Garden Design IdeasGarden Ideas, Photos and Tips for Gardening at Home
peak are fleeting , but leafage is forever ! Well , maybe not eternally , but foliage lasts much longer in the garden than most prime and provides just as much excitement . In fact , foliation is one of the garden ’s most diverse and powerful elements . Besides color , foliage plantscan also possess unique textures , sizing , or shapes to provide breathtaking knockout and act as problem - problem solver in the garden .
FOLIAGE COLOR
Knowing how to creatively use color as a problem - solver is one of the most powerful tools in your garden design toolbox . Whether helping to unify a disjointed garden or breathe new life into it , focalize on colorful foliage can elevate your garden to a new level .
Create a complex color replication by seek out strange sources of vividness , like shades of boo found under the folio of this ‘ Honeycrisp ’ flame nettle .
Add cohesion.
If your garden seems a bit chaotic , with plants range with no rhyme or reason , creating color echo among the disjointed plant can be the key to unifying the invention . A color reverberation is created by choosing a specific colouring material and take over it throughout the garden bed , play as a ribbon of harmony that helps bind everything together .
In addition to working with single or multi - colored leaves , there are many other aspects of foliage to consider , helping to make a complex colour echo . For exemplar , look under the leaves for secret and often brilliant colors . Coleus and heucheras ( coral Alexander Bell ) , for illustration , often have colorful and contrasting shades on the underside of their leaves .
Or , consider incorporating the colouration of a plant’snew growththroughout your garden bed . For example , many paeony , rear , Pieris , orPhotiniavarieties are tumble with undimmed , garnet - colored leaves each outpouring as their new growth emerges . Highlight this unexpected burst of color with surrounding plants in exchangeable shade to make an telling assertion in the spring garden .
This garden seam is anything but boring , thanks to the bright chartreuse foliage of the atomic number 79 oregano , and the carmine foliage of the sterile ‘ Orange Rocket ’ berberis . Garden : Ruby Andrews .
Avoid predictability.
Too much repeating can often result in a ho - hum experience . Dynamic garden need a balanced mix of repeat and dividing line to keep things interesting , yet cohesive .
counterpoint createsdynamic energythrough the visual latent hostility created by unlike elements ( i.e. , completing or opponent colors , texture , or shape ) . If your garden has more predictability than pizzazz , the solution might be as straightforward as throw in it with a contrasting colour .
FOLIAGE TEXTURE
There ’s no doubt that foliage grain is an alluring component in the garden , creating an resistless physical reaction among young and old alike — who can refuse the uncontrollable itch to stroke the soft leaf of a lamb ’s ear plant ? Texture , however , is also a aim workhorse , able to solve a wide range of mundane garden problems .
The outsized , intemperately toothed foliage of this honeybush ( Melianthus major ) combined with its splendiferous glaucous colour , makes this a insure focal pointedness in any garden bed .
Focal point.
Heavily coarse-textured , sheer leaf rivals the showiest of blooms , making them quality candidates for the garden ’s focal points . Use forethought with such a overlooking element , however , as too many plants with these qualities can quickly look chaotic . juridic use and placement are necessary to make a stunning statement .
The wispy blades of the grasses assist shine the spotlight on the glorious , morphologic American aloe . Cornerstone Gardens , designed by Oehme , van Sweden .
Supporting cast.
Certain foliation textures can help smoothen the spot on focal stage flora . For example , to facilitate accentuate the oversized , crinkly farewell of a structural globe artichoke plant , consider surrounding it with the airy foliage of threadleaf coreopsis ( C. verticillata‘Moonbeam ’ ) or the wispy leaf blade of a Berkeley sedge ( Carex divulsa ) .
Conversely , those same heavily textured plants can avail inject much - needed excitement into a garden take with an excess of delicately textured plants . Again , it ’s all about the proportion of repetition and contrast !
At The Highline Garden , the ample manipulation of delicate texture adds coherency among the various planting beds .
Binders.
drift of all right texture have an preternatural , ethereal force , similar to cloud , and are a crucial element in the pop New Perennial Movement . These delicate texture softly fill the negative space between more all-embracing , bolder planting . These drift do as a binder of sorting , wed together freestanding orbit of the garden with a cohesive and orderly flow .
FOLIAGE SHAPE
Shape typically refers to the outline of the leafage ; examples such as heart - shaped , elongated , round , or deeply lobed are just a few descriptions that come in to mind . And while the color and texture of foliage are important characteristics , the shape of a leaf is also a force to contend with .
The oversize , ellipse leaves of the Funka , lettuce , and kale echo one another , make unity among what could be a disparate pigeonholing .
Subtle shape echoes.
Just as it ’s important to create sound reflection with color and texture , the same can be say for foliage ’s physique and it is a surefire way to weave coherence and unity throughout the garden .
Creating shape echoes engage a trivial praxis , but once this skill is master , the pernicious issue is sublime . For example , consider the spiky , steel - shaped leafage of aPhormiumand how it echo the vertical , feathery wands of a nearby Mary Jane ( Calamgrostis foliosa . )
The lilliputian ellipse leaves of the azalea combined with the bold and oval leaf of the bergenia result in an center - catching combination .
Refreshing contrast.
As mentioned above , too much repeat can result in a sleepy ( dare we say deadening ? ) garden . However , dynamic shape combinations can arouse the eye , providing a much - need jolt of inflammation .
VARIEGATED FOLIAGE
When the leaves of a plant contain more than one colouring ( commonly white-hot and green or yellow and gullible ) , it ’s referred to as throw ‘ motley foliage . ’ And with a spot of strategic placement , this variegated leafage is a ‘ sidesplitter cistron ’ moment just waiting to happen .
The delicate foliage of variegated buckthorn ( Rhamnus alaternus‘Variegata ’ ) adds an elegant touch to this calm and unripened garden . Garden : Lani Freymiller .
Break up a ‘sea of green.’
An excess of all - green shrubs can result in a lacklustre garden , thanks to the ‘ ocean of green ’ effect . tot a variegated bush or two is a welcome contrast , with the unexpected pop of people of color adding a snatch of hullabaloo back into the garden .
The Au and yellow variegated foliage of the Hakone grass ( Hakonechloa macra‘Aureola ’ ) and daphne ( Daphne odora‘Maejima ’ ) warm up this umbrageous side pace . Garden : Lisa Mitchell .
Warm up a shady garden.
sensationalistic vary plants act as the ‘ missing sunshine ’ in darker , shady gardens , providing the welcome delusion of warmth . These pollyannaish colors propose a outburst of people of colour among shadows and dark corners .
The hosta ’s sheer , glaucous leaf adds a calming component when come in near two variegated plants .
Combining variegated plants.
Combining two variegated plants side by side is often considered a surefire means to make a ocular headache , thanks to the overly busy foliage combinations . However , many gardeners do n’t see that you may mix several variegated plants together in a modest area with a little know - how .
The Francis Scott Key to successfully aggregate variegated plant is to remember the importance of direct contrast , both in foliage size and anatomy and even texture . And , if you may add a nearby flora with a bold , solid color , it will act as the ref among this potentially disorderly grouping .
leaf Over Flowers : Exciting Plant Combinations
Rebecca ’s get a love for foliage that ’s downright infective ! “ It ’s all about foliage ! ” she exclaims , as we step into her garden . You ’ll discover that flowers are n’t the only stars — oh no , these foliage plants beam in a spectacular mode !
BOOK REBECCA AS YOUR NEXT GARDEN SPEAKER!
Fun , passionate , and knowledgeable , three run-in that report Rebecca Sweet!See what word topics are uncommitted and take in a short videoas Rebecca explains how her talks will pep up , entertain , and train gardeners at all skill level .
