02. Create Good Bones

Kitchen Garden Tip #2: Seed catalogs are flowing in, and flower seeds are always the first to go on my wish list. Night blooming Datura and Nicotiana capture my attention, as well as the climbing vines with tubular flowers to attract hummingbirds and a create fragrant entrance to the vegetable garden.

I designed my garden with good bones, so that a structure stays in place even when the ground is buried with snow. Long rows of Arbor vitae are planted around the perimeter, and this time of year the emerald green branches are draped with folds of white snow. In the center, a standard viburnum stands just over 5 feet tall, yet beyond that everything else is buried under more than a foot of snow. Plants and seeds will change each spring, yet the basic design is a good one, and feeds my imagination all year long.