Winter Wealth: A Gold Standard for Gardens

Monday , 5:30 AM : alert jump . Snooze clit spark . closed in - back talk , pre - toothbrushed spouse kissed . Dog snuggled . Uber - perky , blown - dry TV squad updates conditions and traffic . Then the commercial , audio jack up to aircraft newsboy take - off decibels . Somebody ’s tempt me tocash in undesirable amber jewelryfor “ real ” paper money .

But I ’m in no rush to give up on gold , especially as a showstopper in the garden I ’m designing powerful now . Gold is a precious good in a wintertime garden , bringing ocular warmness and cheerwhen sky are gray . It ’s also what you get when you mix a bit of dingy paint with icteric , so any hues , tints , or shades in the yellowness to orangish range will have a like animating effect .

“ I have no experience with gardens that disappear under yards of snow or are destroyed by Marmota monax . My idyllic oasis is the land ofpalm Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree gently swayingon Pacific breezes to the sounds of The Beach Boys . ”

End of apologetic digression .

My client has a lot of visiting relatives , especially this time of class , so they demand a garden that ’s firing on all cylinders all the fourth dimension . On the northwest edge of the property , seeable from the breakfast nook , the soil slopes up , decently where the gold winter sunrise casts its first rays . Would n’t it be great to create a focal point bed to take advantage of thistheatrical lighting upshot ? I ca n’t think of a better way to make crispy blueberry bush waffles and French knock into a limited case .

I ’ll share where I ’m going with my thought process . And since this figure is a few days from get hold of its intended impact , I ’m using pic from my collection .

Mexican marigold ( Tagetes lemmonnii ) is a lifesaver , turning on its gilded charm bulge out in December and hanging on until former springiness . The shrub grows about four feet high and spreads to six . PLEEEEEEEASE do n’t endeavor to shoehorn it into a minute strip : It ’s agraceful , lacy plantthat merit to grow untied . In this picture show , you may see a few sprig of Myers Asparagus officinales ( Asparagus ‘ Myers ’ ) . Not quite Au , but the yellowish , upright wands add depth while keeping the color strategy ardent . I ’m think of planting clusters of marigold shrubs and skirting the foreground with asparagus as an accent .

To contrast the structural nimbleness of the marigold and asparagus , whileenhancing the gold essenceof this composition , I need muscular tissue . succulent are a pillar in many SoCal garden ( and what better way to thrill visitor ? ) , so perhaps this killer combo offoxtail agave(Agave attenuata – you ’re seeing the giant flower stalks in the foreground ) , andyellow flashlight aloe(Aloe arborescens ‘ Lutea ’ ) as a equalizer ? The aloe can achieve height of over eight feet , so this might be a salutary pick at the back of the bed , while adding bold ocular grain .

Every focal tip need a commanding hot spot , but I have to avoid clutter up the make-up with too many elements . Perhaps I ’ll work with the two uttermost ends of chickenhearted , but unify the pattern by usingtwo form of the same genus ? BeholdNew Zealand Flax , which seems to give giving birth a new cultivar every twenty minutes . I snarl this pairing at a nearby common , where dark , sultryPhormium ‘ Rubrum’and delicately stripedP. ‘ white-livered Wave’add a dramatic exclaiming mark .

I ’m still in the brainstorming phase of this plant palette exploration , but I ’m like the construct . Whether you ’re hoping to develop a pink - your - socks - off wintertime tableau vivant , or biding your timeuntil the glacier recedesfrom your yards , think about going for the gold . The good part is , you do n’t have to give up your beloved departed Aunt Tilly ’s brooch to besiege yourself in riches .

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