Whimsy and Mysterious Gardening Ideas | Garden Home (111)

On this episode of Garden Home, host P. Allen Smith will discuss whimsy and mysterious gardening ideas. From fashion in the garden to making stone paths and adding garden ornaments, Allen will give you some of the best tips to create a beautiful garden home.

Topics Include
3 principles of gardening
Tips to Design your Garden
Types of Garden Fashion
Making a Small Indoor Garden
Colorful Containers
Garden Ornaments
Time at Old Westburry, New York
How to Create Mystery in the Garden
Making an Arch for the Garden
Making a stone path for the garden
Aged Garden Ornaments

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P. Allen Smith is a landscape and garden designer, horticulturist, preservationist and television host. His passions span the subjects of community, health, sustainability and history. He has designed the grounds at many of the nation’s most notable estate properties, townhomes, and commercial complexes. And, for over 19 years, he has shared his green knowledge and insight with the public via ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, his own PBS television, and six book titles. Currently, Allen is focused on residential, commercial and community designs that are beautiful, improve our contentedness, and our social and physical health.

To learn more about:
…Allen’s horticultural interests and secrets, sign up for his weekly newsletter: https://pallensmith.com/

…visiting Allen’s Garden Home above the Arkansas River, see https://pallensmith.com/tours/

….Allen’s favorite plants mentioned in his social media, see: To review many of the plants Allen mentions in his posts and that are planted in his own garden, see https://pallensmith.com/gilbert-h-wild-allens-favorites/

….retaining Allen’s Garden and Landscape design firm, see http://www.pallensmithandassociates.com/

…Allen’s Garden Home-inspired intergenerational community in Monroe, LA, see https://www.gardensofsomerset.com/

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Take the scenic route as we explore the mysterious and whimsical next over the past 20 years as a garden designer I’ve enjoyed helping homeowners create private sanctuaries full of beauty and wonder I find each garden to be a fresh opportunity to explore ways to create uniquely personal spaces these are just

A few of the gardens I’ve helped to transform into garden hose Hi I’m Allen Smith welcome to the garden home where you’ll find practical ideas beautiful landscapes and much much more to help inspire you to push the boundaries of your home right out into the garden to the edges of your property now in today’s show we’re going to slow

Down and take the scenic route through our gardens and have a look at this element or principle of design called time we’ll also see how time can lead us to fun or whimsy in the garden and even to mystery you see time whimsy and mystery are just three of the twelve

Principles of design that I rely on when I create a garden home now what I mean by garden home is simply the approach that I take when designing a garden to make the garden an extension of the home thereby extending your living spaces outside and allowing us to bring the

Bounty of nature inside I break a garden home down into a series of smaller Gardens that I call garden rooms you know no matter the season there’s so many opportunities for us to bring the garden indoors you see this is also a part of the garden home concept what

Works outdoors can work indoors what I’m doing today and we’ll be developing this idea throughout the show is creating an indoor garden if you will using some beautiful long blooming houseplants like this white cyclamen and these Dendrobium orchids you see they speak to this idea of time

In that these flowers will last up to three months in the house now let’s get back to the garden and explore this idea of time a little more you see I believe that the winter is the best time to look at the layout or the bones or framework

Of the garden you see the foundation is very clear this time of year you can see how the shrubs and trees all play into the design if a garden is well designed for winter it’ll certainly hang together during the growing season Over the years I’ve learned that the best design Gardens whether their expansive tracts of land a flower bed or even a container on your patio all benefit from some thoughtful planning having a plan to follow can save you time money and energy when you go to the

Nursery as well as help make your garden more beautiful it’s best to plan ahead and prepare for your visits to the garden center in nursery before the spring rush one way to do this is to follow that old adage a picture is worth a thousand words a few snapshots will go

A long way in describing your particular situation a plot plan of your property can also be very helpful to the professional assisting you these plans can be done by a surveyor or you can even prepare one yourself accurate measurements of the key another suggestion you might consider is to make

Lists of plants that you like and take photographs of some of your favorite gardens these can help you describe and illustrate your tastes and preferences and you’ll find that keeping this information on a file will help you when you have the urge to plant garden centers and nurseries are full of well

Trained professionals so remember if you’re prepared they can help you make the best choices Time isn’t just about the seasons ahead it’s also about garden fashion as we dress paint and refurbish ourselves right into the next style we find that passe fashions are so often linked forever to the years that they were popular take objects like gold colored appliances shag carpeting and leisure

Suits when I think of those I think as much about a point in time or history as I do the objects themselves while we may not be as fickle about plants and garden features as we are about our clothes and cars and home decorating similar preferences about what’s in and out have

Existed throughout history and horticulture and garden design you see formal gardens were all the rage throughout the 17th century largely because of the influence is the Palace of Versailles in France that trend was replaced by preference for a more natural approach in design by the mid 18th century because of work being done

In England sweeping pastoral landscapes accented with clumps of trees and lakes were transformed from the highly stylized orderly patterns of the former age fashion also plays a role in the plant world you see sometimes we find that the latest johnny-come-lately is all the rage pushing aside old standbys

Even though they’ve been reliable in the garden for years but you know the flip side of this the positive side of these new plant introductions is that so often they show better disease resistance and more blooms so they’re better for our gardens economics also plays a role in a

Plant’s popularity take for instance these beautiful orchids 100 years ago if you tried to buy one of these the cost of me through the roof but today because of modern breeding programs and production facilities orchids well they can be enjoyed by all of us they’re really not that expensive these

Dendrobium orchids are so beautiful I’m going to use them as the centerpiece for this little garden I’m going to use inside the house now when I create a garden like this I assemble the plants and I don’t literally plant them in the container I like to keep them in their

Individual containers and this allows me to satisfy their watering needs individually rather than having to water the entire garden now when you create one of these you can dress it up or dress it down I’m using this glazed ceramic dish for this composition but you know if you want to play it down

Baskets are wonderful and I’ve even put one together over here in this Chinese or oriental foot bath now if you decide to create one of these little Gardens there are a few things I recommend one is to get a container that doesn’t have a drainage hole in the bottom you see

This one doesn’t have one if it does you’ll want to block it and if you plant in one of these baskets just line it with a plastic bag another tip that’ll come in handy is this one over the years I’ve discovered that floral foam works really well to elevate the plants if

You’re like me it’s always difficult to find plants that fit exactly in the container so by using the floral foam you can cut it down and customize the fit now the other great thing about having this in the bottom of a container is that any water that spills over the

Top or through the plant is absorbed by the floral foam now let’s get back to this idea of plant trends you know the old-fashioned hollyhock has been around for a long time but it’s made a comeback in gardens and why shouldn’t it because it’s so easy to grow and so beautiful

Holly Hawks were almost extinct from the American Garden scene until a few years ago time seems to have forgotten a plant that was so beloved by our great grandparents but like most things in life the hollyhock has come full circle and is finding homes and fashionable gardens across the country I like to

Look at many of these old-fashioned plants as living antiques even annuals there’s a great example they become even more popular because they have been improved upon they’re better than they were in the past take for instance coleus Nicotiana petunias and even geraniums as a kid I remember growing coleus from seed it

Seems like they sprouted overnight and rewarded me with color all summer long today I buy coleus for my garden already started and I’m happy to report that the range in colors are even more vibrant today than they were 10 or 15 years ago take a look at this one called tilt

Awhirl nicosia or flowering tobacco is a plant I’ve been growing for years and with great results in the past few years during my travels I’ve seen a CO Shana growing everywhere from grand estates like this one called Langsdorff iya at Chumlee castle two simple cottage Gardens here’s a variety called Saratoga

Lime it’s very popular because of these chartreuse green flowers geraniums have never really gone out of fashion but the improvements to them are really spectacular long have red geraniums been an old standby owned front porches and small pots but today they’re used in a variety of ways and the color range is

Really quite incredible now for true old-fashioned summer garden color you just can’t beat petunias last summer I couldn’t get enough of them especially cascading out of containers in beds I enjoyed a series called storm because the petals are quick to recover after a rainstorm can you imagine all of that

Color captured in a single container well when you put containers together I think you should have fun mix it up a little bit last year I created one using two of these elements petunias and geraniums To put this container together you use a hosta as your centerpiece or as I like to call it you use a tall and spiky element next you fill in with something round and full here I’ve used two types of geraniums one called Lila compact cascade along with a larger blooming

Casanova geranium I’ve used the Casanova geranium here over to the side as an accent or companion container to this larger composition now spilling out of the main container is hella cry some dwarf silver and to really add a splash of color I’ve used the cascading petunia rambling neon rose and to really make

The composition look full and robust I’ve echoed the petunia in this accent container to the side what a great way to take advantage of some old favorites in a new way As you can see I just about have this little interior garden finished and like the container we just saw many of the same elements are present we have something tall and spiky here in the middle something round and full the way of the cyclamen and these wonderful

Ferns and then to cascade I have the ivy now you know this idea of something old is new again doesn’t always apply to plants it also applies to garden ornament it comes and goes in popularity as well all the rage today might be iron work in the garden

Or brightly colored garden furniture the point is you want to place objects in your garden that make you happy that means something to you something you connect to you don’t need to put things in there just because they’re fashionable what I like to do is try to

Create a mood with garden ornament I’m trying to create a harmonious easygoing sort of mood the objects in the garden reflect that they have a nice patina on them they show some age and we’re on the other hand if I want to create a garden that has a mood that’s more energetic

Than I might use materials that are more contrasting you might choose objects that are in contrast to the foliage or the path material in a garden such as bright colored glazed jars as one example a garden by its very nature projects a certain sense of timelessness

I suppose it’s because of the cycles of birth and decay that are constantly going on another aspect of the garden that I think brings great charm to it is this idea of constant change gardens are indeed dynamic they’re moving they’re changing all the time and I think that

The garden ornament in a garden should reflect that as well so I don’t mind a little peeling paint a nice sort of mossy patina on things I think it makes it fit the garden much better you know for me the architecture should really lead a Gardens design for example in my

Own cottage garden my house was built at the turn of the century I’ve added plants that were introduced about the same time as the house particularly old-fashioned roses I grow a selection of roses that range in date from 1830 to 1930 they include Lamarck which I grow

Over my tool shed and frau karl drusky which adorns the arbors that go into the fountain garden and then there’s iceberg the ferry and Madame plan ta the architecture of my home is further enhanced with a picket fence and borders that reflect a cottage garden field and I’ve echoed the columns on the

Front porch and arbors leading into and out of my fountain garden From my garden you saw how I used the style and time period of the house to create a garden that was complementary to the architecture now here’s a much grander example this is Old Westbury in Old Westbury New York now the original creators of this beautiful estate were

All about trying to create a certain look that reflected a period of time and they wanted to well evoke the feeling of a place they both loved England well the house is a look back it seems to me the architecture is much older than the house exactly it was built around the

Turn of the 20th century and completed in 1906 however the style of it goes back to the middle 1600s and this is in the style of Christopher ran in his Charles a second well the gardens are so incredible here it’s just one experience after another you have this beautiful pastoral

Landscape and then when you get into the gardens themselves one garden leads you into the next or the next just as you find in English garden exactly and it’s sort of that room going from one room to the next some of the gardens are very similar to the estate in which margarita

Grace lived so mrs. Phipps I guess it were maiden named Grace as she came from one of these grand estates right he didn’t live there for very long but when she was married her family was living in battle abbey which is on the site of the battle of hastings and she brought a

Love of english gardens and particularly a love of that garden here the rose garden is the formal rose garden and in fact is is designed after one on the property at battle attic really yes and so is the you walk which we have done in Hemlock yes and I’m guessing this is my

Own opinion that it was probably done in Hemlock rather than you because at the time the family moved in she had a baby in arms and two very small little boys and wanted the effect of the ghost walk that she grew up that she knew Battle Abbey right and my could be

Acquired much larger plants and they grow faster exactly exactly so she got the effect much more rapidly this estate is about a lot more than just elegance and grandeur you see this was a family home for the Phipps and they enjoyed it and you can see elements of humor

Throughout a touch of whimsy was important you see they had four children they had all boys in one little girl and when that little girl reached ten years of age she was presented with this little cottage just look at the authentic thatching for the roof and these massive Timbers and stucco that

Make up the walls it was a fun place to play on rainy days now the garden encouraged children to explore the plants like lambs ear fragrant herbs and exuberant sparkler like cleome or cat’s whiskers as they’re often called stimulated their imagination and the tiny fairy roses morning glories and zenia’s along the

Picket fence added so much magic it’s really charming isn’t it well you know the Phipps were so concerned that the little boys would be jealous of what they had done for the little girl that they built three log cabins for them well you can see who got the better end

Of the deal you may be wondering how the element whimsy fits into this idea about the design element time well I think that certainly this example of an English cottage garden on a grand English estate certainly fits it’s appropriate to the period of the estate

And to the house and so forth and while children don’t necessarily have to have something as elaborate as this to play in having a space where they can go and play out their fantasies and play make-believe where time stands still is very important In order to explore this idea of mystery a bit further I wanted to bring you to this place it’s a garden that I helped to create several years ago it’s a special place to me because here I was allowed to use the principle of mystery

In a bold way so why don’t you come into the garden let me show you around this garden is made up of a few simple elements in fact I think the simplicity of this design actually enhances the mystery now the elements I used here our series of tall vertical boulders along

With a few plants just some ferns moss and hosta perfect additions to a shade garden I wanted a bold feature in the garden but one that at the same time was harmonious with the woodland landscape Beyond and the contemporary architecture of the home and these stones serve that

Purpose it was really quite a feat to get them in here you see each one of these weighs close to a ton not only do these stones evoke a certain sense of history but also a sense of great age they actually came out of an ancient dry

Riverbed you can see the moss and lichens on them just add to the whole ambience what I really like about this arrangement of stones is that they serve as a focal point from the house to the garden so from your perspective these stones arrest your attention as a

Visitor walking up to the front door the other aspect of this arrangement of stones that I find so appealing is the fact that it creates a certain rhythm in this space one stone placed after another creates a certain cadence that’s important to realize when creating rhythm in a space that the negative

Space between the objects is as important as the objects themselves now there’s one other aspect of this garden I want to point out it’s the idea of the Crescent or the curve and how that can create a sense of mystery you see when we laid out this terrace we laid it out

On a slight curve like this and then place the stones in a similar fashion following that same line placing a path here between the terrace and the now what this does is it doesn’t allow you to see what’s beyond on the other side further enhancing the sense of

Mystery in this garden so as we’ve seen a few bold elements can produce dramatic results here’s another example in my garden of how curved paths can create a sense of mystery it’s a simple device you see this curved path starts at the breezeway and works itself all the way

Down to the Cypress arch behind me and as you walk along the path you can’t see the final destination so this is how the mystery is set up you’re intrigued by what lies beyond now another thing that I’ve done here that helps establish the sense of mystery as I’ve strategically

Placed some shrubs so I can’t see the path or the final destination the rhododendron which blooms so beautifully in the spring serves as an evergreen anchor and screens that paths in this shade garden now carrying on with this notion about using a shrub or some object to conceal a view to heighten

Mystery I created this Cypress or clipped arch behind me now it was really a simple process although it did require some time let’s take a look at what went into creating this In the very beginning I chose a fast growing hedge and once it had bitter to say six or seven feet I designed a frame of an arch on paper and took it to a local welder and in no time after bending some metal and lots of sparks they were able to assemble the

Frame and bring my plan to life next I painted it with a rust resistant enamel this will preserve the frame and keep the rust from getting on anyone who passes through to secure the frame in place I use some pre-mixed back concrete I mixed enough to go around each of the

Four legs which was about two bags for the next growing season I let the two plants on each side of the arch grow taller so I could take their tops and fold them over the arch I tethered the longest central lens of these plants to the frame using some old leather straps

Now anything will do you just want to make sure that doesn’t cut through the trunks of the hedge now I chose Leyland cypress because it’s an evergreen it’s fast growing and it sheers beautifully now there’s a wide range of evergreens I could have used that was important to me

To use an evergreen plant over a deciduous plant because I wanted this to hold up and be a strong presence even in the winter in this part of my garden today we’ve been exploring this idea of time and how mystery and whimsy play into it you know one of the things that

I’m always trying to do when I create a garden so come up with devices that make people want to slow down and just enjoy the garden as they walk through it and experience that see it in a different way one way to do this is to simply

Place the stepping stones in a certain way to achieve this I always try to find room for plants such as ground covers to fill in between the stones plants like creeping Jenny venca ajuga herbs like thyme look great and smell even better when they’re sandwiched between stones on a path

Ferns and climbing roses can take over a space in a growing season giving your garden an aged look and then there of course are mosses For many of us who enjoy gardening it’s both the process of growing things and the end result that keep us motivated we all want things to have that full-grown and mature look immediately for instance I planted this rose about five years ago and I could hardly wait for it to grow

And cover this end of the building not only do I desire to have the plants in my garden look established I also like for the same to be true of my containers and walkways any paving material that has a nice patina of age seems to fit in

So much better into the landscape for me often the new material such as this just stand out too much but of course over time this will be taken care of by the colonization of mosses lichens and algae they’ll knock off the brassy newness of it one way to accelerate this process is

To create a mixture that will help moss to colonize more rapidly by following a simple recipe start by using one part Moss you can collect it by scraping it off the top of the ground and you’ll have better luck finding it on the north side of buildings

Combine this with three parts bear and one part granular sugar in a blender now after you’ve pureed the ingredients pour the mixture over stones bare soil or on containers to get them all started In today’s show we’ve seen how time and mystery and whimsy all work together to create an overall effect in the garden I hope you go away with some ideas that you can apply to your own garden as you create the garden home of your dreams from the garden home I’m allen Smith

More information about today’s topic and other topics covered in this series can be found at P Allen smith.com on an upcoming episode of PL on Smith’s garden home this is Allen Smith a hallmark of grand Gardens is their skillful integration of structures that blend the overall design of home and

Garden seamlessly learn how to use structures to enhance your garden home with a tour of my garden and a list of structures most commonly found in great Gardens