Why Now is the Perfect Time to Design Your Home Garden
Right now is the perfect time to reimagine your garden! With cooler temperatures just around the corner, it is time to plan for fall planting.
In this article:
Why upgrade your garden now?
Design a garden that fits your lifestyle
Criteria for plant selection
Edible, ornamental, and medicinal plants
How to get started today!
Never too late to plan your garden
It’s August. It’s hot outside and the plants remind us of that, flowering and turning brown in the sun. It may seem counterintuitive, but right now is the PERFECT time to design your garden space for fall planting. Putting a little bit of effort into imagining your yard and garden now will create huge rewards for the months and years to come.
One major hurdle we see regularly is clients who think, “Isn’t it too late to work on the garden? I didn’t start early enough.” Truthfully, it’s never too late to work in the garden. Even in the height of the summer or in the throes of winter, you can still be planning out your garden and starting seeds indoors.
Summer is an ideal time to start planning your new landscape and garden design. The design process can take 3-6 weeks and fall is an ideal time to plant with temperatures beginning to drop and rain right around the corner. September and October are also months when there’s often less usage of your outdoor living space. Summer barbecues are generally over, kids are back in school, the weather is usually temperate, and the coming rains will leave you at ease, knowing you don’t have to worry about watering your new plants until they are deeply rooted next spring and summer.
We know that reimagining a new backyard without support can feel overwhelming and daunting, much like climbing a mountain alone. Noble Root can help guide you through the entire process from the initial consultation to design, creating a planting plan, and installation. We are collaborative in our approach to creating your space and strive to make your experience easy, enjoyable, and fun.
If you have read other posts, you’re probably aware that we’re hooked on growing food. But growing food is just one of many ways you might be using your backyard. What are other ways?
A space that fits your lifestyle
Designing a backyard garden involves much more than just sticking some plants in the ground and watching them grow. In fact, a well-planned landscape design includes plants, of course, but also physical hardscape structures like walkways, patios, raised beds, furniture, trellises, pergolas, garden sheds, and the like.
Hardscape structures, along with plants, create different spaces within your landscape that serve different purposes, just like the different rooms within your house. The different “rooms” in your backyard give meaning and purpose to each area. For example, you might want to create a dedicated dining area, a reading nook, kitchen garden, or entertainment space for guests.
Perhaps you’d like a fire pit for weekend get-togethers, or incorporate a dog run for a busy pup. With remote work here to stay, building a covered, outdoor office space complete with power might be just the ticket to making your work infinitely more enjoyable.
Here are some questions we like to ask before coming up with a landscape design for your backyard garden space:
How do you like to spend time in the garden?
Are you a social butterfly who hosts dinner parties during summer?
Are you an introvert who gets excited about a cozy reading nook nestled in a lush verdant garden?
Do you need a quiet space to work, meditate, or pray?
Do you enjoy relaxing around a fire pit with friends?
Do you like barbecuing and cooking for a crowd?
Who else uses the space (children, pets, etc.)?
What is your budget?
With this information, you can create a landscape design that will look beautiful, match your style, and support your lifestyle as an outdoor extension of your home.
We are big proponents of growing your own food, but what about adding in other plants, ones that are pretty to look at but don't necessarily belong in your salad?
Is there room for ornamental plants and trees in your garden?
“Flowers are like friends, they bring color to your world.” -Unknown
Absolutely, positively, yes. We aren’t purists here and don’t think anyone needs to feel pressured to plant ONLY edible or native plants. We are passionate about a wide variety of plants – and many ornamentals provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. They can also improve your health and reduce stress by creating peaceful places to relax and unwind. Hello rose, dahlia, and peony!
Growing medicinal plants is also something to consider adding to the mix. Consider planting valerian, echinacea, chamomile, peppermint, calendula, or elecampane. Growing your own medicine is rewarding and the benefits are vast: you will know exactly how your plants are grown, what amendments have been added to the soil, and that they are picked fresh just minutes before use in your tea or tincture.
Criteria for plant selection
While not written in stone, these criteria are meant to get you thinking about the many different types of plants you might want in your garden:
Is the plant edible, medicinal, native, or ornamental? Strive for a mixture of each.
What benefit(s) does each plant provide to humans, pollinators, and/or pets?
When do they bloom? (You’ll want plants that bloom at different times throughout the year for visual aesthetics and to provide food to different pollinators)
How much space does each plant require? What are the light requirements?
When will the plant be ready to harvest? Are you harvesting leaves, flowers, fruit, stems, or roots?
At Noble Root, we believe that each plant in your garden serves a purpose. Most flowering plants attract pollinators, a necessary ingredient of growing food. Ornamentals look beautiful and can evoke feelings of joy and wonder. Edible plants feed and nourish your body.
When planted together in a thoughtful way, these diverse ecosystems are more resilient to erosion from rain, pests, and extreme temperatures. Moral of the story? Work with a pro and think big when deciding which plants to put in your backyard garden. There are plants available to suit each client’s unique style, goals, and gardening ability.
What to do next:
You CAN turn your backyard garden into your own personal refuge of light, color, beauty and health. It doesn't have to be fancy or complicated. By working with a professional to design a garden that fits into YOUR lifestyle, you will reap the benefits of spending time in your backyard garden for months and years to come.
Schedule a garden consult to get started today.
No matter how clear or fuzzy your vision is of your backyard landscape design, there is a way to bring your ideas to life. Noble Root is here to help.
Sign up for the monthly Noble Root e-Newsletter! Next month, we’ll take a deeper dive into plants, what to plant, and when to plant them in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA metro areas.
About:
Noble Root empowers homeowners to confidently grow food, flowers, and herbs with personalized support. We offer garden coaching, landscape design, DIY plans, and full-service garden installations in Portland-metro, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington areas.
