Twigs from my garden

This week I suggest a theme garden — a small garden, maybe in a secluded area of your yard, dedicated to a single theme that interests you. Here are a just a few of many ideas you may want to consider.You might plant a pizza garden with vegetables and herbs you can use as ingredients, perhaps planted in the round shape of a pizza pie. Plants would include tomatoes, of course, and green peppers, onions, basil, oregano — whatever you like to order on your pizza, less the pepperoni and mushrooms! Half-submerge two or three chipped dinner plates and an old pot and utensils to accentuate the cooking theme. Make a wind chime of flatware to hang from a tree limb.A fairy garden will delight your guests, especially children or grandchildren. Fairies are especially popular now. A fairy statue or birdbath surrounded by small ferns and flowers, as well as mosses and thymes, can be the focal point. Be sure to include a circle of small white stones or petite flowers to simulate a “fairy ring.” (If fairies aren’t your thing, you might go with a gnome garden. Gnomes have recently resurged on the garden theme — even the so-called “naughty” gnomes!)Your theme could be critters using small resin or stone animals placed sweetly among the plants and flowers. How about a Peter Rabbit garden?An insect garden is fun. Plant flowers in the shape and colors of a bumblebee, caterpillar, butterfly, dragonfly or ladybug.Plant a bird garden with flowers the color of your favorite bird, then place a birdhouse and feeder within the space in the hope of actually attracting that particular species.Do you like to quilt? Try “piece making” a flower garden of colorful squares. Just keep the flowers of uniform height. Coleus is an excellent plant for color and the “hot” colors grow well in full sun.One final idea is an alphabet garden. If you plant a border, plant flowers with names starting with A to Z. On a smaller scale, plant a garden where the names of the flowers spell out yours or a special child’s name. Children learning to read and write their names will particularly enjoy this garden.Just think about what you are interested in and allow your own imagination to come up with an idea tailored to your personality. For even more ideas for creating a theme garden, visit the Allen County Children’s Garden located behind the Allen County Museum, 605 W. Market St., Lima. Whatever theme you choose, use garden art, a statue or a small garden flag to cue your visitors.Events• On Saturday, Evergreen Garden Club will hold its perennial plant sale at Fountain Park, corner of Main and Jefferson streets, Van Wert, beginning at 8 a.m. Members will provide a variety of plants for sale with all proceeds benefiting community projects. Contact Paula Stemen at 419-238-6316 or Ruth Ann Covey at 419-238-5472 for further information.• Also on Saturday, master gardeners will be having a plant sale in downtown Delphos from 9 a.m. to noon in order to raise money to “green up” an empty lot.Congratulations, 2008 master gardener class!Greg Austin of Forget-Me-Not Gardens in Lima graciously hosted a reception to introduce the newly graduated class of Allen County master gardeners to other master gardeners and guests! Chuck Anderson, Denise Barnes, Diana Barnt, Ed Boyer, Margie Bush, Joan Coffey, Julie Coon, Shelby Golden, Chuck Karbowiak, Barb Lloyd, Barb Lodermeier, Marsha Mangin, Janie McBride, Candy Newland, Cheryl Ridenour and Jane Rupert live in Allen County; Elaine Odenweller hails from Putnam County and Roxanna Shoffstall resides in Logan County. They will now begin working to complete 50 hours of volunteer work to become fully certified.Master Gardener Tip of the WeekAre you thinking of planting a butterfly garden? Look for the newest butterfly bushes at garden centers this spring. Wayside Gardens describes its Buddleia Bicolor as “marvelously fragrant, long-blooming, and drought-tolerant — the most exciting butterfly bush to come along in years (and) the first butterfly bush to offer two completely different colors on the same bloom stalk — rich butterscotch yellow and frosty raspberry lavender!” Bicolor initially was grown at Michael Dirr’s test gardens at the University of Georgia. As the name implies, a butterfly bush will attract many butterflies to your little corner of the world. Always offer butterflies a “puddle” with a little sand to provide water and minerals.