KAREN WIGHT -- No Place Like Home

My garden is my sanctuary. It allows me quiet time to reflect on my

life and the lives of my family. It reassures me that nature is perfect,

even in its imperfections. Life cycles continue, even through the winter,

and spring brings regeneration and hope of fresh vitality. My garden is

life in a microcosm, an environment I can nurture, appreciate and be

master of a smaller world’s destiny.

One of the priorities for my garden scheme is to create a peaceful

palette of plants through color, texture and size. I want a garden that

allows opportunities for me to putter when I have the time and to neglect

it when I don’t. I want a background that is luminous in the glow of the

moon and beautiful in the middle of a hot summer day. I need a garden

that I can make mistakes in and still be forgiven.

My garden has been an evolution. Over the years, I have had many

garden personalities. Some years called for big, bold, beautiful colors

with high maintenance annuals. Other phases included masses of roses that

ran the gamut from grandiflora to miniatures. But the garden I always

return to is the easy-to-care-for and easy-on-the-eye garden. A garden

that is interesting year-round, a garden that needs a little but not a

lot of care, a garden with a simple color scheme that is understanding

when the bulbs don’t get planted.

Plants with different color combinations and strange textures are some

of my favorites. I love to mix whites and silvers among the shades of

green. Somehow, adding silvers and grays to the garden make the greens

greener and the whites whiter. The foliage adds a dramatic highlight

among the more predictable garden residents. Good silver candidates

include low-growing lamb’s ear, hearty artemisia and playful helichrysum.

These plants get their unusual coloring from tiny hairs that cover the

leaves, a natural adaptation to the harsh weather conditions of their

ancestors in South Africa and South America. Gray foliage glows in the

moonlight and lights up even the darkest corner of the garden.

Many of the common plants that I have relied on for years have

relatives that come with interesting characteristics: variegated leaves,

unusually colored blooms and different growth habits. Easy to find

plants, such as geraniums, have a huge family line that includes plenty

of “variegated” sheep. One of my favorite discoveries has been the

chocolate-mint geranium. It acts as a ground cover with its low,

spreading growth habit, but the leaves are the real source of excitement.

The large fuzzy leaves are edged in chartreuse and filled in with an

olive green center. It’s a subtle little plant that sneaks up on you and

surprises with its unique characteristics, which include a delicious

scent.

Another interesting, low maintenance plant is horsetail. This prolific

grower is great in a confined space. It has roots that will run amok, but

in a container it behaves itself nicely. I like the green and black

coloration. It’s great in a vase all by itself or as an unusual addition

to a flower arrangement. It grows like a weed, it rebounds quickly after

being cut down, and it seems to grow in most garden conditions.

Another garden staple is Heavenly Bamboo, nandina, if you want the

Latin name. Nandinas come in dwarf and standard sizes, both with

beautifully pigmented leaves that change with the seasons, but remain on

the plant. Nandinas are fabulous garden staples that never ask for

special treatment.

A dramatic plant that comes in both a standard and dwarf size is

papyrus, commonly called umbrella-bush. The stems and thin-leafed pompoms

are a bright green and give a dramatic flair to any spot in the garden.

These plants are a great choice for dramatic evening up-lighting. Their

unusual shape and texture is worth showing off. And, as long as they are

watered well, they won’t require any special treatment.

Make your garden work for you, not you work for your garden. The

garden should be a place to renew your soul and refresh your spirit.

After all, a garden is not just a place that needs to be cultivated -- if

you allow it to, your garden will return the favor.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs Saturdays.

PO CUTLINE

Using gray and silver foliage adds dramatic interest in the winter,

when not much else is going on in the garden. The fuzzy, silver leaves of

lamb’s ear are a favorite plant choice for children to pick and play

with.