PlantinG and renovation 61
given to you by a well-meaning individual renovating his or her own perennial
garden. It just might not fit into the new objectives for the garden.
In my business, I will visit the garden in the summer or early autumn when
things are in active growth so that I can really see what is going on. (This is often
to the dismay of the owner who has had to wait patiently since making his or her
winter or early spring decision to “do something with the garden.”) During this
visit a list is made of everything in the garden, including approximate numbers
or sizes of clumps and the condition and approximate location of the plants.
Actual measurements help a lot, because when you are back at the drawing table
months later, notes that say “a large clump of Siberian iris” or “a small clump of
bergenia” lose all context and perspective. This preliminary visit is also the time
to evaluate what plants should be considered for returning to the garden based
on the owner’s wishes and the plants’ condition or worth. These notes will help
during the re-design process, when it may be decided that additional plants also
need to go. Even a plant that has been cut from the draft needs to be recorded for
figuring labor and time involved in removing it from the garden, especially if the
plant is to be spared for a friend.
After the initial note-taking visit to the site, I usually redesign the garden
over the winter for renovation the following spring. Renovation can also be
done in early autumn; particularly in areas with milder winters and in areas
with very hot and dry summers, autumn may in fact be the preferred season. I
am not comfortable with redoing an entire garden in the autumn, especially
someone else’s entire garden, not being sure of what the winter will bring.
While redesigning you must decide how much of a plant is to be saved and
where it can be used as well as where new plants can be integrated. This can be a
bit challenging because you are not working with a clean canvas but rather
trying to save and use as many of the existing plants as possible, yet incorporat-
ing new ones as well.
Ideally the plants should be lifted from the garden in early spring, when new
growth is just emerging yet high enough that you can see what is what. Lay a tarp
down to protect the grass and place the plants on it. If the plants need to remain
out of the ground for longer than a day before replanting—that is, if more work,
such as weeding, needs to be done at a later time to prepare the bed for plant-
ing—I put them into flats and pots. Flats are good for small and shallow-rooted
perennials, and pots are for sizable clumps of large-growing species. If any
divisions are to be made, they should also be done at this time. The plants should
be placed in the shade and kept watered. Sometimes they need to be held there
for up to 2 weeks. If replanting that same day, all plants are removed, divisions
are made, and the beds prepared, planted, and mulched. Try to pick a cool and
overcast day for garden renovation work.
If weeds or invasive perennials are a problem in the beds—and usually they
are—the best approach is to remove the desired plants, then spray the entire bed
with Roundup (glyphosate) or another nonselective, nonresidual systemic
herbicide. Any plants that aren’t to be saved for reuse or recycling can be sprayed
along with the weeds. Then wait 2 weeks and replant as above.
How long a garden renovation will take depends on several factors, such as
number of plants to be saved, the age of the clumps to be moved, the condition of
the existing soil, and the speed and efficiency of the people doing the work. I
figure approximately 1 hour of labor for every 16 to 22 sq. ft. of bed.
Small sections of a large garden can be renovated individually so that the
work is phased. It is risky to do the herbicide spraying in such a case, though,
with desirables all around the renovated area. Renovating a perennial garden,
like renovating a room or a home, can be an involved project, but one that you’ll
be glad you ventured into when you sit back and enjoy the delightful results.
The same garden, more than a
decade later. It’s so rewarding to
watch a garden grow and evolve
and still maintain the original
design integrity and vision.