A clear frame is more important,Between plants must matching and combinations and color should coordinate.adding some evergreen shrubs are necessary.
{{gwi:33962}}

From what side will this garden mostly be viewed? What is behind it? What direction does the sun come from?

Karin L

I hope you know that those mints are going to spread like mad!

I don't mind the mint, I love mint and I use it often, I'll just try to keep a close eye on them. The sun is often on the 7-3-7 side, becasue the 10 ft side is partly shaded by a large cedar tree that is sort of close by. As for most viewed, i'm not really sure, here's some more info on the surroundings and what is in the shade. Nothing is really closed in by a fence , it's just surrounded by a pathway .

{{gwi:33964}}

It's great having mint at the ready, but strongly urge you to grow it in a planter, submerged or on the surface. Here is my zone 8 area, mint will devour the place. Your plant choices look great. Perhaps just fill in with some colorful, fairly low growing annuals this year.

The issue with sun is whether the plants that need sun to thrive will get enough of it. The question is, what exposure do those plants have? You need to know whether it is north, west, etc, because, for example, an east exposure will not be enough sun for sun-loving plants in most climates, but it might be if you live in a hot climate. You haven't given us your climate, and that matters in most gardening and landscaping questions.

I believe there is a beginner's gardening forum where you might have more luck discussing this question. But to be honest, there is nothing that can replace the site-specific learning that comes from trial and error, so I would encourage you to plant as you have planned, and see how things do end up meeting your needs, or not.

Dahlias need to be dug up in fall and taken inside, and other plants will need replanting in subsequent years, so you will have plenty of opportunity to tweak from year to year - something that gardeners have to perpetually do, if only because plants grow!

Karin L

I think the idea of annuals to fill in makes more sense than anything else. Or some temporary perennial placement. That viburnum (snowball bush) will fill in the entire area in no time. I'd also be just slightly concerned about the placement of the lavender and the rosemary so close to such water lovers as the basils.......just saying :-)

It doesn't look like it is drawn to scale or if it is, the viburnum is now only about 2' wide but it will eventually get 10-15' wide by 10-15' tall. That's pretty much the entire garden!

Yeah this is a rough sketch, my snow ball plant isn't very big yet and it gets trimmed often . The garden is on the south side, so it gets a good amount of light. I live in Portland, which has a mild climate with quite a bit of rain in the winter.

I will also add another voice suggesting containment of the mint. If you can get your hands on some used or damaged clay chimney tile, they make good containers for spreaders like mint if set so that they are a few inches out of the ground. It's just easier to deal with the problem before it happens.

Here is a 3rd vote for mint. I like the rounding design. The iris will be pointy at the corner, I was thinking something like new zeland flax might pop in the middle, something with a different texture, even harry lauders walking stick or sense your up north a witch hazel for winder color. Just some thoughts off the top of my head.

Here is a 3rd vote for mint. I like the rounding design. The iris will be pointy at the corner, I was thinking something like new zeland flax might pop in the middle, something with a different texture, even harry lauders walking stick or sense your up north a witch hazel for winder color. Just some thoughts off the top of my head.