Happy Garden Planning!
A garden never stands still. In some ways it is a bit like a very slow-motion movie. In this movie plants come and go entirely at different times of the year and the scenes dramatically change. Some bulbous plants may appear only briefly, most of their lives being spent out of sight underground. Herbaceous perennials may fill borders for many months providing volume, structure and of course colourful flowers – and then also completely disappear. Some plants are evergreen – always there, while others die but remain as useful structures providing refuges and sometimes food, supporting biodiversity over winter. Some explode on to the scene in theatrical pantomime style. Some plants are demure, to be enjoyed ‘close-up’. Others may be relatively tall providing the perfect backdrop or garden screen. And yet while the predominant colour of every garden may be green, in all of its shades, plants are mostly chosen by us for their flower colours.
A riot of different plants, flower colours, heights and textures
There are so many plants to choose from, each offering their own dialogue to the garden ‘movie’. For us gardeners, as the screen-play writers and directors, the exciting challenge is to choose the right plant actors first time around … but how to do this when there are thousands of plants out there? For me, there is no substitute to visiting other gardens as often as possible and at different times of the year, to see what is growing – how and when. I try to include garden shows too, where it is possible to see the work of dozens of the best designers, all in one place. Although shows tend to be super-busy, they are a feast for the gardening imagination. These days it is very easy to take hundreds of photos of anything that takes-your-fancy – plant and flower colour combinations, leaf sizes and shapes, plant structures, bark patterns, plant shadows, designing for biodiversity etc – to enjoy looking at on screen later, in your own time. Visiting real gardens is different to visiting nurseries and garden centres, where plants may be flowering out of season, to tempt the buyer! Plus, it is important to see plants actually in the ground, to understand their real size and character. When they are raised off the ground in pots or set on tables in great drifts, it is easy to misjudge the scale and impact of the plant. Real gardens show the plants in real situations and sometimes there may be an opportunity to have a chat with a real gardener too!
Dense planting of verbascums, foxgloves, daisies, geums, heleniums, combine with grasses to create a rich display - privacy if sitting but possible to see through if standing
One way to start selecting plant options is to make a simple plan-drawing of your space / flowerbed. (You don’t have to be a professional designer to do this or an artistic genius). If your garden is large, it can help the selection process to divide it into areas and to focus on each these one at a time, before imagining a journey connecting them all together. Take into account the movement of the sun - how long it shines on different areas and note the more sunny and more shady spots. Also, think about how you like to use your garden. It is after all another ’room’ for you to enjoy (and please give a thought to mother-nature and biodiversity too). Is there a favourite sunny place where you can sit quietly – time to ‘stop-and-stare’ – or meet family and friends to play or talk. If not, can you create one? After all, Isn’t this what gardening is about?
Gardens are for using, not just for looking at! Foxgloves, gaura, eryngium combine with different grasses - nice to see a beehive too! ‘Show Gardens’ - great for inspiration.
The above steps may provide ideas for the locations of plants based on size and colour – the primary factors for most of us as we give in to our plant ‘wish lists’! Technical considerations, although crucial for the health of the plant, are often secondary in the design process. The great thing about simple sketches using coloured pencils, felt pens or crayons, is they can be done quickly and lots of combinations can be considered. And this is where SeeHow can really help, as the life-like illustrations show how each plant will look throughout its whole life – month-by-month – January to December.
A flowerbed in the lawn can be walked around - seen from all sides
SeeHow is a simple-to-use tool to help make choosing plants a little easier. It really can save hours spent poring over gardening books trying to figure out when plants will grow and flower at their best and what they will look like in combination with other plants. In addition, key technical information, simply laid out, is provided on the back of each one. If you follow what is written on the back, you should get what is shown on the front! A picture is worth 1,000 words.
Happy garden planning!
The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text.