photo credit: tinyfroglet

Creating a Harry Potter theme garden will depend on your growing climate, plants available and a little creativity on your part.

Hagrid, a popular character from the story, had a garden along with a charming cottage. The cottage would be somewhat difficult to copy but a fairie house would be a good replacement and fairie homes have that mystical feel to them.

Pumpkins also grew in Hagrid’s garden. In the current movie Hagrid grows huge orange pumpkins. Any pumpkin would fit in this theme garden including the miniature pumpkins, or the Lumina pumpkins (called ghost pumpkins by some), which are white on the outside and orange on the inside.

Hellebores, which grow in a multitude of colors varieties, grow well in many climates. They are mentioned many times in the Harry Potter series and are used for making potions. The Kingston cardinal is one example of a Hellebore.
photo credit: alice-palace

There are many magical plants mentioned in the Harry Potter movie but they are not real.

But with a little creativity you can substitute actual plants in your own Harry Potter theme garden creation.

For example,

• you could use  Balloon flowers or Chinese lanterns in place of puffapods.
• The money plant has a unique look and would fit into the garden well.
• Flowering cabbage or kale could be used to represent mandrakes.
• Bat plants, Venus flytrap and any evening flower such as a moonflower would add interest to the garden.
• And you will find many herbs would have a look that would fit into this them garden well. Ginger, sage, nettle and wormwood are a few examples.

You will learn more about all the magical plants in the world of Harry Potter by visiting  the plant section of the Harry Potter Lexicon website.

Night lights and garden art would add more interest too as would varying heights in the garden. And any garden seems to benefit from mini pond or rustic fountain.

This is a project your children may really enjoy and lead them to years of gardening. And any theme garden add fun to your garden and backyard

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Another benefit of a tea garden is that it takes a very small amount of space. A 6-foot by 8-foot garden is actually quite big. If you have less space you can make it smaller. And if you only have indoor space available, a tea garden will adapt well to being indoors or on a balcony.

If you have more room you may want to set the tea garden up in a cottage garden tea garden design with a small fenced in area with a gate and trellis or arbor.

Many cottage herb garden designs plant honeysuckle, clematis, climbing rose bushes or wisteria on the trellis or arbor. It will not be long before these plants climb over the arbor and trellis and add astonishing color to you garden area.

Whatever size you select for an outdoor tea garden you will want to divide your entire garden down the middle by making a path. The path can be wide enough for a wheelbarrow or a slender path used for harvesting. Next create narrow paths within each planting bed on either side of the path.

Your goal is to make everything is within arm’s length for weeding and harvesting. This will keep you off the soil and allow more room for your herbs. I will often place a flat rock to stand on just off a path if I need to be able to reach into the garden bed further. This also adds a more natural look to the garden.

Choose herb plants that will thrive in your garden zone. A trip to you local nursery or garden center will help you with your plant selections. I also mix a few colorful fragrant flowers, fruits and vegetables in the herb garden just to add interest and color.

As with any garden, plant the garden based on what each plant needs for sunlight and spacing.

Herbs can be planted closer together than many plants and still thrive so fill the garden. If possible leave a very small section for a tiny bench or a very small table. This will give you a place to relax, enjoy the garden and have a cup of fresh tea.

I also try to add a rain barrel to my herb garden area so that water is easily within reach for watering the plants.
photo credit: chaz2b

And if your only available space is the patio or indoors, herbs grow very well in containers and hanging baskets. Just try to find a spot that get 6 to 8 hours of sunlight for the plants.

Herbs make wonderful container gardens because you have interesting color and texture in herbs and by selecting unique containers and planters you can create wonderful relaxing garden art that can be changed during the season and that also adds tea and seasonings to you home.

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A faerie house is said to be “a gateway through which our fairy friends enter our gardens.” By creating houses for them, we create a way for the fairies to use to visit our world. And in thanks the fairies will tend the gardens and help them thrive.

There are many types of faerie houses, from a simple style to intricate lavish. They add fun and wonder to a backyard garden area and assembling a faerie house is fun for adults and children alike. This would make a great family project and help interest children in gardening.
photo credit: aussiegall

These adorable glass faerie houses look beautiful setting in any garden. Sometimes small furniture or plants are added to the interior of the house. And to blend the faerie house into your backyard garden area, add a mini garden or fairy chair and the yard will take on an enchanted feeling.

Fairy House : supplies you will need

• 7- square foraged or used windows
• Hot glue
• Hot glue gun
• Paint
• Screws
• Screwdriver 4 Large wood balls (for feet of house)

Collect your free or foraged windows together. The windows will need to be the same size. I pick up windows along curbsides and at garage and auctions. Construction sites may also be able to help you. I also look for windows that show a little wear – peeling paint or a few colors.

Clean the window and frame. I like to scrap off loose paint and lightly add a smudge of color to the frame with a cloth. This will give the frame an older look and more character. Choose a color that will compliment your backyard and flowers.
photo credit: zedzap

The next step in building your faerie house is to create the structure. Start by screwing the four windows together using one screw at the top and one screw at the bottom of each window. This will form a square block. Attach another window to the bottom of the block by using one screw on each of the four sides. Tip: to make the screws easier to get into the frame I use a drill to start a hole.

While box is bottom side up, screw or hot glue the wooden balls to the bottom of the box. This creates legs for the faerie house. (You can also use old legs off furniture or wood blocks.) Turn the box over onto its legs.

Screw or hot glue the last two windows together to form a “V”. If you have hinges I would suggest using two of those on the inside of the frame. I think they are easier to use and make a stronger attachment. Turn the “V” over and hot glue or screw or hot glue the windows to the top of the box to form the roof of the faerie house. If you use hot glue, add a small decorative brace to the roof. It just fortifies the structure of the house.

This will leave you with two openings in the roof to decorate the inside of the fairy house if you wish. Candles, a small potted plant, mini furniture, or even a mini rock garden will add flair to the faerie house.

Add the faerie house to a section of your yard that needs garden art or a focal point. And for more fun add night-lights in the area.

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I used a pre-made garden arbor for my Aerial garden. It was only a few dollars at off-season prices and I set it up in minutes. You can also make an outdoor divider quite easily.

Outdoor Aerial Theme  Garden

1. Find or purchase two square posts that measure 2” by 8” and the length that will fit you desired location. You will also want 20 to 25 slates measuring six feet long.
2. Place the posts about 4 feet from each other. Next pour cement around the bottom of the posts to make them secure. Add the wooden slates or thin pieces of wood and attach them horizontally from one end of the post to the other. I like to find old barn board for these projects.
3. Space the slates in such a way that you will be able to hang your aerial garden from the slates. Mixing in hanging plants will give more color, texture and interest into your aerial garden area.

True aerial gardens make use of epiphytic plants, also known as air plants. These plants get there  nutrients from the air and will grow on the bark of a tree or on moss. My favorite of these air plants is the staghorn fern. Orchids and bromeliads are also popular air plants.
photo credit: cliff1066

Take the hook that is on the back of the epiphytic plants and hang it from the slates of your outdoor room divider. Stagger the way you hang the plants and mix in other hanging plants to add creativity and flair to your plant divider. colorful pots will also add to the arrangement.

You have just created a very decorative and unusual garden and created additional privacy in your backyard.

Your Epiphytic Plants can be brought in during the cooler winter months and over-wintered. You may even want to create an indoor aerial garden and mix herbs in with the Epiphytic plants. You will have added color and texture plus fresh herbs.

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As I was out walking the property today I realized it’s the time of year to think about adding berries to your garden area. Berry plants need time to acclimate to their new surrounding and with the economy as strained as it is a Berry garden would be a perfect addition to your backyard garden areas.
photo credit: Caitlinator

Homegrown berries also offer you the opportunity for fresh non-chemical fruit just outside you door. With very little effort you can assemble a Berry Theme Garden that will supply you with fresh fruit and add beauty to your yard.

Berry facts and tips

• Every berry variety likes full sunlight and a well-drained soil
• Do not plant berry plants where tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplant has grown.
• Set out new berry plants as early in the spring as you can. This gives the plants time to adjust to the hot weather and transplant shock.
• Buy disease-free plants and varieties that claim to be disease resistant.
• Keep the plants roots moist before and during planting.
• Give ample space between plants for air circulation
• In the fall cover plants loosely with straw or the like as winter protection.
• Berry plants will thrive better with a south-or east-facing slope.
• Beware of planting berries in a hollow or bottom of a hill or an area that cold will collect.
• Mulch. Berry beds that are mulched will have less disease, retain moisture in the soil and need less weeding and care.

To start a strawberry bed

Dig rotted compost or aged manure into the soil and place the plants eight inches apart in rows 30 inches apart. Make sure the new leaf buds should be at soil level. (This is the biggest mistake people make when planting strawberries: they plant them too deep!) Water the plants in dry weather preferably in the morning and mulch using straw to preserve moisture. This will keep the ripened berries off the ground. Berries that lay on the ground tend to rot.
photo credit: Edgar Zuniga Jr.

How to start a blueberry bed.

Blueberries need generous rainfall and well-drained soil so place  the garden in an area you can easily water.

Dig a trench or holes at least 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide and fill the trench with a mixture of 2 parts peat moss, 2 parts sand, and 1 part garden soil. For a successful blueberry garden its essential to take the time to prepare the soil properly! Space the plants about four feet apart. Mulch the plants heavily at planting time and every year add more straw, peat, or leaves.

How to start Blackberries, Raspberries,  Loganberries, and Boysenberries.

These berry varieties need a moisture-retaining soil and a sunny spot to grow well. Before planting the berry bed, dig in plenty of manure or peat moss and compost. Space the Raspberry, Loganberry, and Boysenberry plants two to four feet apart in rows that are six to eight feet apart. Blackberries need even more space so allow 4 to 6 feet between plants and 6 to 9 feet between rows.

Now that I gave you planting space for the berries, I will admit I do not plant in rows. I plant in circular gardens that have a different ground level for each fruit. The strawberries have their own small-tiered garden area. The blue berries are planted in a mound that is oval in shape and the larger berries that grow tall are grouped by their varieties and placed in the garden area where they will not cast shade on the other berries. These berries are grown or a trellis. The berry garden has a theme look with a bench, a few wandering plants and garden art scattered here and there.

I believe that a trellis makes harvesting easier for taller berry plants, plus I like the look.

I grow about 25 strawberry plants, six blueberry plants and about 30 berry bushes. I produce more than enough for my family.

Berries are a wonderful addition to any garden area. If your garden space is limited many of these plants will grow in containers, hanging baskets or on trellises.

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photo credit: kretyen

Theme gardens are also influenced by their location. Is it a free flowing garden with shrubs and trees? Or a container garden layered in height and influenced by the pots and containers used for the plants? If you have a sprawling yard you may have several gardens or make a maze garden or Labyrinth garden area. For those areas under trees, a shade garden is the perfect solution

Families can also influence these gardens: their needs and time they can spend in a garden area, pets, or heritage. Zen gardens are beautiful and take more time to set up but less time to maintain. A spiral herb garden is beautiful, practical and relaxing. The spiral garden also offers use of the herbs for health, kitchen use or crafting. And don’t forget the family pet by creating a doggie play garden.
photo credit: Allan Ferguson

Apartment and city gardeners may set up a rooftop garden, patio garden or use the windowsills in their home for growing. A Teacup Windowsill garden is whimsical and will provide herbs for cooking and teas. Or create the perfect mini indoor theme garden: the terrarium.

And last but not least is the use on containers and pots for small instant theme gardens. Container gardening lends itself to mini them gardens easily. Containers can also be added to other gardens to change the look instantly.

To change the look of a theme garden quickly add garden art, different garden furniture or rockery work. Theme garden changes can relate to plants only. This is where container plants, hanging baskets, window planters add instant beauty.  Your ideas for theme gardens are limited only by your imagination

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I consider myself blessed to have a nice piece of property with rolling hills and streams and creeks. I wanted to do something “green” for the community I live in plus share gardens and ideas with those who wish to stop by, so the idea of a perennial gardens business was born.

There are many steps to take in the business I have planned and I will be adding different gardening aspects to the grounds as time and interest in the project takes off. My gardens will also be organic and will have no use of chemicals or chemical fertilizers.

I have taken the first steps by rounding up a variety of perennial plants and laying out my working gardens. At this time I have two gardens that I am tilling and adding natural compost and nutrients to the garden. This will start the garden soil off rich and healthy.

One garden is in a shape of a boomerang It measures about 35 foot by 20 foot. The other garden, which I am tilling today, is rectangular and will be about 35 foot by 25 foot. This is my retired vegetable garden and has to be tilled under and have compost, leaves and straw added. These will be the working base for my later gardens. During the late fall and spring I will be designing and showing you step by step how the new gardens will be set up.

I hope you join me in this adventure and share ideas and success stories with me. Tomorrow I will show you the rough plots and share a few more ideas on what I hope to accomplish. Happy gardening all! Denise
photo credit: Alyzande

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Your salad garden can consist of a variety of lettuces, Bok Choy, radishes, peas, onions, cucumbers, beans, carrots, edible flowers and herbs.

To set up a salad garden select a sunny spot for a garden bed or a collection of containers. Lettuces are best when they are young so make sure you will check on the garden regularly. Hint: A salad garden is best by a patio or just outside the kitchen.

Place your salad garden near a water source. Most lettuce or green crops need plenty of water. It’s also best to give the garden an eastern exposure as well.

Graph paper will help you get a better feel for laying the garden out. I always use paper and sketch a rough plan. Its always different when I finally plant but it helps me remember the crops I want and place them in a more useful and pleasing way.

Put the tallest plants on the east side so they don’t cast a shadow all day long on the plants below. You can also use that shadow to keep greens sweet at midsummer. Spinach is one crop that will benefit from this shady spot.

Edge with the garden with edible flowers like nasturtium and dianthus for color and make the planting area inviting. Herbs also make a great border.

To get the most use out of your garden plan a tight planting and a quick-succession harvest. One example is four leaf lettuce plants in 1 square foot, or four spinach, two chard or a dozen green onion sets. Harvest the first leaves of each and later the whole plant.

It’s important to design your garden so it suits you and your family all season. Bush cucumbers will replace early Bibb lettuce. And you can replace tomatoes with fall collards and garlic at season’s end. Lettuce varieties can be panted until hard frost hit. And if determined you can use cold frames to extend the season.

Tips:

• Make use of succession planting (replacing old crops with new crops) to make better use of your garden space
• Dwarf and bush varieties take less space.
• If you trellis some of your vegetables it will make better use of space and will add dimension and interest to the garden. And if you put a trellis along one side it will help shade summer spinach and chives. Peas will also benefit from this.
• Container gardens make for an interesting salad garden and can be moved indoors for a longer growing season

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One theme garden garden twist is a Color Theme Garden. The garden can be restful or a place that energizes and inspires. You can choose a color for a season, your favorite color or base the garden on an overall theme.

Even though my color theme garden changes each year I still use a tree in the background for light contrast and often will include container shrubs for added color and texture. And there is always a piece of new garden art to create dimension and interest

Designing a Color Theme Garden

• Consider the purpose of your garden and select a color or several closely related colors that will fulfill that purpose.  Youe will also want to take into consideration the design and cost.
• First I draw a garden design using graph paper. I often use cut patterns for trees and shrubs then work with different size shapes of colors to get a feel for what I want.
• Put a small tree or large shrub in the back. Choose a tree that flowers in the color you want for your garden. If you’re working with a large space, several trees or shrubs can form the backbone of your design. If your design will stay the same from year to year I would go with several trees and shrubs. By choosing carefully you can keep color and texture in this garden the better part of the year.
• Next add smaller shrubs and perennials to your design. By looking online or asking at your local nursery and greenhouses you can select plants that will have color or flowers from spring until fall.
• For added color, flair and to fill in any holes select a few annuals for your design. Or think out of the box and add vegetables.
• Last but not least add garden art that complements your design. Garden art is an unlimited area limited only by your imagination. I have one friend who changes the garden art each week and their garden is always an adventure.

Also, one of the most successful color theme gardens I ever saw was planted all in containers and created on a balcony. So, small spaces make great gardens too!

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Here are a few suggestions to make lighting the yard successful, fun and easy.

• Use the minimum amount of light so that you can enjoy the special qualities of nighttime. If you supply too much light you will ruin the enchanting feel that the evening brings to gardens. One of the best ways to create this feeling to try and simulate the light level of a bright, moonlit night.

• Light the pathways in your garden. Even if you don’t have defined paths you probably have a route or two through the yard or gardens that you will want illuminated for safety. Use path lights or create a series of pools of light that lead through the garden.

• It’s best to hide the sources of the lights. It adds to the natural look. If you use any lamps choose a softer non-glaring bulb for a more natural look.

• Garden torches and small hanging lanterns from trees add a welcoming look to yards. I make garden lanterns from small glass jars and older teacups. I hang them or from wire and varying heights or sit them around the yard on rocks or old stumps.

• You can also accent the most dramatic trees in the garden. The lighting emphasizes their natural beauty and adds much light to the yard.

• By planting flowers that reflect the night light and bloom at night you can add more color and fragrance to your yard. Moonlight Theme Gardens are very popular.

As with any garden art or added fixtures, use them with in moderation to to accent your yard and gardens.

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