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How-to Create a
Picture-Perfect Party Garden
(ARA) - When Debbie and Pete Rock of Chadds Ford, Pa.,
learned that they would be hosting this year's Rock
family reunion they were thrilled.
But with out-of-town relatives, big plans for a professional family photo
and just four months to prepare, they are both a little nervous about how
their yard and garden will look for the event.
"Since our backyard garden will serve as the backdrop for the group picture
and the party, we really want to spruce up our flower beds and patios," says
Rock.
But with a limited budget, the family doesn't have plans for a major garden
overhaul. Instead, they want to enhance their existing beds and perhaps add
a few more mixed container arrangements to their back deck.
In desperate need of help with planning, the Rocks consult with a hobbyist
garden designer recommended to them by a friend.
Their hopes for the transformation: to create a picture-perfect party
garden. Here's how they plan to do it.
"Knowing that the Rocks are looking for instant impact in their existing
flower beds along with accessory plants for their patio and front porch, I
suggested a well-rounded mix of high-impact hydrangeas, petite-scaled
clematis and an array of color-coordinated annuals," says Jan Baun a
part-time residential garden planner in Pennsylvania's historic Brandywine
Valley.
Baun recommended they focus on three key outdoor areas, and came up with a
list of plant material and a layout plan for each.
Heavenly Hydrangea Bed
To liven-up the main flower bed that stretches across the back of the Rock's
home, Baun suggests a mass planting of Angel Star hydrangeas.
"I often recommend these hydrangeas to customers who want to see lots of
color," says Baun. "Angel Star's dramatic, hot pink blooms brighten up shady
spaces. Plus this hydrangea blooms from spring through fall, giving
homeowners great, low-maintenance color all season long."
Part of Hines Horticulture's Halo Hydrangea collection, Baun says that Angel
Star will fare well in the Rock's partial shade, zone 6 garden. And because
this particular breed of hydrangea only grows 3-feet high by 3-feet wide,
Angel Star is perfectly proportioned for the Rock's narrow flower bed.
Patio Perfect
Baun suggests using mixed container plantings in various planter styles and
sizes to dress-up the Rock's back patio.
To create a unified but relaxed look for the patio, Baun directs the Rocks
to plant similar hued annuals and perennials in 18 varying sized planters
arranged on their 12-by-15 foot patio.
The accessory that will pull the entire look together: fresh-cut floral
arrangements for the patio tables that feature the Angel Star hydrangeas and
other flowers grown in the Rock's new cutting garden.
Awe-inspiring Entrance
"The Rock's have a spectacular wraparound porch on the front of their home
that they really want to take adavantage of," says Baun.
To create vertical interest, the Rocks will suspend 12 identical hanging
baskets from the roof of the massive, victorian-style porch.
"Because the back garden will be so eclectic, we want to keep the hanging
baskets in the front of the home simple," says Rock. "We will plant all 12
of them with Parisenne, a deep purple Patio Clematis , that is bred
especially for container plantings."
Inside Out
To bring the party garden room full circle, Baun recommends that the Rocks
spruce up the extra lawn furniture that they had been storing away in their
basement with new paint and outdoor cushions.
Once restored to new form, the furniture will be strategically placed
throughout the backyard to create wall-less rooms that function perfectly
for comfortable outdoor entertaining.
For more information about the plants mentioned above, please visit
www.hineshort.com. Courtesy of ARAcontent
Irish
Magic Hat Kit
Shamrock
Vest
Shamrock
Velvet Hat
Shamrock
Beads
St
Pat's Derby Necklace
Blinking
Shamrock Beads
Shamrock
Bracelet
Green
Plates, Cup, Napkins, Cutlery
St
Patrick's Decorating
Green
Hair Spray
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SAINT PATRICK'S DAY
PARTY IDEAS
Irish Party Music
Lucky Wishes Party Kit For 8
St. Patrick's Day Printed Invitations
Lucky Clover Invitations
Celtic Design
Celtic Knots
Wedding Package
Shamrocks, harps, and tall hats cut out of
green construction paper help to carry out your theme for St. Patrick's Day party.
For invitations, you might paste a paper shamrock on a card. For table decorations,
you could scatter paper shamrocks over a white crepe paper cover. Use green candles
and make a gumdrop tree for a centerpiece. A gumdrop tree is easy to make. Take a
small branch of any tree that has many stiff twigs. Wild crabapple or hawthorn trees
are especially good for this purpose. Place the branch in a small flower-pot covered with
green crepe paper. You may have to use soil or crushed rock in the flowerpot to hold
the branch up and keep the pot form tipping. Stick a green gumdrop on the end of each
twig. Or, if you wish, your gumdrop tree can be of all the gumdrop colors. As favors
you could have tiny clay pipes tied with green ribbon, or tiny pots of growing shamrock.
For an active game, you might try a relay
race in which potatoes are picked up in a tablespoon. Or the potatoes can be placed
in four ling rows, for the players to pick up one at a time, and tossed into boxes behind
the starting line.
Leprechauns, or "little people,"
were common in old Irish stories. A leprechaun was supposed to give you a bag of gold if
you asked him for it. One of your guests, to be known as Paddy or Kathleen, stands in a
circle formed by the others. Those in the circle pass a bag of sawdust "gold"
from one to another, behind their backs. If Paddy or Kathleen points to the one who
has the bag and demands to gold, the leprechaun mush hand it over, and the two change
places. For a quiet game before supper, ask your guests t see how many words of three or
more letters they can make from SAINT PATRICK. They should not
use one letter more times in a single work than it appears in Saint Patrick. For example,
tin, sat, pick. Mint jelly sandwiches, a cake with green decorations,
and mint ice cream may be served for food.
March comes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb! Host a Progressive
Dinner Party or Open house.
Candy Hunt
Ages 5 - 11 / No. of Players 6 - 24
Materials needed
Wrapped Candies
Sandwich bag for each player
Preparartion: Before the guest arrive hide the candies around the room. Write the
children's name on the sandwich bags.
1. Give out the bags and tell the children to collect as many candies as they can. Each
child may keep all that he finds.
2. Let the children select one or two candies to eat right away. Stow the bag with the
remaining candies inside each child's take home bag.
Have a few extra candies on hand for any child who seems to have any difficulty finding
their own.
200
Treasure Toys
Our Treasure Toy assortment is filled with 200 individually
packaged toys, games, tricks and puzzles. Our treasure chests make great prizes. This
assortment comes in our cardboard chest.
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