ONLINE PLANT DATABASES

People often ask where I search out new plants for my designs. Besides books, I enjoy perusing online plant databases. These are great for narrowing down choices by picking key plant characteristics. For instance I can search for a 24" tall perennial that likes sun, has purple flowers, thrives in zone five, plus has an upright form. A great way to narrow down thousands of plants to two or three.  Note that none of these are inclusive, so you'll have to use a combination of sites to find a good selection of plants.

Here are some of my favorites:

Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder

Midwest Groundcovers Advanced Plant Search

Monrovia Plant Catalog 

Perennial Resource Perennial Encyclopedia

UPDATE:

Here are some additional database suggestions via those on my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ streams:

Bluestone Perennials Plant Finder

Cal Poly Tree Selection Tool

Dave's Garden PlantFiles

Fine Gardening Plant Guide

Great Plant Picks (Pacific Northwest)

Jim Melka Plant Finder

LBJ Wildflower Center Native Plant Database

Learn to Grow Plant Search

Nursery Guide (Oregon)

Online Plant Guide

Plant Lust

Rhode Island Coastal Plant Guide

Royal Horticultural Society Plant Selector

San Marcos Growers

Shoot Plant Search

UConn Plant Database

USDA Plant Finder

Waterwise Database (zones 8-11)

Waterwise Santa Barbara

The database below actually helps you ID plants.  Love it!

New England Wild Flower Society Simple ID Key

This plant database is subscription-based. It has a wealth of plant information from Australia, but has spread into other parts of the world too.

PlantFile

Do you have a favorite online plant database not included above? Happy plant hunting!

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DETAILS IN THE GARDEN

A couple of months ago I visited a small, yet amazing garden in central Iowa.

I learned something that day: size doesn't matter...it's all in the details.  

That same day we also visited a landscape much larger than the one below. It was beautiful, but lacked the engagement. I saw everything at once, rather than enjoying the thrill of mystery.

Always think about the details of your garden, including furniture, ornamentation, architecture, paint, and sweet plantings.  How can you surprise your visitor rather than just giving away all your views in one sweep?

 

If you'd like to explore this landscape more, here are the last two posts I wrote on the same garden:

A Dog Friendly Garden
Texture in the Garden

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DRAWING A TREE

A fun way to design a landscape is in elevation - or a straight-on view as if you were standing and looking at it (vs. a plan view that is looking down from the sky). When designing in elevation take note of how all plants have a unique form. Some are circular, oval, columnar, pyramidal, weeping or even irregular. You can read more about plant forms here.

Take a photo of your house, lay tracing paper over it, then try drawing a composition of different plant forms in front of it. Think about accentuating your entry, while also framing your house overall.  Mix different forms, plus layer them (2-3 rows of plants is much more interesting than one). Click here to see an example.

Below is a simple tutorial of how to draw a tree, so you can focus on designing, rather than worrying about your drawing skills (anyone can draw a tree, really).  I also have a slightly different format of this graphic tutorial available for purchase as a digital file here or a hard copy here.

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THE NEIGHBORHOOD SHEDS

I was perusing my former garden blog and came across one of my favorite posts from 2011...a little ditty on garden sheds.  Here is the post as written...

Can functional structures like sheds be beautiful too? 

As we decorated ours with corn stalks a couple of weeks ago I realized how lucky we were to have such a lovely, vibrant shed in our garden. I then realized our neighborhood was filled with similar structures...some old, some new, but all stunning. They all store tools (and some even chickens), plus garden ephemera. Each one has an intriguing beauty. 

Rather than build a typical shed in your yard, create a functional masterpiece that becomes an integral component of your garden. 

Our fun orange garden shed designed and constructed by my husband.

Our neighbor's garden shed and chicken coop to the east of our house. 

A shaker-like shed and beautiful worn brick a couple of houses to the north.

The oldest and most detailed shed in our neighborhood located just to the northeast.

A big thanks to all of our neighbors for letting me tromp through your yards, move around your garden tools and allowing me to flip your light switches on and off to take these photos.

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GARDEN SPRINKLES

For the past few days I've had the pleasure of taking a hand-lettering workshop through Skillshare with the talented Mary Kate McDevitt. We had to pick a quote, go through a series of warm-up exercises, then finally create a final hand-lettered composition. I created three, then plan to create a print with one of them. Let me know if you have a favorite.

You may wonder about the garden sprinkles. Sprinkles are those sweet details that you place throughout your garden to make it extra special.  These may include art, lighting, paint, furniture, wind chimes, etc.

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KEEP IT POSITIVE IN THE GARDEN

Let me tell you a little secret about garden design. It's important to keep your livable spaces positive.

What do I mean? Often we'll lay out beds, think about their shapes meticulously, plop them in our yard, then fill them with plants...creating a negative space for our main livable area. This main area becomes leftover space, even though it should be the main focus of our garden. The main space is often the lawn (though it could be a patio or deck too). This is very similar to rooms in your house.  Each room has a strong shape with walls that reinforce it.
Try designing this way instead...

1. Identify where you would like your main lawn area.
2. Determine what shape it should be...an oval, square, circle, kidney bean, etc.
3. Keep the bed lines clean and/or in broad strokes (not a lot of small wiggles).
4. Place planting beds and plant materials to reinforce your shape (along the outer edge, not in the middle).
5. Now you have an amazing garden where you can place garden furniture, read a book, have a picnic or play a little croquet.

A couple of thoughts...though the positive garden I'm showing you above is formal, your garden does not have to be.  This process works for both formal and informal gardens.  Also, your lawn shapes do not have to be totally surrounded by plants.  You can place them sparingly to still give the idea of a lawn shape, without totally enclosing it.

In the end, I want you to remember that garden design is about creating space.  This space is formed by plants and hardscapes, but you must always remember to create the space first.

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TEXTURE IN THE GARDEN

I am infatuated with great TEXTURE in the garden...and the garden I visited last week had amazing texture plastered all over it. So exciting! If you want your garden to pop in all seasons, take note of texture combinations that make you happy.

 

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A DOG FRIENDLY GARDEN

This week I had the privilege of visiting a stunning Iowa garden. When I swung open the ornate wooden gate I was greeted by two sweet little dogs and a third held by this quaint garden's owner. As I walked through, it was such a delight finding all the doggie doo-dads...all done so beautifully.

1. Look at this fabulous set of limestone steps that lead up to a doggie door. You don't see these tiny doors much in the cold winters of Iowa, but it works for the owner well. The plant keeps visitors off the wobbly stairs, while reserving them for those with four legs.

2. Not only is this a beautifully constructed arbor for garden guests, but it also includes little stairs for small furry friends (who should also relax in comfort).

3. One sweet little pup enjoying his favorite garden bench.

4. A serpentine fountain inspired from Welsh travels. Perfect for little paws to hop over while taking a walk along the path.

5. This fence had to be designed twice.  The first row of pickets were installed, then soon after one smart pup slid right through the narrow spaces. The sleek addition of chicken wire and second row of pickets fixed that problem. How could any creature want to escape this garden?

6. Another arbor and gate leading to the back garden. This gate is intended to keep neighborhood kids out (not the dogs). All animals need some privacy.

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WHAT WE'RE GROWING FOR EATS

Some of you may know that my husband is a fanatic vegetable gardener. He not only grows fruits and vegetables in our yard, but has more in an empy lot down the street...10,000 SF worth. Whew!

Someone asked me an innocent question the other day about what we were growing in our gardens.  I began answering without realizing I'd become breathless with the long list. I think he regretted asking too. 

Below are some of the fruits and vegetables my hard-working husband grew this year:

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A FEW GARDEN BLOGS

As you may know there are hundreds of gardening blogs. I love sifting through and collecting them onto my official garden blog Pinterest board. Here are a few that caught my eye lately that you might also enjoy:

Fine Foliage

Growing with Plants

Thinking Outside the Boxwood

View from Federal Twist

TWO LAMB'S EARS

This sweet, velvety plant has stumped me the last four years.  I introduced Stachys byzantina into my perennial border four years ago after I received several free divisions from a friend. Since I had a large quantity and loved it's beautiful coarse texture it became the main structural plant in this part of my garden.

As time progressed I added additional lamb's ears purchased from different sources...to continue the strong pattern that I began. My plant naivety assumed that a lamb's ear was a lamb's ear. Two years ago I began to notice there were differences. Some of my lamb's ears kept shooting up flowers in summer alongside narrower upright leaves (image on the right), while others had larger leaves that formed clumps with no flowers (left image).

At first I thought the difference was caused by more shade at one end of my border. That was dispelled last year when our neighbor cut down his towering maple that cast that shade. It really became apparent when we moved some of the flowering ones near the nonflowering ones. When they popped up this spring the difference was shocking. Jeez, I had two different cultivars.

One was doing exactly what I had envisioned (clumping with no flowers), while I was constantly hacking away at the other trying to make it do something for which it was not intended. I think the clumping form is the cultivar, Helen Von Stein. I'm not sure about the other one just yet...maybe just the pure form of lamb's ears? Hopefully some of you might know.

Yesterday, I finally took out the flowering one. Not because I didn't like it, but because it wasn't fulfilling the design role that I had intended (a low, repeating clumping form). In this instance, the Stachys byzantina 'Helen Von Stein' filled that role perfectly. The next step, dividing the Helen Von Stein to fill in the empty gaps....and the experiment continues.  Maybe someday I'll have that perennial border finished.

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A LINDEN FAR AWAY & CLOSE UP

Though we've lived in our current house for over five years, this is the first summer I noticed the beautiful seeds on our linden tree (I'm embarrassed to admit).

I've always noticed lindens from FAR AWAY...for their beautiful pyramidal shape, but really never looked at it close up.  The seeds are simple little spheres attached to small stems, but the stems are attached to the middle of a narrow, light green leaf.  It's a beautiful contrast against the dark, heart shaped linden leaves. I'm assuming the seeds are attached to this additional leaf to help them glide farther from the tree. A functional element, made so beautifully.

For those that would like to take a stab at learning plants through drawing, I've created hedge note sheets for everyone that signs up for my newsletter. You can print these templates, then fill in each one as you take note of favorite plants. It's my way of getting you to love plants more.

This post is part of Susannah Conway's August Break.  Everyday she inspires us with one word.  

Today's word is FAR AWAY.

FREE eBOOK FOR 24 HOURS

UPDATE: I'm sorry to say this wonderful offer is no longer available. The magical 24 hours has come and gone. I'd like to thank everyone that wrote in! It was an absolute pleasure meeting you.

For those unable to check in with me...the good news is that you can still purchase my eBook for half price through August 2013 by signing up for my email updates:

Lisa Orgler Design Email Updates

Find out more about The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden here.
--------------------------------------
I am so excited about my new eBook, The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden, that I decided to do something a little quirky today...offer it free for 24 hours.

May I ask for a couple of things in return?
1. Please tell me what you think.
2. If you like it, please tell your friends about it.

That's it!

Please email me directly at lisaorgler@huxcomm.net for your free copy now through tomorrow, Saturday, August 10 at 8 p.m. (central time). I look forward to hearing from you!

THE PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY GARDEN

Woo-hoo! I can't believe it! I finally finished my first eBook: The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden! Ten years developing an idea, then one year writing it. I'm feeling a little exhausted and exhilarated all at once.

A NEW WAY TO DESIGN GARDENS
What is it all about? Developing an out-of-the-ordinary theme garden, of course!  




The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden reveals the unique process of how to create a theme garden about anything through five easy steps that lead to an out-of-the-ordinary, personal, and exciting garden design journey.

It is chock full of illustrations and garden design ideas all aimed at encouraging you to look at the landscape in a new way. To show how this process truly works, I use peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as my theme. I have to add some challenge, right?

For new designers, I hope this gives you some encouragement and guidance to begin a new project and for experienced designers, I hope it inspires and rejuvenates your design approach.

You can purchase The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden for only $10 below. You will receive a .pdf file instantly once payment is made. 

Here is a little peek inside:

GARDEN DIAGONALS

Today's word is DIAGONAL, so I challenged myself to find three diagonals in the garden.

This month I'm following Susannah Conway's August Break which includes a word a day for inspiration.

A CLOSE UP OF MY NEW eBOOK

The magical word for today's August Break is CLOSE UP.

I've been head deep finishing my new eBook, The Peanut Butter & Jelly Garden, so thought it might be nice to give you a little close up of two pages. I hope to have it officially out by the end of this week and will give you more information then.  A little surprise to those on my mailing list...you'll have first dibs at half the price for a limited time. If anyone else is interested in this perk you may sign up for my email updates here.

UPDATE: My new eBook is now available!  Learn more here!