By Lisha Astorga -

Finding Your Garden Personality

The number one question that I am asked in an interview, training, garden tour, whatever is -- What should I plant?  This seems to be foremost in everyone's minds be it novice or experienced gardeners. This is never an easy question to answer and to complicate matters we live in a desert...during a drought, so "Plant what you love!" has to be a qualified statement. How do we come to this answer? The short answer is you figure out what style of garden you like and then you plant water efficient, desert appropriate plants that will complete that look while meeting your lifestyle needs. Obviously much easier said than done! If we break it down into steps it's really not a complicated process.

Your first step is to find your Garden Personality.  You can ask yourself all the traditional questions like:  What is your garden going to be used for? Who is going to maintain your garden? Do you live here year round? How big is it? Do you have physical limitations? Allergies? What problems do you have? Wind, slope, shade, pests? Do you need screening? Do you have pets to consider? Budget? And the list goes on, but still not have the most important ones answered which are, What moves me? What makes me want to stop and stay awhile? What style garden am I in when I literally feel the stress of my day lift off of me? THAT is when you know you've found it. If you don't know if you want a cottage style garden, structural cactus garden, an oasis, Japanese tea garden or a Zen like contemporary garden, answering these questions will still leave you without a vision to inspire you to move forward. Some people can tell you immediately what they like. They can open a book and show you the picture or they know they like Mediterranean style gardens. Others like myself need a lot more guidance. I like gardens - ALL gardens. And then there are those who stare at you blankly when you are trying to help them and ask "There are different styles? I just want plants."

Now the question is how do we figure this out. Simple - get up off your couch and go see gardens, lots and lots of

gardens. Here in Southern California we have garden tours almost every week ranging from free to exorbitant. Go on them - as many of them as you can. These tours give you a behind the walls glimpse into the actual gardens of homeowners and frequently you get to speak to the actual homeowner. This is an invaluable tool. You will get to see how the garden actually functions in a home not just as a demonstration garden. Next go to Botanical Gardens and walk around. See where you are drawn. Take lots and lots of photos. Sit down on the benches and see how it feels. Can you imagine drinking your morning coffee here? Walk and drive around your neighborhoods. Look at your neighbor's gardens.  Make some notes about what you like or don't like. Talk to the neighbors whose yards you like - ask them questions. Now that you've seen all the "landscaped" areas, go on some hikes. There are many local organizations that lead tours or you can go on your own. See what grows naturally in our area. Hikes are an incredible way to see how plants naturally grow together. You see how the barrel cactus grows under the shade of the Palo Verde nestled up against a grouping of rocks with shots of yellow desert marigolds popping up all around. Again, take photos.  Do you like the oasis or the meadow of

wildflowers or the structural look of the cactuses or how about walking along a dry river bed in the shade of the desert willows and seeing the shadows on the rock formations? And now that you are fully exhausted from all this walking I've made you do, get comfy on your couch with gardening magazines and books. I am personally obsessed with Sunset's Western Landscape and their various gardening project series. They are like gorgeous picture books for me and I fill them with post it notes of things I love. I can sit for hours going through these books. I keep them and go through them again and again. Something might not fit my needs or spark that creativity right now but a year from now who knows? Now go back through the notes and photos that you've been collecting. Do you see a pattern? If the pattern is obvious then you have found your style or personality. If it's not so obvious, then look a bit closer, what do the pictures have in common? Is there water in them or flowers? Perhaps some structural element? Is it a bit messy or very sparse and clean? Symmetrical or does it look like you can just ramble on through? These are the starting points to ask yourself so you will see deeper into the photos and notes.

Once you have identified your personality or personalities then you can start answering the other questions. Like what is the function of this garden, where is this garden going or how big will it be. If you have multiple personalities like me then this can narrow down where certain ones will fit best.

We are blessed here that gardening is a way of life, it is an extension of who we are. We each have our own idea of not only how a garden should function but what it should look and feel like. Get out into nature and find your garden!

Websites for the Coachella Valley:

Bureau of Land Management: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings.html

Hiking trails: http://www.hiking-in-ps.com/index.php

Thousand Palms Oasis: http://coachellavalleypreserve.org/

Whitewater Preserve: http://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/preserve_whitewater.html

The Living Desert: http://www.livingdesert.org/

Desert Horticultural Society of the Coachella Valley: http://deserthorticulturalsociety.org/

California Native Plant Society: http://www.cnps.org/

Joshua Tree National Park Guided Hikes: https://www.joshuatree.org/desert-institute/field-classes/