Garden Design Inspiration From a Natural Garden

We picnicked a few times at a park we found while we were on Lackland AFB to visit my oldest son.  It was beautiful.  I wanted to share some features which made it such a calm and beautiful place to visit.  Maybe we can use some of the same design features in our own gardens.

There was a water feature.  I'm thinking of this place as less of a park and more of a natural garden.  It was clean and I didn't see one piece of trash anywhere.  Also any signs of man were as unobtrusive as possible and blended into the landscape.

We saw two fishermen here on Sunday morning.

There's a turtle hiding in the water.

 There were many old trees especially, pecans and oaks.  They add visual interest even in the winter.

Black willows grow along the water.

This looks like a berry plant and grew along the edge of the stream.

Can you imagine what this spot must look like in spring?  It is still beautiful in winter with the different textures and colors.

Clover was growing in patches here and there throughout the grass.  It was a visual relief from all of the grass.

A tiny flower growing amongst the clover invites you to take a closer look.

Look at the texture this plant adds.

Some kind of parasitic plant grows in the trees. 

There were a few signs scattered throughout for those who want to know a little more about the trees.

And this is the Hackberry.

This is a Texas Persimmon.  I love the colors of the bark.

Live Oak

So here are the gardening tips I learned from this park:
1. Diversify- you don't find just one type of tree or plant in nature.
2. Break up monotony- ground cover plants are a good thing but large swaths of different types are even better.
3. Element of surprise- give your visitor something to pause and enjoy that they weren't expecting to find.
4. Water Feature- I think we all know how wonderful a water feature can be in a garden!
5. Wildlife- make your garden friendly to wild creatures even if they are just butterflies.  Our gardens are part of a larger world and we connect them to the wild when we invite butterflies, toads, frogs, and other wild creatures to live and play there.

 6. Make Humans Comfortable- A large covered picnic area and playground were next to the parking area for picnic and play.  There were also many convenient trash cans which help to keep the area clean.  We can translate that to sitting areas, play spaces, swings, and other creative spaces in our gardens.  I know a lady who ran a daycare in her home and incorporated fun play spaces throughout her back yard which was still a lovely garden to visit.  She had a sandbox in one spot, paths the children could ride on, a place to play with little cars, and many trails to explore.  It was lovely and inviting for young and old.

I have lots of planning and work to do!

What are your favorite gardening tips that you have learned from nature?