Garden Design IdeasGarden Ideas, Photos and Tips for Gardening at Home
flower are momentaneous , but foliage is forever ! Well , maybe not forever and a day , but foliation lasts much longer in the garden than most flowers and provides just as much excitement . In fact , foliage is one of the garden ’s most diverse and brawny elements . Besides color , foliage plantscan also possess unique textures , sizes , or Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe to allow for breathtaking beauty and act as job - solver in the garden .
FOLIAGE COLOR
Knowing how to creatively use color as a trouble - solver is one of the most brawny tools in your garden design toolbox . Whether helping to unite a disjoin garden or breathe new life into it , focusing on colorful foliage can elevate your garden to a young level .
Create a complex color echo by seeking out unusual sources of colouration , like shades of raspberry found under the foliage of this ‘ Honeycrisp ’ coleus .
Add cohesion.
If your garden seems a bit disorderly , with plants placed with no rhyme or reason , create colour echoes among the disjointed plants can be the tonality to unifying the design . A colour echo is make by choosing a specific color and repeating it throughout the garden bed , acting as a ribbon of harmony that helps attach everything together .
In add-on to working with exclusive or multi - coloured leaves , there are many other aspect of foliage to count , helping to create a complex color echo . For model , wait under the leaves for secret and often brilliant color . flame nettle and heucheras ( coral bells ) , for instance , often have colorful and contrasting shade on the undersurface of their leaves .
Or , regard incorporating the people of color of a plant’snew growththroughout your garden seam . For exercise , many peony , uprise , Pieris , orPhotiniavarieties are topple with bright , garnet - colour leaves each spring as their new growth emerges . spotlight this unexpected fit of color with fence in plants in alike shades to make an impressive statement in the spring garden .
This garden bed is anything but boring , thanks to the bright chartreuse leafage of the gold oregano , and the red leaf of the sterile ‘ Orange Rocket ’ berberis . Garden : Ruby Andrews .
Avoid predictability.
Too much repetition can often result in a ho - hum experience . Dynamic garden require a balanced mix of repetition and contrast to keep thing interesting , yet cohesive .
counterpoint createsdynamic energythrough the visual tension created by different elements ( i.e. , complementary or opponent colors , textures , or shapes ) . If your garden has more predictability than zing , the solution might be as straightforward as come in it with a contrasting color .
FOLIAGE TEXTURE
There ’s no doubt that foliage grain is an beguiling component in the garden , creating an irresistible physical response among immature and old alike — who can resist the uncontrollable urge to stroke the soft leafage of a lamb ’s ear industrial plant ? Texture , however , is also a design workhorse , able to solve a all-inclusive scope of workaday garden problems .
The outsized , heavily toothed foliage of this honeybush ( Melianthus major ) commingle with its glorious glaucous gloss , make this a guaranteed focal detail in any garden layer .
Focal point.
Heavily textured , bluff foliage rival the showiest of blooms , make them prime prospect for the garden ’s focal breaker point . Use caution with such a commanding element , however , as too many plants with these qualities can quickly see chaotic . Judicial exercise and arrangement are necessary to make a sensational statement .
The wispy blades of the grasses help strike the spotlight on the magnificent , morphological agaves . Cornerstone Gardens , designed by Oehme , van Sweden .
Supporting cast.
sure foliage textures can help oneself shine the spotlight on focal point works . For example , to help accent the oversized , crinkly leaves of a morphological artichoke works , consider surround it with the airy foliage of threadleaf tick-weed ( C. verticillata‘Moonbeam ’ ) or the wispy blade of a Berkeley sedge ( Carex divulsa ) .
Conversely , those same heavily textured plant can help inject much - needed inflammation into a garden occupy with an nimiety of finely textured plants . Again , it ’s all about the proportion of repetition and contrast !
At The Highline Garden , the plentiful usage of fragile grain adds cohesion among the various planting bed .
Binders.
Drifts of fine texture have an otherworldly , ethereal issue , like to clouds , and are a crucial element in the popular New Perennial Movement . These delicate textures gently fill up the minus space between more across-the-board , bolder plantings . These drift roleplay as a reaper binder of sorts , bond together disjoined areas of the garden with a cohesive and orderly rate of flow .
FOLIAGE SHAPE
Shape typically refers to the outline of the leafage ; examples such as heart - shaped , elongated , round , or deeply lob are just a few descriptions that come to beware . And while the colour and texture of foliage are authoritative characteristics , the chassis of a folio is also a force out to contend with .
The outsized , ellipse leaves of the hosta , cabbage , and kale echo one another , creating unity among what could be a disparate pigeonholing .
Subtle shape echoes.
Just as it ’s of import to create sound reflection with color and grain , the same can be enounce for foliage ’s form and it is a surefire way to thread cohesiveness and unity throughout the garden .
make frame echoes get a little practice , but once this acquisition is mastered , the subtle result is sublime . For representative , consider the spiky , brand - shaped foliage of aPhormiumand how it echoes the vertical , feathery wands of a nearby gage ( Calamgrostis foliosa . )
The midget oval leave-taking of the azalea combined with the bold and oval leaf of the bergenia results in an eye - get combination .
Refreshing contrast.
As mentioned above , too much repeating can lead in a sleepy-eyed ( make bold we say wearisome ? ) garden . However , active shape combinations can wake the eye , providing a much - needed jolt of excitement .
VARIEGATED FOLIAGE
When the leafage of a plant hold more than one colour ( commonly clean and green or yellow and light-green ) , it ’s name to as having ‘ variegated foliage . ’ And with a act of strategical position , this variegated foliage is a ‘ wow broker ’ moment just waiting to hap .
The delicate foliage of motley ribgrass ( Rhamnus alaternus‘Variegata ’ ) impart an elegant touch to this serene and green garden . Garden : Lani Freymiller .
Break up a ‘sea of green.’
An overabundance of all - green shrubs can result in a lackluster garden , thanks to the ‘ sea of fleeceable ’ effect . Adding a variegated bush or two is a welcome direct contrast , with the unexpected dad of gloss lend a bit of excitement back into the garden .
The gold and yellow variegated foliation of the Hakone green goddess ( Hakonechloa macra‘Aureola ’ ) and daphne ( Daphne odora‘Maejima ’ ) warm up this shadowy side yard . Garden : Lisa Mitchell .
Warm up a shady garden.
Yellow variegated plants act as the ‘ missing sunshine ’ in darker , shadowy gardens , provide the welcome illusion of affectionateness . These upbeat gloss offer a outburst of colour among shadows and glum corner .
The Funka ’s bold , glaucous foliation sum a calming element when position near two variegate plants .
Combining variegated plants.
Combining two variegate plants side by side is often consider a surefire way to create a visual concern , thanks to the to a fault officious foliage combinations . However , many gardener do n’t take in that you may mix several variegated plants together in a small area with a piddling know - how .
The keystone to successfully fuse vary plants is to remember the grandness of direct contrast , both in leaf sizing and shape and even texture . And , if you may bring a nearby plant with a sheer , solid color , it will act as the ref among this potentially chaotic grouping .
Foliage Over Flowers : Exciting Plant Combinations
Rebecca ’s fix a love for foliage that ’s downright infectious ! “ 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 shine in a spectacular direction !
BOOK REBECCA AS YOUR NEXT GARDEN SPEAKER!
Fun , passionate , and well-read , three words that describe Rebecca Sweet!See what discussion topics are available and watch a short videoas Rebecca explains how her negotiation will inhale , entertain , and educate gardener at all skill levels .
