Secrets of Southwest Gardening

Magazines, for me, are one of the joys of life. There are some magazines that I have been reading since shortly after I was able to read. At that age I wondered why the editors bothered with trivial things like “Creating Strong Families!” or “Easy Ways to Teach Kids about Etiquette.” What a waste of space. What I wanted was more PLANTS!,GARDENS! I have home magazines, garden magazines, home design magazines, tropical fish magazines, spa magazines, orchid magazines and, of course, a multitude of dedicated plant and gardening magazines. But all of them are there to give me more PLANTS! GARDENS!

Some years ago, the neuroses got the better of me, and I started cataloging them. They are organized by year, and filed in order. If there is an issue missing, I know it. Maybe it’s an obsession, but at least it’s a harmless one. More harmless than buying every plant that catches my eye – but that’s another story.

Almost daily, I go to my magazine collection and randomly pull out an issue to thumb through. It’s like having an expanding Tarot deck. What will today bring? Ah, it’s Hellebore day. Today I should think more about modern design and glass in the garden. Today is a reminder of Tropicalismo.

Today’s cover blared: “Secrets of Southwest Gardens! (exclamation point added).” Secrets? Inside there were pretty pictures, and “elements” of typical Southwest gardens such as “Walls” and “Portals” and “Fountains” as well as more ambiguous “Eccentricity.” Where are the secrets? It had me thinking about other magazine articles: “Southwest Garden Secrets,” “Garden Design Secrets,” “The Secrets to Growing Great Roses,” “Four Great Garden Designers (learn their secrets),” and so on. I do realize that these are marketing schemes, but really now. Just like French cooking, there are secrets to Southwest gardening (e.g. shading seedlings, when to plant, irrigation), but what are the real secrets of great gardens?

Here’s my tip on the real secret of great gardens. Brace yourself. This may come as a shock, but this is something our clients need to know. Here it is: A great garden is hard work. “WHAT?” a magazine editor cries out, “that will never sell!” Well, the truth is a bitch, ain’t it? What our clients need to know is that there are a couple of ways to come by that hard work.

The first way is the most common way. That’s by trial and error. People first realize that they want a better garden. They go to the home improvement store and buy a few pretty plants. But after a few months, things don’t look as good as those magazine photos. They buy a few more plants. They move things around. Then build structures. Paving. Oops, forgot about irrigation. Oops, forgot about lighting. Oops forgot about drainage. And things are okay, but something is not quite right, and it’s very expensive to change paving and structures. It’s hard work to move all the plants out and work on land form, or drainage. But it’s less work than clearing out mud from the house. Then things get planned out, and sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not. Sometimes people realize they need to learn more about design, work on it, and things turn out great (or not). Don’t ask me how I know all of this.

Another way is to buy the work. Hire a professional, who has put in a lot of hard work in thinking about design. “Oh, but it is sooo expensive.” Is it more expensive than trial and error? How do you choose someone (“landscapers” as I have learned, have variable work quality and may have no design experience)? Is the guy at the home improvement store good enough (I’ll be polite and not tell you what the chances of that are)? What about those books with pre-made garden design (sure, if you want a cookie cutter design that may or may not work)? Time to do some research.

Either way, it’s a lot of work, and that’s not talking maintenance. Of course a house can be bought that already has a great garden. There is also an easy way out. And it looks like it. That ain’t no secret. ‘Nuff said.