I would like to help you build a beautiful perennial garden for form and function with my many years of experience. My concept is quite strange, but I hope you will read on, even if it seems unusual.

 Most of my life I have been in the restaurant or beauty salon business. All of my life I have been gardening. Now, you may think that restaurants, beauty salons, and gardening have nothing to do with each other, but I beg to differ. The end results are all the same if you use the same concepts and have a nice experience with any of them.

Restaurants offer a wide variety of meals that meet your basic need to eat. They should please your sense of smell, taste, and touch. They should also be esthetically pleasing to the eye, as the presented plate should be alive with different color and texture. There are a wide variety of restaurants to choose from, depending on the customer's preference.

Beauty salons offer skin care, nail care, hair care, and tanning. It all begins with a blank slate. Skin is cleansed, exfoliated, and treated with different vitamins and emollients for a healthy glow. Nails are manicured or pedicured, and stimulated to promote healthy, strong growth. Then they are shaped and colored according to the client's preference and lifestyle. Hair is permed, straightened, highlighted, or colored, depending on the desired effect. The color wheel plays an important part in nail care, and highlighting or hair color. Relaxation, health, hydration, vitamins and minerals all play an important role in the beauty salon business.

Now, what does all of this have to do with gardening? Well, everything! Many of you will be starting with a blank slate. Just like meals at a restaurant, you want to choose your plants according to your preference. Do you want shade in the garden, do you want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, do you want to grow vegetables and herbs, do you want fragrant cut flowers? You need to assess your soil. Your local garden club can help you with that. Do you need to amend it with vitamins and minerals? How much hydration will be needed for the plants you choose? It is much easier to plant drought hardy plants far away from your water source, and water loving plants close. What is the color of the structure that you plant your perennials close to? Is your house blue? Is your fence white? Well, mine happen to be. Here is where that color wheel comes in handy for your situation. Choose opposite colors for the most dramatic and pleasing effect. A white flower gets lost next to a white fence, yet an orange flower jumps out against a blue house. Try pairing yellow against purple. Many combinations are esthetically pleasing in the garden. Masses of plants look best together, but if you have a small garden like mine, you can plant numerous types of plants together with similar colors. I try to vary texture and color, like a nicely presented plate at a restaurant. Place a tall spiked plant next to an airy mounded one. Throw in a dramatic foliage plant with white, variegated, or burgundy leaves into the mix. Don't ever follow rules like the fact that red, orange, and pink should not be planted together. That is the prettiest color combination in my entire garden! It is also pleasing to see a mass of color with one odd color thrown in the mix. Add one blue flower to your pink garden, or one red flower to your yellow garden. Perennials with a pleasant scent or soft foliage might be planted closer to a garden path to enjoy. Make sure the garden will address your lifestyle also. Do you want a garden bench to relax? Do you need raised beds because of a bad back? If you want cut flowers, herbs, or vegetables, you may want to plant those closer to your doorway. If you have pets or children, you may want to plant perennials that that are poisonous, irritating, or attract bees away from where they walk or play. Make sure to keep all your plant tags so you may remember the cultivation, hydration, and nutrient needs of each of your plants.

Now you may understand how the restaurant and beauty salon business has helped me create a beautiful perennial garden for form and function. I hope this helps you as well. You may even find that your profession helps give you insight into concepts you may use to better create your perennial garden. Enjoy!