How to Tie a Garden Together

Three unifying elements keep your garden from becoming chaotic

If you garden , you love plant — especially the newest and most strange ones . After bring these treasures home , they often terminate up plopped in various office without a circle of pre - planning or design in brain . And as the issue of trips to the glasshouse increases , so does the number of planting plots , leave behind many of us with a serial of smaller beds around our attribute that have no genuine connection to one another . Although these gardens are filled with many treasures , they have no sense of continuity . This can happen in any garden , regardless of its size .

Small or great , gardens need unifying feature to tie one area to the next and to create a sense of flow . Without that stability , things can get wild and out of control , making you experience restless and unsure of where to calculate or where to walk . face with this job in my own yard , I came up with a three - part solution to help blend my entire landscape painting together .

Establish a backbone plant

To aid get out my landscape painting together , I chose one hardy , fairly basic shrub and used it as a backbone plant throughout the garden . Because the backbone plant is such an important part of the garden ’s framework , careful persuasion should be given to its selection . Your backbone plant should be evergreen , because it want to be seen in all season . And above all else , it want to be low care ; it should n’t command frequent spraying or pruning , because your clock time should be pass on keep the relief of your garden . Shrubs , rather than perennial , work good as backbone industrial plant , because they are large enough to have a detectable comportment in the garden but wo n’t overtop the scenery as focal points .

In my Pacific Northwest K , ‘ Winter Gem ’ dwarf boxwood ( genus Buxus microphyllavar.japonica‘Winter Gem ’ , USDA Hardiness Zones 6–9 ) was the perfect backbone - plant choice , because it fit the essential criteria . The consistent use of this dwarf shrub establish order in my garden beds , especially where there is an teemingness of various perennial . The boxwood is like green hardscaping , drawing the eye forward as you move through the garden because it is a repetitive and recognizable element .

Integrate and repeat a color

No matter what the size of your garden , it is important to opt a color or color combination and repeat it to help unify the entire landscape . I often use combinations of burgundy and bluish , which is a striking duet of contrasting colors . Some of my favorite perennials to use in this semblance scheme are Festival Grass ™ burgundy cordyline ( Cordyline‘Jurred ’ , Zones 9–11 ) , ‘ Britt - Marie Crawford ’ ligularia ( Ligularia dentata‘Britt - Marie Crawford ’ , Zones 4–8 ) , and ‘ Pacific Giants Mix ’ delphinium ( Delphinium‘Pacific Giants Mix ’ , Zones 3–7 ) . Whatever compounding you choose , check that it has sheer dividing line that catch and contain the eye . sound pairings include chartreuse and burgundy , xanthous and blue , and burgundy and pink .

To further the sense of continuity , you should also incorporate large trees and shrubs that have your repeated colour . This strategy works well in small garden , and it is essential in large gardens because surplus space gives the oculus more room to get lost . To repeat my Bourgogne musical theme , I incorporated into my larger space purple smoke bush ( Cotinus coggygriacv . , Zones 5–9 ) , Diabolo ® ninebark ( Physocarpus opulifolius‘Monlo ’ , Zones 3–7 ) , and ‘ Royal Cloak ’ Nipponese barberry ( Berberis thunbergii * ‘ Royal Cloak ’ , Zones 5–8 ) . Although our property is several demesne , you still sense like you ’re in the same garden anywhere you stand , thanks to these large splash of familiar color .

It can be frustrating to go to the greenhouse with a well - cerebration - out and research plant list and not be able to find what you are looking for . Instead of a specific plant lean , puff up a exercise set of criteria that fit the berth you are hop to sate : for instance , a gravid plant ( size of it ) that is chartreuse ( colouring ) and orotund ( bod ) . This will give you more selection and more winner in find plant that will facilitate you accomplish your goal .

lenient and subdued does n’t work . A repetitive colour combination should be a pair of bold , contrasting hues , because they draw your attention and give a last impression . The combining of chartreuse and burgundy ( above)—as seen in the leaves of the gilded Japanese timber grass ( Hakonechloa macra‘Aureola ’ , Zones 5–9 ) and the blooms of ‘ Haspen Blood ’ astrantia ( Astrantia major‘Haspen Blood ’ , Zones 4–8)—works well together , as does the combination of Bourgogne and gamey .

Create flow with water

Water is an important element in any garden . It can drown out dealings noise , create a sense of serenity , draw in birds , and make bm . But it can also be a marvellously bare way to introduce commonalty to a place . Water come out in many forms throughout my gardens . I have large feature , like ponds and fountains , but I also have minor - scale passel fill up with body of water plants that I place in small seam . water supply lineament in various property in the garden number as bold unifiers , not only for their optic mien but also for the sound they provide .

Many gardener shy away from installing water feature because they are afraid of the upkeep . But I have never installed a individual water garden that could n’t take concern of itself . I apply big bucks of barley pale yellow ( available at garden centers and online ) to serve decoct alga in ponds because they work as an organic filtering system . I also use mosquito dunks that contain Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensis ) to master mosquito in standing piss feature . The induction and minimal maintenance of these features is well worth it when you see and hear how water bring your space together .

Gardening is a personal and originative form of expression . Your garden should reflect your gustatory perception and should not be reverberate by someone else ’s rules . It is important , nevertheless , to weigh and consistently apply guidelines that help create an outdoor outer space that run and feel incorporate . After all , the goal is to create a garden that is more than just a collection of plants ; it ’s a uninterrupted and complementary space that everyone — including you — can savour .

Design tip:Create curves

A well garden layout is essential for giving your infinite continuity and for educate a mother wit of flow . Instead of merely lining up plant like soldiers against a bulwark , utilise curve bed lines to encourage the heart forward to the next outer space and to keep the garden from being revealed all at once . This will help move you and others through the garden to see what lies ahead . Straight bed lines are inactive and encourage the center to stop .

Twowaysto put objects to work

In every garden , architectural features need to link consistently to each other , either by style or colour . If they do n’t , they not only stick out like sore thumbs but also divide a space or else of unify it .

Stick to one style

I chose the Triangulum visor of my house as the intake for my gates and arbour . The archways to the garden areas ( above ) were also reconstruct with the same triangular design elements .

Incorporate your color palette

I use a row of simple fencing posts — paint blue and topped with light chicken hood and glass finial ( above)—in several bed to help tie the garden together . This is an cheap way to infuse the garden with colored , matching architectural lineament .

Do n’t be intimidate by water feature film . It ’s leisurely to comprise water into the garden on a large or a lowly scale . Anyone can contribute a simple pond - in - a - pot ( above ) . But even a modest waterfall ( below ) can be low maintenance .

— Cindy Stockett is a member of the Northwest Perennial Alliance and the Northwest Horticultural Society . She garden in Vashon , Washington .

Photos : Danielle Sherry

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Keep potential chaos in check.Make a clear, cohesive connection between several smaller gardens by applying a common color, establishing a signature plant, and incorporating water throughout.

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