Plants with meaning
A garden friend of mine did a program years ago where she talked about creating a garden with meaning. As best I remember, she was considering being thoughtful about the plants that are included in a display bed, so that those of us that were garden educators would have some foundation to base our interpretation on -- not just having to be creative about it! This means using plants that have interesting stories, or that 'do something' interesting. I love to think about planting plants that have meaning. To me, it means selecting plants for a garden that not only have personal meaning, but that also 'work for living.' In a garden, this might include memory plants (if you can grow them) - plants that were given to you or sentimental favorites - ones that your family might have grown or that you grew in another place. Or, they might be plants that remind you of favorite plants or places -- my gardening companion loved the Western hemlocks of our California roots, so we ...