Inspiration: Planning for Next Year’s Garden

By: Jennifer Frost

During this time of year, I am eagerly awaiting the seed catalogs that I have requested to plan next year’s garden. The first step of my planning and preparing process is to look for inspiration. Typically, my inspiration comes from searches on Google, movie scenes, or youtube videos that I watch. However, this year I was able to go on vacation and was inspired on my trip. During my trip to Vegas, I saw the Bellagio Botanical Garden and it was magical.

The garden was absolutely beautiful and had a whimsical theme, including mushrooms, fairies, and landscaping made of thousands of flowers. It was incredible how much work goes into creating the gardens and is even more impressive because it is changed throughout the year to reflect different times, events, and seasons. I loved the warm combinations of yellows, oranges, and reds. In addition, there were a few places where deep purples and vibrant pinks were combined to create an eye-catching display.

The breath-taking combinations have left me with a lot of ideas for next year’s garden. A few ideas that I plan on implementing from my inspiration are:

• Combining yellows, oranges, and red varieties of spring bulbs (Tulips, Lilies, and Daffodils);

• Picking vibrant blues, pinks, and purple pollinator flowers to add color and bring bees into the garden; and,

• Potentially adding some whimsical lighting or water bath sculptures among the floral elements.

The Gardens from my trip have given me more to look forward to while I await the catalogs that I ordered and move to the next steps in the planning process of listing what I types and varieties of plants I need to order. As you look ahead to planning for next year’s garden or a future garden you have in your mind, take inspiration from all that is around you from google searches to exhibits at your travel destination.