Lois de Vries' Garden Views

Gardener-centric coach Lois J. de Vries helps gardeners create a personal space that is not only beautiful and healthy, but also a sanctuary for the soul. She was recently appointed to the Garden Writers of America's (GWA) Sustainability Task Force. She was selected based on her familiarity with land use law, environmental regulations, and invasive plants.   GWA has 1,800 members worldwide including book authors, staff editors, syndicated columnists, free-lance writers, photographers, landscape designers, television and radio personalities, consultants, catalog publishers, extension service agents, and other gardening professionals. The task force was formed by the GWA Board of Directors to make recommendations regarding how members communicate about the topic, as well as to develop a sustainability blueprint for GWA as an organization. In recent years, GWA has sought venues and products to reduce its annual symposium's carbon footprint, but feels there is still more that...

(PHOTO: Red Butte Garden, Utah uses red flagstones for paths and paved terraces throughout the garden.) With such an interesting variety of hardscape materials and plants available to work with in the garden today, homeowners may be tempted to use several of them, rather than engage with the effort of choosing among them. Coupled with the popularity of creating multiple garden rooms with differing themes, the garden space that was meant to be soothing, harmonious, and calming can quickly become a visual cacophony that leaves us jittery and unsettled instead. Professional landscape designers and architects should be able to handle these challenges, but what if you're designing the garden yourself? The garden's native setting holds all of the clues to tying it to the larger landscape. Start with what's beneath your feet. What type of rock are you standing on? In our small town, there are three distinct geologic formations that dominate: Granite, several varieties of lime...