Years ago when I was in high school, I was allowed to spend free periods in the art studio. I enjoyed making pen and ink drawings. These were very small detailed attempts at art. The teacher in the studio encouraged me to "break out" and try my hand at water colors. No more small sheets of paper, no more black and white, no more finicky drawings. It was time to cover large sheets of paper with a very large watercolor brush. Only later could details be added.

As you may have guessed, this change to bigger and bolder affected other parts of my life. No more "timid me".

I see parallels between the artwork of years gone by with my gardening experiences. With a move to the country, no more small scale plantings. Bolder and braver is the new "garden me". In the wide open spaces of our farm, subtle pastels are lost against a light colored home and an old gray barn. Instead, when you drive up to our place, the first thing you see are the tall red, pink and yellow hollyhocks, giant purple ironweed, yellow sunflowers and pink "Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate". Large vines climb the barn walls: Ampelopsis with its blue porcelain-like berries in Fall, yellow Clematis Tangutica and deep purple and blue clematis. Tall old lilacs, Viburnums and Mock Orange are growing there as well.

First view of our gardens, the barn area

Clematis Etoile Violette growing up the barn wall

There were three small island beds in the lawn when we arrived here. They disguised tree stumps that were left in the ground. At first I planted my old favorites, scabiosas and heucheras, but they seemed small and out of scale. That is when I began a love affair with trees and shrubs. Into these island beds, now enlarged, went plants of a bolder size: tall grasses, a Diablo Ninebark, a Styrax Japonica, a Malus Trilobata, Peonies, Eupatorium and Caryopteris.

The front island bed

Our new Fringe Tree (Chionanthus)

This year I am trying other large plantings, including Fringe Tree, Seven Son Flower and Elderberry 'Madonna'. Mixing clematis vines with trees, shrubs and large perennials is quite the hobby now. In addition to larger plant sizes, I introduced more colors, with purple and silver foliage of plants like Chocolate Eupatorium, Euphorbia chameleon, Artemisia huntington and Buddleia alternifolia.

Clematis Eriostemon weaving through a variegated Cornus shrub

Agastache 'Blue Fortune' with Sidalcea and Clematis 'Aljonushka'

With more space than I had in my city garden, larger perennials began to appeal to me: purple stemmed Artemisia Guizhou, lacy Thalictrums reaching 8-9 feet tall, Acanthus, Ligularias with yellow blooms and lovely leaves, tall spikes of Cimicifuga, Agastache and Veronicastrum.

Ligularias brighten up the boggy area near the creek

Tall lacy Artemesia Guizhou with Echinacea White Swan

By the laundry pole I added Filipendula that looks like cotton candy, tall ironweed and ornamental grasses. These days I allow some plants to spread for large blocks of color. At this time of year I am enjoying masses of Rudbeckia, Echinacea and Verbena bonariensis.

Verbena bonariensis mixes well with ornamental grasses

I now think of the garden as a composition of large and bright plantings, and I think of these as a painting made up up strokes, with braver and bolder strokes to fit with a larger canvas.