I am in the stages of planning and laying out a new gardenbed that had nothing in it. About 14 feet wide by about 24 feet, can't remember what I measured it at now. It is in my backyard and were I was growing my tomatoes and veggies. I am now going to grow my tomatoes and veggies elsewhere in a new square garden space I had done last year. I had flower gardens at each end of this space, now it will just be one big backyard flower garden.

I plan to use daylilies, lilies, Siberian and Tall Bearded Iris, Dahlias, gladiolas, annuals and bulbs. For annuals I had in mind snapdragons, zinnias, cosmos and poppies. For spring bulbs, daffodils, crocus and dutch iris. Maybe some tulips.

The way I went about this was I decided on what I want to be there, flower wise. Then I set about making a layout that will make it work. I will take pictures and post them as I go along. I am just at the very beginning stages of this project now.

Nice list of plants. Your choices seem a bit heavy with strappy leaves. Be sure to add mound shaped plants and large leaves would be good too. I think allium should be included for their spherical shape, but that's a personal opinion.

That's a lot of space to fill. Be sure and take pictures before you even start so we know what you began with. I'm looking forward to seeing and reading about your project. If you have a drawing of the layout then include that too. I'm very interested how others create a garden.

mao

I don't care for alliums. I guess those do have strappy leaves. I just pick the plants I like and those are ones I like alot. Not big on big leaves.

I never have drawings of layout. I just start measuring and use a combinatiuon of marker stakes and bricks as placement markers. Then I look to see if it will work before I plant anything.

What don't you like about allium? I don't make drawings either. I like to pick one plant and choose others that will look good with it. Then I pick one of those plants and make choices of what to surround it with.

First I pick plants with a nice variety of sizes and textures. I've found I'll enjoy a garden more if I find the plants to be attractive. If I make a mistake with color then I van use one to fill a vase for my home.

In this picture I think the removal of the hosta with its larger leaf would take a lot away from the whole composition of the bed. I also love the contrast of the sweet potato vine against the sedum.

Your picture is very nice. It does not however, look like a gardenbed that I would do. Too much variety.

I was actually trying to have both lots of my favorite plants and more variety in the garden I am currently planting.

I don't like alliums. Big round ball stuck at the end of a bare stalk. Sorry, not my thing for my garden.

I enjoy collecting plants. I imagine you like drifts of color. Is that right? It's fine with me if you don't like allium. I was just curious about why you didn't like it. You dislike the very thing I love about them. That's the very reason why there can be so many different kinds of beautiful gardens. If someone else could make my garden then what's the point of me doing it? I doubt you'd want all gardens to look like yours either.

I collect some plants. I get the crazies and then have hundred of whatever. Hundreds of daylilies, over 230 roses, hundreds of lilies, lots of tall bearded iris, SIberian Iris. Lots of erect sedums.

I also like to use annuals heavily as they are usually good for constant color until frost. Lots of Impatients, zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos and looking into poppies.

Also love spring bulbs. and I have lots and lots of shrubs like blueberries, serviceberries, winterberries, shrub dogwoods, holly, viburnums, azealeas and more.

How much land do you have to garden on? With such large numbers of plants I'm imagining large expanses or at least an acre or two. I just have a city lot. We also do a large bed at the historic society and for the first time this year have rented a vegetable plot from the community garden.

So do you have multiples of one variety that you plant in mass? That's a style I always admire and yet have never been able to commit myself to. I consider myself a collector but I like to have one plant of many varieties.

I imagine your roses are beautiful. At my house they would be so full a Japanese beetles that they would be a true eye sore.

Mao, that is a beautiful bed! Very nicely done! You have a great eye for contrasting forms, which really keeps the garden interesting to the viewer.

Rita, I don't draw out plans either- I've tried it, but it never quite works out, so its as the spirit leads, LOL. I think the most important thing to keep in mind while planting is the overall shape of the plant and form of the blooms in relation to its neighbors. While you do have several strappy leaved plants listed, having seen pics of your yard, I think you'll plenty of contrast with your mounding shrubs and annuals to give the bed textural interest. Being such a Lily fiend, I try to balance it with a good variety of spiky, fluffy, ball shaped, bell shaped, and daisy shaped blooms. Mao's pic demonstrates that idea beautifully. Some plants that I've not been fond of on their own, enhance the look of their neighbors so nicely, that I continue to grow them. I think that's the value of Alliums that Mao suggested, on their own they look like something from another planet, but alongside Lilies and Eremerus and some fluffy annuals, they offer pleasant contrast. However ball shaped Dahlias would offer a similar contrast, as well as any number of other flowers.

That's why I wish more catalogs would show pics of the whole plant in a garden setting rather than just the bloom. So often they have a totally different overall look than I was expecting.

Looking forward to the pics, and seeing how your project develops!

I have a pretty normal sized surburban lot. Not much in the way of grass left here though. The one thing that really helps as far as what fits in here is that the yard is all multi level. It made it both a challenge and an opportunity. I could never have gotten everything here to fit if it was just the normal level lot. I have many raised beds and lots of terracing around here.

Plus I believe in intensive planting. Not much space between my plantings around here. It may not be for everyone. But believe me, it does work for me.

Here is a picture of a section of my front yard. Taken from the sidewalk. This is an illistration of my idea of a jumble of plants. I am still working on finishing this area but its not going to get anything different, the lily mass planting with be added to by having it runn forther down.

Same bed taken from alittle further out so you can see the sidewalk.

The back bed section I am working on now actually is going to have far more diversity in plants. I put lots of effort into the layout and making sure those plants listed all will have a spot. From this view you can see the entire bed is backed by a row of a low growing shrub border.

Immediately to the left of were the above shot ends is my driveway. The rose half round planters that are there are not quite in the picture. Here is a picture of them shot from the driveway looking down. But when you are in that front yard, it all comes together as one garden.

I am not quite finished with that front section as I intend to add spring flowering bulbs this fall but the summer additions will be the additional lilies. Then the zinnias will be replanted for the same look.

I am using this as an example of the way I might create a gardenbed.Often very difficult to explain in words what one can see in a picture.

As to contrasts. My garden is so intensity planted that no matter what you look at, you do not have to look far to see a different texture of form.

For instance the other side of the front yard is terraced. The top terrace has a rose section, breaks up with a daylily section and then a mass planting of roses again (called Florabundaville). In front of the topmost terrace is another with lilies and daylilies. Going to be finished this year (only started planting that section last year) with spring bulbs and a mass planting of annuals at the very back wall.

Then there is another little skinny terrace in front of it all with Hummingbird mint. Very airey feathery leaves and flower spikes with small flowers.

Here is one of the Hummingbird mints in front of daylilies and lilies section.

Here is a long view of the front yard looking down toward my driveway. Heavy on the roses and strappy leaved lilies and daylilies but it all works for me.

I am truely trying to make it MORE diverse in the backyard while still using my favorite plants.

Your garden is truly lovely. I tried to imagine your garden from a list but your pictures explained so much that was left out. Your shrubs and the terrace are also very much a part of the textured and add so much to your beds. From your pictures I'm guessing you also live in an old house. I really pack my plants close together too, so I understand what you mean by intensive planting. I'm looking forward to seeing the creation of your new garden bed.

I live in a craftsman style older house. I believe it was built in the 1920's. I will keep taking pictures of the back yard bed as it progresses.

Here is a picture of the area I am working on. Mostly all bare in the middle. It will bring together this daylily garden I have at the end of this bed pictured here. That I have had for two years.

It will tie in to the far end of the bed which already has a garden started pictured here. Those are my serviceberry shrubs in bloom. They make purple summer berries that the birds are nuts over. I find them bland compaired to blueberries.

Putting in sticks for markers. Way in the back of this bed you can see the daylilies I moved to make a back edge. Behind that is the wall of my raised backyard daylily bed that I call the plateau.

The bricks and edger pavers just sort of sitting there will be fixed up into a double row running lengthwide and one will be tall bearded iris and the other Siberian Iris. In back of that and before the transplanted daylilies in the back with go my Dahlias.