What style of garden?

Are you primarily an ornamental gardener, or do you prefer yard space to be 95% edible garden? We have been both - but for the first time in our gardening history, our primary focus is on food production. I have to say though, as determined as we are, we're not very good at it - not yet anyway.

And still a funny thing happened recently when I saw a particular plant on sale at the shops. Being the sucker I am for a "reduced" sticker, I couldn't resist this particular special either. Only it wasn't for an edible plant - it was an ornamental one.

I looked it over carefully; made sure the soil wasn't dry and had only a few spent leaves. For the $2 price tag, I have to say it was in great condition. However, I almost talked myself out of it. The "edible garden" blinkers were well and truly on. That all changed with one sniff. The familiar fragrance, suddenly drew me back to all those suburban backyards we'd ever lived in previously.

Who can walk past the Star Jasmine in bloom, and NOT recognise that familiar sweet scent? It was everywhere in our suburban lives in the past.

Star Jasmine or Trachelospermum jasminoides
Picture taken from the Gardening Australia fact sheet

Then it occured to me what has been missing in our gardening attempts here. Ornamentals! Not simply because they are ornamentals, but rather having transcended horticultural realms abruptly, we've suddenly felt uninspired by our poor results as food production gardeners.

We knew how to grow ornamentals however - more aptly put, ornamentals were forgiving to neglect and conditions no veg garden would ever tolerate. They were often prolific in bloom and put on a lot of growth in their first year. How long does it take a fruit tree to be as majestic? Oh, fruit trees are so worth the effort, once they've grown for several years, but in the meantime...

I'm not suggesting ornamentals are better than any edible garden, but they do make the transition more enjoyable. Why wallow in brown-thumb-itis when the corn succumbs to drought, or you forget to progressive sow to fill that empty space created from the harvest? Ornamentals fill those empty spaces, and keep growing long after the vegies have past their prime.

As gardeners, we need little reminders why we're doing what we're doing. Especially if gardening is being attempted in weather extremes, or starting from scratch with poor soils.

You may wonder why I would include "style" of a garden, in my land management series? After all, isn't that what lifestyle programs are for? I consider the style of a garden, the catalyst for drawing you into the garden in the first place. It's fine to make the primary concern habit for wildlife, reducing soil erosion, even attempting self-sufficiency - but it doesn't all have to be hard work.

If by incorporating a style you like (putting your personal stamp on it, so to speak) you are drawn into the garden more - then you're going to stick to it, even when everything else seems to go wrong.

Of course, it wouldn't be responsible if I didn't also include some timely reminders about some ornamentals. If they aren't a native, then they need monitoring and sensible stratagies to keep them in check. Be aware if they have weed status in your area, and take precautions. If they have an invasive root system, plant them inside a root guard. Make sure seeds can't be swept away by water run-off - and of course, don't position a highly flammable plant near the house, especially if you live in a bushfire prone area.

There is always the option of container planting too - if you're worried they may still get away on you. We have a german ivy, for example, which has travelled with us since we've been together. So that's about 11 years now. It's always lived in pots. At the moment I'm attempting to train it over an archway - and yes, it's still in a pot!

Now, the next plan is to find a suitable position for our Star Jasmine...