Is it possible to be a crazy plant collector and still have a beautiful garden? You bet your agave it is.
If I were to describe my garden as a aggregator ’s garden , what would come to beware ? Would you see an attractive , relaxing garden ? Someplace you ’d like to be ? Or would you picture something like the classic gradation school class photograph where each kid is wear out their favorite outfit ? Plaids , stripes , florals , basal colors , and pastel — there ’s one of everything and no rhythm , no unity . Chaos rules .
I am compulsive to rise all the cool plant life , the more unusual the salutary , which does make me a aggregator . But being a design junkie , I also desire my garden to look good . Impossible , right ? I recollect I ’ve reckon out a way to do it , and so can you .
Key Principles of the Space
Be sure there is all-season interest in the public eye
In my neighborhood , mine is “ the house with all the plants , ” so I endeavor to verify it ’s the better potential version . The front garden is plan as an all - time of year space . A few thing change throughout the twelvemonth — bush that erupt in wintertime heyday , bark that peels in the estrus of summer — but plants in the front garden require to face skilful class - round . This mean a lot of evergreen and plants with architectural interest . The back garden is where my obsession is allow to go risky . It ’s a little jungly , a bite overgrown , but it ’s a private space so nobody has to approve — business in the front , party in the back . Cue the grey mullet jokes .
The structural plants I rely on in the front garden admit the manzanita ‘ Austin Griffiths ’ ( Arctostaphylos× ‘ Austin Griffiths ’ , Zones 7–10 ) and ‘ Harmony ’ ( A. densiflora‘Harmony ’ , Zones 7–10 ) . Both have mahogany tree - colored bark that skin to reveal yellow - green woodwind instrument underneath . Several trunking yuccas ( Yucca rostrata , Zones 7–11 ) and a few dissimilar varieties of agave are unusual enough that people stop and gaze in discernment .
My hellstrip planting are kept to a lower limit . There ’s a well - eff park at the end of the street ; in association football season that means small children wearing cleat and stomping on whatever turn between the sidewalk and their family line ’s car . I use yuccas here too , because they search good while standing up to the abuse and tie this orbit back to my garden .
To make a well - designed garden , experts commend planting in multiple — sweep and swath of a single plant . The reverse , a garden made up of enceinte - name stars and “ one of a kind ” plants , will never look cohesive — or so they say . My trick is to ingeminate a few key plants , such as upright myrtle spurge ( Euphorbia rigida , Zones 7–10 ) , golden Japanese forest grass ( Hakonechloa macra‘Aureola ’ , Zones 5–9 ) , and ‘ La Siberica ’ bear grass Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Nolina hibernica‘La Siberica ’ , Zones 7b–10 ) , throughout the garden . Your eye picks up a pattern , and then suddenly everything depend intentional . I opt these plants primarily because I like them and want more of them . Plus , they ’re great team players but not mavin , so they are detectable but not too noticeable .
This same concept of repetition works with shapes ( low round mounds , arching vase - shaped spike ) or gloss ( dark foliage , brilliant yellow green ) . Then in between those repeat elements I go a footling crazy with one - off collectibles . sweep and swath are not needed .
‘ La Siberica ’ brook green goddess tree
‘ Ascot ’s Rainbow ’ genus Euphorbia
Baccarat Agave
Planting a knitter , a works that weaves throughout a seam , is equally significant — as I learned by accident . A ternary of low - growing ‘ Molonglo ’ grevillea ( Grevillea juniperina‘Molonglo ’ , Zones 8–10 ) followed me home from the nursery one day ; it was the kind of impulse leverage that wee-wee the gardening life interesting . I planted them in the front garden , and in a twosome of seasons they had mature over , under , and around the surrounding plant life . Suddenly my front garden did n’t take care like a grouping of solo artists ; the grevillea crumple everything together . Even larger plants that were n’t touching looked like part of a community because the grevillea link up them all . Once this magic befall , I took it for granted . Then a bad winter killed the grevillea — all of them . Instead of looking like a cohesive planting , my garden looked like someone had strewn a assemblage of “ things ” across the landscape ; there was no unity . I wish my plants to match , but on the spur of the moment they were all standing a respectful space from each other , as though they were societal distancing . I replant with the much hardier ‘ Blue Pacific ’ shore juniper bush ( Juniperus conferta‘Blue Pacific ’ , Zones 6–9 ) as my knitter .
Consistency of materials allows for a variety of plants
Another lesson I ’ve learned is how hardscape can control leaf mayhem by working as a shape around a photograph . A strong delimitation defines many of my planting beds . I use a consistent colouring material pallet of gray for the brick moulding , the big concrete pavers that make up the patio , and the continue wall around it . Even the gravel mulch is a logical size and colour throughout the garden . These thing provide calm and a little control condition , and they help keep the plants from occupy over , at least visually .
The same goes for container . Anyone hug their plant lust is bound to be a container nurseryman . It ’s just too tantalizing to buy a new “ must - have ” when you have it off you do n’t have to immediately find a place for it in the soil . The color palette of my containers is confine to shades of chartreuse , orange , disgraceful , brown , or galvanized metal — with a few turquoise ones thrown in because I could n’t resist . I group like color so my eye is n’t bouncing around a lot of dissimilar shade . These pots lend people of color to the garden , but not in a way that vie with the plant .
mouth of those plants , because I have kept my design rule in mind , I will always have room for one more .
Loree ’s favourite texture plants :
Best Plants to total Texture to Your Garden
Loree Bohl is the author ofFearless Gardening : Be sheer , Break the Rules , and Grow What You Love . She gardens in Portland , Oregon .
Photos : Claire Takacs Photography
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Sometimes you just have to let loose.For a gardener, that time is usually plant-buying time. But it’s all good if you remember to keep it cool with some repeating elements like hardscape and some key plants to knit everything together.
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Front garden.You can always tell where a gardener lives. Here, the trunked yuccas are striking in all seasons, and the ‘Blue Pacific’ shore juniper that runs beneath them is what unifies the diverse shapes and textures.
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Back garden.Things can get a bit wild out back, so it is important to have repeating plants like bear grass tree, with its wide green blades, to help keep the fun from getting out of control.
The key element that makes the backyard work is not a plant.It is the gray hardscape that runs from the path to the patio and sets a stage for the riot of foliage that includes bear grass tree, ‘Ascot’s Rainbow’ euphorbia (Euphorbia×martinii‘Ascot’s Rainbow’, Zones 5–9), and ‘Baccarat’ agave (Agave montana‘Baccarat’, Zones 7b–9).
‘La Siberica’ bear grass tree
‘Ascot’s Rainbow’ euphorbia
Baccarat Agave
Can you ever have too many containers?Not if you keep their colors within a confined palette. This helps rein in the myriad unique shapes and textures they hold.
