Trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and bulbs are also evaluated at Hiddenhaven for their aesthetic effectiveness in the garden. Color, texture, form, scale and proportion, and effects of light are just a few of the elements observed and used as a basis for my design work as well as my book The Well-Designed Mixed Garden. At just about any time and any day the gardens need to be poised for photography for publication in books or magazines or for speeches. The information in both books has been shared for many years in lectures with audiences from the across the US to S. America, New Zealand, Australia and England. In England I’ve spoke several times at Wisley, The English Gardening School, Brookhill Garden Courses, as well as Kew, Oxford Botanic Garden and for Specialty Plants.

Most recently I completed a new book titled, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants. All of these high impact low care selections grow in the gardens and I’ll discuss many of them in the following text. The book was inspired by my desire to have dynamic highly ornamental plants that will be low maintenance due to my active lifestyle and the need I saw among other gardeners with hectic lives. Between family, running a business, and extensive training and racing in triathlons at the national and world level, I don’t have the time or the patience to devote to difficult divas! Plants must earn their keep if they are going to be allowed to stay in the gardens. They need to be long-lived, tolerant of cold, heat, and the humidity of the region. They shouldn’t require frequent pruning or division, staking, heavy feeding, and they need to be disease, insect and drought resistant, non-invasive and deer proof.

Due to my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in horticulture and my early work in gardens such as the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium and Knighthayes Court in Devon, the garden’s design is plant driven. They are literally gardener’s gardens. Hiddenhaven is located in central Ohio north of Columbus, the capital of the state. It is in the USDA hardiness zone 5a (average minimum temperature of -20 F (-28.8 C), and heat zone 5 which has 30 to 45 days above 86 F (30 C). The gardens receive an average maximum precipitation of 36 inches (91.44 cm) per year. We have difficulty with heavy clay soil and have numerous pests including fourlined plant bug, Japanese beetle, bag worm, pine sawfly and deer. I’ve been asked on numerous occasions “can you actually garden there?” There are numerous states in the Midwest with very similar conditions. And although there are many areas in the US and England where the climate is more suitable to gardening we have embraced our conditions to create artistic, beautiful gardens in spite of it all!

The gardens are comprised of about 8,000 ft. sq. of mixed borders which sit one-third of a mile off the road in the middle of 35 acres of fields, wetland and woodland carved with paths for hiking and cross country skiing. It was originally farmland and is still neighbored by horse and dairy farms. The gardens started as tradition herbaceous borders inspired by the British borders I had visited and worked in as a student. They contained give-away plants that had survived my master’s research on overwintering and cold hardiness of perennials. Many deletions and additions have occurred throughout the years and the gardens are always changing. I’ve been fortunate to have talented women who have helped me in the gardens once a week to gain experience so they can then go on to form their own design and maintenance businesses.

To create a sense of place in accordance with our location and log home, the gardens are designed in an informal style with native and non-native plants creating somewhat of a stylized meadow in many of the areas. Here plants are allowed to seed and colonize. Large drifts of gateway Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum ‘Gateway’), summer sun heliopsis (Heliopsis helianthoides ‘Summer Sun’), Korean angelica (Angelica gigas), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and various ornamental grasses such as bottle-brush grass (Elymus hystrix), wild-oat (Chasmanthium latifolium), cosmopolitan maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus ‘Cosmopolitan’) , and princess fountain grass (Pennisetum purpureum ‘Princess’) mingle to create an explosive display within an envelope of surrounding woods . In another area of the gardens rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium), look again phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘Look Again’), Rehbraun switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Rehbraun’), tall purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea ‘Skyracer’) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida var. speciosa) create another meadow-like feel.

Due to my extensive travel abroad the overall style of the garden is extremely eclectic which also conveys my rather obsessive plant and art collecting tendencies. Color is key throughout the gardens. Foliage color, texture and form are currently featured and unusual plants grow alongside more common plants used in uncommon ways. Unusual annuals add needed punch among the hardy plants- Cordyline fruticosa ‘Dr. Brown’, inky pink coleus (Solenostemon ‘Inky Pink’), redbor kale (Brassica olereacea ‘Redbor’),magilla perilla (Perilla frutescens ‘Magilla’) and honey bush (Melianthus major) are few of the favorites. Also containers full of drought loving plants like agaves, manfreda, furcraea and kalanchoe thyrsiflora spend the summer on the back porch as a respite from winter in the conservatory. Many hydrangea grace the gardens due to their high impact and ease of care. One vignette features complementary colors with Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Penny Mac’ and brilliant autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliant’). I use numerous dwarf and intermediate growing conifers such as dwarf corkbark fir (Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica ‘Compacta’), and skylands spruce (Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’) which provide much needed color and form during our long winters.

The front border’s split complementary colors are based on the colors of Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ including violets, blues, blue- greens, and yellows in the spring and they heat up in the summer with Bowles’ golden sedge (Carex elata ‘Aurea’) , dragon’s eye pine (Pinus densiflora ‘Oculus-draconis’), Lilium lancifolium var. splendens, and Lilium henryi, blue fortune agastache (Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’), Issai purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’), spiny bear’s breeches (Acanthus spinosus), and plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides). A large vine of Graham Thomas honeysuckle grows on the front of the house up a custom made iron trellis whose style is repeated in an adjacent porch railing and arbor in the back garden. The scent of the honeysuckle permeates the warm summer nights and stirs emotion.

A customized chicken coop that houses 10 different “designer breeds” which lay blue, turquoise and brown eggs reflects the properties heritage. But it sports modern bright colors of yellow, cobalt blue and red which repeat through the garden in benches, pots, glass sculptures and trellises. These colors are also repeated in our home, on our porches and in the conservatory attached to our home to create unification of all the spaces.

I feel that I and my family have grown along with the gardens. After years of working in cooperation with it in an attempt to make it into the way I’d like it and accepting that it will also teach me the way it’s going to be I’ll have to say that I’m content with it. And I’m extremely appreciative of all that it has given to me, both in my career as well as personal life. I think that’s a good place to be.

What’s next: For the next year I’ll tour promoting my new book and high impact low care plants. I’m taking on design commissions again and currently I’m working on the details to speak in Uruguay and Argentina in September 2009.

Pruning Perennials: 5 quick tips

1. Many spring flowering perennials such as Iberis, Arabis, Aubrietia, Phlox subulata, and Dianthus gratianopolitanus should be cut back by one-half after flowering to maintain a dense mound and prevent an unsightly hole in the center of the clump.
2. Multi-branched summer and autumn flowering plants such as Heliopsis, Echinacea, Phlox paniculata, and asters can be cut back by one-half prior to flowering when the plants are 16-24 inches (40.64-60.96 centimeters) in height to delay flowering (in an attempt to time bloom for a special event or combination), and reduce plant height to eliminate staking. Flowering can be delayed by 10-14 days in most cases.
3. Mounded perennials like Baptisia and Amsonia respond to being sheared by one-third after flowering to form an attractive full shrub-like plant rather than a leggy irregular form.
4. Plants that may have had pests or disease during the season should be pruned for the winter and debris should be removed from the gardens to prevent further spread of the pest. Plants that are slightly tender for the area should not be pruned for the winter as they may overwinter more successfully if protected by the foliage. Prune in the spring after all danger of cold has passed.
5. Select the right tool for the job. By-pass pruners (secateurs), never-dull or bonsai/grape shears, as well as hedge shears are used for various pruning jobs in the gardens throughout the year.

Recently, I have become a guest contributor to the VibrantNation.com website.   You can read a brief profile they posted about me by clicking here. VibrantNation.com is an online destination for women 50+, a peer-to-peer information exchange populated by smart and passionate women, who are looking for tips and information, as well as important opinions and attitudes on culture, money, food, style, wellness, travel, gardening, politics, and more—the topics that interest WOMEN WHO KNOW. VibrantNation.com connects women who recognize the strength in each other and share each other’s desire to make the most of life every day.     My thanks to VibrantNation for giving me the opportunity to share my love of gardening with new friends  everywhere! Here is a direct link to my content on the Vibrant Nation site.

The popular blog GardenRant catches up with Tracy on the lecture tour.  Read Elizabeth Licata’s coverage of the event in Buffalo and a brief interview here and here.

Click “Continue Reading” below for Italian garden ideas….but first, here’s a slide show with some photos I took while in Italy. Enjoy!

Italian Garden Ideas
*Most Italians live in condos or apartments but still love plants and have containers and window boxes enhancing their small spaces–right now the florist crop Cyclamen were popular and could be found sitting on window sills. Italians will line pots of plants out on the pavement to create a hedge effect around their space mimicking the hedging in large formal Italian gardens which create “rooms”. This is a wonderful technique for city gardeners to adopt in the US.
*Italians who live in villas in the country side or who have small country homes normally garden with vegetables and herbs but also some ornamentals–grapes, garlic, lettuce, olives, cherries, figs, artichokes,apples and peaches are abundant and sometime espaliered to create enclosure. They are often planted among ornamentals–as ornamentals. This is a great technique for American gardeners to incorporate into their beds & borders which will bring fresh fruit, vegetables, and herbs to the table.
*Large Tuscan gardens like Villa La Pietra and Villa Gamberaia (one of the premier Italian Villas in Tuscany) are in the Renaissance Garden Style. Design elements which we can adopt include:
A. Gardens are a peaceful retreat from a hectic life style
B. Vegetables, fruits, and herbs are woven into the design and appear ornamental–some fruit trees are trained as arches or over pergolas
C. Hedging with boxwood et al create living walls and are used to outline beds and create enclosure or rooms
D. Space is symmetrically divided (symmetrical layout is the hallmark of any Italian garden) with the main axis of the home being the main garden axis– and often divided in a quadrilateral fashion (4 beds) with a center circle bed or water feature–my back garden is designed in this fashion with 4 square beds and a circular focal center bed. Think in shapes using squares, rectangles, triangles and circles.
E. Vertical forms from Italian cypress are prevalent in the gardens and countryside–we can mimic with upright junipers or arborvitae.
F. Terracing is used to divide spaces into rooms–this can even be used in the smallest garden to make it appear larger by changing levels. Hardscaping is key in Italy due to the harsh climate—pick out some fun stone for your own garden. Trellises may also divide space and again can be used in small gardens.

G. Potted plants are often lined out to create rhythm (movement) in the garden by their repetition–using citrus trees (Italians love their lemon trees and scented geraniums). They are often places in balanced symmetry. Americans can easily do the same and bring plants inside for the winter in cold climates.
H. Water is always a part of classical Italian gardens—it doesn’t have to be a grand fountain–even the smallest container of water can bring a cooling effect and bring the sky to ground level in a small American garden.
I. Personal touches are often a part of the garden and can be seen in statues, coat-of-arms on garden walls etc.–incorporate your personal passions in your American garden as I’ve done with a sculpture of our son Zachary. ENJOY A TOUCH OF ITALY IN YOUR GARDEN…CIAO!

Division now is particularly suitable to spring and summer flowering perennials. You know a perennial needs division if there is a reduction in the flowering or the vigor of the plant, a hole develops in the center, or there is a “traffic jam” appearance to the stems.

One of my favorite quick and easy methods of division, that I learned over 25 years ago (yikes!) while working at the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium, is the double-fork method. This is great for large thick clumps of plants, such as Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum xsuperbum), hosta, daylily (Hemerocallis) and border phlox (Phlox paniculata). To divide clumps using this method, first lift the entire clump from the ground with a spade. Then insert on spading fork into the center of the clump, and insert a second fork parallel to the first, setting the forks back-to-back with the tines of the two forks intersecting. Pull the forks inward and then out-ward, and the clumps will separate in two. You might have to repeat this process several times with a large clump. Once the large clump is broken up, a sharp nonserrated knife can be used for further divisions to obtain smaller pieces.  Perennials such as peonies, which are fleshy rooted, do not divide well with the double-fork method and are best divided using a knife.

Here’s a  quick video on this subject:

I cover division and planting in detail in my book The Well-Tended Perennial Garden and you may have heard us discuss this topic on Martha Stewart Living Radio on Sirius Satellite for the Living Today show with Mario Bosquez on Monday September 8, 2008.  You may have tuned into the new show Daytime Columbus on WCMH-TV, Channel 4 Columbus, NBC4I.com, with Host Gail M. Hogan on September 23, 2008 where we demonstrated the double-fork technique and discussed follow-up considerations with soil and watering.  If so, welcome to the website!

Hi!  I’m excited to let you know I have a new book being released in January 2009 titled 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants: Tough But Beautiful Plants that Anyone Can Grow. I think it will be useful for all of us with busy lives seeking dynamic, outstanding plants that are also low care. Many are deer, pest and insect resistant, drought tolerant, long lived, they don’t require frequent pruning, daily deadheading, fertilizing, regular division or staking. What a dream come true!   Click on the BOOKS tab for more info or click on the cover photo to visit the Timber Press website.