TORY'S GARDEN

We started by removing 6-foot thistles, rewarded ourselves with a shopping spree at the garden center, and ended with some super satisfying plantings for fall.

Tory asked me to help with her front landscaping and gardens at the house she rents. The landscape had fallen into disrepair. It was so fun to rediscover and revive this space.

When I'm thinking about a space, I ask: who is this for? It should most of all bring delight and ease to the person who will experience it and care for it.

I love to admire a pretty picture of a tightly manicured hedge or highly stylized garden as much as anyone. But there's a difference between looking at a picture and experiencing the real, gritty, daily, L I V I N G with your space. I'm so much more interested in the daily life that happens in our spaces. What's going to work for these particular humans who live, work and play in this particular home?

So who are we designing for in this case? Meet my friend Tory - she is a people person, a brilliant board and video game player, a cat lover, a thoughtful conversationalist and an all around wonderful human being. She didn't have previous experience with gardening but she enthusiastically embraced the project and learning about the plants. She wanted help getting the outside space looking it's best.

When she sent me pictures, I saw that she already had some nice cone shaped evergreen things going on in the front, and some hosta that we could work with.

I did a drawing for myself to help imagine the way it could look.

Here's our process and story. We worked for one afternoon to get her landscape looking lovely and requiring minimal maintenance.

1. CLEAN IT UP

First, we removed the weeds and overgrown dead bits of the plants. We even found tree saplings, 4 foot high thistles, and grass that had grown in from the lawn - those had to go. This is normal. Check out some of these sweet gnarly before shots:

The weeding and clearing is one of my favorite parts of the whole process. It's the same feeling of those transformation videos of some dude who desperately needs a haircut, and you get to watch their whole demeanor change as the stylist removes all that extra to reveal the person underneath all along.

Seriously fun. I could do this all day. (The gardens, not the haircuts. HA)

2. Plan

Walk through the space. Talk about it. Walk the paths and sit in any seating areas.

Once we could see what was left after clearing out, we talked through a plan. We assessed how much space needed to be filled, and headed to the garden center. On the drive we pointed and admired neighbors landscaping. I like seeing what neighbors are doing, what plants are thriving in the area, and could answer when Tory asked about different plants we could see. And in that moment, we were seeing rows of gorgeous fall mums.

Going to the garden center was heaven: our cart was full of mums, dusty miller, heuchera, allium bulbs and a whole bunch of grape hyacinth bulbs. We also got bags of organic compost to help the soil. I had brought a small division of my chives to add to the front square garden.

3. Install

The most back-breaking part started after the shopping spree. Digging into the unworked soil was no easy task. We conquered!

Once the soil was workable, we placed the plants, pots and all, in their new locations, That way we could shift them left or right without digging lots of holes.

Then we got to plant all of our garden goodness. The mums in a row along the front of the house. Behind them we snuck Allium bulbs, which she wouldn’t see until spring, and in front we added grape hyacinth in bunches. Last of all, was the dusty miller, which Tory named “Ghost Trees” and created a lovely ghosty contrast with the mums. Those mums likely won’t survive the winter, but we’ll find a showy annual to put in their place when spring arrives.

This was hard work. There's no way around it. I love this, but if you don't, it's equally valid to hire someone, ask for help, (enlist older kids/friends) while you sit back and sip a La Croix. No judgement here.

Tory embraced this wholeheartedly. As we removed the plants from their pots, I showed her how to gently break up some of the more root-bound ones with her fingers. Tory decided that she was massaging them, and asked each plant if it was ready for its massage. I was cracking up. I have read that talking to plants makes them grow better?

4. EDGE / TIDY

Tidying up the edges is a shortcut to getting a garden from unkempt to tidy. I did this trimming with my garden sheers (I think this is naughty and it will probably dull my sheers). There wasn’t too much needed though. Even an imperfect edge is better than no edge at all. This can be done at any point in the process or during the year.

5. ADMIRE

Look at the transformation! Don't forget to pause many times throughout the day, but especially at the end. That satisfaction, appreciation, and gratitude for what has been done.

Stand back, appreciate the changes. Take pictures. Share them. Be proud of having a space that makes you smile and supports the life you're living

This was such a fun day. The conversation, the hard work, and the satisfying results. Thank you dearly, Tory! And thank you for letting me write about our day in my blog.

6. FOLLOW UP

A spring highlight from me was getting a text from Tory telling me that all the bulbs we planted were coming up.

Bulbs are serious magic. You might forget you even planted them in the fall. But then in the spring, there they are, some of the first green shoots, and some of the first flowers.

(Another note about the bulbs, when Tory moves, she can quite easily dig these up and move them to new homes or containers. They won't mind. And if she doesn't, there will be a generous surprise for the new renters. )

What about you?

Do you have a space that's calling for a bit of a cleanup?

Or, might you be a little afraid of moving or taking out plants that the previous homeowner put in? Or even wondering what is a weed and what might be a hidden treasure?

Do you have some outdoor space (even a balcony) that you want to use to grow veggies, or plant flowers to support the bees, or even just set up to be your own cosy outdoor haven?

If you're local to the Buffalo Grove IL area, I'd love to help you as a garden client. Reach out for a quote.

In the mean time, try some of this. And I'll be here posting more stories and helpful ideas for you.