Trying to figure out the ideal way to build a garden that pleases even the most judgmental of eyes? Got a lot of old gardening tools and urns laying around? Then, you might want to think about designing a rustic garden, complete with old-fashioned charm and quaint character. Even the hardest of gardening hearts melts at the sights and smells of a rustic garden.
Rustic gardens are not planned around order. You won’t find exquisitely manicured lines and angles, with all the plants and shrubs arranged in alphabetical order. We’re talking about untidy gardens, gardens that seem to mimic nature’s natural inclination to spread a bit wildly.
If you’re going to convert to rusticity so to speak, then you are going to have to become a gardener who uses the lightest of light touches. You have to give up some of the control that you tend to use. Really, you are letting the garden have a life of its own. You are asking what it wants, and then saying Okay, go for it.
Still, there are a few things you can do to make your garden more rustic.
For starters, look carefully at the space of the garden itself. Don’t rush to correct anything that seems off kilter – that bump of earth near the middle for example, or the large stone that juts out of the earth. These are natural and should be integrated into the garden accordingly.
Put a garden path in. Don’t labor over it – just sort of let it meander through the greenery. Use different kinds of material to build it – used bricks, spots of gravel, even sand. Remember, regularity and order isn’t the goal!
Use Hydrangea or other herbaceous shrubs to create borders to he garden – or build a stone wall. You want a low maintenance approach to hemming the garden in, one that promotes feelings of tranquility and privacy.
A gate isn’t a bad idea, either. If you can find one at a flea market or estate sale, then grab it. It doesn’t matter if you have a fence or not – the gate simply communicates a feeling of openness.
Finally, add some garden statues or even a gazing ball. Old garden urns and vases are nice, too. Terra cotta works nicely – especially if it is on the weathered side – but wooden ones work well, too. Keep in mind that when it comes to man-made materials in the rustic garden, cracks and chips and other signs of wear are pluses!