Building a Garden With Bas – FineGardening

Today we’re off to Canada to visit with Bas Suharto.

I built this garden for Ms. Jeanette in Orleans, Ontario. It started July 5, 2023, from a simple sketch. I discussed with her and proposed the layout on the sketch. The garden is part of the back terrace and is 45 feet by 8 feet. At the very back of the property there is a 45-foot-long cedar hedge. The existing ground is clay soil.

In searching for the plants at various places, sometimes I found more interesting ones to replace what I had proposed on the sketch, or some plants were not available at the local garden centers or nurseries, so I made some changes at the garden.

This is the beginning of the work, day 1. I added garden soil and mushroom compost over the existing weedy clay. I avoid using harmful products to kill the weeds. One of Jeanette’s family members helped me deliver the soil and river stones to the front house.

This is the first day of planting, when I put in boxwoods (Buxus sp., Zones 5–9), bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla, Zones 5–9), ‘Sum and Substance’ hostas (Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’, Zones 3–8), and some annual geraniums (Pelargonium hybrids, Zones 9–11 or as annuals).

Jeanette likes the white flowers of daisies (Leucanthemum × superbum, Zones 5–9), so I planted a row of them along with two Snow Fountains weeping cherries (Prunus ‘Snofozam’, Zones 4–8) on the left side and two dwarf Korean lilac standards (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’, Zones 3–8).

Along the border of the terrace, I planted hybrid roses ‘Grande Amore’ and ‘Peggy Rockeffeler’. They can grow in Zone 5a of Orleans, Ontario.

I made a “river” of stones to bring rainwater from the roof to the fences and on to the municipal rain drainage. I then planted a row of Hakone grasses (Hakonechloa macra ‘All Gold’, Zones 5–9) to grow over and hide the plastic edging along the side of the gravel.

Next, I installed concrete stepping stones, and along the right border I planted the ornamental grass Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ (Zones 3–9).

It took me 11 days to finish the garden. Here is a view of it from the balcony of the house.

Pink anemone (Anemone hupehensis, Zones 4–8) and annual geraniums

A look at the finished product

And looking down the length of the garden

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