The beauty of planting new things

For the last few years, I have been trying to ignore a very obvious issue in side porch garden— it doesn't have enough plants in it.

I'll pause for a moment so you can laugh. After all, what gardener thinks they have enough plants? Is that even possible?

The trough in the middle of the yard

But this time, it's really true. We hired a landscaper 10 years ago to put a walkway from the parking pad to the front door because I was so frustrated that guests to the house were driving past the parking pad, parking at the garage instead, and entering our house through the garage, the least welcoming approach to our home. While the landscapers were here, I asked if they could remove the grass from an area tucked into the corner where the house and garage meet. I was trying to cope with a strange trough water feature the previous owners had left behind, and I thought creating a garden around it would make it sit a little better in the landscape. And, to be honest, I wanted a really big border like those I've seen in grand English gardens.

I think it's safe to say that I was overly ambitious with the line I drew for the front boundary of this bed that is defined on all other sides by sidewalks or the driveway, though in my defense, the trough's position made a large bed necessary. I'm not super inclined to do a lot of math, so I didn't consider how many plants would be required in such a large space. It quickly became abundantly clear that the answer to that question is "a lot of plants."

My attempt to conceal the trough

I initially bought 15 plants and dotted them about the garden with the hopes that as the years went by, they would spread and fill in the gaps. With each passing year, I've added more plants, which have helped, but then the deer and rabbits have removed some plants that were doing quite well at taking up space. Take for example the Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) that graces this website's homepage. It made the front of the garden sing in autumn, but in one night, every last stem was gone, and now I have trouble keeping any in front of the house. Then the water feature started to fall apart, so I removed it, giving myself even more space to fill.

The garden after the trough

The point is, there are a lot of gaps in the garden, and they create two significant problems. First, there's no real cohesion to the border. The plants are all functioning like soloists rather than members of a symphony. While there are moments when a section of the garden looks lovely because something is blooming profusely, much of the time the area simply looks neglected. The goal of garden design is to lead a visitors eye across the entire area, rather than hoping they'll look at one thing, then scan the area for something else of interest.

The other major issue is that nature abhors a vacuum. If I have learned one thing from visiting other gardens and that I must pass along to everyone, it's that plants really shouldn't have more than a foot of space between them. You can initially plant perennials 18–24 inches apart, but don't go further than that.

When you leave ground uncovered, it's like putting out a call to every weed in the tri-county area to come and stake its claim—and it will. Then the gardener will spend half of their time on hands and knees forcibly removing these weeds and the other half walking past the garden with eyes averted and head down in shame. And that's where I've been living for the last few years.

But no more.

I have just added 20 new plants, and I have a renewed sense of hope. Two types of Ajuga will add a lovely purple-blue haze and (and hopefully snuff out the light for any lurking weed seeds) and others that will provide blooms throughout the season. I've carefully checked that all of them are at least unappealing to deer and rabbits. Those that are particularly unappealing—like Nepeta 'Cat's Meow' (catmint)—are tucked rather closely to things that have suffered damage in previous years, including a few Rudbeckia transplants from the pool garden.

Adding new plants to your garden is a bit like buying new clothes. It will certainly rejuvenate the area. Plus, if you choose new plants carefully, you can often resolve problems that previous plants may have created. More than anything, though, new plants are full of potential, and adding them to your garden can give you a spark of joy, a burst of hope, and potentially a little excitement.

A few of the new plants...and now we wait

Be sure to take photos when you first plant these new additions. If all goes well, you'll be amazed by how they change from year to year. With time, patience, and care, they'll be a source of delight for many seasons to come.