By: Lorraine Syratt
Gardeners love designing their gardens, dreaming about them during the cold days of winter and planning them well in advance. They can't wait for the first warm days of spring so they can be outside digging and hauling everything from soil to stones, imagining the beauty of the end result. Coming up with garden design ideas is rewarding when those ideas are made reality.
The Rose Walk
If space allows, build a series of three to five arches of rough-cut cedar and plant climbing roses at each base, ideally no more than 10' apart and placed over a walkway. The path within could be simply grass, pea gravel or flagstone. Consider a herbal path as well, using thyme or chamomile. Both of these scented plants can be walked upon.
The Laburnum Walk
If space, finances and garden zone allow, consider planting a laburnum walk. Walkways overhung with flowers add romance to the garden. If not the yellow dangling flowers or laburnum, consider easy-to-grow vines. The key is in the density of plantings. This will create the tunnel affect of a traditional laburnum walk.
A Flowery Patio
Consider a cement stone patio, but rather than place the large square stones close together, allow a few inches between them and use the open areas for planting herbs, creepers and other low-growing plants. Thyme, pinks, violets and thrift would work well here. This idea is especially useful for gardeners with little space to garden.
The Chamomile Lawn
Make a chamomile lawn or chamomile path. These are beautifully scented plants that will bounce back when walked over, releasing their pungent scent. In less hardy areas, the gardener could use a variety of thymes in different shades for the herbal lawn.