Right-size gardens
Life became different the instant Kerry Ann Mendez's husband broke his neck in a 2011 accident. Topping the list of changes: a full-time job with benefits for Mendez and a new role helping her husband with his physical challenges.
Somewhere further down the list was the yard. Before the accident, Mendez had elaborate gardens surrounding her upper New York state property, which she enjoyed caring for immensely. But with the new demands on her time, and without her husband to help, she found the job overwhelming.
“It was done, discussion over, no more procrastinating,” said Mendez, by profession a garden consultant, designer, writer and lecturer who had already begun to think about scaling back as she grew older. She promptly set about retooling her garden to be more in sync with the family's new lifestyle.
The process planted the seeds for a new book. Mendez figured there were others who needed to prune back their gardening hobby and could benefit from her advice.
“The Right-Size Flower Garden: Simplify Your Outdoor Space with Smart Design Solutions and Plant Choices” (St. Lynn's Press) is a guide for garden enthusiasts and “plantaholics” who find they have more than they can handle in their landscapes. The culprit, typically, is overplanting, choosing the wrong plants — or simply the advance of time.
“People sometimes need reminders that (gardening) is doable and that it's supposed to be a joy,” Mendez said. “If things are not in balance with what your current lifestyle or interests are, then we need to take the reins and start decluttering. We need to choose plants that work with us and not against us.”
Since plant selection is a critical aspect of getting gardens back in balance, Mendez devotes a large chunk of the book to the topic.
She suggests supersize perennials, such as joe-pye weed, goat's beard and larger varieties of hosta to use instead of shrubs to fill in large gaps — the fringe benefit for gardeners in colder climates is they won't need to be overwintered. She also includes lists of shrubs that rarely need pruning, tidy evergreens, drought-tolerant perennials and deer- and rabbit-resistant plants. The plants she wants the time-constrained to avoid include those with shabby foliage, a tendency to be overly aggressive or short-lived plants, for example.
Using the “3 Rs” as her guide — remain, revamp or remove — Mendez's book is a sort of decluttering manual for the outdoors, the gardening equivalent of organizing closets or paring down possessions.
But just as people sometimes resist getting rid of clothes they don't wear or toys they no longer play with, so, too, it goes in the garden. Subtraction can be unnatural for enthusiasts, acknowledges Mendez. Plants, after all, are living things. But she frequently reminds her readers that, while living, “plants are not children or pets.”“We have poured blood, sweat and tears into these gardens over the years,” she said. “Some of these plants were gifts. But for many of us there comes a tipping point. We have the luxury of saying, 'This doesn't work for me. It doesn't bring me joy.'”Once people decide to declutter, they may also want ideas for uses for former gardens, the book notes.Mendez points out her advice can also help budding plant enthusiasts, young couples or time-pressed new parents just getting started in the soil.“People have this misconception that they have to embrace everything that the former homeowner did in the yard,” she said. “This book applies equally to people who created a situation and those who inherited one.”While homeowners wouldn't think twice about remodeling a dated kitchen or gutting an unattractive bath, they sometimes balk at retooling outdoor areas, she said.Mendez advises starting with spaces that are viewed or enjoyed most often, considering the back and front yards equally. Front yards provide curb appeal, but backyards are often for the owners' private enjoyment — and just as important.“Start small,” she said. “You can always make gardens bigger as time and budget allow.”
