Putting some thought into your garden plan early on will help guide your planting decisions and allow you to develop strategies to minimize workload, shop with ease and stay on budget.
Here's what I'll be striving for this season to achieve my perfect garden.
• Above all, it will be weed free! I know that's impossible, but I can mulch more in order to cut down on my weed-warrior duties.
• It will provide all-season interest with a selection of plants that exhibit beautiful, bright blooms during spring and summer, and display vibrant foliage in the fall. Trees and shrubs with interesting stems and structures will give it a wow factor in the winter.
• The perfect garden has to be disease and bug free. I'll be selecting plants that are disease- and insect-resistant, and will remove any plants that constantly get sick.
• Following the current garden-to-table trend, this year I'll be in search of plants that spice up my life and feed me! A formal vegetable garden or herb garden can take up a lot of space, so to get more bloom and bounty for my buck, I'll be creating
a potager garden -- a small plot for growing a combination of vegetables and flowers together.
• My perfect garden has to be an entertaining one. I love having friends and family over for long weekends and Thanksgiving celebrations. We often forget about function when planning our garden spaces. Remember that a well-laid-out design will create a more functional space.
Page 1 of 2 -- Find Frankie's fab five shrubs on page 2
