Get tired of doing the same old thing in your garden? Theme gardens are a fun way to add variety to your garden planning. There are as many ideas for theme gardens as Doan’s has pills — to coin an old phrase many younger-than-baby-boomer readers won’t recognize. A few theme gardens include patriotic, animal, herb, presidential, Shakespearean, geographic, and romantic — but use your imagination as the possibilities are limitless. A little planning now will reap rewards later as you visit your special garden and feel as though you are in another place, an imaginary place where you can escape your troubles or triumph in the joys of the day.
Some of the plants to include in these theme gardens are:
A Memorial Day or July 4th garden will show your patriotism utilizing the colors of the U.S. Flag; some flowers to plant include sweet alyssum, geraniums, cosmos, begonias, impatiens, lobelia. Add a flag or two to clarify your intentions.
Butterfly or hummingbird gardens are not only attractive but utilitarian; they are beautiful and they aid in pollination. Annuals that attract hummingbirds include fuchsia, petunias, scarlet sage, red salvia and impatiens. Honeysuckle, butterfly bush, azaleas, and trumpet creeper are favored by hummingbirds while bee balm, verbena, cosmos, marigolds, and daylilies are butterfly favorites.
For a geographic garden, pick a spot and grow plants of a particular country or region. This may be work-intensive, especially if you live in Minnesota and try to grow tropical plants year ‘round. This could be money-intensive, also, if you need to build and heat a greenhouse. Geographic gardens have plants with names from other countries like English lavender, Dutch Iris, Japanese yew, to name a few.
A Bible garden uses plants named in the Bible. Examples are: wormwood, rosemary, St. Johns Wort, spikenard or lavender, palm trees, apple trees, or rue.
Shakespeare gardens contain plants referred to in his writings, such as marjoram, thyme, southernwood, lemon balm, chamomile, rosemary, calendulas, and violas.
Romantic gardens contain quixotic names such as Bleeding heart, Cupid’s Dart, Love Lies Bleeding … you get the drift.
Animal gardens have plants with animal names in them: catnip, dandeLIONS, Happy Kitten daylily, hen and chicks, cats paw, and more.
Royalty, film star, or presidential gardens may contain these roses: Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, Abe Lincoln, Audrey Hepburn, Helen Hayes, or the John F. Kennedy.
An herb garden is very practical but can be beautiful as well. Herbs grace your table, as in potpourri or dried arrangements, and offer flavorful additions to your meals. Customary and locally found herbs include rosemary, basil, thyme, mint, chamomile, lavender, dill and chives. A fun herb is the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica) whose petals close upon touch. Many herbs are known to be useful for pest control. Mint, spearmint, peppermint and pennyroyal planted around the foundation of a house keep away flies, mice, ants, fleas, moths and ticks. Herbs are also great companion plants in the garden. Watch for an upcoming article about companion planting.
Victorian gardens include plants, arbors, and walkways, and they lend themselves to a European feel. Plants to use include ageratum, aster, basil, bluebell, caladium, calendula, coleus, geranium, heliotrope, impatiens, portulaca, primrose, rosemary, thunbergia, verbena, and zinnia.
If you don’t want to try a theme garden now, make a note in your December calendar to excite and delight yourself while overcoming the winter doldrums by planning a theme garden. Research plants to use that will work in the theme garden you choose, whether it be a romantic, presidential, or even a chocolate theme garden (cocoa bean mulch provides a chocolatey scent). There are plants to accommodate any theme you can imagine. It’s just one more way to have fun while enjoying your gardening hobby.
Theme gardens combine wonderfully with kids gardening; help teach children how to do research and learn about topics other than gardening while they enjoy the outdoors and digging in the dirt.
Questions or comments are welcomed; please email me at: leybou@gmail.com.
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