The three biggest mistakes you're making in your garden

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I love having a garden, and caring for it. It's my favorite place to be, and when I'm not there I will visit other gardens. What can I say? I like gardens!

Some gardens are so spectacularly beautiful, and so well-cared for and designed that they take my breath away. My favorite garden in the whole wide world is the Huntington, in Los Angeles. Of course I'm glad to visit your garden, and chances are that you're making so many mistakes it makes me sad. I know it's rude for me to be invited to your garden, and after listening to you talking about how things just don't seem to grow for you, etc. to up and say, "You're doing it wrong!", so I'll write it here.

And here are the top three things that you're doing wrong in the garden:

1) Poor access to plants. I've seen people trying to step through their garden, accidentally squishing things, or maybe twisting an ankle. That's no fun. Your garden should be designed so that you can reach into it at a comfortable arm's length without stepping into the garden. My arms are about three feet long, so the widest point anywhere in my garden is six feet, with access on either side. The concept is based a perennial border, which is always six feet wide, no wider. You should never, ever, step into the soil. If you absolutely, positively have to have a step somewhere, put a flat rock to stand on. You should never step into a garden, ever - it's the equivalent of strolling across a dining room table. No. No.

2) A poorly thought-out watering system. Here in Phoenix, Arizona, if you're planning on lugging a hose out to water your garden, you've made a mistake. I've seen people try that, and just the thought of lugging a heavy hose out when it's over 100 degrees makes me kinda ill. And then the hose just ends up just sitting there all of the time. Ugly. And I've also seen watering systems that made the garden look as if it was something industrial, with lines, and valves all over the places. That's better than a garden hose, but is still ugly. And then there's the automatic watering systems that have been so poorly maintained that they water just about everything except the plants. Sidewalks don't need water, you know.

 3) Poor understanding of the mature size of plants. I don't know how many times I've seen razor-sharp agaves planted within a foot of where people walk, waiting to grow enough to become a needle to gouge someone walking by. Look at the mature size of a plant, and give it space to grow.

So there you go. I feel better. If you've made these mistakes, you're in luck, they're an easy fix. A garden should be a wonderful place, and you know how to do it.

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