Garden Design

A tour of the Van Nuys Japanese Gardens

Published February 5, 2012 | By Jane

Probably one of the most popular gardens for Hollywood television and movie sets, the Van Nuys Japanese Garden in Van Nuys is the epitome of a tranquil Japanese garden. It shares the address of the Tillman Reclamation plant here in Los Angeles, using some of the reclaimed water to irrigate and to fill the extensive lake that forms the central, uniting theme of the garden.

This is an example of a carefully researched, authentically designed Japanese garden created by Dr. Koichi Kawana, a native of Japan and a garden designer who created over a dozen impressive public landscapes in major cities across the United States. The garden is a piece of art that exemplifies the use of ideal, environmentally synchronized plants with Japanese symbolism to create a garden that is harmonious to the eye, the ecology and the spirit. It is an interesting marriage between the contemporary architecture of the Tilllman Water Plant and the traditional peace of a formal Japanese garden.

Meander along the pathways for a therapeutic visit to soothe stress or simply stop in the garden to enjoy a mini-retreat to pass the afternoon. If you want ideas for your own Japanese garden, this is a perfect place to spark your imagination. Areas work as a whole fabricated with internal pictures within the overall design so you can frame your own view.

Wander along the paths to compare the contrast of colors and textures. Stop and listen to the bamboo fountain or gaze at the water lilies in summertime bloom.

Early spring paints the garden brilliant red with azalea blooms. Expect to see the area alive with fish, ducks and birds – the latter flying in for a little vacation from their life in the wild.

Not only will you learn about the symbolism demonstrated in the garden (stop into the gift shop and make sure you pick up the brochure on the garden which will help explain the details), but you will see some of the fine effects that can be designed into an Asian garden by grouping and contrasting different building materials like stone, pebbles, wood and bamboo. Plants form their own visual communities and artistically interact with the non-living materials.

The tea house gives you views along the water as well as the shade garden on the side.

Behind the tea house you can follow a wooden-railed, curving ramp out into the sunshine where you can gaze at the different ways various styled bridges and waterfalls are integrated into specific views and the overall picture. The sound of water spilling over natural tumbles of rock adds to a sense of peace and harmony. There are different sizes, shapes and styles of water features to offer design ideas for your own garden.

The Van Nuys garden illustrates the Japanese art form of controlling nature in the landscape. Each area is carefully planned out with one event carefully leading to the next.

Even the trees are trained to grow in the exact, desired shape. There is no room for accidents.

That means that if you come to enjoy the garden, expect a few restrictions to protect the gardens from damage. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the pathways, items like photographic tripods are discouraged and anything that might disturb the controlled conditions of the gardens is not recommended.

Different areas offer creative Japanese garden concepts. There are multiple solutions for water gardens, rocky areas, shade gardens, floating islands and artistic beachfront hardscapes (permanent features). Plants work together in micro-environments but also flow into the bigger picture so you can focus on the way a weeping cherry is reflected in the water, or gaze at how it creates a focal point for the walkway and water that surround it. Typical of Asian gardens, the Van Nuys Japanese Garden is rife with symbolism, whether it is reflected in the weeping cherry tree (symbolizing clouds and transience), stone lanterns (representing the light that outshines ignorance) or a bamboo fountain (representing internal cleansing in the modern Japanese garden).

Whether you want to spend a peaceful afternoon in the living art of a tranquil Japanese garden or you want to take home ideas for plants, design and decor for your own landscape, the Van Nuys Japanese Garden will not disappoint you.

Call to make sure the garden will be open when you want to visit. There is ample parking just off of 6100 Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys, California. You’ll find information posted on the Van Nuys Japanese Garden site at http://www.thejapanesegarden.com. Docent-led tours can be set up by appointment. Call at 818 756-8166. Admission is only $3.00 per person and $2.00 for seniors and children.

Posted in Articles on Landscape Design | Tagged Asain gardens, garden design, garden tour, Japanese garden, Van Nuys Japanese gardens | Leave a comment

What is a Beautiful Landscape?

Published February 4, 2012 | By Jane

What is a Beautiful Landscape?

“A beautiful landscape” can mean many different things to different people. For some, the only landscapes that will qualify require hundreds of thousands of dollars in elaborate construction. For others, the most beautiful landscape is the one nature created – with no sign of human intervention. For most, the concept is somewhere in between.

If you are building a landscape for your home – or for any building, the best choice is something that will not conflict with the design of the structure or that of the general surrounding area. A lake of emerald green grass surrounding an adobe styled house or pouring down the side of a scrub-textured chaparral creates visual discord. A wild English garden surrounding a formal building looses its charm and merely appears unkempt. A formal geometrical garden would look absurd surrounding a log cabin. This does not mean you can’t have a garden styled to your taste even if the house style you bought isn’t. It does mean that to make both beautiful, some thought has to go into making idea, taste and reality mesh.

You can create illusion of landscape styles even if you don’t have enough space or money to re-create you ideal. A “Beverly Hills” mansion landscape feel can be designed on a shoestring budget by creating miniature areas as focal points.

Do-it-yourself folks can save a lot of money. But since most people don’t have the knowledge or experience of professionals, it’s not a bad idea to spend considerable time doing research, or call in consultants for advice before diving into landscaping projects. Research and creative time is spent by the best professional landscape designers and architects. It does account for much of their billable time. Ideas do not pop into a creative’s head and drop onto the paper instantaneously. Also make sure you hire the right help for the right kind of expertise you need.

With the ‘globalizing’ of communications, generic plans have become popular and practical. Adapting a small number of basic designs to different layouts and plant environmental needs has created a whole industry that gives what appears to be a custom design at a less expensive price. If you are creating your own design, you need to allow yourself that time for thinking and researching. Then comes the adaptation of those ideas to the page format so you can delegate whatever you need to or work on the plan over time without forgetting important aspects.

Another point to consider about beauty, is that not everyone thinks the same plants are beautiful. I find some folks like a neat, contained plant to be beautiful whereas someone else finds the same look too stodgy and prefers a natural sprawl or wilder look. Colors are very personal. We probably start associating our feelings with different colors as early as in our pre-verbal childhood. Maybe we physically see colors differently depending on how our organic eyes and brains process the light waves. Who knows why we often prefer one color over another. And I don’t suppose it matters. But some people feel quite strongly in favor or against various flower or leaf colors.

Posted in Articles on Landscape Design | Tagged beautiful garden, beautiful landscape, garden beauty, garden design, Landscape Design | Leave a comment

Design a DIY Landscape

Published January 16, 2012 | By Jane

The most common mistake in gardening is failing to plan out a garden first. Even if you just scribble out your ideas on paper, you will be doing yourself an enormous favor. The more detailed and accurate your plan, the more money, frustration and regrets you will save yourself. You can call in an expert designer for the more complicated plans or even to coach you with your own design. Or you can design a DIY landscape plan for yourself.

The reason you want to start on paper is so you can see how things will flow together. Designing on paper gives you a chance to test out different ideas. It is much easier to change things with a delete key on the computer or a pencil eraser – and cheaper than having to make changes with heavy labor and expensive materials in the garden itself.

Start out by making a list of all the things you want in your DIY garden. Think of how you will be using your space: for exercise, pets, entertainment, growing edibles, relaxing etc. Then add appropriate items to your list like patios, swimming pools, lawns, pens, barbecues, raised vegetable gardens, water features, seating areas, driveways and patios and so on.

Sketch out how all these areas will work along with each other to form a useful yet decorative flow. Use walkways and paths to link events together. Remember safety and design areas like swimming pools and child play areas where they can be observed from the house. Place edible gardens like herb gardens and vegetables where they will be convenient to the kitchen. Designing wisely can then be made artistic and picturesque.

As you lay out a DIY plan place the permanent features – the hardscape – first. Also make sure you sketch out the important systems like drainage, irrigation and utility lines like electric and gas. Make sure you make provisions for future expansion – utility lines that can be capped but will be available for future use.

Once your overall design, hardscape and systems are in place, you can then start designing the living part of your design or the softscape. Start with the largest features; the trees. Plant the right kind of tree in the right location so it will fit properly when mature, the roots will not interrupt any of your hardscape as the tree grows. Consider the sun at different times of the year and plan shade from your tree so it enhances your garden. Then move on to specking out the different kinds of plants you will use. Always plan for the mature size. (You can always fill in with smaller plants and annuals while the newly-planted are too small to fill their space.)

The final part of you plan can involve adding final details like décor, supplementary plant lists, edging materials and other practical and decorative elements. Do plenty of research. The more you know about design and the elements you include, the better your design will be. Like any do-it-yourself project the success of your project is directly proportional to the wisdom with which it is pot together. And one of the wisest things you can do in a DIY landscape design is a plan.

Posted in Articles on Gardening, Articles on Landscape Design | Tagged garden design, garden plan, Landscape Design, landscape plant, plant a garden | Leave a comment

Landscape Design: Getting Creative with Space

Published January 16, 2012 | By Jane

Garden design is a science with a lot of different techniques to make your landscape into something that not only grows well, but functions practically and looks great. But there are many tricks to the trade. One element that can help any space accommodate a more scenic garden is to use space – to sculpt what exists and use illusion where it doesn’t. There are many ways to make your garden appear much more than it is. You can build illusion into your landscape to punch up the assets or to disguise any short-comings on your property. Here are some tips on how to build illusion into your landscape.

* Small trees will give the illusion of distance. To make a garden look larger, plant small trees in the furthest spaces. You can build illusion into a landscape to make a small garden look larger by using perspective. For example, a large tree will make the general area look even smaller. A small tree in a short distance will read as a larger tree viewed more distantly
* Large trees will dwarf a garden unless the space is so small that the canopy has the effect of a roof and the trunk is like a wall in which case the tree won’t register much as a tree from a perspective view anyway. But it can create a natural outdoor room.
* You can create a rolling effect without having to move a lot of soil by planting gardens or areas of the ground cover plants that grow at different heights.
* Create ‘windows’ to look through to define special spaces or punch up a focal point. ‘Windows’ can be in the form of shrubbery or walls that have spaces to look through, actual windows hung from patio overhangs or cut in walls, or the spaces between objects or structures. Creating window views adds an illusion of complexity.
* Distract the eye from something you want to down-play by refocusing attention elsewhere. Creating a focal point will help move the attention to where you prefer someone to be looking.
* Disguise ugly features by growing vines over them or surrounding them with decorative panels.
* Paint objects a bright color, grab attention with showy décor or plant hot colored flowers in reds, yellows and oranges to make an area stand out. Conversely, blend in areas you want to down-play with dull colors or masking walls, vines or facades.
* Elongate short spaces by building a winding path that draws out the look of distance. This works especially well when landscaping hills and slopes.
* Break up long spaces by dividing them with fences, structures, patios, hedges or other items to partition off space and create rooms. You can create intrigue by inviting someone from one outdoor ‘room’ to the next with an archway or decorative gate.
* Disguise utility areas with decorative fencing or handsome planter areas that will hide eye-sores.
* Paint murals behind narrow garden areas on walls or fences to add the illusion of depth.
* Hide smaller pipes and utilities under fake rocks or grow shrubs around them to disguise them.

Other things you can do are to use the overall effect of your landscape area to play with illusion. For example, lighting can transform the whole feel of your property. Use lighting at night to pick out features that will make your garden glow. You can spotlight only the areas you want creating the illusion of a whole new and different garden from the daytime view. Or you can be more subtle by simply highlighting certain gardens, your front door, a seating area or a single focal point in the garden.

You can divide space up by light or by passageways. Create pathways that meander to break apart areas. If your space is shallow, make the path start wide and narrow as it continues to form an illusion that it is stretching much further away.

These are just some ways you can use illusion to change the shape and effect of your garden. With some tricks of space and color you can make any garden look better.

Posted in Articles on Gardening, Articles on Landscape Design | Tagged creative landscape design, Creative space, design tricks, garden design, illusion, landscape techniques | Leave a comment

Pondless Waterfalls

Published January 12, 2012 | By Jane

In the heat of the summer, there is nothing as refreshing as the sound of splashing water. In many places, however, water is at a premium and likely to be even more scarce in the future. So how can a water feature bring beauty and freshness into the garden in a responsible manner? Consider the pondless waterfall. are wonderful fun, but they are expensive to install and require a fair investment of time and money to maintain. All too often, ponds lose their appeal after the first couple of years and become eyesores of neglect, or worse, health hazards where they are abandoned. So if you don’t want a pond, or simply aren’t sure, try starting with a pondless waterfall. It’s water efficient and lower maintenance.

Okay, what IS a pond-less waterfall? The idea of a pond-less waterfall is to create something between a fountain and a pond. Structurally, it can take any form you’d like to imagine. The basic concept is that water is moved from a storage space, through a pipe and out into the air to splash back into the storage space and be recirculated again. This is the same basic concept in all water features. The difference here is that the ‘storage space’ is not a basin like you would find in a fountain, nor is it a larger body of open water like a pond. By covering the ‘storage receptacle, there is no open water visible (hence: “pond-LESS waterfall”). There are a number of advantages to building a water feature like this. First of all, you will not have to deal with mosquitoes laying their eggs in open water. You also do not have to buy or care for fish. Additionally, you do not have to use chemicals in the water to avoid build up of algae or pests. And depending on how you build this feature, you can create a water feature that is low on water usage and evaporation. You can still plant bog plants if you’d like to have a break from drought-tolerant gardening or you can design your waterfall for minimum maintenance and avoid any organic decor.

To build a pond-less waterfall, you only need to understand the basic concept. An underwater pump needs to be submersed in a container of water. The water will be pumped out an outlet pipe attached to the pump. You can guide that pipe however you wish. When the water spills out the other end of the pipe, it needs to go back into the container again. This is how any fountain or pond works. In a pond or fountain, the water splashes directly back into open water, often cascading down multiple tiers before returning for recycling. If you eliminate the surface of the water, you eliminate many of the maintenance issues discussed above. You can cover the surface with stones, gravel rock or many other materials so the water filters down below into the area where the pump is housed. The pump will need a special permeable house or box that allows the pump to remain submerged under returning water, yet keeps the stones or other material covering the surface of the container away from the pump. A cage with an easy access top – for servicing or changing out the pump – would work well.

Designs for pondless waterfalls are limited only by your imagination. You can create any structure you want to match your home or garden. If you fall in love with a piece of garden décor, such as a sculpture, you can incorporate that sculpture as if it were a part of a fountain. People, animals and objects can be used as a focal point with water splashing over rocks behind, cascading at the sculpture’s feet, or even becoming incorporated with the action of the sculpture if the positioning allows. The trick is to hide the pipe so it can’t be seen. The water can pour out wherever you direct the pipe opening. A common and tasteful version of a pondless waterfall can be seen in bubbling pots that spill their water into gravel covered receptacles. The fun of using these pots is that you can find all colors and styles of pots so you can easily find something to underscore your favorite look.

You can use unusual materials to create pondless waterfalls. Rock and bubbling pots may be popular, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Watering cans, hollow chunks of bamboo, anything that you can conduct a line of water through can spill water back into the receptacle. You probably would do better not to choose items with material that can rot or rust badly, but plastic, glass, stainless steel, PVC, and treated wood are all examples of materials that should work fine. You can use less resilient material to surround the water flow as well. That way you could use, say, a wagon wheel or a piece of furniture as a setting in which a more water-friendly material can conduct water though. You could use an old computer monitor housing for an unusual focal point, or send water around a dollhouse, or maybe run an electric train set over real waterfalls. You can go small or large, abstract or realistic. You can underscore a theme, like a lion’s head waterfall in a Tuscan garden or a fabricated cement tree with water flowing from all the branches for a fantasy garden. Not only can you create any type of water feature, but you can cover the receptacle with materials other than stone. Picture the fantasy tree splashing branches of water onto a bed of tumbled glass with the pump hidden safely beneath for a pondless waterfall. Or maybe you might want colored rocks for the Lion’s head. Consider using brightly colored small tiles spaced sufficiently for the water to run down between in a Mexican styled garden. You might even do away with the “fall” of the water fall and simply install a spray that blossoms from the material covering the tub beneath. In short, just about any effect can be created using a pondless waterfall. You might have an artist design something special for you or you might want to play around with your own creative skills. You can bring in a contractor for larger constructions or play with your own smaller versions. Whatever you want to design and build, you can create it with a pondless waterfall.

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Build a raised garden bed: important tips

Published December 26, 2011 | By Jane

Since raised garden beds have so many advantages over planting on level ground, you might want to consider building your own. Here are some tips to keep in mind for people who want to create a do-it-yourself raised garden bed.

Unless you are specifically planning on planting shade-loving plants, choose a location that gets plenty of sun. For growing edibles, this is a must. And if you are growing fruits and vegetables or herbs, site your garden where it will be easily accessible from the kitchen. Building a raised vegetable bed is a very practical way of growing edibles.

If you have gophers, moles or voles in your area, line the bottom of your raised bed with ½” gauge hardware cloth so the sides of the material extend to the outside of the garden bed walls. In other words, lay the bottom liner and build your walls on top of it, effectively sealing off entry points. This way, pests cannot enter your raised garden bed from below.

For edible gardens do not use green wood, railroad ties or any other treated wood unless you line the garden bed with a durable plastic as you do not want toxins leaching into the soil. Not all processed woods have been proven to be dangerous, but it’s best to err on the safe side.

Make your raised garden bed attractive. Echo the design in your garden in the materials you choose. A brick-walled raised garden bed with a decorative miniature white picket fence on top might look perfect in a cottage garden. Or a rustic, stacked stone raised garden may be perfect for a woodland styled landscape. Have fun designing your raised garden bed.

You can even construct a raised garden bed on a patio or balcony by stacking up artistically placed ready-made containers. Just make sure that however you build your raised garden bed you factor in drainage and watering. Hopefully, these tips will help you design and build your own raised garden bed more successfully.

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How to create a woodland garden design

Published July 16, 2011 | By Jane

A woodland garden is easy to design if you live in or near a forest. This will be an easy garden style that will be easy care and low maintenance since your soil and climate will be ideal to support woodland growth. If you live elsewhere, you can still create a woodland landscape while staying in harmony with your ecology. Use some design techniques and plan your garden carefully.

Start by researching plants that grow well in your local climate but have a similar look to those that grow in forests. If you have shade this will probably be easy. There are many versatile plants that will give you the kind of effects you want like ferns, Hostas, Hydrangeas and many other adaptable plants that have the woodland look but will tolerate a wider range of growing conditions. In full sun there are still choices but you will have to select with a bit more care. There are, for example, varieties of the common forest Columbine that will handle sunshine.

A woodland garden is not dependent on plants only. You can create the forest feel with non-living materials too. Wood and stone are basic elements in the forest. Use them in your landscape. Stone retaining walls, flagstone patios and well placed rocks or boulders as focal points can be effective elements in a woodland garden. Recycle tree trunks or stumps that are salvaged elsewhere and turn them into seating, pedestals, slice them for stepping stones or build structures with rough-hewn wood. Build fences with stacked stone or use slabs of stone for flooring.

Create your own shade by planting trees that grow well in your climate. Where you plant gardens, set plants closely to look lush and use bark and wood chips as mulch. With careful design you can build your own woodland garden even if you don’t live near a forested area.

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Black plants in the garden

Published June 5, 2011 | By Jane

There are many ways to make your garden into something special. One way that is sure to grab attention is to use exotic black flowering plants or foliage in your garden. Naturally dark foliage has been concentrated in a number of hybrid plants to create breath-taking beauty for the garden. Here is a list of just some of the plants you can use to create drama. Most of these are actually pigmented with dark burgundy or blue colors to give the effect of looking almost like pure black. Use them for accents or group these plants into pools of dark mystery. Or create a shadow garden of dark plants to form a silhouette against a light colored wall.

For a small tree or large shrub, try the Black Elderberry, Sambucus Black Lace™ or Sambucus Black Beauty ‘Gerda’. These elderberries also offer flat panicles of tiny but showy pink or white flowers that contrast with the dark foliage.

Ophiopogon planiscarpus ‘nigrescens’ is a small, flat-leafed plant that looks like deep, black grass. It is called black mondo grass and flowers with small lavender-pink flowers followed by dark berries. This is a slow growing, evergreen (more like ever-black) perennial.

Phormium ‘Black Adder’ is one of the most recent introductions in the world of colorful New Zealand flax plants. It grows modestly to under three feet tall with the blackest foliage offered in these handsome sword-leafed plants.

Black pansy and black petunia are two annuals that offer dark purple flowers that verge on being black. The ‘Black Velvet’ series of petunias are recent introductions that are becoming very popular.

Black Barlow columbine is a dark burgundy-flowered version of the double-flowering Aquilegia. This one is a little more red than some of the more recent black flowers being introduced into the marked.

Aeonium arboreum var atropurpureum ‘Schwarzkopf’ is the black tree aeonium. It is a three-foot branching succulent with leaves of darkest mahogany that grow in a rosette and almost look like flowers – until the plant shoots out its real flowering spikes of bright yellow flowers.

The imperial taro or black caladium (Colocasia esculenta or Colocasia antiquorum var. Illustris) is a moisture-loving plant with large leaves. There are some very black colored cultivars like ‘Illustris’, ‘Jet Black Wonder’ or ‘Black Magic’. These dramatic, arrow shaped leaves can be real attention-getters in damp parts of the garden or in a bog or pond area.

Black Irises come with choices. These are iris flowers with deep purple pigments that can look quite black. The bearded iris ‘Superstition’ is one such plant. Known as black irises are the Middle Eastern Iris nigricans, Iris susiana, Iris petrana and the Iris chrysographes from southern China. They are dark enough to earn their common name.

These are just some of the possibilities you can use to add the drama of black to your garden design. These dark colors add mystery and contrast to any garden. They’re likely to draw attention and comments from anyone discovering them in your garden.

Posted in Articles on Gardening, Articles on Landscape Design | Tagged black flowers, black foliage, black plants, colored foliage, garden design, landscape design color | 2 Comments

Cats and the Garden

Published June 4, 2011 | By Jane

We share our gardens with wildlife and pets as well as with family and friends. This garden article is dedicated to cats and cat-lovers – and even the neighbor’s cats! If you live near open land, you may need to keep your cat indoors to be safe from all the clever predators in our wild environment. Some few felines become canny survivors and know how to outsmart coyotes and owls, but for most, safety resides in the house. Coyotes have no problem hunting on asphalt streets after dark, either. Even in the more built up city areas, cats are safer indoors away from dangerous traffic or wandering dogs. As a result, house-bound cats need certain concessions to compensate for their lack of freedom.

Many cats will nibble on your indoor plants – if you have them. Perhaps it is the fact that in nature cats would normally consume a basic amount of plant matter inside the bodies of a wild prey diet. Greens are important in the feline diet to aid digestion, help in eliminating fur balls, increase roughage and to provide vitamins in the form of folic acid. Some cats seem more attracted to grass than others. Many of our house plants are attractive but toxic to both pets and children so they should be kept out of exploring mouths.

Bringing in outdoor grass or plants may also include pesticides and other harmful materials you need to be aware of. If you want to keep your cat happy, healthy and protect your indoor plants, you might want to grow your own cat grass. You can invest your money in buying ready-made kits, or you can buy wheat grass, rye, oat or barley seed and grow your own. Growing your own grass is remarkably easy as most seed germinates very quickly when sprinkled on damp soil in a pot. Keep the pot on a window sill where it gets some sun until you see the grass growing to an inch or more, then move it to a counter where it will get good light – preferably some sun — and is more convenient for feline munching. Do make sure the soil is kept damp as the grass will shrivel quickly if the pot dries out. Seeds are usually available in garden centers or on the Internet.

Another plant to grow for your cat is catnip. Although some people fear catnip can be dangerous like some human addictive chemicals, the feline response is not the same as a human’s is to drugs. And catnip is a natural plant with no addictive attributes. Cats vary remarkably in their reaction to catnip. It seems to be a genetic thing that some cats have and others don’t. Some have no interest while others become excited and still others simply dissolve into fits of blissful delight. The response is an olfactory one and it is something our comparatively inadequate noses can not relate to. Catnip is completely safe and if your cat enjoys the stimulation, you can rest assured it is natural and harmless. The chemical nepetalactone in catnip triggers the response. Interestingly enough, even some large cats like tigers are capable of the same responses.

Catnip is the common name for an herb in the Nepeta family. Nepeta cataria is most commonly grown for cats, but the N. grandiflora is also used to produce this pheromone-based intoxication. There are a number of other varieties of catnip that can also stimulate your feline friend. Most of these plants are actually very decorative and look great in the garden. They are remarkably drought-tolerant and don’t even mind poor soils. Since the stimulation only lasts for a short time before the cat becomes accustomed to the effect, catnip is most effective when used for limited periods of time. Your cat may very well return a while later ready for another short indulgence, however. So you might just as well grow Nepeta in your garden where it can be a highly decorative contribution to your garden as well as fun for your cat(s). Just avoid using insecticides or other chemicals on or near the plant.

All Nepetas have long spires of massed flowers that make the plants colorful. Nepeta racemosa, N. faassenii and N. reichenbachiana all have named varieties in blues, purples, pinks and whites. And if you think the plants are somewhat reminiscent of mint in look and scent, that’s because they are in the same family. Nepetas, however, tend to grow in thick, low mounds that are much more ornamental than most of the invasive mints. If you live in an area where there are other roaming outdoor cats, you may occasionally find your lovely plants steam-rolled into a flat mat from a joyfully tipsy feline invader. Even so, they are likely to rebound quickly (the plant, well, and maybe the cat, too!). And these Nepetas are very decorative in the garden.

If you allow your cat outdoors during the day, you might want to design in a sand box for his or her use so the cat doesn’t dig up the garden for elimination needs. Try laying some chicken wire – rather like mulching – over the topsoil where you don’t want a cat to dig. It’s hard for paws to scoop out soil and claws find the metal wire disturbing. This will work well to discourage neighboring cats as well. To keep indoor cat boxes from becoming offensive, consider adding some herbs to the litter or drying out some fragrant flowers and leaves from the garden for a scented sachet or potpourri. Rose petals, sage leaves, lemon balm, rosemary, lavender and a host of other plants offer possibilities. You can hang branches upside down fresh or lay them out in a thin layer on paper or in straw baskets to dry.

If you want your cat to go outdoors safely, you can build a cat run that functions like an extended porch. By screening in a pen or creating a screened in pathway, your pal can bask in the daytime sun without being endangered by predators or other outdoor threats.

The garden can be a wonderful place for you to relax by yourself, with friends or family. It’s a great place to play with canine friends, too. But just because it is safer to keep your feline pals in a more protected environment doesn’t mean your garden can’t be of benefit to them as well! Design your garden for pets and you can both enjoy being outdoors. Hopefully, these suggestions will help you share your garden happily and safely with your cat or cats.