Seasonal Timesaving Gardening Ideas | Garden Home (108)

On this episode of Garden Home, host P. Allen Smith will discuss seasonal timesaving gardening ideas. From planting north american native perennials to creating containers that will last for days, Allen gives you the best tips to help you save time and make your garden look beautiful.

Topics Include
Allen’s Garden Rooms Tour
Planting Spring Flowering Bulbs
North American Native Plants
Timesaving Techniques
Frameworks in the Garden
Easy Timesaving Container Recipe
Creating an Aged look in the garden
New England Inspired House and Garden Tour
Charleston South Carolina Gardens History
Creating Mystery in the Garden

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P. Allen Smith is a landscape and garden designer, horticulturist, preservationist and television host. His passions span the subjects of community, health, sustainability and history. He has designed the grounds at many of the nation’s most notable estate properties, townhomes, and commercial complexes. And, for over 19 years, he has shared his green knowledge and insight with the public via ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, his own PBS television, and six book titles. Currently, Allen is focused on residential, commercial and community designs that are beautiful, improve our contentedness, and our social and physical health.

To learn more about:
…Allen’s horticultural interests and secrets, sign up for his weekly newsletter: https://pallensmith.com/

…visiting Allen’s Garden Home above the Arkansas River, see https://pallensmith.com/tours/

….Allen’s favorite plants mentioned in his social media, see: To review many of the plants Allen mentions in his posts and that are planted in his own garden, see https://pallensmith.com/gilbert-h-wild-allens-favorites/

….retaining Allen’s Garden and Landscape design firm, see http://www.pallensmithandassociates.com/

…Allen’s Garden Home-inspired intergenerational community in Monroe, LA, see https://www.gardensofsomerset.com/

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What does time have to do with the garden home well stick around and I’ll show you over the past 20 years as a garden designer I’ve enjoyed helping homeowners create private sanctuaries full of beauty and wonder I find each garden to be a fresh opportunity to explore ways to create

Uniquely personal spaces these are just a few of the gardens I’ve helped to transform into garden hose Hi I’m Allen Smith welcome to the garden home where you’ll find practical ideas beautiful landscapes and much more to help inspire you to push the boundaries of your home right out into the garden taking advantage of all of your living space now today’s show we’re going to

Talk about time now I know this idea of time may seem a little abstract but hopefully by the end of the show we’ll see the roll time plays in a little different way now when I create a garden home and like I said that’s an extension

Of your living space outdoors I do this with a series of garden rooms let’s take a look at some of the garden rooms that surround my home This is my rondell or circle garden as you can see it comes directly off my loggia or covered breezeway that connects the garage to the house now notice that the rondell is contained by these boxwood hedges and in keeping with the room like feeling there’s even a

Garden gate serving as a door when you combine a series of garden rooms like my rondell garden then you begin to utilize every inch of your property thereby extending your living space now let’s move on to the front garden which takes the shape of a long rectangle and it’s

Filled with all sorts of things from shrubs to old-fashioned roses perennials annuals and even bulbs the front garden then leads us into the fountain garden now remember the element of time is what we’re focusing on in today’s show here’s what this fountain garden looked like roughly 10 years ago

Quite a transformation don’t you think today it’s a beautiful garden enclosed with a needlepoint Holly hedge now a tour of my garden wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the vegetable garden with its ever-changing palette of good things to eat here I enjoy growing lettuce and broccoli in the spring

Squash and tomatoes and summer and peppers in the fall and always in combination with lots of colorful annual flowers you know when I look at images of my garden I’m always astonished you see because when I started it was just a blank slate it was literally a gravel

Lot and in ten years well the change has been dramatic when I think of change in my garden I tend to think of the fall because during this time of year I’m putting to bed last season’s garden and looking forward to next year’s I always

Like to try to include a plant or two in the garden that reflects all the seasons trees in particular my crab apples are one of the best examples in every season I can depend on something glorious from them in the spring they’re a beautiful snowstorm of white blossoms the summer

Finds them with green leaves that are kissed by the Sun and as summer turns to fall the green leaves become bright yellow and the tiny little crab apples begin to show up the birds clamor for these tree as the golden leaves begin to drop in winter I enjoy the way the tree branches

Become architectural elements in the garden against the grey skies of winter now there are other trees that can give the same sort of delight in every season such as crape myrtle Hawthorn and Japanese maples of course no one understands this idea of changing seasons better than farmers they’re

Always trying to get ahead of Mother Nature and the same is the case with me in my own garden you see I’m also trying to plan ahead from one season to the next in the fall I plant lots of bulbs in anticipation of spring I also move plants around the

Garden it’s a great time for me to re-evaluate the design of the garden so if they’re shrubs that need to be transplanted then I can do that in the fall they settle in nicely and pick back up in the spring now let’s get back to this idea of bulbs what’s fascinating to

Me about these spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and others is that the flower itself is packaged just inside the bulb and all you have to do is take a knife and split it down the center through the middle like that and open it up see here and you can actually see the

Baby flower there now our job is to plant these bulbs in just the right place and in just the correct way such that we coax that flower out now the marvelous thing about daffodils if you get them planted correctly they can be in your garden for years to come that’s

Exactly the case here on this farm that I frequent belongs to friends of mine and each fall we plant daffodils for beautiful blooms next spring I like to do is plant a single variety in a large drift of say 15 to 20 bulbs gives you the most visual impact daffodils will

Grow an average soil as long as it’s well drained for nourishment I work in plenty of compost and some bone meals since they’re going to be there for a while now when it comes to depth of planting I just go by a very simple rule of thumb which is to cover

The bulbs about three times the height of the bulb at self so I can over plant with annuals in the spring if you live in a mild climate you might try over planting them with pansies in the fall for bloom all winter long you see daffodils are outstanding

Perennial bulbs and this means you should plant them in an area where they won’t be disturbed when planting other plants later in the season one last tip about daffodils you can have a long season of bloom by planting three different types one that blooms early others that bloom in mid season

Daffodils that are late bloomers some of my favorite early bloomers are Ice Follies and for a midseason bloomer Salameh has always been a great performer in my garden and for late blooming daffodils well I love the old-fashioned pheasant eye it brings the daffodils season to a

Close in my garden so in the fall I plan ahead for the spring in the winter I work on my design ideas and evaluate what worked and what didn’t work during the growing season when spring rolls around I take a look at the garden and begin to think about ways to bring color

Into my garden all the way up till Frost and in summer well during summer I’m just trying to keep up that’s why the element of time is also about saving time in the garden planting with North American natives is a great way to bring time-saving color into your garden from summer to fall When those long hot dog days of summer roll in I find myself looking for a shady spot and a glass of lemonade and my garden by this time of years looking for another splash of color you know there’s no better place to look than to the North American native plants like

This Joe Pye we just look at this incredible color I just love it’s dusty mow hues now this plant is so easy to grow it’s a perennial it’ll come back in your garden year after year and you better make sure you have plenty of room because it can

Grow to great height five to six feet another late season showstopper is summer phlox now there’s so many different cultivars and hybrids available but the original stock is actually from native plants gathered from the wild and then of course there’s the purple coneflower echinacea just finishing up this time of

Year but nonetheless spectacular and just look at this exuberant display of black eyed Susans or rudbeckia it just seems like the more you turn up the heat the better they perform these showy flowers are particularly suited as companions to many of the native grasses which move so gracefully in the wind as

The late summer performers fade the show still isn’t over we have the fall bloomers to look forward to soon they’ll be taking the stage plants such as solid a go or goldenrod asters and a greater more blue miss flower will dazzle us as you’ve just seen there’s so

Many outstanding plants you can draw from that are actually native North American species what I like about them is that they’re tough and reliable performers Now I want to take just a moment and touch on another element of design and that structure you see in my vegetable garden the structure of the raised beds the rustic trellis the toolshed and even the structure that this boxwood hedge provides all contributes to the framework of this garden another time

Space and money saving trick I’ve learned is to Train climbing plants on twig teepees that are easily made from small tree limbs that I’ve saved from pruning projects earlier in the year I start with three sturdy upright branches now the length can vary based on how

They’re going to be used but allow at least six to eight inches to be pushed into the ground to assemble one of these just gather them at the top and bind them with a piece of copper wire I just connect the supporting poles with three lengths of wood about 18 inches from the

Ground by wrapping the copper wire in a crisscross pattern in the container I’ve planted clematis contestable chard it’s a fancy French name but let me tell you she’s really easy to grow and I’ve also planted golden hops along with her I think the rustic look of the twig

Teepee really speaks to the element of time in that these plants grow very fast and can give a mature look in a very short length of time other fast growers you might consider training on a trellis like this are morning glories moon flower vines Cypress vine and even the

Hyacinth bean vine which I grew up my rustic trellises in the back of my vegetable garden another time-saving technique for the garden is all about the design of the garden and its framework you see if you start with a good framework then you don’t have to replant year after year In my front garden I’ve created a backdrop with an evergreen hedge and I filled in with beds of roses shrubs trees perennials ornamental grasses and lots of annuals I like to use annuals like cosmos coleus and patience and that little Dutchess terenia or the wishbone

Flower it does great in full Sun now I just can’t emphasize this idea of having a good framework in place enough you see good bones well that’s really what the garden is all about you want to make sure you keep a good balance between your shrubs and trees and perennials and

Annuals don’t let just one of them dominate now another way to save time in the garden is through planting with containers we all live busy lives and don’t have a lot of time but container planting can give your garden that certain little sparkle they’re easy to

Put together let me give you a recipe for success the recipe is simply this something tall and spiky in the back or center of the container plants it become around and full placed in the middle and something to cascade down the front or the edges in this container the tall and spiky

Element is a white cardoon just look at it’s frosty leaves now while considered part of the artichoke family I grow cartoons strictly as ornamentals for their strong architectural foliage for round in full elements I used white Gaara whirling butterflies and our ger anthem um comment pink now let’s look at these

Plants individually you see Gaara is a great summer plant because it can take hot and even drought like conditions agar Anthem um is a summer annual that blooms consistently from spring through the mid to late summer even in the hottest areas the cascading plants are the finishing touches to the composition

Here I’ve used verbena lanai bright pink and hella cry some dwarf silver just look at how beautifully they spill from the container for being is another great colorful annual and it really adds a splash to both containers and flower borders and I always consider using a bit of gray foliage gray foliage just

Seems to get along with everyone Time certainly has an effect on the appearance of objects in the garden I think it’s interesting how even the slightest patina of age on an object can make it feel more harmonious are comfortable in a garden setting knocking off that shiny new brashness if you have a container in your garden that feels

Too new there’s an easy way to sort of tone it down and make it fit in just a little better that’s by grungy it it’s a simple process let me show you what’s involved just make a solution of 50/50 water-soluble paint and water then just

Slop it on with a brush when it comes to the color the grungy or the hue the better I like to use grey greens or totes you may even want to use to slightly contrasting colors and then before it dries wipe off the excess paint with a damp sponge or rag but

Leave it down in the cracks next give it a natural touch by using the juice of weeds which will enhance the color and give the concrete that aged look just rub the weeds or grass over the container allowing the SAP or juice to soak in the old method for

Aging concrete is blending sheep manure and buttermilk but that takes a strong stomach and a lot more time so why bother when you can get these results with a can of paint and some weeds The element of time an aged object certainly goes hand in hand when you plant a garden you should also consider the style of the architecture on the property let me show you what I mean some friends of mine built this beautiful New England saltbox style house in the middle of the country while

The home is relatively new it’s the attention to detail that makes it look and feel so convincingly old and it’s the same attention to detail that can be found in the garden both in terms of its plants and garden elements all speak to the spirit of a former time when people

Come to your house for the first time are they surprised to find a New England salt locks tell me a little bit about the architecture of the house well this is a New England salt box of the 1730’s forties long in there I just liked the

Style I saw it in a lot of pictures in magazines and books and I’d always wanted a house house like this go on right I love the simplicity of the salt box and just love the way it looks the garden that you’ve created to go along with it

Works beautifully with the with the architecture right I started out just planting plants that would have grown in New England back in that period of the house but I found that much too limiting so restricted you’re creative right well there are too many beautiful flowers in Arkansas to limit yourself to those

There are too many beautiful flowers to choose from particularly these days though the new cultivars and the availability of a wide range of plans that’s right I love the way you have annuals coming up accidentally through all of your perennials it’s a great effect things just kind of receive you yeah

Right Nancy the overall effect of the house and garden really feels harmonious I mean what you’ve done here is is marvelous I think this handsome house is such a beautiful backdrop for the for the garden well thank you Alan I find that whenever I have

A house or a fence or a hedge some dark background the flowers seem to jump out and they show off I think so too yeah even before I even went to New England I love this style house well the cottage garden that you’ve created here as a part of the house it

Really feels right well good good now here’s an interesting story involving the element of time in the garden I was visiting Charleston South Carolina when I met a couple who live on the side of a Revolutionary War campground price and Louisa Cameron are not only avid gardeners but Louisa is the author of

Books showcasing the history and design of local gardens the brick that you’ve used to create this they look ancient they are old and we dug them up ourselves from underneath this section of what is now lon there used to be a 70 foot brick outbuilding here and this was the patio

Or paved area in front of it I see and you won’t believe what else we dug up in this garden we dug up bricks and all sorts of artifacts which I’d like to show you wonderful a bit of a bit of archaeology here in the garden oh and so

Much fun I’m still finding things Louisa I was only expecting a few things I mean this is amazing all of this came out of the garden all of it and I have buckets more look at this that looks like a coin it is it’s a George the second coin I

Took it to a coin expert well that certainly dates the house it does and what is this that is the escutcheon from a soldier’s cartridge I see right we’re over here on the belt amazing and look at all these shards of pottery and this we found in the ceiling

When they remove the old plaster it’s a bottle that says corn pain on one side and East India on the other we found a lot of bottles look at this little looks like a doll of some sort or a little statue she’s wearing a Liberty cap and I

Think it was a doll baby how interesting and this is this one I found about three or four weeks ago just when I was sweeping up it’s another doll china doll with a bonnet on so you you find these objects frequently when you’re working I found this one just last month amazing

So bit by bit the garden reveals her secret does this is a cane handle look at that feels like a lad and an 18th century pipe that came right out of the garden a toothbrush look at that without its bristles yes of course Louisa these objects would represent

What sort of time span about 225 or 30 years working hand in hand with the element of time is mystery those artifacts certainly incite curiosity and me I wonder who they belong to and why they were left behind another way the Camerons created mystery in their garden

Is by leaving a surprise for the visitor to find as they tour the garden they did this by creating a curved path so that the view around the corner isn’t revealed until it’s time Louisa gives us a tour of the garden of course the house was designed in the

18th century but how much of the garden reflects that period Louisa well the garden has some elements of 18th century design in it but my husband designed it and is still working on the design of it he designed it about 20 years ago really and and the process

Just continues yes and it fun it’s so much fun the thing that strikes me about this bed the way you have it planted now is that you’ve allowed serendipity to enter into the garden with these wonderful Larkspur coming up everywhere well you have to and you should have

Seen what Hugo blew in there were all sorts of strange weeds and flowers really yeah foreign visitors brought in by the storm now tell me a little bit about some of the shrubs that you’ve planted along here Luisi to create this effect well the red leaf twins which

Will green up later in the season are Laura pedalin rubrum right the Chinese witch hazel is that what it is yes that’s a common name for it and then viburnum on either side of the Magnolia the the vine on the wall is ficus P Miller and has to be clipped constantly

We lost some trees in here and so we’re training various vines such as Confederate Jasmine along the route the wall yeah I really like the way you’ve trained these vines along the wall you created a beautiful tapestry of bloom and leaf thank you we’ve tried very hard

To do that the the loose planting of these shrubs and the rhythm that they create is a beautiful contour to the formality of the partiers yes I’m glad you picked up on that yeah it’s a nice juxtaposition and look at what we have here my goodness what a beautiful

Lettuce border thank you it’s my only successful crop oh my gosh look at this you’ve got quite a variety buttercrunch red sale this is black seeded Simpson beautiful you know I’ve got a border of lettuce planted in my garden and I’ve got some of the ornamental onions coming

Up in it but I haven’t thought about the Larkspur that’s a really handsome combination well thanks and I haven’t thought about the onions so I’ll have to try that we pick a salad every night oh is it great yeah I’ve mixed some little violas in with mine and I’ll actually

Eat the flowers of the viola as well oh pretty yeah it makes a nice salad it’s just so much fun to mix things up and experiment oh I do a lot of that I have pass-along plants I have plants from my garden Club exchange plants from Walmart and Kmart without labels

Mine is much the same now this is really a handsome structure structures the right board so the idea here is to grow this Japanese you within this framework and use it as a guide for the clipping yes it’s called a tutor the god it’s literally a tune of a tutor that helps

Support it I’ve had some similar made in my garden to support my roses these were made by a local iron worker but you can buy similar structures preassembled at your local garden centers yes I make a wonderful vertical and architectural element in the garden mm-hmm well look

At this over here what a wonderful surprise this is our secret garden it is indeed I love it it’s really beautiful the way you look over the Holly fern and see that small pond with the cast iron plant as a backdrop thank you we enjoy the

Pond and we enjoy the goldfish in the pond is that your potting shed beyond it is we keep the lawnmower in there too you know this is a good example of how even in a small garden you can accentuate that sense of expansiveness by putting an object at the back and

Then layering different objects in the foreground it’s really marvelous thank you I hadn’t looked at that way but you’re right what a wonderful view the back of the house it’s my favorite view look at those church steeples now this is this is a one of the best examples of a borrowed

View that I can imagine it’s really fantastic I’m grateful for it I discovered my own bit of mystery in my garden when I was laying it out and preparing the beds I uncovered this old carriage block and although it really hasn’t found a new home in the design of

The garden I can’t bear to part with it considering it’s been a part of this property for much longer than I have now another way that I’ve established a sense of mystery in my garden is with the simple picket fence you see this fence surrounds most of my garden it is

Accented with old-fashioned roses this marvelous spring blooming snowball viburnum and even tall holly hedges the fence and these companion plantings never allow you to get a full view so you find yourself peering over the fence to catch a glimpse of what’s on the other side in today’s show we’ve seen

How time influences every aspect of the garden just as it does our own lives I hope you can take away some of these ideas that will help make your garden home more beautiful and enjoyable from the garden home I’m allen Smith more information about today’s topic and

Other topics covered in this series can be found that P Allen smith.com on an upcoming episode of PL on Smith’s garden home hi I’m Allen Smith get swept away with color and I don’t mean with just blooms see how these vivid foliage plants can play a role in your garden home we’ll

Also look at ways to bring the cottage style of gardening to any sized home you won’t want to miss it