I approach my garden design much like a painting composition. Every section in my garden is a separate vignette, with its own color palette and emotional appeal. But the garden as a whole tells a larger story, plantings flowing from one to another, creating an organization of elements that give both paintings and gardens their overall visual integrity. The composition needs continuity, balance, repetition, contrast and movement to create this affect.

When I sketch outside, I sometimes use a picture frame mat so I can “zero in” on a specific area. It unclutters my view, so I am able to concentrate on a portion of my picture. You can use the same process to evaluate sections of your garden. Does the “framed art” have elements that create interest? Does the design use line, color, texture, shapes and forms that work within the entire framework? Using this method may help you resolve a design issue in your garden that doesn’t seem to stand on its own, nor blend into the overall garden design.

When planning our gardens, we are drawn to the glorious colors on seed packets, and work diligently to create attractive color schemes. Color does create big impact and commands the greatest response, so make sure your color combination extends beyond just the blooms. The foliage, bark, and fruit also contribute to the overall color impact. Here are examples of plants that have great overall color appeal.

 Texture, shape, and form increase the aesthetic appeal of the garden. Up close, the focus is on the surface of leaves, twigs, bark, and flowers, but viewed from a distance, the interplay of light and shadow becomes more important.

Paring opposites can create visual excitement.

Fine  vs. coarse-bold

Artemisia Fringed Sage

Castor Bean Impala

small vs. large

Alyssum Sweet Tiny Tim

Artichoke

 light vs. dark

Lime Basil

Redbor Kale

round vs. upright

Kale Chidori Red

Ornamental Millet

Planting seeds in a timely fashion can be tricky. For me, remembering where I put my seed packets after I purchased them can be daunting. Sam, my fellow blogger on “Creative Inspirations”, came up with a good idea with the Seed Packet Organizer on her “Be Creative” Blog. This solution is a better choice than my miscellaneous boxes stuffed with seeds!  Her organizer not only looks good,but it can visually organize the plantings by weeks. Botanical Interests’ Spring Sowing Guides are other helpful tools that lists the various plants in the order by which they need to be sown indoors and out, based on the average last frost date.

Indoor Spring Sowing Guide: Flowers & Ornamentals

Indoor Spring Sowing Guide:Vegetables & Herbs

Outdoor Spring Sowing Guide: Flowers & Ornamentals

Outdoor Spring Sowing Guide: Vegetables & Herbs

Your journal is a great place to record the process of seed sowing. Jotting down when the seed was planted, the length of time it took to germinate, when it was transplanted, the weather conditions affecting its growth, along with any other observations, can make the next season planting process easier.

There are many ways to record these events in your journal. If you like working with charts, Judy, the co-owner of Botanical Interests, has created a very detailed chart that will give you precise information on your plantings. You can downloaded here.

Now, I would love to say that this would work for me, but being an artist/gardener, I would rather draw the plant’s progression than chart it. I like attaching the seed packet to the page and recording the data next to it. It’s not as scientific as Judy’s, but it works for me.

Remember this journal is your creation. While recording the nuts and bolts of your garden experience can be very helpful, you need to make it work for you. So be creative, have fun and enjoy the journey!

On a recent trip to Florida, I looked out my hotel window to a wall of living greenery.  Vines in wild abandonment scrambled over the structured plantings, creating a headache for the groundskeeping crew but providing an oasis of soothing green color for me:  the perfect color note to rest weary eyes after a long day of travel.

Color is the emotional element in any garden.  While texture, form, scale and line are equally important to  good garden design, it is color that evokes our immediate and most personal response.  Color can alter our mood; it can excite or quiet our mind.   Color and color combinations are paramount.

To help you think of color as an emotion, try this fun exercise that I did in a Master Gardening class.  Jot down the following eight colors:  yellow, red, green, blue, orange, purple, white, and pink.  Now, list three words that describe your feelings about each color.  For example, green to me is tranquility, healing, and harmony.  Yellow is happiness, joy, and inspiration.  This exercise will give you an awareness of the power of color, and what role it plays in your overall garden design.

When chosing color schemes for your garden, think about what moods you would like to evoke in each area.  Cool colors tend to be restful, they are less conspicuous, and tend to recede.  Planting cool colors around a garden bench in the corner of the garden would create a calm and meditative space.  Warm colors, on the other hand, stimulate the eye and demand your attention.  They would work well in an area that is used for entertaining, or they could provide a warm welcome at the entrance to your house.

Here are examples of both cool and warm color palettes, already put together for you by Botanical Interests.  The Sweet Baby Blues packet has cool blues, violets,  lavenders and white.  In contrast, the Hummingbird Haven packet features warm, vivid colors such as red and orange.

As a botanical artist, my garden is an extension of my paint box.  It is another way I can play with color.  I don’t think I have ever planted the same color combination twice over the years.  I love to experiment with color to create a mood. My garden is the one place where I am free to please only myself.

“The Color Wheel” by January’s Featured Artist:  Peggy Turchette

A garden journal can not only hold your deepest gardening desires–like those lush perennial flower beds you meant to plant last year–but your journal can also inspire you to plant early enough to make those desires a reality. By planning ahead, before the hectic growing season is upon us, we can save money by planting seeds instead of buying plants. Thus we can create the garden that we truly want, instead of just relying on the limited plant stock of the commercial growers. This month we begin the first step in creating our own garden journals: collecting inspiration from books and magazines.

Gathering a collage of pictures of your favorite plants and gardens is always the best place to start when creating your gardening journal…

Now is the time to pull out the old magazines that you’ve accumulated, the gardening books, and of course, your 2011 Botanical Interests seed catalog . You can also scan pages and print copies if you wish to leave your books and magazines intact. Either go through the pages with a pen and sticky notes, or simply cut out the pictures you want to keep. I prefer the second method because it allows me to eliminate clutter by recycling the unused portion of the magazines, and it also creates a very specific wish list that I can easily reference.

This month, focus on finding pictures of gardens that inspire you, and collect all the images of plants and garden designs that you want to use in your own garden. Here are a few tips of my own when looking for your own garden ideas:

Define your style. Whether you are starting from scratch or looking to enhance an existing garden, it is important to decide what is your personal style of gardening.  A formal design style is distinctly neat and organized, with clean lines and symmetrical patterns. In contrast, a cottage-style garden is much more informal, and often includes a variety of native plants, herbs and vegetables.

When working with an established garden design that works for you, fill in any gaps with choices that compliment your existing plants. To increase visual appeal, try groups of plants with varying textures, assorted heights and unusual color combinations.

The first step in creating a successful garden journal is establishing this visual organization of your ideas.  So, grab your scissors and a cup of tea, and dream of spring…Susan D.