely paved path can form the basis for your new plan. When choosing plant materials, remember that a design in which some shrubs form the framework and where perennials and bulbs predominate will, in general, pro- vide the most satisfactory display with the least amount of work. Allow the bulbs and tubers to dominate in the spring and let the perennials take over through the summer. Here and there, the perennials can be supported by some summer-flowering bulbs and tubers. In the spots where the snring- flowering bulbs bloom early on, annuals can fill the gap later in the season. This way, you will develop a garden which offers a succession of bloom and color from early spr- ing through late fall. Light is a critical factor in garden planning. if you have lived in your home for some time, you probably know which spots get the best sun and at which time of day. However, if you’ve just moved in- to a new house, you may need to observe the garden area closely for a week or two to determine what you have to work with. If you have a shady space, avoid the sun-loving plants that will become tall and leggy without direct exposure. Among bulbous plants, tuberous begonias are best for bright shade, while the early flowering bulbs, such as crocus and narcissus, bloom profusely in areas that will later in the summer be shaded by the leaves of deciduous trees. Color, texture, form, height and flowering season: variety is the soul of the garden. Properly plan- ned mixtures delight the eye and change continually as the season advances. Flowers certainiy come first to mind for most gardeners and some, such as tulips, gladiolus, tuberous begonias, lilies and dahlias, offer a veritable ar- tist’s palette of colors from which to choose. However, don’t forget those plants with textured foliage (e.g. feathery ferns, broad-leaved hostas, etc.) to set off the bright colors of spring-blooming daf- fodils or colorful begonias. Remember that shape adds variety, too. Gladiolus are tall, straight and appear far too linear when planted alone while low, mounding an- nuals lack relief. However, planted together with intermediate types, they make a delightful combina- tion. Further, plants placed against walls and fences take up lite room but offer a very decorative effect, so use them generously. Outdoor containers, filled with annuals or summer-flowering bulbs and tubers bring an addi- tional dimension to the garden. You can place them where a splash of extra color is needed and, for many of the bulbous plants, move them indoors for the winter. The actual planting is the last step in creating your newly design- ed garden. Consider the soil type and the site condition before beginning. 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