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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1996-05-08, Page 26by viumalvuirc Mark Coulthard THE FERTILIZER RECIPE If you, as a homeowner, want to have a great lawn, you must understand the fertilizer recipe. The three main ingredients of this recipe are: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. These three elements make up the analysis of a fertilizer. The numbers represent percentages of each nutrient in the bulk total. For example: 24-4-16 means 24% 'Nitrogen, 4% Phosphorous and 16% Potassium. Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for turfgrass. Nitrogen is also the most expensive nutrient and required in the greatest quantity by turfgrass plants. Nitrogen is responsible for lush, green colour and turf vigor. Phosphorous aids in root development and is very important when establishing new turf. Potassium or potash is necessary for maintaining hardiness and disease resistance. Fertilizer must be applied evenly and at the proper rate to prevent burning or leaving stripes on the lawn. 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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1996 Home & Garden 96 Looking back leads to future gardening trends Garden styles change slowly, and it isn't often that you come across someone who thinks decades ahead about gardening. But one noted gardener, Pat Welsh, in Southern California, does think ahead. She shared her view of the future with Natural Garden Bureau. "I'm looking to the next century, here," said Pat, warming to her topic. "But you have to look backwards and to current trends to see the future." Essentially, she says, the next century will move away from the Cottage Garden and toward more family designed gardens. "The greatest formality of design with the greatest informality of planting," is the way she describes the new garden style. Putting a name to it, she calls it "Twenty-first century formal," which aptly combines the past and future elements of gardening. "Twenty-first century formal is not a recreation of the past, but a new style with the pizazz and exuberance of plants in new combinations," says Pat. Totally Different From Past To see where we're going, we have to look where we've been. "The gardens that have lasted — those that are classic and still appreciated today, are formally structured gardens that can be reconstructed," says Pat. "A good example is King William's garden (17th Century) at Henry VIII's palace at Hampton Court, outside London. They dug down and found the structure of the garden and recently reconstructed it at a cost of about 1.5 million pounds. "In America, we find classic structured gardens at Jefferson's Monticello and Washington's vegetable garden at Mount Vernon. These are easily reconstructed." Elements in a Classic, Formal Garden Pat offers a litany of elements that characterize a formal garden, giving clues to what will be used in the future: containers of all sorts, paths (shaped and straight or curved, not the winding, meander- ing kind), patios, pergolas, statuary and ornaments, clipped hedges, topiary, ponds and fountains, seats/benches, hanging baskets, sunken gardens, walled gardens, arbors, steps, rockeries. Reasons for Change Why does Pat believe garden styles will evolve to a more formal, structured design? "Eventually all cottage gardens begin to look alike," she says, "and the public tires of it. Cottage gardens are dependent on the artistry of the gardener who designs it — and this is difficult to teach to someone less artistic, and it is therefore difficult to maintain its look. An old cottage garden tends to look 'old' and 'ghostly'. But a garden can be more easily maintained if there is a pattern to it. A formal garden has a pattern to it, and the pattern can be filled in with plants and colour. "Think about the great formal gardens you have seen. Everyone one is unique and different in some respect. You remember each formal garden. But cottage gardens tend to get jumbled together in your mind. "With a formal garden there is an outline, and it almost looks encrusted, like a wedding cake. Vines (informal) tumble over walls (structured), plants spring up (informal) from stepping stones and in paths (structured). The garden looks bathed in plants, but you still see the structure. "If you don't have structure the garden can get a 'jungly' look to it; it is less manageable, and this happens with cottage gardens. "Older cottage gardens often need 'help', and I've heard people ask landscapers or other gardeners to help them bring organization to their gardens so they can maintain them." And there are social reasons for this change, too. Pat feels that the coming trend is in part based on a social desire for order in a disordered, and sometimes dangerous, society. There is a lot of uncertainty in our everyday lives, and a more formal garden design gives us an escape to a beautiful, structured space. "We want to return to the cradle of gardening style; the classic, the formal. But, the future will combine post-modern pizazz with formal design." Elements in a 21st Century Garden Axial paths, which have their roots in Moorish and Italian gardens — the Mediterranean styles — are among elements that Pat sees returning. Axial paths are grid patterns, like city blocks, that run in lines from basic structures like the house. Further out from the structure are cross paths that run at right angles. "In the future, we may change the axes, and see the paths run at different angles. I've seen one where the paths create a diamond pattern as you view the house." Within paths, we will find herbs like catnip or catmint planted between the stones, so that when you step on the plant it releases its aroma. The structure of the path is formal, but the overgrowth of plants is informal. (Pat notes that both catnip and catmint are easy to grow from seed). "In topiary we are seeing more playful shapes," says Pat. Again the topiary provides the structure, but a playful design gives informality. "Colour will remain important. We will carry the colours and exu- berance of the cottage garden over to the formal garden. Gardeners can change colours every year, and this is especially true for annuals. People are very colour conscious today. 'Garish' colour combina- tions, such as red and orange together, espezially in hot climates, will be more common. Even in England we are seeing more orange. There are some fads in colours, but that always changes. "In vegetable gardens we will see new colours used for contrast — red cabbages, red lettuces, deep basils, the pale greens and deep purples of kale; yellows and reds, shorts and tails. And vegetables will not be just in rows; we'll see more playful arrangements." The emerging style is perfect for herb gardens, says Pat. "Herbs are so informal, but an herb garden is often formally structured. An herb garden needs shape." "Area rugs" are another design Pat sees gaining in popularity. "An 'area rug' is a flat area planted with colourful plants to look like a patterned rug of low, colourful plants. Creeping thyme, Roman camomile (both good seed items), peppermint, lamb's ears, pink panda, Corsican mint (for shade)." Island beds are another design Pat sees in our future. These are "floating" beds, not backed up to fence or wall. They "float" in an expanse of lawn or are bordered by paths, or interrupt those axial paths she spoke of. Putting all these elements together, Pat says future gardens will be filled with the sensuality of scent, touch, sight. "There will be great romance in the garden. Formal gardens will last, they won't fade." Will the 21st Century Formal look be easy to achieve? "Structure takes talent, too. And it had better be good design because it will be Continued on page 27