Bellingham landscaper gets most out of small spaces

| MAX BITTLE | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

• SMALL GARDEN TIPS
  
  Jeff McClelland shares his tips on creating small garden rooms in any yard.

  • Stick with dwarfed to semi-dwarfed plants that won't overgrow an area.
  • Use at least two elements, whether it's plants, stones or water. "You can use all three," he says. "Just don't do only one. It won't be as spectacular."
  • Plant choice is important, so focus on plants you really like.
  • Think about textures. Consider bark and leaves, deciduous and evergreen, as well as flowers and greenery.
  • Make it personal. McClelland suggests giving the garden a name. He knows an elderly woman who thought everything in her garden looked so old that she named it Methuselah, after the oldest man in the Bible.
  • Add architectural elements for more interest. "It's just like walking through a doorway in your house," he says. "In your yard, you can have an arbor or a pathway that opens you up to a new experience in your yard."

Inspiration for these small but dramatic garden spaces can come from anywhere.

"I've been in landscaping for over 20 years, and I've always loved nature, loved our mountains and loved plants," he says. "And I wanted to create our environment in people's yards."

To truly optimize a yard, McClelland thinks of it as he does a house, with multiple spaces for multiple uses.

"In our house, we have everything: a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom," he says. "Outdoors, people just have a yard. I figure, in people's yards they can have outdoor rooms, with themes."

The themes are where McClelland, who is also a writer, really lets his creative side wander.

"Usually I'll make up a story about the garden," he says.

For example, the weeping garden he created at Bakerview nursery is a melancholy space where all the trees have branches that slope down sadly, and a water feature drips slow tears from a rock. The story McClelland created for the weeping garden is like a fairy tale: a faraway king loses his queen, and everything in his kingdom mourns her loss. Heads are bowed down, as are branches.

"Everything wept," he says, "even the rocks."

But like any good fairy tale, his gardens have a happy ending. Around the corner from the weeping garden, McClelland has created the rejoicing garden, which celebrates the queen's return. The plants here are straight and joyful, as the king has commanded that everything hold its head high.

And these are just a few of the possibilities.

"You can have a joyful garden or a contemplating garden or a friendship garden," he says. "I think people get limited on what a garden can be, but with a little creative direction they can create some great outdoor living spaces."

The gardens don't have to be elaborate. The spaces could be as simple as a few chairs surrounded by a screen of bamboo.

"It doesn't take much," he says. "(Put) a few plants around and you've got a spot to enjoy coffee in the morning or a cold drink in the afternoon."

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