DIY Network

Dwight Back: His Plan, Costs and Products From "Garden Sense" episode DGAR-207

Meet Dwight Back. Dwight is a 40-year-old single father who lives in Kentucky. He recently moved back to the area from Texas, where he was president of the Dallas-Ft.Worth chapter of the UK Alumni Association. He has a 12-year-old daughter, Emily, who lives with him part-time.

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Dwight loves horses and, with friends, owned and raced a horse at Churchill Downs and Keeneland racetracks. He is also the area leader for the Kentucky Equine Education Project, which educates legislators and citizens about the importance of the horse "business" in Kentucky.

Dwight moved into his home about a year ago, but doesn't know what to do with the back yard. He would like a pretty view from the deck and realizes that the stone steps and walls and rustic shed would really make a great backdrop for a rustic-type garden. Even though he's from this area, he lived in Dallas for 13 years and really doesn't know what grows well here.

He would like to make the area a showcase where he can entertain and feel comfortable that it has a finished look.

Gardening Challenge

Before

After

Required Project Time
The Rustic Garden project tool all day because we planted four separate beds.

Project Details

• We created a rustic garden inspired by rustic elements that include stone steps, stones in a wall that will be moved to the new bed, and a tool shed.
  
• We selected low-maintenance plants that are easily adaptable to various soil and climate conditions and take a minimum amount of care.
  
• Our plan also provided Dwight with more color in the orange and red families. We planted 'Autumn' fern, Ornamental purple millet, pansies, and chrysanthemums.
  
• There are really no rules for creating a rustic-type garden. What we really wanted to achieve was a more masculine style - a garden with no frills but plants that provide beautiful foliage, fall color and are low maintenance.
  
• We wanted to emphasize the beautiful old stonework like the stone steps and the stones that were moved to the new bed to create another wall.

Dollars and Sense
We used 15 plants in Hardiness Zone 6 and spent

• To save money, you can draw from and existing landscape, as we did on this project.
  
• The most expensive plants were the kolkwitzia. We bought two at $49 each.
  
• The least expensive plants were the pansies at less than $5 each.
  
• Plant prices may vary by zone.

Gardening by Zip Code If you're looking to start a gardening projectbut don't know your gardening zone—visit the National Gardening Associations's USDA Hardiness Zone Finder. Enter your Zip Code to identify the proper zone.

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