How to attain an Oh, La, La garden

Structure creates the foundation around which to develop an attractive, interesting garden. Walkways, fences, hedges, outcropping stones and arbors should be the first elements placed into the garden, followed by trees and shrubs. Once these bones are in place, it is easy to fill in with interesting perennial combinations.

2. Bigger is way better

Make garden beds bigger than you think you will need. Proportion is the key to an attractive garden. Larger beds enable you to use bigger plants with bold, tropical-looking foliage without looking out of scale.

3. Create a hummingbird theme park

Hummingbirds are the most entertaining of all wildlife. Attract hummingbirds by planting an Embothrium coccinium (Chilean fire tree) and lots of perennials and annuals with red flowers. Design a patio in the heart of the garden where you can eat dinner and watch Howie impress Hanna with the hummingbird-mating dance. Oh, la, la!

4. Flower power isn't enough

Remember that flower color is ephemeral - here today, gone tomorrow. Rely less on flowers and more on trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals with colorful foliage to provide long-term color and to create exciting combinations with flowers. Let your personality shine through. If you enjoy using wild combinations with decorative Brussels sprouts in your mixed border, go for it!

5. Repetition doesn't bear repeating

Too much repetition is boring. Integrate a diverse collection of trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals into the mixed border. Look for rare and unusual treasures to add interest and appeal. The actual plants in the border don't have to be the same as long as there is a pattern of color, texture and form.

6. What smells? Sooooo good!

Fragrance adds a whole other dimension to the garden. There are fragrant plants for every season: witchhazel, sarcococca and Daphne odora in winter; wisteria, rhododendron `King George Loderi' and various bulbs in spring; and finally, the wonderful roses and oriental lilies in summer. It's fun to watch folks' socks roll up and down when they smell the flowers.

7. Be an arty-smarty

Integrate art into the garden to add class, elegance and personal taste. But don't overdo it. There are only so many pink flamingos that look good in one garden.

8. Let your garden rock

Large outcropping stones are sculptures of nature. They evoke a feeling of stability and constancy, and they contrast wonderfully with flowering or deciduous plants, which convey a sense of seasonal change and the cycle of life. The Japanese call this a union of opposites and believe that it deepens one's relationship with the garden.

9. Keep on keeping on

Never ever think that the garden is finished. Expect to move at least 1,325 plants every time you buy a new one and have to figure out where to put it.

10. Garden side-by-side with experts.

To get brilliant ideas to improve your gardening technique and design, read the P-I Northwest Gardens pages, listen to "Gardening with Ciscoe" on KIRO-AM/710 and watch "Gardening with Ciscoe" on KING-TV/5, KONG-TV/6-16 and NorthwestCN-TV/3.

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