Have you ever visited a garden that was so deeply peaceful and restful that you didn't want to leave? That engaged all the senses, and was humming with life? Or left a garden and felt jarred by the dissonance of the rest of the world? That's my idea of a well-designed garden: one that is welcoming to people as well as wildlife.
I've been to lots of gardens, from productive community gardens to conventionally pretty estate gardens, and I've had that experience most often under native oaks, surrounded by native plants. A local example is the native plant garden at the Woodside Library; farther away (and worth the trip), the all-native Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Summer is a good time for planning, not planting. Here are some ideas for designing a garden that feels welcoming to people as well as wildlife.
All native plants: I couldn't do without my tomato and bean jungle or my berry thicket, and I love my dozens of herbs, but I set aside part of the garden for exclusively natives. As nicely as Mediterranean plants grow with California natives, I've noticed these other plants can be unexpectedly dissonant when grown among predominantly natives. If you're lucky enough to have a mature native oak, make the space near it the all-native part of your garden. Well-chosen native plants give the garden a unifying theme.
Garden rooms: People feel most comfortable in a room-size space, or along a forest edge. In a small garden without big trees, you can define “rooms” with shrubs as well as arbors, fences, benches, trellises, and garden walls.
Places to sit: A well-placed garden seat offers a place for people to linger and become involved in the life of the garden; a poorly placed one says “keep going.”
A good winter seat may be sheltered from the wind and in a sunny spot, whereas a good summer one may catch afternoon breezes and be shaded from midday sun.
Most of the benches I see in home gardens seem to be afterthoughts and are at best used as ornaments. In a small yard, you may want to figure out the best sitting spots in relation to your house and windows and plan the garden around them.
Set benches or chairs a few feet back from the path, so that someone sitting can stretch out her legs. Face the seat to a view or an activity, even a birdbath, and shelter its back with a wall or shrubs, though not so close that it feels crowded.
Element of discovery: A garden that's one big open space is dull and uninviting. Curving paths can engage curiosity. Give visitors a reason to explore each turn in the path, such as briefly glimpsed focal points, a variety of plants, or seasonal blooms.
Engage the senses: Include plants you can touch, smell, taste, and hear (rustling in the wind), as well as some moving water.
© 2007 Tanya Kucak