Garden Guidance
Gardening - Enjoying the Present and Planning the Future
By Susan McNamee, Advanced Master Gardener

There are many beautiful gardens and Garden Walks this time of year. Even the roadsides have lush displays of Queen Anne’s Lace and Chicory. Enjoying the beauty is pleasurable, but using the sights we see now to plan our future gardens is exciting and gratifying.

One way to gather ideas is to take drives to nearby areas. Sometimes friends have the easiest gardens to visit, and they often offer free babies of the plants we admire. There are many gardens at municipal, institutional and business locations where beautiful groupings of plants have been tended for our pleasure. Two fine examples are in Harbor Beach – in front of the Frank Murphy Home and at the Community Hospital. The hanging pots of annuals in Bad Axe are awesome and make a trip to The Flower Farm to find out the names of the plants and the secret of their lush growth. There are many other gorgeous displays in the towns, villages, roadsides, and homes in the Thumb area of Michigan.

Another way to plan for next year’s “better than ever” garden is to collect pictures from catalogs, magazines and your own travels to analyze your favorites for adaptation to your home site. Sometimes a movie or TV program will have exactly the plant or look you want for your space. Make lists of all the plant material you like including their color, height, sun or shade preference, and time of flowering. You will likely only use a small portion of your list, but a list will give you lots of choices so that you can choose the best.

When you decide to get really serious about making next year’s garden even better than this year’s, you’ll want to write down your dreams. Once you see your dreams written down, it will be easier to make plans that turn dreams into reality. The plans may mean getting rid of, or at least dividing, some of your former favorite plants. This may be a perfect opportunity to get together with a friend or neighbor who may want to trade some of your unwanted plants for some of their plants you want. Be sure to write those dreams down now while you can still see the plants growing; waiting until winter will cause some of the most exciting ideas you have for your landscape to be forgotten.

The Master Gardeners of Huron County have joined with the Sanilac Master Gardeners to offer a training session on Saturdays, September 11 - October 16, in Sandusky. If becoming a Master Gardener is something you are interested in, please call Carol at 989-553-2992 for further details.

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