Simple Ideas for Anyone's Garden

Walking through one of his gardens with Porter Poirier, I sense how much passion and comfort he has with the natural surroundings. He bends down to pick up a handful of soil, rubbing it into his palm. He seems at home among the plants, birds, air and dirt.

As a landscape designer, Porter has a philosophy of creating outdoor living spaces for his clients. Areas that flow and inspire, and fit the lifestyle of the people who call the plot of land home. He's equally interested in assuring his designs take nature into account. He recommends selecting plants and scapes appropriate for the climate and conditions, and also provides habitats for the native wild life.

Porter shared with me three tips for gardening that I'm passing on to you. Whether you have a busy life, a half acre of land, or just a small balcony, there's a tip here that will help you create a more enjoyable experience with the outdoors.

Plant Herbs

Many people tell Porter that they don't have the time for a garden, but they want some benefits of fresh, live plants that they can nurture and enjoy. Porter's suggestion is one of my favorites: Plant herbs.

Even if you have little to no space, and little to no time, you can probably do this: Get a medium to large size pot that you can place outdoors, fill it with planting mix and plant an assortment of your favorite (to eat, smell, cook with) herbs. My standards are thyme, rosemary, oregano and basil.

When you are preparing dinner, just step outside, snip some basil leaves to add to your salad. Or use fresh rosemary to flavor your lamb or roast potatoes. Yumm.

Intentional Weeds

I never thought of this, and I love it! Porter's recommendations about areas of land that you're not ready or planning to landscape. Bare land left to the wiles of nature will likely end up filled weeds. The solution: plant the weeds you WANT.

Weeds you want! Really? Yes, here are a few he recommends:

	Borage, an herb - Short and a little bushy, this plant has bright blue flowers. It will even reseed itself, just like those darn weeds you will otherwise be pulling.
	Calendula, aka Marigold - the nickname gives hint to the colors this little sunshine flower brings to your garden. Easy to grow in sun, reseeds and some people tout its medicinal qualities.
	Nigella - wispy greens with small starburst pale blue blossoms. These are sometimes called "love-in-a-mist." Easy to grow and self seeding, but not obtrusive.
	Nasturtium - colorful, edible flowers with flat round leaves. I have an affinity for these meandering vines. Grow some in a sunny rock wall and they'll spill over within a few months. Peppery flavor makes the blossoms great to add to salads.

Add Attractions

Here's where creating outdoor living spaces differs from the design work I do in interiors. Porter is interested in attracting beneficial insects.

It's all part of creating a sustainable ecosystem. One bonus is you can also attract birds. Great for relaxing way to enjoy whatever view you have of the outdoors: watching birds come by for a visit.

Porter tells me that when you provide a constant source of water, reliably, you'll have birds visiting your yard. He prefers this approach to attracting feathered visitors over bird feeders -- which tend to also attract rodents for the seeds that fall to the ground. (Rodents are not beneficial insects!)

One simple and lovely way to provide a constant and reliable source of water is shown here in this drawing.

A bird will land on the loop of copper tubing, collect some water, then fly on. And another will come for its turn. Lovely!

A man of the earth, Porter is engaged directly with the elements. And not so much with the cyber-world. So he doesn't have a website. Yet. He lives in Oakland, CA, and provides landscape designs for clients in the Bay Area. If you'd like to contact him, send me a message and I'll be happy to introduce you.