Along with the enormous benefits of having someone else having done all the work, there can be some drawbacks when you inherit a garden. Chances are the previous artist-in-residence did not share exactly the same aesthetic.
I have always been of the mindset to work with what you are given, it is part of the challenge. Where I have felt the impact of someone else's conflicting tastes has been with colour selection.
A lot of the flowers in my Cabbagetown garden were pink.
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Unlike Beth at "Beyond the Garden" gate who has sung the praises of pink in a few posts, it is my least favourite colour in the garden. Over time I replaced pink plants when they died, moved some to the cottage, and simply added many other colours so it became less prominent.
Every garden I have had, I have inherited and now that I have two blank canvasses (one of them in full sun!) with my new lasagna gardens the planning can sometimes feel quite daunting. One thing is for sure though, there will not be a fraction of the pink in the gardens I will plan from scratch as there were in their inherited predecessors.
I better get back to planning!
I have always been of the mindset to work with what you are given, it is part of the challenge. Where I have felt the impact of someone else's conflicting tastes has been with colour selection.
A lot of the flowers in my Cabbagetown garden were pink.
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| Hardy Geranium front right |
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| Hardy Geranium's blooms are discrete but pink nonetheless |
- Pink Spirea (bottom left) I eventually transplanted to the cottage for its stature as much as for its colour; it was simply too big to be at the front of the garden.
- And let's face it, a good reason to say 'Echinacea' instead of "Purple Coneflower" is because the latter is somewhat misleading - the blooms fall more into the pink than purple camp if you ask me.
- And way in the back some beautifully tall Asiatic Lilies that fell pray to hungry red lily beetles a couple of years ago.
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And earlier that spring, this amazing Bearded Iris. Very tall and very sturdy, but for a plant named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow you might think the odds against me getting another pink bloom were in my favour.
In the back yard the Rose of Sharon on the left was pink.
As was the Weigela.
Every garden I have had, I have inherited and now that I have two blank canvasses (one of them in full sun!) with my new lasagna gardens the planning can sometimes feel quite daunting. One thing is for sure though, there will not be a fraction of the pink in the gardens I will plan from scratch as there were in their inherited predecessors.
I better get back to planning!
All of the flowers look so pretty. I hope you were able to transplant most of them. I personally plant a rainbow of colors in my garden. I really like that Weigela. I have quite a few in my garden and will look into getting that one as well!
ReplyDeleteChristy, I left all those plants behind when we moved, but since they were pinks I do not mind. I just hope their new owners are still taking care of them. Good luck finding your new Weigela.
DeleteI admit to having more than my fare share of pink in the garden and pretty much most of what you have mentioned above!
ReplyDeleteAngie thanks for stopping by, how fun that we had so many of the same plants.
DeleteThere's a resident on the side street just around the corner from me who, every spring without fail, plants as many pink annuals as he can possibly fit under his pine tree. There must be upwards of 100 pink flowers under that tree every summer. Is it possible that he can only see in black and white? :P
ReplyDeleteAdele, while I am not fond of pinks I do sometimes like the simplicity of a monochromatic design so I bet at the very least all those pinks are eye-catching!
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