By Fran Sorin –

I’ve worked on the same piece of land for a quarter of a century.
It has been quite a journey. Magical, spiritual, and humbling.
Scattered with failures and successes.
When I began gardening, I read every book and magazine I could get my hands on.
I was convinced there was a right way of doing it.
As I became more confident and developed skills, I realized it wasn’t true.
That following rules make for a boring garden.
And that breaking rules is ‘a must’ …
If you want to create an authentic, soulful garden.
A unique garden that reflects who you are.
Here are some things that I’ve learned.

GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR IMAGINATION

We all have an imagination. It’s a part of our souls. There for the taking. I love going for solitary nature walks. With no agenda. I allow my mind to relax and explore. Sometimes I come indoors and jot down my thoughts. There’s no one way to access your imagination. It might be listening to music, going for a run, or working on a research project.

THINK OF YOUR FRONT YARD AS AN OPPORTUNITY

Most Americans think  front yards should look a certain way. Lined up with a slew of evergreens, shrubs, and trees. How dull.

Years ago when I visited Anne Hathway’s house in Stratford-Upon-Avon, I was grabbed by its intensely planted front yard cottage garden. It had a big impact on me. For the first time, I realized that a suburban front yard could be transformed into a glorious garden.

My front yard went through several reincarnations, before I took the plunge and designed the garden of my dreams. A romantic, heirloom rose- perennial garden.

It has a gently winding pathway that leads to other gardens on either side of the house. It’s filled with native junipers, boxwoods, rows of yews and a series of rose arches.

People are blown away when they visit. For most, it’s a revelation.

EXPERIMENT  WITH PLACEMENT OF PLANTS

Some of my greatest plant combinations happen when I feel inspired. Contrary to conventional gardening, a tall plant can make a great exclamation point placed towards the front of the border.

By doing this, the rhythm of the garden is broken up. It jolts the eye and keeps thing fresh. A little repositioning of plants goes a long way.

THINK OF LIMITATIONS AS AN ASSET

This is a tough lesson to learn but ‘a must’ for joyful gardening. And for living a creative and meaningful life.

So many of us have been raised with a passive attitude of ‘wishfulness’. “If only I had” or “When I become”.

Embrace the property where you live.

Don’t wait until you purchase a perfect piece of land. Make beauty now.

For years I gardened on a difficult property….steeply sloping and diamond shaped. I spent a couple of years living in the place of  ’when I have my perfect piece of land.’ That was no good.

It was only when I accepted its limitations that I was able to focus, dig in, and do some serious work. And begin to see the land with new eyes.

Guess what? I ended up designing and planting and exuberant, feisty, and tightly packed garden. Practically everyone who visited (including large  garden tours) were inspired. They spent a lot of  time questioning me, walking around, and taking pictures.

So much for convention.

Some final thoughts:

Be flexible. Live with ambivalence.

Persist. Work hard.

When you’re stuck, walk away. Do something else.

Resist the urge to design a traditional garden.

Carve a jewel.

Surrender. Get out of the way.

And let your creativity whoosh in and make things happen.

***This article was originally written for The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Magazine. I’ve edited a lot of the specific gardening information.

As posted on Awake Create.

Fran Sorin is the author of  Digging Deep: Unearthing Your Creative Roots Through Gardening, a CBS Radio News Contributor and writes about creativity on her blog: Awake Create.