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Dressing Your Garden for Its Big Date

© Mary Henry

Have you ever gone on one of those local garden tours to look at other people's gardens? As you walked around marveling at this or that, did you ever think to yourself that you would never be asked to put your garden on a tour because it would never look that good? Well, why not? The only reason that garden looks better than yours is that the owners have done their homework. Almost any well-loved and tended garden can look good enough to be on a tour if you are willing to prepare for it. Even if you are never asked to allow a tour of your garden, you may want to plan an event there. It could be a birthday party, backyard cookout or even a family wedding or anniversary celebration. In addition to a guest list and menu, you will want to "dress" the garden for the occasion. It takes the same kind of preparation as to get ready for a prom date. I remember that my youngest daughter, who couldn't make herself spend time on school work, threw herself into prom preparations like a general planning a military campaign. No detail was overlooked. Here are a few details to help get your garden ready for its Big Date.

First consider the outfit your garden will wear. Is it fully dressed now? It really depends on the importance of the Big Date. For a backyard birthday party or barbecue, your garden's everyday clothes will be fine. If it is a garden wedding, more formal attire might be wanted. This might be the perfect opportunity to treat your garden (and yourself) to a special addition that you have been wanting. An arbor or arched trellis would make a great focal point for a ceremony as well as a centerpiece to the garden. Just remember that, unless you start several weeks before the event, don't add a lot of new plants. They need time to settle in and adjust their foliage to the new site and conditions. Otherwise, they will look uncomfortably like they just dropped by for the afternoon. If you have just a few spots that seem to need something, I'll give you suggestions when we talk about cosmetics.

A week or so before the Big Date, most of us would have a haircut. We would want to do it just long enough before the big day that the raw newness would have worn off. A few days before your garden's Big Date, give it a haircut too. Deadheading faded flowers and pinching or pruning off dead or damaged foliage as needed for a well-groomed look. If a plant needs a wild branch removed to make it look better, do it. It's like dealing with your own cowlick just before you get your driver's license photo taken. If the wild branch had flowers, it could become part of the party decorations. In fact, a table arrangement of the same flowers that are in your garden helps extend the theme.

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