Thinking: Garden Plan Part Two

LOOKS LIKE THE LIGHTS ARE STILL ON! HAPPY Millennium NEW YEAR !!!

The Second Step: Thinking

Now comes the hardest step. This is to think. (No offense!)

This second step is a challenge, maybe the hardest part of all, but it is also the most fun for me. Indulge in wild thinking and crazy ideas, brainstorm. You never know - you might come out with a keeper!

Think about the main reason you want to make a change in that particular spot. Try to put it into context with the rest of your garden or yard. Consider what you like and don't like, what you want to accomplish next season, what you could add and what needs to be moved or removed entirely. Think about the growing conditions you have to offer and which plants might do well in those conditions without a lot of help from you. Think about how you can make caring for your plants easier or more efficient. Think about working smarter instead of harder. Check through books and catalogs for fresh ideas, then double check your inclinations and selections to make sure they are suited to your particular location and circumstances.

Take time now to reflect and consider, following through from the picture in your mind to the glorious planting day to the effect this summer to three years out to maybe ten years from now. What will it look like then if you make this choice or the other choice now? Can you phase the work, or does it all have to be done at once?

This is mind bending, this futuristic thinking and it can be darned hard to do accurately. My crystal ball is certainly imperfect and tends toward the color rose, I need some help to stay realistic or at least within the realm of possibility. So I put my ideas on paper. Sometimes all it is is a wisp of a scribble, but it helps me to stay focused, a way to crystallize the thoughts and put on the brakes so I end up with a more workable scheme.

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