Knot Gardens

The gardens here at Auntie K’s are by no means formal. Everything has a casual feel without being completely disorderly. In fact, that was a comment one of the neighbors made the first year I started digging up lawn and replacing it with gardens. “It looks nice—not messy at all!” I don’t know what his conception of a garden was, but apparently unkempt figured prominently.

I’ve always had a fascination for knot gardens, the epitome of formal gardens, and I’ve had six pots of ornamental allium sitting around for a while, waiting for a home. So, I’ve been thinking that when I move things around a little more, I’ll have an empty section of boulevard that would be big enough for a small knot garden. (I’m going to need a few more pots of allium, but think I can swing that.) I’ll also need a companion plant, and I’m thinking cerastium.

Martha Stewart, the goddess of overachievers everywhere, planted a massive herb garden back in the late 1980s in 9 knots and wrote about it in her book “Martha Stewart’s Gardening.” The other day, I found a sticky note on the design page for that garden, and some notes about how to alter the plantings to fit the gardens at the St Paul house!

I don’t know if I’ll use any of the designs on this page, but the shape of the garden fits the boulevard space I have available. The internet is a great resource for designs, and there are books with pages and page of designs, so I won’t lack for ideas. The hard part will be choosing just the right one! If you have an idea for a knot garden pattern, send it my way!

I’m Just a Girl who can’t say No . . . to Plants

I need one of those cardboard signs that says “Will Work for Plants.” Seriously. Maybe I could add it to my Garden Emergency Kit. I buy plants, don’t get me wrong, and swap them, too. But just as frequently, I work for them.

Most recently, I’ve been weeding for a neighbor whose garden fell into some disrepair when she became ill earlier this year. In return, she said I could divide what I liked for my own garden. Quite a generous offer considering the beautiful plants she has. One autumn, I helped another friend re-do a garden, which also had fallen into disrepair, and took home several lovely peonies for an afternoon’s labor. And, the summer a friend had surgery, I weeded her tomato garden (12 x 20 in case you think I’m being wimpy) and got some great hostas and salvia.

My favorite “work for plants” project this year has been working with the Shady Sisters – my friends in Wayzata who are selling plants from their lovely and well established gardens. I’m learning a lot working with them and becoming more confident in my abilities.

I like working for plants. Typically, the person I’m helping, knows quite a bit about how the plants have performed, which helps me place them in my garden. And, sometimes, I get plants that are unfamiliar to me – blue ice sedum, cerastium, red geranium, and turtlehead to name a few. It’s a fun way to expand my plant repertoire.

So. If you’ve got a garden project and need some help, you know where I am. I’ll bring my tools and my sign.

Groundcovers for Sunny Spaces

I’m getting a lot of questions this season about groundcovers. People want to fill in spaces between plants or eliminate their grass or grow something under a tree where the grass is already sparse. Some groundcovers are sun lovers while others prefer shady spots. Some are slow growers and some will take off quickly. When I pulled together my list of favorites for sun and shade, I realized it was a lot to cover in one post. So, I’m going to split it up. Today’s list is sunny spaces. Tomorrow’s is shady spaces.

Dragon’s blood sedum. I have neighbors who have trouble with this one, but it’s thriving in my garden. It’s a very low growing groundcover (about 2inches tall) and has green leaves small red to maroon flowers.

Creeping thyme. I started a few plugs on the sunny hill last year and really like the way it’s growing. It’s a short grower with small spikes of purple flowers. There are lots of varieties, so pick the one right for your situation. (Don’t pick a taller growing one to use between stepping stones, for example.) The thing I like best about this one is that it’s fragrant.

Cerastium. This is a groundcover with silver-gray leaves and a small white flower. It’ll get about 6 inches tall. Cerastium’s a fast grower and loves full sun. I put some in my garden a few weeks ago and am hoping it takes over the sunny hill.

Strawberries. Sounds crazy, I know. But, more and more people are considering strawberries as a groundcover. A few gardeners in my neighborhood are doing this and it’s working well for them. The bonus is that you get yummy fruit mid-summer!

There are lots more groundcovers for sunny spaces I haven’t mentioned (creeping phlox, anyone?!). If I’ve left your favorite off the list, let me know!