Naming your garden instills warm feelings and creates an image for visitors to connect with. As the American playwright Eve Ensler notes, “I believe in the power and mystery of naming things. . . . I believe in naming what’s right in front of us because that is often what is most invisible.”
A garden that has a name is the first step toward making it “visible.” For example, a flower patch can be named, Mom’s Garden, and then, in a wink of an eye, the multicolored assortment of flowers that she plants every year outside the back door becomes a special place. This is true for other things as well—if you name your idea for a screenplay, then it is on its way to reality, and you now have to write it. Likewise, if you name your budding business, then it makes it easier to create those business cards and logo.
So go ahead and name that sunny spot in your yard, maybe Sunset Corner. Now you can create an intimate garden bathed in the blooms of late day and evening. Try planting the native wildflower evening primrose (Oenothera spp.), which blooms at dusk, or try tropical four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) and moonflowers (Ipomoea alba), which are nocturnal bloomers. If you name that low, always wet area Rain Garden, then a new world of floral possibilities opens up! Fill it with Japanese water iris (Iris ensata), golden ragwort (Packera aurea), turtlehead (Chelone spp.), and more. The name may come before the garden ever appears.
Placemaking depends on a name. This is true for a flower garden, as well. Brainstorm about names. It’s fun, makes your garden “visible,” and gets the creative juices flowing. You can call an area the Lookout Garden or the Blue Border. Of course, I am assuming that the name you choose will be descriptive, but that may not be your style. I guess you could always name your garden Bob . . .
A special sign, fashioned from metal in the shape of a rising sun, happily announces an organic garden. It is a top part of an entry gate. The sun shines through the cut-out letters, lighting up the name.
You can always call your garden, “Garden.” ’Nuf said.
Simple hand-painted signs can be made using a sanded board. Apply exterior house paint or craft paint to cover the entire board. Hand-letter the name using a paint pen. Once dry, you may choose to sand the board slightly to remove a little paint. It is a great way to make it look distressed and aged. Final touch: apply clear polyurethane over the sign to protect it.
The 20th-century English novelist and garden designer Vita Sackville-West said it best about cottage gardens: “It’s cram, cram, cram, every chink and cranny.” Do not be afraid to mix colors and crowd them in. I planted blue annual salvia ‘Victoria Blue’ throughout this bed and added all sorts of flower colors around it.