It’s nearly June and gardening season is in full swing.  Spring is a great time to consider two really important points for a fully contextualized planting bed.  First, there are the flowers themselves.  Flowers are the aspect of most people know and desire for a space.  The second element however, is how to frame the flower so it is more alluring and compelling. The bloom of a flower needs to be accompanied by fullness: this is important to create drama as well as to have a full garden before and after the bloom.  In my opinion, this is critical to a successful planting. For the bloom to take on a dramatic character where the colors and shapes are magnified, the garden needs to be a stage for the flowers to shine. With the right background for your flowers, they transform from simple plants into a heroic protagonist of nature’s theater.  You get what you want with more intensity and beauty.

Over the winter, I worked with a bunch of incredible people (from the PTA to the recess committee to teachers and the principal) of the South Mountain Annex Elementary School in South Orange, NJ to create a master plan for the entire property.  The master plan was developed to do three things: address water issues onsite, create learning opportunities for the students and to bring nature back into the space.