An In-Depth Look at Island Beds

<v Speaker 1>Broadcasting from Iconic Studio A Here at proven winner's color
<v Speaker 1>choice shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>Hervella me, Rick Weist, and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson.
<v Speaker 1>Well Stacey. Today we talk about island beds, a requested topic,
<v Speaker 1>and I can see why. An island bed is a
<v Speaker 1>free standing garden, usually surrounded by grass and can be
<v Speaker 1>viewed from all sides. It's helpful to think of an
<v Speaker 1>island bed as maybe like a lovely arrangement in the
<v Speaker 1>center of a kitchen table. You want it to look
<v Speaker 1>beautiful from any angle. I love island beds.
<v Speaker 2>I love island beds too, But you know, I was
<v Speaker 2>thinking as I was preparing for this show, the best
<v Speaker 2>part about island beds is also the worst part about
<v Speaker 2>island beds. Oh what's that They can be put anywhere?
<v Speaker 2>That's true, So you know, yeah, it's great because you
<v Speaker 2>don't have to say, okay, well this has to relate
<v Speaker 2>to my house somehow, you know, and you can just say,
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to make a bed somewhere. I'm just gonna
<v Speaker 2>PLoP it in the middle of my yard. But also,
<v Speaker 2>as we've said, on the show many times, the enemy
<v Speaker 2>of art is the absence of limitations. And since you
<v Speaker 2>are going to be plunking this island bed down somewhere
<v Speaker 2>within your yard, it can be very hard to know
<v Speaker 2>where to start. So that with that freedom comes a
<v Speaker 2>lot of analysis paralysis. But once you've made a decision
<v Speaker 2>on where to place it, well, then of course you
<v Speaker 2>still have a bunch of more decisions to make. But
<v Speaker 2>those are the fun ones because then you decide what
<v Speaker 2>plants are putting in.
<v Speaker 1>I like that, and fortunately we're here because we're going
<v Speaker 1>to share design principles with you. We are all anxious
<v Speaker 1>for spring. Have a few photos for our YouTube viewers
<v Speaker 1>of the kind of islands that we have here in
<v Speaker 1>Michigan at this time of the year. Few photographs that
<v Speaker 1>I took out there in Lake Michigan, Stacy. I would
<v Speaker 1>have to say that come spring, one of my favorite
<v Speaker 1>types of islands, garden islands has got to be one
<v Speaker 1>that has spring flowering bulbs.
<v Speaker 3>Oh well, you gotta have bulbs.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, bulbs are a no brainer for any garden,
<v Speaker 2>especially an island garden. And you know, I mean, okay,
<v Speaker 2>you all know that we love bulbs. But like bulbs
<v Speaker 2>don't take up any space. You get all that flower
<v Speaker 2>without really having to sacrifice any of your precious real
<v Speaker 2>estates exactly.
<v Speaker 1>So I just love that. Sharing some pictures that I
<v Speaker 1>took in the netherlands of the bed's fertile area in
<v Speaker 1>flower and a picture little story, a picture of my
<v Speaker 1>daughter Angie. Angie is now, let me think, forty four
<v Speaker 1>years old, she's going to turn forty four this week,
<v Speaker 1>but she always loved the island bed that I would
<v Speaker 1>plant in our yard our first home, and always wanted
<v Speaker 1>to be photographed in it. That's so cute sharing a
<v Speaker 1>picture with our YouTube viewers.
<v Speaker 2>Well, that makes sense because an island bed really is
<v Speaker 2>a very distinctive element of your landscape. It can be
<v Speaker 2>as distinctive as you want it to be. And so
<v Speaker 2>you know, most homes have a foundation landscape built around
<v Speaker 2>the home, kind of accentuating the home, hiding the foundation.
<v Speaker 2>Whereas the island bed that's like your little personal flourish.
<v Speaker 2>It's like the scarf and accessories that you're putting in
<v Speaker 2>your landscape.
<v Speaker 1>I love that. So island beds can create an illusion
<v Speaker 1>of space, or they can cause a vast expanse of
<v Speaker 1>lawn to shrink. But the trick to making an island
<v Speaker 1>bed work in your yard is first to find the
<v Speaker 1>right location, then to design the right size and the
<v Speaker 1>right shape things that we will cover in the show today,
<v Speaker 1>and of course choosing the right location the viewing point
<v Speaker 1>to decide on it. I like to pick a spot
<v Speaker 1>where you can see it from inside the house, maybe
<v Speaker 1>you're kitchen window. But also placing it, you have to
<v Speaker 1>be very careful. Don't put it where everything else is.
<v Speaker 1>Try to create a little bit of balance, and also
<v Speaker 1>think of the functionality of the yard or the lawn
<v Speaker 1>because if kids are out there playing ball, or you
<v Speaker 1>have a pet or whatever it may be, placement of
<v Speaker 1>that bed is really important.
<v Speaker 2>It is, and you know, again there's so many options
<v Speaker 2>that it can be very difficult, but I think placing
<v Speaker 2>it from a window that you look out frequently is
<v Speaker 2>a great starting point. Another great way to think about
<v Speaker 2>it is if you have a patio or deck or
<v Speaker 2>other place where you sit frequently in your landscape, can
<v Speaker 2>an island bed give you additional privacy from the street, yes,
<v Speaker 2>from a neighbor. You know, can kind of have a
<v Speaker 2>screening effect as well as an ornamental effect. So that's
<v Speaker 2>two pretty simple ways to start to narrow down the
<v Speaker 2>endless possibilities of where you're going to place your island bed.
<v Speaker 1>Absolutely so, Stacy, let's look at some design principles, and
<v Speaker 1>one of the things I want to do in segment
<v Speaker 1>for is talk about balance and scale, because balance and
<v Speaker 1>scale are super important when it comes to landscape islands.
<v Speaker 1>But there are some design principles We've talked about the
<v Speaker 1>fact you want to be able to view it from
<v Speaker 1>all sides. So generally you'll put the tallest item in
<v Speaker 1>the middle and work your way out, sometimes taller items
<v Speaker 1>to the side. And it doesn't have to necessarily be
<v Speaker 1>a plant. You can ground the bed with statuary or
<v Speaker 1>pottery or something like that. Focal points. You're going to
<v Speaker 1>want focal points in your landscape, and you want once again,
<v Speaker 1>maybe slightly off center for some asymmetry. But that's why
<v Speaker 1>kidney shape beds are so popular.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and because you do have that ability to make
<v Speaker 2>it free form island beds are rarely rectilinear. I mean
<v Speaker 2>they can be if you want to make them that way,
<v Speaker 2>but that is one of the delights is that you
<v Speaker 2>have this opportunity to make this very organic shape, and yeah,
<v Speaker 2>I feel like the kidney shape is kind of the
<v Speaker 2>go to for most people because then you kind of
<v Speaker 2>have those two sort of protruding areas to work with,
<v Speaker 2>and you know, help you design and set up the layout.
<v Speaker 1>And it's easy to take a garden hose out there,
<v Speaker 1>lay out the general pattern of it before you start
<v Speaker 1>digging or preparing. Scale and proportion super important. You want
<v Speaker 1>to ensure that plants are in scale with the bed size.
<v Speaker 1>Just like anything else, we're gonna want texture and color,
<v Speaker 1>and it's a good idea to repeat elements like color,
<v Speaker 1>shapes or textures to create some rhythm and unity within
<v Speaker 1>your island bed. And then, of course, Stacey seasonal interest.
<v Speaker 1>We're not doing this just for one season. Again, I
<v Speaker 1>mentioned I love bulbs in an island bed, but we've
<v Speaker 1>got to look at spring, summer, and fall.
<v Speaker 2>Oh definitely. You know this is going to be a
<v Speaker 2>major focal point of your landscape. You know, you've just
<v Speaker 2>gone from having this kind of expanse of lawn and
<v Speaker 2>now you have this feature, and so yeah, it's very
<v Speaker 2>important that it continues to be a feature all season long.
<v Speaker 2>And that's very easy to do with some really great
<v Speaker 2>architectural perennials, structures like you know, sculptures and that sort
<v Speaker 2>of thing like you described, and of course shrubs and
<v Speaker 2>small trees.
<v Speaker 1>Shape lea leaves especially important near the edge of the bed,
<v Speaker 1>preferably a little upright or at least not sprawling so
<v Speaker 1>you don't run over it with the lawn. More. I
<v Speaker 1>love lemon coral sedum. I think it gives you contrast, texture, color,
<v Speaker 1>and ease. As a sample plant here in West Michigan,
<v Speaker 1>we have an outdoor shopping mall and in winter they
<v Speaker 1>take the flower beds now that the flowers have frozen,
<v Speaker 1>and they put some beautiful Christmas trees in the center
<v Speaker 1>of the island bed, and then they use bow branches
<v Speaker 1>of evergreen to create a groundcover with some led lights.
<v Speaker 3>I thought that that that is kind of a great
<v Speaker 3>solution there.
<v Speaker 2>Uh.
<v Speaker 1>Of course, what you can do a great time of
<v Speaker 1>the year to plan for an island bed is fall
<v Speaker 1>using the Lasagna method, where you put down cardboard or
<v Speaker 1>noose print, kill the grass, put some soil on leaves
<v Speaker 1>on top of it. The following spring you have a
<v Speaker 1>bed to the shape that you can plant.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think you know, it's also important if you
<v Speaker 2>you know, don't want to do that method you don't
<v Speaker 2>have the materials for it. It's also you can call
<v Speaker 2>a landscape company. I think the biggest uh you know,
<v Speaker 2>sort of deterrent is disposing of all of that material.
<v Speaker 2>Disposing of all of that grass. I mean, that's always
<v Speaker 2>been the biggest deterrent for me. So I did find
<v Speaker 2>that this is a case where I really enjoy calling
<v Speaker 2>a landscape company who's just going to haul that all
<v Speaker 2>away and uh, you know, to me, that's worth it,
<v Speaker 2>rather than trying to find a place to you know,
<v Speaker 2>dispose of all of this heavy grass. But another thing
<v Speaker 2>about fall is a lot of municipalities will also put
<v Speaker 2>out big dumpsters for yard waste. So if you have
<v Speaker 2>a pickup truck or something like that, then you can
<v Speaker 2>also take advantage of those for discarding all of that.
<v Speaker 2>But that also happens in spring. So if you can't
<v Speaker 2>wait until fall, we feel.
<v Speaker 1>You I err on the side of suffocating the turf
<v Speaker 1>and having at it. Putting a hose out there and
<v Speaker 1>creating the shape. There's many different ways to do it.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you can use a spray can too, spray paint exactly,
<v Speaker 2>you know, kind of the lawn is your canvas.
<v Speaker 1>Now, I think back to the nineteen sixties nineteen seventies,
<v Speaker 1>there was a commercial on TV Calgon Take Me Away.
<v Speaker 1>It's an iconic advertising slogan, essentially people overwhelmed by daily
<v Speaker 1>chaos and then wanting to take a bath with Calgon soaps.
<v Speaker 1>At that same time, there was a great show on
<v Speaker 1>television called Gilligan's Island. I'm getting to a point here
<v Speaker 1>and tying it in with islands, and I loved Gilligan's Island.
<v Speaker 1>It aired from September of nineteen teen sixty four to
<v Speaker 1>April nineteen sixty seven, but of course very popular in syndication.
<v Speaker 1>So I thought today my limerick in honor of island beds,
<v Speaker 1>would what kind of reflect on Gilligan's Island for a moment, I.
<v Speaker 3>I captain, you got it.
<v Speaker 1>Be in the upper percentile, create a bed with style.
<v Speaker 1>You're not a bumbling Gilligan, smart as a professor now
<v Speaker 1>and then so rock your botanical isle. You're this planting
<v Speaker 1>island skipper. Do something that makes you chipper. Thurston Howel
<v Speaker 1>the third and Lovey preferred flowers to a lawns weed
<v Speaker 1>whipper in the middle of an ocean of lawn or
<v Speaker 1>parking lot for that matter, in the middle of an
<v Speaker 1>ocean of lawn. Take me away, Kalgon. It's design on
<v Speaker 1>a personal basis, a horticultural oasis tailor made for ginger
<v Speaker 1>and dawn. Have you ever watched Gilligan's Island caught?
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, when I was a kid, it was
<v Speaker 2>in syndication and Gilligan's Island was what you watched when
<v Speaker 2>you stayed humsick.
<v Speaker 1>Oh okay, hi, Look, you know that show would drive
<v Speaker 1>me crazy because the professor was smart enough to make
<v Speaker 1>a radio out of a coconut, but he could never
<v Speaker 1>figure out how to get them off.
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, things didn't need to make as much
<v Speaker 2>sense then. Now people are very literal and they do
<v Speaker 2>need to make sense, So it would never fly these days,
<v Speaker 2>But back then you just rolled with it.
<v Speaker 1>There you go. So my Gilligan Island, Limerick, We're going
<v Speaker 1>to talk about balance, shape, plants, all of that sort
<v Speaker 1>of thing coming up in segment four. Next it's Plants
<v Speaker 1>on Trial. We'll see what Stacy has in mind here
<v Speaker 1>on the Gardening Simplified.
<v Speaker 2>Show, Beautify your Home and Community with proven Winner's color
<v Speaker 2>Choice shrubs with over three hundred and twenty five unique
<v Speaker 2>varieties to choose from. There's a flowering shrub or evergreen
<v Speaker 2>for every taste in every space. Just look for the
<v Speaker 2>distinctive white container your local garden center or learn more
<v Speaker 2>at proven Winner's Color Choice dot com. Creating's Gardening Friends,
<v Speaker 2>and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. We're at
<v Speaker 2>a listener request. We are talking all about island beds.
<v Speaker 2>Do you have island beds in your landscape?
<v Speaker 1>Oh?
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I figured you would. You seem like the island
<v Speaker 2>bed kite kind of yeah, but it's.
<v Speaker 1>Kind of coalescing until it's now going to be just
<v Speaker 1>one huge bed.
<v Speaker 3>I love that.
<v Speaker 2>I mean, that's the real beauty of island beds, right
<v Speaker 2>as you start as an island and then next thing
<v Speaker 2>you know, you're a continent.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly, all consuming.
<v Speaker 2>So you know, it is a great place to start
<v Speaker 2>expanding into your landscape. And you know, I would argue
<v Speaker 2>that in one of the important things about having an
<v Speaker 2>island bed. They can function in so many ways. You know,
<v Speaker 2>they're decorative there, they can be used as screening to
<v Speaker 2>help provide a little bit more privacy. They should also
<v Speaker 2>be a destination in your yard. You know, I believe
<v Speaker 2>that a garden should not just be something to be
<v Speaker 2>looked at. It should be something that you want to
<v Speaker 2>be in. So I think it's also important to include
<v Speaker 2>a little path, perhaps a little bench or a seat
<v Speaker 2>or something to go and see, so it's not just
<v Speaker 2>this kind of weird, disconnected aspect like that landscape.
<v Speaker 1>Maybe even a path through the island.
<v Speaker 2>Though, well, you're going to need to maintain it, so
<v Speaker 2>you're going to at least need a little access path
<v Speaker 2>for yourself as the gardener, to be able to get
<v Speaker 2>in there and do some work. But yeah, I think
<v Speaker 2>there's lots of potential to make it a destination and
<v Speaker 2>a place that you interact with, not just something that
<v Speaker 2>you look at. Now, you know, as you're looking at
<v Speaker 2>an island bed, you don't necessarily just want it to
<v Speaker 2>be a wall because you're seeing it from all sides,
<v Speaker 2>So you need to sometimes, depending on where you're putting it,
<v Speaker 2>kind of imply that there is more space on the
<v Speaker 2>other side than where you're actually viewing it from. And
<v Speaker 2>I think an important part of that is something that
<v Speaker 2>we've already talked a lot about this year, despite the
<v Speaker 2>fact that we are only a few weeks into twenty
<v Speaker 2>twenty six. It's come up many times see through plants.
<v Speaker 2>You know, plants can be sometimes very dense, and that's
<v Speaker 2>great for hedge or for you know, screening, or for
<v Speaker 2>foundation planting. But a lot of times you don't want
<v Speaker 2>to just create a blockade. You want to imply that
<v Speaker 2>there is space and somewhere else to go. And some
<v Speaker 2>shrubs are excellent sea through shrubs. Some perennials are as well.
<v Speaker 2>Some are much more dense. But I was thinking that
<v Speaker 2>in some of the most successful island beds that I
<v Speaker 2>can recall seeing in my career, they very often include a.
<v Speaker 3>Tree form shrub uh huh.
<v Speaker 2>It's also known as a standard botanically speaking, but a
<v Speaker 2>lot of people will just call them a tree hydrangel
<v Speaker 2>or something like that. And the great thing about these
<v Speaker 2>plants is that they are true shrubs, but instead of
<v Speaker 2>being grown with multiple stems and coming out of the ground,
<v Speaker 2>they are specifically trained by very talented growers to look
<v Speaker 2>like a tree with a trunk. And I'm going to
<v Speaker 2>give air quotes around the trunk for anybody who's listening
<v Speaker 2>on podcast or radio, because they don't truly have a trunk,
<v Speaker 2>because a trunk is something that a tree has. These
<v Speaker 2>are shrubs that are specifically trained and they don't have
<v Speaker 2>a buttress like a tree does. They don't have big
<v Speaker 2>feeder roots like a tree does. But they look like
<v Speaker 2>a tree because they have a bear kind of trunk
<v Speaker 2>and then a smaller canopy up ahead. And that thin
<v Speaker 2>bear trunk is what really helps to provide that see throughness.
<v Speaker 2>I like that, and gives you the opportunity to underplant
<v Speaker 2>it and plant around it. You obviously don't want to touch,
<v Speaker 2>you know, quite the top canopy area, but I think
<v Speaker 2>this is one of the best use cases for one
<v Speaker 2>of these tree form or standard plants.
<v Speaker 1>I have something in mind that I want to put
<v Speaker 1>in there. You're You're inspiring me here. I don't want
<v Speaker 1>to steal You're thunder here, because I'll bet you you're
<v Speaker 1>going there.
<v Speaker 2>Probably will because you know, there are a number of
<v Speaker 2>great options, but they aren't unlimited because not every shrub
<v Speaker 2>lends itself to being trained in this way. So I
<v Speaker 2>think when most people think of a tree form shrub,
<v Speaker 2>they are almost certainly thinking of a panicle hydrangea.
<v Speaker 1>Yes, that's where I was going.
<v Speaker 2>Probably the most popular one, and for good reason. I
<v Speaker 2>mean a tree form Hydrangea, especially as they get more mature,
<v Speaker 2>they can just be absolutely breathtaking. And Limelight hydrange from
<v Speaker 2>Preveniner's Color Choice Shrubs is definitely the leading tree form
<v Speaker 2>Hydrangea out there that you are going to find in
<v Speaker 2>your garden centers. But you'll also find our new limelight Prime,
<v Speaker 2>You'll find Pinky Winky, and you'll even find little Lime,
<v Speaker 2>which I'll talk a little bit about the difference that
<v Speaker 2>little Lime makes is a tree form versus the full
<v Speaker 2>size in a moment. But even though most people just
<v Speaker 2>think of panicle hydrangeas first, there are actually a number
<v Speaker 2>of our plants that you will find as treeforms at
<v Speaker 2>your garden center this year. Bloomerang, Lilac, reblooming Lilac, summer wine, nine.
<v Speaker 1>Bark, Now that's interesting.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, nine barks are pretty popular as a tree form.
<v Speaker 2>They work really well, and the cool thing about them
<v Speaker 2>compared to a lot of the other popular tree forms
<v Speaker 2>is that they have foliage interest. I mean, of course
<v Speaker 2>not nine barks do flower and flower beautifully, but they
<v Speaker 2>also provide that foliage interest. So they are a really
<v Speaker 2>really nice choice for an island bed. Rows of Sharon.
<v Speaker 2>Both our Chaffon and Satin series are produced as tree
<v Speaker 2>forms by a number of growers throughout the country. Ago
<v Speaker 2>we were talking about cottage gardens. Perfect choice for a
<v Speaker 2>cottage garden a tree form rows of Sharon like that.
<v Speaker 2>Of course, those are only hardy to USDA Zone five.
<v Speaker 2>Now each of these is going to give a very
<v Speaker 2>different kind of vibe and look in the landscape. The
<v Speaker 2>big full sized panicle hydrangeas like Lime Light, Limelight Prime
<v Speaker 2>and Pinky Winkie. Now those are going to be wild
<v Speaker 2>and bodacious and just full of flowers, and they're going
<v Speaker 2>to be a quite large presence. They're beautiful. Whereas little
<v Speaker 2>Lime is going to be very similar to the Bloomerang lilac,
<v Speaker 2>which is that the canopy or the leaf flower part
<v Speaker 2>stays much more in proportion and sort of more rounded
<v Speaker 2>than these big wild plants. So if you're looking for
<v Speaker 2>something that's a little bit more restrained and well behaved,
<v Speaker 2>look for little Lime or look for Bloomerang. Both of
<v Speaker 2>the roses of Sharon series that we have as tree
<v Speaker 2>forms are going to be a little bit more upright,
<v Speaker 2>less rounded. So if you want that rounded lollipop type,
<v Speaker 2>look Bloomerang or little lime is going to be your
<v Speaker 2>best bet. These are going to be the rose of
<v Speaker 2>Sharon are going to be a little bit more upright
<v Speaker 2>and kind of narrow, but just absolutely stunning when they
<v Speaker 2>flower in summer. And then the nine bark they also
<v Speaker 2>tend to be quite large. But it all depends on
<v Speaker 2>how and when you prune them, and that is really
<v Speaker 2>the key that I want to talk about here with
<v Speaker 2>caring for these plants. Obviously, as far as sun, soil, water,
<v Speaker 2>all of that jazz, it's the same as the shrub form.
<v Speaker 2>There's no difference in how you would grow these, So
<v Speaker 2>with a tag you're going to look at it. All
<v Speaker 2>of those requirements and care needs are the exact same,
<v Speaker 2>except when it comes to pruning. Now, normally I often
<v Speaker 2>tell people pruning is not strictly necessary. We do recommend
<v Speaker 2>it for things like panicle hydranges because it helps to
<v Speaker 2>increase stem strength, It helps to take out any weak,
<v Speaker 2>spindily growth that's just going to drag the plant down
<v Speaker 2>and cause potential flopping, especially on older varieties, and it
<v Speaker 2>also helps to concentrate the plant's energy into figure buds,
<v Speaker 2>so you get bigger, bolder flowers from that. But with
<v Speaker 2>these tree form plants, you absolutely do have to prune them.
<v Speaker 2>They've been prune to within an inch of their life
<v Speaker 2>to get to this tree form stage in the first place,
<v Speaker 2>and so you really do need to continue that level maintenance.
<v Speaker 2>Now it doesn't necessarily mean every year, but you are
<v Speaker 2>going to have to impose some pruning techniques on them
<v Speaker 2>to make sure that that top stays in proportion with
<v Speaker 2>the bottom, because if the top gets too big, it
<v Speaker 2>can cause weight issues that can harm the plant. It
<v Speaker 2>will just be out of proportion and can look really strange.
<v Speaker 2>And you know, the important thing here is that these
<v Speaker 2>tree form shrubs do tend to cost quite a bit
<v Speaker 2>more than their shrubby counterparts, and that may cause people
<v Speaker 2>to bulk, but you have to consider these plants have
<v Speaker 2>been grown for probably two, possibly even three more years
<v Speaker 2>compared to you know, the standard shrub which can a
<v Speaker 2>grower can easily produce within a year, so you have
<v Speaker 2>a lot more time behind it and a lot more effort.
<v Speaker 2>You know, these are not plants that they can just
<v Speaker 2>stick in the ground and walk away from and then
<v Speaker 2>harvest it in a couple of years. They got to
<v Speaker 2>be out there, they got to be staking they got
<v Speaker 2>to be pruning, so it's worth, definitely worth the effort
<v Speaker 2>to maintain your investment in these plants with pruning. And
<v Speaker 2>so how you prune them is going to, of course
<v Speaker 2>depend on the plant. The bloomerang lilac or summer wine
<v Speaker 2>nine bark types. You are not going to want to
<v Speaker 2>prune in spring because you will be pruning off the
<v Speaker 2>flower buds, So those two would get pruned after they bloom,
<v Speaker 2>whereas the panicle hydrangs and roses of sharon would be
<v Speaker 2>pruned in spring. And basically what you need to do,
<v Speaker 2>and it's helpful to be able to prune these in
<v Speaker 2>spring when they're still dormant so you can really see
<v Speaker 2>that structure. You're going to want to take out any thin,
<v Speaker 2>spindily growth. You're going to want to give it an
<v Speaker 2>overall trim so that it's not totally unruly and again
<v Speaker 2>getting way out of proportion. The so called trunk will
<v Speaker 2>continue to thicken and expand, but it will never get
<v Speaker 2>to the size of a tree trunk. So you really
<v Speaker 2>need to kind of use your eye to keep it
<v Speaker 2>proportional and keep them looking good. And like I said,
<v Speaker 2>if you want that lollipop look the bloomerang and little
<v Speaker 2>lime are going to be perfect for really training into
<v Speaker 2>that nice type. But overall, you know, there's so many
<v Speaker 2>different ways to use treeform shrubs, but I really do
<v Speaker 2>think that an island bed is one of the absolute
<v Speaker 2>best cases for you to use them. So if you
<v Speaker 2>are thinking about an island bed, or you already have
<v Speaker 2>one and feel like it could use a little bit more, Pizaz,
<v Speaker 2>do look for these treeform shrubs at your garden center.
<v Speaker 2>I do have to warn you, despite the increased cost,
<v Speaker 2>they typically sell out very quickly. I'm sure you have
<v Speaker 2>seen this. They are irresistible when they come into the
<v Speaker 2>garden centers. They're always in high demand.
<v Speaker 1>A lot of them go out the door for Mother's Day.
<v Speaker 2>Ah it is you will be Mom's favorite child if
<v Speaker 2>you buy her a treeform shrub this Mother's Day, So
<v Speaker 2>put that on your list. Anyway, There's lots more to
<v Speaker 2>say about these treeform shrubs, and we've got you covered
<v Speaker 2>at Proven Winters color Choice dot com. But do add
<v Speaker 2>these to your planting list or your research list. As
<v Speaker 2>we sit here still in the throes of winter but
<v Speaker 2>dreaming of spring, We're gonna take a little break when
<v Speaker 2>we come back. We're opening up the garden mailbag, so
<v Speaker 2>please stay tuned. At Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs, we
<v Speaker 2>know that a better landscape starts with a better shrub.
<v Speaker 2>Our team of experts tests and evaluates all of our
<v Speaker 2>flowering shrubs in evergreens for eight to ten years to
<v Speaker 2>ensure they outperform what's already on the market. For easycare, reliable,
<v Speaker 2>beautiful shrubs to accentuate your home and express your personal style,
<v Speaker 2>look for Proven Winner's Shrubs in the distinctive white container
<v Speaker 2>at your local garden center or learn more at proven
<v Speaker 2>Winner's Color Choice dot com. Greeting's Gardening friends, and welcome
<v Speaker 2>back to the Gardening Simplified Show. We're talking all about
<v Speaker 2>island beds, but when it comes to the mailbag, our
<v Speaker 2>topic kind of goes out the window because we're just
<v Speaker 2>here to help you with your garden questions, quandaries and conundrums.
<v Speaker 2>And should you find that you have one of those
<v Speaker 2>that you are facing, or a garden celebration, the moment
<v Speaker 2>that you want to share with us, house plant blooming,
<v Speaker 2>or some really cool that you're looking forward to, you
<v Speaker 2>can always reach out to us at Gardeningsimplified on air
<v Speaker 2>dot com. There's a contact farm right there. You can
<v Speaker 2>even include a photo, and you can also reach us
<v Speaker 2>on YouTube. We read all of your YouTube comments and
<v Speaker 2>respond to questions there and sometimes even include them in
<v Speaker 2>our answers, questions and answers here on the mailbag. But Rick,
<v Speaker 2>there has been one major question on everybody's mind this year.
<v Speaker 2>I hear that you have been interviewed about this as
<v Speaker 2>our local gardening experts. So what are your concerns about
<v Speaker 2>plants in this polar vortex winter? Should I be doing
<v Speaker 2>something to protect them? And are trees really exploding because
<v Speaker 2>of it?
<v Speaker 1>Those are the questions that are out there now. Of course,
<v Speaker 1>the Gardening Simplified Show is available through YouTube and also podcast.
<v Speaker 1>But yeah, Stacey, we're on radio also, and here in
<v Speaker 1>West Michigan. A number of people have been asking the question. First,
<v Speaker 1>let's deal with the polar vortex and how cold it's spent.
<v Speaker 1>It's it's been cold, it's been snowy, but as you
<v Speaker 1>have often said, Stacy, it's not necessarily how cold it got,
<v Speaker 1>and it did get quite cold, and we often talk
<v Speaker 1>about heartiness zones, but it's the length of time that
<v Speaker 1>it's been cold. This has really been something it.
<v Speaker 2>Has, and you know, I have never in the fifteen
<v Speaker 2>years that I have lived in West Michigan, ever been
<v Speaker 2>through winter, and thoughts to myself, Gosh, I'm kind of
<v Speaker 2>worried about my plants. This is the first year where
<v Speaker 2>I'm not really worried about my stuff that I know
<v Speaker 2>is hardy, and I have a number of things that
<v Speaker 2>I know are hardy.
<v Speaker 3>But you know, I've.
<v Speaker 2>Talked over the years about how part of gardening, and
<v Speaker 2>you have two, Rick, how part of gardening is pushing
<v Speaker 2>the envelope seeing what you can get away with in
<v Speaker 2>terms of hardiness. So yeah, you know, when I woke
<v Speaker 2>up a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday morning
<v Speaker 2>and looked at my at the weather on my phone
<v Speaker 2>and the air temperature was negative one, not the wind chill,
<v Speaker 2>the air temperature.
<v Speaker 3>I'm not gonna lie.
<v Speaker 2>I had a little minor panic attack, and I kind
<v Speaker 2>of wanted to go out there and hug my fig
<v Speaker 2>tree and tell it it was hopefully gonna be okay. Now,
<v Speaker 2>we do have snowcover, and we are fortunate that when
<v Speaker 2>we got this very very cold temperatures that we had
<v Speaker 2>a good snow cover out here in West Michigan, and
<v Speaker 2>I think, in fact, most of the state did, and
<v Speaker 2>that will help the roots. But for something like my
<v Speaker 2>fig which has actually become quite large, I'm definitely worried.
<v Speaker 2>I didn't lose the plant. I'm sure that the roots
<v Speaker 2>are fine, but I'm definitely worried about whether it will
<v Speaker 2>come back on those branches, because, yeah, it didn't just
<v Speaker 2>dip down to negative one for a brief moment. I
<v Speaker 2>mean it was we had, you know, single digit temperatures
<v Speaker 2>for for long, long periods, and we're not the only ones.
<v Speaker 1>And I've been out there encouraging my Musa bajou, the
<v Speaker 1>hardy banana, and I'm glad that in fall I put
<v Speaker 1>a big blanket of mulch over it. And then, as
<v Speaker 1>you mentioned, the snow. But yesterday I chatted with two friends,
<v Speaker 1>one who lives in North Carolina. They're in South Carolina.
<v Speaker 1>Both have snow. Or you go to other parts of
<v Speaker 1>the United States, maybe they didn't necessarily get the snow,
<v Speaker 1>but boy, frigid temperatures. So I think next spring we're
<v Speaker 1>probably going to see some damage. I mean, maintain your composture,
<v Speaker 1>but we're going to see.
<v Speaker 2>Some day, yeah, you know, I mean my mom was
<v Speaker 2>telling me the temperature down in Florida. It was twenty
<v Speaker 2>one degrees and you know, in Florida, where they basically
<v Speaker 2>are considered you know, zones eight, zone nine something like that,
<v Speaker 2>you know, that is extremely cold. And so you know,
<v Speaker 2>for us, like, yeah, sometimes we dabble into these plants
<v Speaker 2>that might not be completely cold hardy, but for the
<v Speaker 2>most part, our stuff can withstand our Michigan winters. But
<v Speaker 2>in a place like Florida, wheally don't usually get temperatures
<v Speaker 2>that cold. You know, they're definitely going to be seeing
<v Speaker 2>I think, quite a bit of damage. But you know,
<v Speaker 2>damage is it's always hard to see. It's hard to
<v Speaker 2>deal with, but it's also an opportunity to try something new.
<v Speaker 1>And down in Florida when it's been very cold like that,
<v Speaker 1>and I got damaged. I had an iguana fall out
<v Speaker 1>of the tree. Yeah, they kind of freeze and they
<v Speaker 1>fall out of.
<v Speaker 3>The trees because they can't.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so it's a real mess down there. But so yeah,
<v Speaker 2>it remains to be seen what will happen. But I
<v Speaker 2>think it's important for people to also understand that plants
<v Speaker 2>don't feel the wind chill. Meteorologists are always talking about
<v Speaker 2>the wind chill, and yeah, that affects us greatly, and
<v Speaker 2>they say don't go out. Windchills are extremely cold. That
<v Speaker 2>will impact you. But plants, even though they can be
<v Speaker 2>damaged by wind, whatever the wind chill is, does not
<v Speaker 2>actually impact the plant's ability to withstand that cold. But
<v Speaker 2>that's why it's important that you look at those air
<v Speaker 2>temperatures so it remains to be seen. If you have
<v Speaker 2>things in your plant with you know in your yard
<v Speaker 2>that you're seeing damage in the spring, they're not rebounding
<v Speaker 2>as quickly as they usually do. Do be patient because
<v Speaker 2>sometimes it takes plants a little bit longer to rebound. Now,
<v Speaker 2>what about those exploding trees explore trees?
<v Speaker 1>I mean, you know this is put out there by
<v Speaker 1>people in social media. I believe for effect, for clicks,
<v Speaker 1>for the shock value, and I have reminded people don't worry.
<v Speaker 1>I'd be more concerned about the pipes exploding in your
<v Speaker 1>walls and super cold temperatures then your trees exploding in
<v Speaker 1>your yard. Now, can a tree explode? Explode is not
<v Speaker 1>the right description in my mind. Yes, trees are living things.
<v Speaker 1>They have water in them, they have sap in them,
<v Speaker 1>they have cells. The time in winter where we see
<v Speaker 1>the most damage, and we call it Southwest disease or
<v Speaker 1>splitting or cracking or frost. Cracks in the bark are
<v Speaker 1>generally let's say a January day where the sun shines,
<v Speaker 1>it's slow in the south, the bark heats up the
<v Speaker 1>cambium layer. Then at night we get those super cold
<v Speaker 1>temperatures and that expansion and contraction causes cracking. Now, could
<v Speaker 1>you on a rare occasion you're in the wood and
<v Speaker 1>a tree cracks explodes as they call it, Yeah, could happen,
<v Speaker 1>but really not. I mean, I just think it's an exaggeration.
<v Speaker 2>It is, it is, ok you know, yeah, I won't
<v Speaker 2>get into it, but yes, it's an exaggeration. Don't panic.
<v Speaker 2>Your trees are probably not gonna explode. Okay, now I
<v Speaker 2>think this is really exciting. We had a listener named Michael.
<v Speaker 1>Oh, yeah, I love this.
<v Speaker 2>He wrote to us and he said, I would love
<v Speaker 2>to get your help with these two recently purchased ginormous
<v Speaker 2>five foot tall planters. Now, he said ginormous. I read this,
<v Speaker 2>I said, Okay. Then I opened the picture and I
<v Speaker 2>was like, holy cow, those are ginormous. Oho, They're gorgeous,
<v Speaker 2>But very intimidating. How am I supposed to stick a
<v Speaker 2>plant in these? Any help would be greatly appreciated. So
<v Speaker 2>I thought it would be cool if we all helped
<v Speaker 2>Michael out, you know, with a little bit of opinions.
<v Speaker 2>We'll tell you some suggestions, but if you have one,
<v Speaker 2>please go to YouTube. You can see Michael's amazing containers.
<v Speaker 2>And I'm sure that he would appreciate ate some other
<v Speaker 2>ideas too. So much potential, but uh wow, oh.
<v Speaker 1>You know, my first word of advice to Michael would be, uh,
<v Speaker 1>send me your email or your phone number, and I'm
<v Speaker 1>gonna make you an offer on those planters. I want them.
<v Speaker 3>I think the shipping would kill you from New York here.
<v Speaker 1>Dimission, I guess, so I'll come pick them up.
<v Speaker 3>I had the same feeling.
<v Speaker 2>And also, you know, I will say he has cited
<v Speaker 2>these against a contemporary garage where they are just right
<v Speaker 2>at home, so beautiful and so perfect. So my question,
<v Speaker 2>I guess for you, would you go, uh would you
<v Speaker 2>go with like a permanent planting or with an annual planting.
<v Speaker 1>I would not go with a permanent planting. I would
<v Speaker 1>go with an annual planting. I would dummy up the
<v Speaker 1>bottom of the container, because Michael, you're gonna go broke
<v Speaker 1>on potting soil. Potting soil is not cheap. Uh. And
<v Speaker 1>then once you have done that, get yourself a little
<v Speaker 1>step ladder so you can get up there to do
<v Speaker 1>the planting. Once you do that, Stacy, you know, we
<v Speaker 1>always talk about planting from the center working to the outside.
<v Speaker 1>Those planters. I could see an emerald isle alocacia in
<v Speaker 1>the center of both of them, and then around the perimeter.
<v Speaker 1>We want something that spills definitely, and so you know, bubblegum,
<v Speaker 1>super tunas, dichondra would be fabulous, sweet caroline, sweet potato vine.
<v Speaker 3>Those would beautiful with color, the contents.
<v Speaker 1>And by July August they're going to be trailing you
<v Speaker 1>know that full five feet to be gorgeous.
<v Speaker 3>It would be gorgeous.
<v Speaker 2>I agree that I think the best choice for these
<v Speaker 2>is an annual planting, so something that you can change
<v Speaker 2>up every year. My feedback, because I'm a maximalist, would
<v Speaker 2>be to either buy or make some kind a very
<v Speaker 2>cool sort of conical trellisy type thing that you can
<v Speaker 2>grow annual vines on. So what I have in my
<v Speaker 2>mind think of something like an upside down tomato. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>so that you're putting in sort of that conical shape,
<v Speaker 2>and then I would try, like you love your hyacinth beans,
<v Speaker 2>Those would look absolutely amazing in here. And I think
<v Speaker 2>you could change out those vines every year with a new,
<v Speaker 2>you know, different vine, like a cardinal climber. I mean,
<v Speaker 2>there's just so so many very very cool vines that
<v Speaker 2>you could be growing on there. And then yeah, I
<v Speaker 2>would still fill out those edges with fluffy spillery type stuff,
<v Speaker 2>you know, diamond frost, Euphorbia would be gorgeous, dichondra, like
<v Speaker 2>you said, so you definitely want to have something you
<v Speaker 2>don't want to cover those gorgeous containers because they are beautiful.
<v Speaker 2>But I'm saying like, let's accentuate that height. Let's go
<v Speaker 2>up and change it out every year, and if you
<v Speaker 2>find something that you love, then stick with that year
<v Speaker 2>after year. But I think these are just such a fun,
<v Speaker 2>fun playground for garden creativity, and so I would love
<v Speaker 2>to hear from our listeners if you want to leave
<v Speaker 2>a comment on YouTube what you would do with Michael's containers,
<v Speaker 2>and Michael, if you're listening, let us know what you
<v Speaker 2>plan to do or what you've chosen because I don't know.
<v Speaker 3>I am also very jealous.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, me too. I'll make you an offer, Michael.
<v Speaker 3>All right.
<v Speaker 2>So with that, we're going to take a little break.
<v Speaker 2>When we come back, we're going to conclude our conversation
<v Speaker 2>on island beds.
<v Speaker 3>So please stay tuned.
<v Speaker 2>Thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified Podcast, brought to
<v Speaker 2>you by Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning
<v Speaker 2>flowering shrubs and evergreens are trialed and tested by experts
<v Speaker 2>with your success in mind. Learn more at Proven winnerscolor
<v Speaker 2>Choice dot com.
<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. As we talk
<v Speaker 1>about island bed stacy and island bed is like putting
<v Speaker 1>furniture in a room. You don't want it to block traffic.
<v Speaker 1>You want to put it in a place where you
<v Speaker 1>can enjoy it from all sides, and you want it
<v Speaker 1>to balance the space. And I think one of the
<v Speaker 1>biggest mistakes I see people making with a landscape island
<v Speaker 1>is they make it too small. I think you got
<v Speaker 1>to go in and you gotta go big.
<v Speaker 2>You know. It's almost like Julia Child said, you can
<v Speaker 2>never start with too big of a bowl.
<v Speaker 1>Exactly when in doubt go bigger.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, because I mean, how many times you've done that
<v Speaker 2>in the kitchen You're like, I'll just use this bold
<v Speaker 2>and you're like, I should use.
<v Speaker 3>A bigger bowl.
<v Speaker 2>You will rarely regret using a bigger bowl, and similarly,
<v Speaker 2>you will not regret making a bigger island. But because yeah,
<v Speaker 2>once you actually start putting the plants in there, I'll
<v Speaker 2>tell you I have never made a new bed that
<v Speaker 2>I started putting plants in and thought, oh gee, this
<v Speaker 2>is bigger than I expected happen.
<v Speaker 1>Never has happened to me either, exactly, So when in doubt,
<v Speaker 1>go bigger. Edging is going to be a vital element.
<v Speaker 1>The plants on the edge define the area, and the
<v Speaker 1>physical edge is going to require some work slash investment,
<v Speaker 1>whether you're digging it with a shovel, using a high
<v Speaker 1>quality aluminum edging. But Stacy my recommendations, especially because we're
<v Speaker 1>doing a kidney shaped bed or something that's oblong, the
<v Speaker 1>edging is going to be important.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Rick, you said the E word. My least favorite
<v Speaker 2>part about gardening. It's hard, and it's an expense, and
<v Speaker 2>especially in this case, because yeah, you're going to need
<v Speaker 2>to mow around it. They are typically surrounded by lawn. Yeah,
<v Speaker 2>I would definitely say this is a place where you're
<v Speaker 2>probably going to want to invest in some good metal edging.
<v Speaker 2>You know, our beds in our trial garden are all
<v Speaker 2>pretty much island beds and they don't have any edging.
<v Speaker 2>They just get manually edged, which is fine if you
<v Speaker 2>have a little bit of help, but if you're doing
<v Speaker 2>it all on your own again, you end up with
<v Speaker 2>this disposal issue of all of this soil and grass
<v Speaker 2>and stuff to get rid of, and no one wants that.
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's a pain. So I think it is
<v Speaker 2>in this case worth investing into that metal edging. And
<v Speaker 2>the metal edging is quite flexible, so it's very easy
<v Speaker 2>to mold into whatever organic shape you've determined for your
<v Speaker 2>island bed.
<v Speaker 1>Now we said we would talk about balance and scale.
<v Speaker 1>Let me give you some rule of thumbs here from
<v Speaker 1>garden designers. One third shrubs and flower beds, two thirds
<v Speaker 1>lawn for a yard. Rules are meant to be broken.
<v Speaker 1>Feel free to break this rule. I've broken it many times,
<v Speaker 1>and right now.
<v Speaker 3>I'm just you're well on your way and well.
<v Speaker 1>Off the charts. But that's a general rule of thumb
<v Speaker 1>when designing or putting some island beds in a yard
<v Speaker 1>area shrubs and flower beds one third, lawns two thirds,
<v Speaker 1>but feel free to break this rule.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, you know, I can't really have an
<v Speaker 2>island bed anymore because I don't have a lawn, so
<v Speaker 2>I just have beds, and its just beds connected by paths.
<v Speaker 1>Same here.
<v Speaker 2>That's how I want it to be. But I mean, yeah,
<v Speaker 2>this is definitely one of those things where you're kind
<v Speaker 2>of like, okay, and they're addictive too. I think if
<v Speaker 2>you you know, I think of some gardens that I
<v Speaker 2>have seen, especially for people who have fallen in love
<v Speaker 2>with conifers and dwarf conifers. You know, they started with
<v Speaker 2>an island bed, put a little bit of dwarf conifers
<v Speaker 2>in there. Next thing, you know, they've become a collector,
<v Speaker 2>and it's islandbed after island bed after island bed. They're
<v Speaker 2>all surrounded by paths and it just creates this like
<v Speaker 2>wonderful strolling experience through the gardens. So you know, my
<v Speaker 2>dream garden would just be islands with paths in between
<v Speaker 2>them so you can just walk and wander and look
<v Speaker 2>at plants all day.
<v Speaker 1>I love it. Now if you're putting the islands in
<v Speaker 1>a lawn area and you want to get started. Here's
<v Speaker 1>another rule of thumb, and that would be an island
<v Speaker 1>bed should be three times as long as it is wide.
<v Speaker 1>For example, a five foot wide bed would be approximately
<v Speaker 1>fifteen feet long. It's just a general rule of thumb
<v Speaker 1>to help you get started.
<v Speaker 2>I think that's a very handy little thing to keep
<v Speaker 2>in mind. And you know, bear in mind too that
<v Speaker 2>you know if you if you start with that, because
<v Speaker 2>you've got to start somewhere. Like I said at the beginning,
<v Speaker 2>the hardest part is that you are so unlimited with
<v Speaker 2>island beds that you kind of don't know where to start.
<v Speaker 2>So start with that. You can dig out the five
<v Speaker 2>y fifteen ish area, and then you might say, oh,
<v Speaker 2>to ye, I want it a little bigger, and then
<v Speaker 2>you take a little.
<v Speaker 3>More off the top.
<v Speaker 1>Choosing and placing the right plants. Selecting plants for an
<v Speaker 1>island bed is a little different than selecting plants for
<v Speaker 1>a typical perennial or shrub border. Why because island beds
<v Speaker 1>have a front and a back and can be viewed
<v Speaker 1>from all sides. So the prominent position of an island
<v Speaker 1>bed demands that it looks good year round, super important.
<v Speaker 1>I think some repetition is important because you lose effect
<v Speaker 1>with your island bed if you don't have some repetition
<v Speaker 1>throughout the island. At least that's the approach that I take.
<v Speaker 2>I think you know throughout the island as well as
<v Speaker 2>throughout your landscape. So especially if this is in your
<v Speaker 2>front yard, you may want to take into account the
<v Speaker 2>color of your front door, other plants that you already
<v Speaker 2>have in your landscape and kind of echo that it
<v Speaker 2>doesn't need to be a theme where you just you know,
<v Speaker 2>paint the whole thing the same color, but you know,
<v Speaker 2>have some of those same echoes again just for cohesion.
<v Speaker 2>But you know, like I said, I'm a maximalist.
<v Speaker 1>So you do you balance and scale. You should consider
<v Speaker 1>the design concept of balance when designing the right location
<v Speaker 1>for your island bed. So balance involves the visual weight
<v Speaker 1>of the elements in a garden. And this is kind
<v Speaker 1>of tricky, Stacey, but it's something that you learn with practice,
<v Speaker 1>because everything in a landscape has visual weight to it.
<v Speaker 1>And that's why I loved your idea of the shrubs
<v Speaker 1>on standards and having that ability to see through it
<v Speaker 1>dark colors are heavier than light colors. A horizontal object
<v Speaker 1>is heavier than a vertical object. If we go up,
<v Speaker 1>an island bed placed on one side of your yard
<v Speaker 1>can balance a large shade tree that's on the other
<v Speaker 1>side of the yard. So once again, taking a look
<v Speaker 1>at that concept of balance and thinking about it is important.
<v Speaker 3>Definitely, definitely, scale.
<v Speaker 1>Is important to determine the right size for your island bed.
<v Speaker 1>The design concept of scale becomes very important. So scale
<v Speaker 1>involves the relationship of its size, the visual relationship of
<v Speaker 1>each part of the landscape to every other part. What
<v Speaker 1>do I mean by that? That means the size of
<v Speaker 1>your house, the size of your lot, the size of
<v Speaker 1>the space surrounding your property, and other wards. A large
<v Speaker 1>island bed can overwhelm a small yard, and a small
<v Speaker 1>island is going to disappear in a large yard and Stacy,
<v Speaker 1>that's why my rule of thumb still is go big
<v Speaker 1>or go home.
<v Speaker 2>I agree, you know, I would find it hard to
<v Speaker 2>imagine an island bed overwhelming a small home. I love
<v Speaker 2>nothing more than a home that is overwhelmed by the garden.
<v Speaker 2>It's like my favorite thing.
<v Speaker 1>I love that it is. So there's many great plants
<v Speaker 1>to use in an island bed. And by the way,
<v Speaker 1>I have a few favorites. One is the sky rocket
<v Speaker 1>fountain grass in an island bed. But another and it
<v Speaker 1>probably doesn't surprise you, but the two can cannas I
<v Speaker 1>think are spectacular. You're getting beautiful color, and again you're
<v Speaker 1>getting that texture and the size of the foliage compared
<v Speaker 1>to let's say the nine bark that you had suggested.
<v Speaker 1>Getting that contrast with a little bit of repetition, it's
<v Speaker 1>going to make that island bed look father well.
<v Speaker 2>And you know that that's a really great point that
<v Speaker 2>you could make an island bed that is just seasonal. Now,
<v Speaker 2>we talked a bit about wanting four season interest in it,
<v Speaker 2>so yeah, if you're putting perennials and shrubs in it,
<v Speaker 2>then yeah, make sure you have woody plants and maybe
<v Speaker 2>some evergreens and grasses in there to provide winter interests.
<v Speaker 2>But on the other hand, there's absolutely nothing wrong with
<v Speaker 2>making this a strictly seasonal planting bed where you're only
<v Speaker 2>doing things like cannas and alocasias and colorful annuals and
<v Speaker 2>just going you know, like full Victorian carpet bedding type
<v Speaker 2>of island bed and in that case, the winter interest
<v Speaker 2>doesn't really matter because it's going to basically just be
<v Speaker 2>covered in snow or you know, just like part of
<v Speaker 2>your lawn anyway. So that is a good way to
<v Speaker 2>kind of experiment change the look every year. And a
<v Speaker 2>lot of botanical gardens do that too. When you visit them,
<v Speaker 2>you see that they have these kind of island beds
<v Speaker 2>that they change out every season. That happens at Chanticlear
<v Speaker 2>where we talk to Gardener's Wave Hill. There's lots of
<v Speaker 2>public gardens I've been to that utilize this as a
<v Speaker 2>way to showcase a different color, a different vibe, new
<v Speaker 2>plants every year.
<v Speaker 1>Lavender's fantastic in these beds. In Stacy, I have seen
<v Speaker 1>beds where as opposed to repetition or contrast in textures
<v Speaker 1>and colors, they've picked just one plant and made a
<v Speaker 1>solid bed out of it, and it can be quite dramatic.
<v Speaker 1>I've seen it done with low and Behold bud Leader.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and it is.
<v Speaker 3>Dramatic, it is, yeah for sure.
<v Speaker 1>Yeah. So a lot of plants that you can use
<v Speaker 1>for that purpose. I think about at last roses. I
<v Speaker 1>think they're perfect in an island bed. Because you get
<v Speaker 1>that color for so long during the season, and any
<v Speaker 1>of your shorter panicled hydranges I love to see in
<v Speaker 1>an island.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, that would be amazing, you bet so.
<v Speaker 1>Anyhow, we could talk about island beds for hours, but
<v Speaker 1>look at that.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.
<v Speaker 1>Where did the time go? Yeah?
<v Speaker 3>I don't know, went to an island.
<v Speaker 1>It's been fun. Stacey, Thank you, thank you, Thanks Adriana,
<v Speaker 1>thanks to you. Thanks for watching us on YouTube, downloading
<v Speaker 1>our podcast, or listening to the radio version of The
<v Speaker 1>Gardening Simplified Show. Have a great week.