Garden design workshops are offered throughout the state.

Have you ever looked at your garden or landscape and thought, “Something’s not quite right, but I haven’t a clue about how to make it better?”

Take heart and get yourself to one of Lynn LaPointe Wiese’s garden design workshops sponsored by the Michigan State University (MSU) Extension service. Her design classes are hands-on and loaded with information you can start using right away. “Lynn is a natural teacher. She has the ability to get across information in a very effective manner,” says Mary McLellan, state coordinator for MSU’s Master Gardener program.

According to Wiese, “Designing on the fly is one of the biggest mistakes gardeners make. Gardeners love plants, so they tend to buy first and then try to find a spot later. So, often they end up with a hodgepodge—a disorganized collection of plants.

“If you are happy with this look in your garden, you can always cover yourself by saying you have a ‘collectors garden,’” Wiese says with a wink. Gardening, she adds, is about having one that is pleasing to your own eyes.

Wiese received a BLA (bachelor of landscape architecture) in recreation and parks management from the University of Maine, and in 1990 she received her MLA (master of landscape architecture) from Kansas State University where she passed the board to become a certified landscape architect.

Wiese currently lives in Mount Pleasant and is a member of HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative. Five years ago, she moved from Pennsylvania where she worked as an outdoor design specialist at one of the nation’s premier horticultural showplaces, Longwood Gardens. Longwood was originally created by industrialist Pierre S. duPont in 1907 at his country estate.

Shortly after arriving in Michigan she met Michigan State’s Mary McLellan, who had interned at Longwood. “There was a huge demand for garden design classes but not enough instructors,” McLellan explains. “Lynn had the teaching ability plus knowledge of the material, which is hard to find.”

In 2003, Wiese taught her first garden design workshop during the University’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Week, with 240 people signed up. Wiese and McLellan haven’t looked back, and have offered these workshops throughout the state in every year since.

“People were wanting more and more about garden design and it got to be too much information to put into one workshop,” Wiese explains. “The Advanced Garden Design I Workshop was launched in March 2004, and Mary McLellan and I introduced three more workshops in 2005: Advanced Garden Design II, Garden Design Graphics, and Garden Design Construction and Calculations.”

With these courses in place, Michigan State now offers a master gardener certification with a specialization in garden
design. “So many requests of master gardeners are for garden design,” comments McLellan. “So why not offer this area of specialization? The demand was there.”

If you can’t wait until the next course offering, Wiese offers tips for quick-fix landscaping. “The easiest thing you can do is to just crisp up your landscape. Simply edging your garden beds creates nice clean lines. Another quick fix is adding dark mulch to beds.”

Wiese recommends using hardwood bark that has been ground twice. The key to mulch is using one that is fairly decomposed. Since tree bark is not a living layer, it no longer pulls nitrogen from surrounding plants. Mulch made from the living part of a tree (wood chips, sticks) requires nitrogen to start the composting process and drains nitrogen from the very plants you are trying to protect.

“A test question to ask yourself about a mulch you are considering,” Wiese says, “is to ask yourself if you’d be able to till it in at the end of the summer or would it still be in an undecomposed state?” Wood chips are fine in garden paths, but not where it comes in contact with your plants.

Wiese recommends placing 3 inches of double-ground hardwood bark around woody plants and 1 to 2 inches around herbaceous (non-woody) plants. For an added touch, in early summer top-dress the bark with coco bean shells, which form a hard crust and trap moisture in.

As final words of wisdom, Wiese says, “Less is more, keep it simple. One real nice tree that captures attention, along with a group of perennials and mulch, can be very effective. One of this and one of that is not the way to go.”

Visit michigangardendesign.com for a complete listing of garden design classes offered throughout the state.

Rita Henehan is a freelance writer, photographer and member of Midwest Energy Cooperative, from White Pigeon. She is also an advanced master gardener. E-mail her at rchenehan@voyager.net