I had a revelation about my garden

Bulbarella's garden high in the mountains

I had a revelation about my garden while touring gardens with other blogger/gardeners in and around Asheville, North Carolina for our fifth Garden Bloggers' Fling

It came to me on the last day of our long weekend of seeing all kinds of gardens and hanging out with fellow kindred spirits who are  passionate gardeners who also like to write and blog about their passions.

I was at nearly the last garden when the revelation hit me, though I suspect that the revelation was there the whole time and I just couldn't see it. Or maybe I wasn't ready for it in the other gardens? A seed needs the right conditions to germinate. A revelation needs the right mindset to develop.

I should have seen the revelation way up in the mountains Outside Clyde where Christopher, our main Planner Man for fling, and his mother, affectionately referred to as Bulbarella because of all the bulbs she's planted, carve out their gardens in the lush.

The revelation was a nice takeaway from the trip. But even without my little revelation, the trip was worthwhile and wonderful because of the many bloggers, now friends, who made the same journey to Asheville.

I had my little revelation when I was in the garden of the historic 1889 WhiteGate Inn & Cottage admiring the plants, water features, and focal points.

I'm not sure I have a good photograph of the revelation but this picture, with the Oenothera sp., evening primrose, in the lower left hand corner provides a good example as does the picture above high up in the mountains in Bulbarella's lush garden.

I have some evening primrose in my garden and was thinking last week that I should contain it a bit because it's a spreader. Then I saw this evening primrose and I realized that I like gardens that are full and lush and cottage-y and that to achieve this style faster in my own garden, I should... oh dare I say it?

I should plant some more self-sowing, spreading perennials in my garden.

And I should not be so quick to weed them out if when they become a little loose and free amongst the other plants.  They can be temporary fill-in plants until other plants are added or grow bigger. Then I can pull out these temporary fill-in plants.

Now, mind you, I don't want to go all  berserk and plant some wildly spreading bamboo or variegated Bishop's  goutweed, but what would be so wrong with adding a few more ox-eye daisies or letting a little clump of evening primrose spread a little further?   As I get more plants, I can gradually weed out these fillers.

I am aware of the pitfalls, of the disastrous situation I could have in the garden if I don't choose the fillers wisely and edit some of them out eventually.

But I think I'm willing to risk it because there are still a lot of blank spots in my garden and I want a fuller, lusher, look.