Winter time is a great time to re evaluate your outdoor space

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jack oostenbrink
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Though winter is bare and bleak, it is one of the best times to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of a landscape. Winter time shows the bones of a garden and good bones make a good framework. If you are just starting to plan an outdoor space, giving thought to what the garden will look like in winter as a foremost consideration, will help you design a garden that has good structure.
If one were to strip me down to a skeleton it would be impossible to tell if I were handsome or plain, dark or blonde, chubby or thin etc. All of these elements and more give me an aesthetic make up and they are what you see when we meet. However, none of these elements would ever be possible without the basic framework of bones to which they are attached. No one looks at me and says nice skeleton you've got, yet without it I would look pretty bad! So it is in the garden....when the perennials have died down, the leaves have fallen, and the flowers have faded, we are left with the framework. If your snow covered garden is flat and bare, your garden lacks bones (or structure). These bones often fade into a background role in the garden the rest of the year but they are crucial to providing structure.
You can add structure with plants by adding trees which will give a vertical dimension and branch patterns. It can be done with hedging either evergreen or deciduous, or with evergreen shrubs that provide bulk in winter. Structure can also be added with hardscapes such as large boulders or stone walls or raised beds. Another way to create structure is to use built structures such as a fence, an arbour or a pergola to add some vertical interest. Finally, bones can be added with artsy items such as statues, fountains or obelisks. By using a combination of the above options you will create an interesting winter garden that has visual appeal even in the low seasons, and it will improve the interest factor of your summer garden too!
MForest
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Jack—I so enjoyed your new garden design video; you gave me much food for thought about what to plant in my oldest ‘soon to be re-built’ (fencing and raised beds) vegetable garden on our property. I would never have thought of placing corn and potatoes in an area further away from the house as those plants don’t require care as frequently—maybe a small thing, but it resonated and obviously comes from years of experience and thoughtfulness. And with all the snow here in Victoria right now, the bones become even more obvious! Thanks!
jack oostenbrink
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Thanks Michelle, I hope that all of the modules and vignettes will be equally useful to you.
Rtdowdy
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Total reeval this fall and winter for us here. Moved half the raised beds and expanded into the back half of our yard 🙈 added space for a cut flower garden too. It’s been a big change. Be hardest part has been deciding if we wanted to fill the walk areas with mulch or rock. We had mulch in a previous area and had so many breakthrough weeds and grass.

Also in the process of deciding how to set up guilds for two apple trees and a European plum in our front yard. Zone 8. Would love more on fruiting gardens. Can any apple tree be trained espalier?
jack oostenbrink
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Hi Rachael, a quick tip on mulch or rocks...in both cases if it is possible dig out some of the existing organic layer before adding the mulch or gravel. In both cases, the weed pressures become much worse when the plants are able to root into the soil beneath the mulch layer. That should help reduce your weed problems significantly.
We will be doing a few vignette sessions on fruit tree culture, and esaplier apples and pears will show up a few times in the filming.
TomF
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Today I cut back some of the limbs on a large magnolia tree east of our veggie garden beds. We have a perennial garden that gets better sun that our veggie bed and I would like to consider removing some of this for more edibles but don't know what to put where. Was thinking of some of the big plants that are long lived winter harvest items like some of the brassicas but they like a more bacterial soils and out perennial shrubs are more fungal so??

Also while I was outside considering my place and where I can squeeze in more food, I thought about your squash comments having them at the end where they can creep around and not get in the way. I have a boulevard strip that is backed by a small rock wall with a yew hedge behind that. At the base of the wall I have four blueberry, a section of raspberry and last year I did a potato bed. I was wondering about adding a couple of squash on the boulevard to wander around below the blueberry and raspberries and also join a couple in with the potatoes. I don't know how the dog traffic may impact them all :o I did put a small bamboo and twine fence around the potato bed and I did not see any dog poo in there.
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