Gardening isn't one of my talents. I'm Mrs. Blackthumb and every plant I touch dies immediately or goes into shock and dies slowly. So when we moved into our present home, which was devoid of landscaping, I hired a landscape designer. The designer asked some important questions.

His first question was "How do you want the garden to look?" I had never thought about this. "I want the garden to look like a children's book illustration," I answered. "I want an old-fashioned garden filled with flowers."

"What colors do you like?" the designer asked. "Well, the house is pale gray," I said, "I would like flowers that go with with that color." We walked around the small yard as we talked. Our conversation and site visit were all the designer needed. He drew up a plan, I approved it, and several weeks later two trucks pulled up in front of the house.

A mother and her children interrupted their walk to watch the landscaping "show." Planting the shrubs and flowers took an entire day. The flower beds were outlined, the plants were positioned, and then set into the ground. By sunset, the yard was totally transformed. There is always something blooming in the garden.

We have hydrangea, hosta, some type of geranium (I don't remember the name) and succulents. The Dianthus along the front steps are the first plants to come up in the spring. Wispy gray-green stems appear first and they blossom into a riot of pink. I love the Nearly Wild roses (that is their name) by the bottom step. These hardy roses are charming and really look nearly wild.

Darker pink chrysanthemums bloom in the fall and the flame bushes by the front door provide a final touch of color before winter comes. The garden was planted 12 years ago and we have not changed anything. Oh, there was a scruffy pine tree in the back yard when we arrived and it developed some sort of blight. We replaced this tree with a flowering apple called Spring Snow.

Should you hire a landscape designer? Yes! First, the designer had the vision to turn my hazy description of a garden into reality. Second, he knew which plants were deer resistant (herds gallop through the back yard) and which plants could survive a Minnesota winter. Third, most nurseries guarantee their plants for two years and we have taken advantage of this guarantee.

When people ask where I live and I give them directions they say, "Oh, you're the house with all the flowers." And more flowers have been added. The designer left space for bedding plants and each year I plant something different: purple petunias, yellow and purple pansies, striped violas, or red geraniums. Cars slow down - even stop - to look at the flowers.

I may be Mrs. Blackthumb, but I love my garden. In the long run, hiring a landscape designer saved me money. He planned the garden to fit the house, chose plants for my geographic zone, and gave me a garden that changed with the seasons. A landscape designer can do the same for you.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years. She is a member of the Association of Healh Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. A prolific writer, she is the author of 25 published books and hundreds of print and electronic articles.

Hodgson has written about parenting, recycling, sexual harassment, aging, Alzheimer's disease, caregiving, communication, nutrition, physical activity, weight management, anticipatory grief, and many other topics.

She started out as a teacher and earned a B.S. with honors from Wheelock College in Boston, MA. She went on to earn an M.A. in Art Education from the University of Minnesota and did additional graduate work. After spending a dozen years in the classroom Hodgson changed careers and turned to writing.

All of her writing comes from life experience. Hodgson has talked about her experienes on some 150 radio talk shows, including CBS Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, WCCO Radio and "Coping With Caregiving," an Internet-only radio program broadcast worldwide. In addition, she has appeared on dozens of television programs/stations including CNN.

Hodgson is a Past President of the Wing of the Aerospace Medical Association. A past president of the Minnesota Medical Association Alliance (MMAA), she represented MMAA members on the Minnesota Medical Association Health Care Reform Task Force. She is an active community volunteer and all of her volunteer efforts focus on health.

Hodgson is cited in "Something About the Author," "Who's Who of American Women," "Who's Who in America," "Who's Who in the World," "The Dictionary of International Biography," and "Contemporary Authors," published by Gale Research.

Hodgson lives in Rochester, Minnesota with her husband, C. John Hodgson. She enjoys learning, travel, antiques, singing, and spending time with her twin grandchildren.