Mother Nature, to paraphrase an old saying, abhors bare ground.
So does Claude Hansen.
The retired Sacramento gardener planted his 15-by-30-foot backyard so intensively that hardly a spot of earth shows. It's a bountiful jungle of foliage and flowers where one plant grows alongside and into the next. The various shades of green soothe the eye.
A wooden boardwalk just wide enough for two people leads from the back door to a spa nestled beneath the Japanese maples. The walkway widens to accommodate a small table and chairs. A raised planter at the back adds another dimension to the garden.
"I tell people not to overplant, but I don't take my own advice," Hansen says.
The result: a happy marriage of form and texture, from the umbrellalike aralias to the long needles of the mugo pine, from the lacy maple leaves to the large, tropical-looking cannas.
He's taken advantage of a sunny area along the street to plant a hedge of one of his favorite flowers, roses. People passing by can enjoy the melodious symphony of color: butter yellow, luscious coral, tangerine, fiery red, blazing orange, deep pink.
Joan Hansen calls the plantings "small garden magic."
Many owners of small gardens lament the lack of space to spread out. They believe a small garden is restrictive and hard to design.
Nothing could be further from the truth, says landscape designer Roberta Walker (www.robertawalker.com).
"There's more potential to do something creative in a small garden than a large one," she says. "When I see a small space, I'm excited. It's easier to do something wonderful in a small space than a large one – unless you have lots of money."
Be creative, she says. Add layers and levels either by building raised planters or walls, or by using containers.
"Layers and levels give you the illusion of having more space, and your eye will not automatically go to all four corners," she says.
Choose a style and stick with it, she advises. Don't try to combine plants that belong in an Asian garden with cottage garden plants.
Plant choices are really important. "It's like choosing a piece of art, and they should complement each other," Walker says. For example, don't use all large-leaf plants or all small-leaf plants. Mix it up. Put plants next to each other at the nursery to see how they look together.
Look for plants that earn their keep year-round. Walker uses 80 percent evergreens in a small garden. Deciduous plants, those that lose their leaves in the fall, must have interesting bark, fall foliage or berries.
"Don't depend on annuals. Stick them between plants for color, but remember they have a limited season," Walker says.
Finally, put in a small path, some drifts of cobble or a stream bed of pebbles. "Even if it goes nowhere, there's the idea that it's going somewhere," she says.
If he could do his garden over again, Hansen says, he'd put the spa in the corner so he'd have more room for, well, plants.
Call The Bee's Pat Rubin, (916) 321-1075.
