A Garden is Reborn

Last summer, when I was weeding and edging the focal bed at the adopt-a-plots in Ault Park, I stood back and took a good, hard look at the garden. Its time had come and gone—the garden was ready for a makeover. The shrubs were lanky, the roses quite sad and the few perennials that remained were more work than they were worth.

It is not always easy to look at a garden and say, time’s up! But sometimes you just need to turn the soil over and start fresh. I asked the owner of the focal bed if he would be open to some design ideas and to my great relief and delight he said, yes.

After reviewing my design, Peter sent in a team to help with the removal of the shrubs, amending of the soil and new plant installation. Each morning when I arrived at the park to work I couldn’t wait to see the new garden. Regular park visitors, who watched the transformation over a week’s time, were pleased with the results. But the real show was to come this spring and summer.

Huge bands of monarda glow red, beckoning people on the sidewalk to turn down the drive and enter the adopt-a-plot gardens. Coneflowers, butterfly bushes, sea holly, liatris spicata, Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Little Spire' and assorted annuals sway in the breeze with a variety of grasses. But what is most impressive is the wildlife that returned to this small garden patch. Butterflies, honeybees, bumblebees, finches and hummingbirds are in constant motion around the garden. What was once a garden that many people gave little notice is now the center of attention.