Designing for the Future

As my trees and shrubs continue to mature, I may find myself focusing more on herbaceous plants. My garden is designed to have large sunny areas for flower beds. The trees and shrubs are on the north side of my garden, so while my artificial woodland will get shadier year after year, I won't be limited to having a shade garden. I am glad that I avoided that mistake. I have seen so many mature gardens where trees were planted without much foresight. Their owners hate the thought of removing mature trees, but they also yearn for more sunlight.

As you look forward towards another year of gardening and consider whether or not to plant another tree or large growing shrub, think about their effect on your garden in the years and decades ahead. Gardening encyclopedias often give the mature dimensions of different trees. While it isn't necessary to plant trees so that their branches will barely touch when mature (that rule only applies if you want each of your trees to be a perfectly formed mature specimen), you do need to visualize how that thin stick of a tree from a nursery will look decades later. All trees cast some shade. Think about how tall the tree will grow and how dense its shade will be. You really shouldn't plant any tree closer to a house than its mature branches will stretch; this is also true for large growing shrubs. Large shrubs are almost always most effective when planted well away from a house as a background to a garden. You should think about leaves in your gutters and the danger that a large growing tree may pose to your house when mature. Future generations will be grateful that you looked ahead when designing your garden.

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