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Gardens for Eccentrics and Individualists: Fun in the Yard

© Carol Wallace

My husband told me last week that I was being eccentric with my secret garden - just because I lamented that there is a 6' gap in the hedges that surround it. He implied that wanting the secret garden totally enclosed was carrying things too far. I replied reasonably enough that a secret garden couldn't be secret if all and sundry who pass could see everything inside without even having to crane their necks, and that my lament was anything but eccentric.

As usual I missed my chance. I should, instead have pointed to his own garden - the one he dug in spring under the not-yet-shade of 10 huge maples. The one he ornamented with three antique tombstones (unused) and a dead bonsai. Apparently he doesn't find that eccentric.

Eccentricity is, of course, in the mind of the beholder. There are some who still consider using roses in a perennial border to be a tad unusual, or planting something besides an evergreen hedge in front of the house. Depending on where you live and how your neighbors garden, this might be true, because many view anything that deviates from the norm in the slightest degree as a sign of eccentricity.

However, true eccentrics are, according to current lifestyle research, a somewhat rare breed. Two percent of the population fall into a category called "achievers" - those who are done trying to keep up with the Joneses, and even past trying to have the best house, best garden, etc. The achievers are those who have gone beyond that to simply wanting to leave their mark, to make their statements, no matter what others may think of those statements. Pair this with the fact that roughly 67% of the population claim gardening as their favorite leisure-time occupation. That leads me (with my truly dreadful math) to project that about 1.15 percent of the population are eccentric gardeners.

However, the results of the Tacky Yard Art contest seem to show otherwise. I think there's a bit of eccentric in many real gardeners - we're just hiding it in the backyard.

But what kind of gardens are truly eccentric?

I remember once reading of a woman whose entire garden was planted in flowers made from egg cartons and margarine tubs. That would seem to qualify. But I was thinking in terms of real gardening - of making a planting statement.

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