Adding Structure to Your Garden in the Wintertime

Keith: [00:00:00] Good morning, Keith Ramsey with the Garden Supply Company. It's wintertime in North Carolina. And I always start thinking about structure in the garden in the winter. And you look out and you've got all these vacant spaces or dull spaces, and there are all kinds of things you can do to create structure.

Japanese maple in the wintertime with no leaves on it creates a fair amount of structure. So you can add plants and create the bones of a garden with hedges and screened plants and that kind of thing. And it, that greens the garden up with evergreen hedges and creates life.

That's there 12 months out of the year. And sometimes that plants when you look at plants that are boring it's because they don't do a whole lot, they don't change for the year. Giving them that the green and the [00:01:00] structure 12 months out of the year, really probably do more than something that puts on a big show for two, three weeks, or four weeks.

Something like a chameleon that limbs in the wintertime for two to three months. You create a green hedge behind something and it's there 12 months out of the year. Walkways and stonework are other ways to create structure in the garden. It gives you the definition.

It gives you something to look at what's there and it's there permanently. When you look at the cost of a walkway or a patio sometimes it's not really, something that's gonna last for 20 years or forever. So it's, the cost is not as much as, adding flowers to a garden or something you're going to, you're going to repeat and do over and over just boulders in the garden.

Very low maintenance but create a huge impact. People always hate buying boulders. They always think that you ought to be able to pick them up on the side of the road. Drive out to the mountains and throw on in your trunk, but it's the way that the Boulder and the shipping and the placement of it, but Boulder just adds a great accent to a garden.

And then, dry Creek beds, a lot of times solve [00:02:00] a drainage problem it just creates the definition and a backdrop or foreground for planning and adds a lot of winter interest ponds and streams are the same thing, pond and they add a lot of life to a garden.

It's you've got the running water and you've got you've created that structure and that backdrop for your plants through the year when they're coming and going. And then, the stone would be a one that's extremely low maintenance, not a whole lot to do with it.

Year in, year out. Would is another thing that you can add to do a garden in the wintertime. And when you've got a vacant space or you've got something that's really flat just adding a post or three posts to a garden gives you a place you can grow Vons on gives you some elevation, creating something.

That's got a nice finial on top or, a nice cut on. Or a light post so that you're creating some light in the evening so that you can see the garden and then put vines on it or something that's going to climb on its pieces, offenses or to give you some screen or, just even three sections of [00:03:00] fence, short, sorta short section, like a two or three-foot section that goes, it's either hung out there or that's on a post to give you a backdrop for like a perennial garden.

And then, gates or entryways are. Into new spaces do the same thing. They just create that structure that then in the spring you can come in or later when, or you can come in and plan around.

Yeah. Garden art adds interest. It adds color to all kinds of garden art, probably the most popular garden art that we sell these days is like a window. People are adding that to the garden and that's like a ponder or a fountain and you're adding movement in the garden, which is kinda nice.

That's an easy thing to do in the wintertime, and you're not spending a ton of time outside, but come out, look around, pick one out and then you're literally just stepping into the garden. Or sometimes people put it in a little bit of concrete, but it just it's a steak and it can just go straight into the garden and it adds, you look out and you see that movement.

I've got one in the [00:04:00] middle of a bunch of ornamental grasses. So when it's windy, the grasses are blowing around, and then I've got a windmill effect of the wind art. The other thing is from a focal point and a functional. Is having a fire pit when you look out there it's an inviting piece.

It's a reason to go out into the garden on a cool night. And I've said on another podcast, I love a fire pit when I'm working in the yard. On a fall day and you're picking up sticks and finding guns, you can enjoy the fire pit, but you're also getting rid of the sticks and the pine guns at the same time.

So it's an interactive way to be out in the yard and gardening benches, that, that same kind of scenario. It's a focal point in the garden. And when you look out into the garden and

Episode Transcript

Keith (00:16):
Good morning, Keith Ramsey with garden supply company.
It's winter time in North Carolina.
And I always start thinking aboutstructure in the garden in the winter.
And you look out and you've got allthese vacant spaces or dull spaces,
and there's all kinds of thingsyou can do to create structure.
A Japanese maple in the wintertimewith no leaves on it creates
a fair amount of structure.

(00:37):
So you can add plants and creatingthe bones of a garden with hedges and
screened plants and that kind of thing.
And it, that greens the garden up withevergreen hedges and creates life.
That's there 12 months out of the year.
And sometimes that plants when youlook at plants that are boring it's
because they don't do a whole lot,they don't change for the year.
Giving them that the green andthe structure 12 months out of the

(01:01):
year, really probably do more thansomething that puts on a big show
for two, three weeks or four weeks.
Something like a chameleon that limbs inthe wintertime for two to three months.
You create a green hedge behind somethingand it's there 12 months out of the year.
Walkways and stonework is another wayto create structure in the garden.
It gives you the definition.
It gives you something to look atthat's there and it's there permanently.

(01:23):
When you look at the cost of awalkway or a patio sometimes it's
not really, something that's gonnalast for 20 years or forever.
So it's, the cost is not as muchas, adding flowers to a garden or
something you're going to, you'regoing to repeat and do over and
over just boulders in the garden.
Very low maintenance butcreate a huge impact.
People always hate buying boulders.
They always think that youought to be able to pick them

(01:44):
up on the side of the road.
Drive out to the mountains and throwon in your trunk, but it's the way
that the Boulder and the shippingand the placement of it, but Boulder
just adds a great accent to a garden.
And then, dry Creek beds dry Creek beds,a lot of times solve a drainage problem
it just creates the definition and abackdrop or a foreground for planning

(02:06):
and adds a lot of winter interest pondsand streams are the same thing, pond
and they add a lot of life to a garden.
It's you've got the running waterand you've got you've created that
structure and that backdrop forfor your plants through the year
when they're coming and going.
And then, stone would be a onethat's extremely low maintenance
not a whole lot to do with it.

(02:27):
Year in, year out.
Would is another thing that you canadd to do a garden in the winter time.
And when you've got a vacant spaceor you've got something that's really
flat just adding a adding a post orthree posts to a garden it gives you
a place you can grow Vons on gives yousome elevation, creating something.
That's got a nice nice finialon top or, a nice cut on.
Or a light post so that you're creatingsome light in the in the evening so

(02:50):
that you can see the garden and thenput vines on it or something that's
going to climb on it pieces, offensesor to give you some screen or, just even
three sections of fence, short, sortashort section, like a two or three foot
section that goes, it's either hung outthere or or that's on a post to give you
a backdrop for like a perennial garden.
And then, gates or entryways are.

(03:12):
Into new spaces do the same thing.
They just create that structure that thenin the spring you can come in or later
when, or you can come in and plan around.
Yeah.
Garden art adds interest.
It adds color all kinds of garden art inthe, probably the most popular garden art
that we sell these days is like a window.
People are adding that to thegarden and that's like a ponder or a

(03:36):
fountain and you're adding movementin the garden, which is kinda nice.
That's an easy thing to do in thewintertime, and you're not spending a
ton of time outside, but come out, lookaround, pick one out and then you're
literally just stepping into the garden.
Or sometimes people put it in a littlebit of a little bit of concrete, but
it just it's a steak and it can just gostraight into the garden and it adds,

(03:56):
you look out and you see that movement.
I've got one in the middle ofa bunch of ornamental grasses.
So when it's windy, the grasses areblowing around and then I've got
a, windmill effect of the wind art.
The other thing from a focalpoint and a functional.
Is having a fire pit when you lookout there it's an inviting piece.

(04:17):
It's a reason to go out intothe garden on a cool night.
And I've said on other podcast, , I lovea fire pit when I'm working in the yard.
On a fall day and you're picking up sticksand find guns, you can enjoy the fire
pit, but you're also getting rid of thesticks and the pine guns at the same time.
So it's it's an interactive way to beout in the yard and gardening benches,

(04:37):
that, that same kind of scenario.
It's a focal point in the garden.
And when you look out into the gardenand you see a bench it's an inviting
it's an, it's something inviting to thegarden, it's although I find when I have
a bench, I spend more time working inthe garden or walking around the garden.
Yeah.
They're fun to look at for me,but I don't spend a whole lot
of time sitting on a bench.

(04:58):
But it is a good focal point and,planning a few plants around the bench
and just creating a nice little quietarea parts in a garden is another one.
I think most people think about.
As being functional to hold plants,but structurally they're fun.
You know what I mean?
To do a bigger and in a gardenor do a blue glaze pot and
the garden add the plants to.

(05:19):
And a plant around it andreally create the, using it
almost like you would a Boulder.
As the structure in a garden andthen, a backdrop or a foreground in
front of it gives you the color andit gives you a, gives you some in
the garden, something to look at.
And then plants are always an easyway to create structure and a fairly
low maintenance inexpensive way to do.

(05:42):
But now it's just a good time to goto the window, spend some time looking
at it on a cold day, walk around markstuff out, figure out where you need
elevation and where you need Heights.
And and just get out in the garden.
And, even if it's a few minuteshere or there come out to the garden
center and look around and take alook at stuff inside and outside.
And then pick out a windfeature or a fire pit create

(06:04):
something to enjoy in the garden.
And as the weather warmsup, we'll see you next time.