I’ve been doing a bit of gardening for clients lately and realized that they were low on flowers. But hey, I’m not complaining, after all, I’m the one that designed it! But it did get me to thinking about what process I take when creating these gardens–after a number of years, it’s somewhat second-nature to me, so I gave myself a challenge. I think I have it down to 3 things, but they all have one thing in common: Contrast.
- Contrast in color: Leaves come in a ton of green shades, as well as burgundy, yellow, pink and orange. Think ginger, crotons, loropetalums, lemon thyme, Aztec grass, plus all those black stemmed-and-leafed plants.
photo by mlewallpapers.com
- Contrast in texture: With flowers or without flowers, texture really makes things interesting. Think the spikiness of agave, the softness of gulf muhly grass, the pebbliness of little sedums, the stiffness of a sago palm. It’s quite addicting, really.
photo by www.eih.uh.edu
- Contrast in size: Those jumbo tropical leaves of the elephant ears, the long thin leaves of bicolor iris, and the tiny leaves of the dwarf yaupon holly…all of these add interest to a group of plants.
photo by virginiagarden.com
So there you have it: when creating a garden without flowers, focus on adding contrast to the design and you can’t go wrong. Unless you contrast water and sun requirements, then, my friend, you’re going down the wrong botanical path. At which point, stop and slap yourself with your dirty garden glove and get yourself to a G.A. group. Or call me, I’ll be your garden sponsor and steer you in the right direction! Because, you know, we’re all in this together.
