Have you every considered planting a Theme Garden?

There are all sorts of themes for flower gardens. If you

have a shady spot that needs some color, you might consider

planting a woodland garden, using a variety of ferns, hostas

and shade-loving wildflowers.



Or perhaps a white garden is more your style. A white garden

would contain plants that have white blooms or those that have

foliage that is variegated white and green. If a white garden

wouldn't complement your own landscape, choose another

complementary color for your garden theme.



Another idea for a theme would be night-blooming plants. A

night-blooming garden is sometimes referred to as a moon

garden. It's somewhat surprising how many night-blooming plants

there are to choose from.

Petunias open during the day, but they don't release their scent

until evening. Four O'Clocks are a night-blooming plant with a

heavenly scent, along with Nicotiana (flowering tobacco) or

night-scented Jasmine. Evening-scented Stock is a lovely

old-fashioned flower that will fill your moon garden with a

lovely scent.



A theme garden that's sure to start conversations is a Mary

garden. A Mary garden contains plants that either have "Mary"

in their name, or plants that formerly referred to "Mary", most

often in medieval times. Marigolds, rosemary and marjoram are

all suitable for a Mary theme garden.



Think about the old nursery rhyme: "Mary, Mary, quite contrary.

How does your garden grow? The Carolina Silverbell tree

could represent Mary's silver bells, or biennial Canterbury Bells

would also be appropriate, since an old name for them is Mary Bells.

Seashell Cosmos, an attractive annual, could represent the

cockleshells. The pretty maids all in a row could be represented

by hollyhocks or perhaps larkspur. An old name for larkspur is

Mary's Tears.

Memorial Gardens for a special person,event or pet.

Whatever theme you might choose for a garden, the most important

thing is to have fun with it. After all, gardening should be an

enjoyable hobby.