If you have read or absorbed much garden history, you have probably heard the phrase "genus loci", which comes from ancient Greek and means "sense of place" or "spirit of place".  You may not be able to remember the foreign phrase, but the concept is good for all gardeners.

Whenever we plan and plant gardens we impose ourselves on the space involved.  But the best gardens embody the idea of "sense of place".  To my mind that means thinking about where you live (as in North, South, East or West; urban, suburban or rural) and how your particular property or gardening environment--which includes container gardening--is set up.  

For example, I live in the northeast, in USDA Zone 6.  Temperatures around here sometimes go into the teens in the winter, but rarely fall below zero.  Our summers are hot and sticky.  If left alone, my area would probably be swampy, with the higher ground covered with forests composed of mostly deciduous trees.  My property is a standard suburban lot that slopes gently downward from front to back.  The soil is on the acid side of the spectrum and my property has a mix of sunny and shady areas.

When I plan garden plantings I think about my neighborhood, where most of the houses were built in the late Victorian era.  Stark, modern planting designs don't really seem in character here.  On the other hand, vines, plants with variegated leaves and old fashioned varieties of species like dahlias and cannas fit right in.  I also think about my particular lot, which has low spots where certain plants thrive and others meet a quick demise.  The sunny space is limited, but very little of my lot is in deep shade. 

I have made my garden at a slow, deliberate place, so that while I work and plan I can absorb the spirit of the place.  The garden that I created when I first moved in ten years ago is very different from the garden I have now, and not just because the current garden is bigger.  Why?  Because when you work on a piece of ground, its particular spirit seeps into you.  I always encourage novice gardeners to go about their business slowly and cultivate quietness along with the perennials and annuals.  It's easiest to pick up on the genus loci in quiet times when you have dirt under your fingernails.