You must remember this: KISS

My high school English teacher used to reference this acrostic saying when teaching solid writing behavior: KISS, which stands for "Keep It Simple, Silly."  It's a phrase I always try to adhere to when writing, but of course it can apply to so many areas of life.  In the gardening world, KISS is a vital component of the best looking outdoor spaces.

It seems like an easy concept, but I have a hard time "keeping it simple" when I hit up the local nurseries.  Let's face it, there's SO MUCH to choose from: flowering plants and bulbs of all shapes and sizes, multitudes of shrubs and trees up for grabs, groundcovers, grasses, endless hard-scaping options...how's a landscaping addict such as myself to choose?  I want to try everything!

Last fall, I bought 15 antique concrete urns and planters.  The thought of filling them all with lush plantings kept me going through the cold winter months.  As the winter holidays gave way to raging snowstorms, I perused my garden catalogues, trying to decide which colorful, exotic plantings would look best.  I changed my mind a dozen times, then threw up my hands in despair.  How was I going to select the right things when there was so much on offer?

As Spring approached, I purposely put all thoughts of urn-filling out of my head, and focused on the hard work of getting the garden in shape.  Anyone who has been following this blog has accompanied me as I dredged up old leaves, trimmed back hedges, eradicated moss and cut down trees.  Now, for the fun stuff.  It's nearly Mother's Day, the magical moment for planting all those tender annuals.  I looked at my empty concrete planters, my heart racing with possibilities.

But a bed of tulips and daffodils distracted me. I looked around.  The magnolia and forsythia was just giving way to purple red bud blooms, white bottlebrush flowers on the fothergilla, and the crimson buds of the Japanese maple.  Soon, the bright red poppies would be in bloom, then the iris, the peonies, and daylilies.  I'd recently planted three new rose bushes as well.  Glancing all around, I realized that there was so much "going on" in my garden.  Every corner my gaze rested on was either filled with blooming color or the promise of it.  All at once, I knew exactly what I needed to put in my prized, ornate planters:  greenery!!!

So I headed to the local nursery, and bypassed all the exotic beauties which tried to beckon me to their aisles with their breath-taking colors.  With a wistful sigh, I purchased six humble arborvitae bushes, ten modest asparagus ferns, and three mini spruce trees.  It wasn't until I actually placed them in their respective planters that I sighed with relief and pleasure.  That song from the movie, Casablanca, played in my mind:

You must remember this, a KISS is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply, as time goes by...

Simple, beautiful design never goes out of style.