Put Your Plants First

To design the garden of your dreams, start with the flowers and foliage you love

On an increasingly overbuilt planetwhere daily experience with the lifelike world is limit , at best , gardens can wait on as spot to reconnect with nature . The average today is , sadly , tired , clichéd landscape painting installations for public or commercial-grade site , or over designed , trendy individual outdoor space . In both vitrine , plants have been treated as 2nd - class citizen — the last thing conceive .

Plants ignite a sinewy family relationship between mass and a garden space when their beauty , variety , and power to alter are fete . They can appeal , at once , to the personal druthers of the nurseryman , enhance a site and its characteristics , and embrace the uniqueness of a specific region . A garden created with favorite plants in intellect — first and foremost , rather than after web site and hardscaping considerations have been set in Harlan F. Stone — deepen our connection with the garden . pose plants first in the purpose operation restitute the animation of outdoor space and allows them to be truly celebrate garden .

Elements ofa plant-driven design

When it number to planning and implant a garden , do n’t just choose plants that you love and plump down them down in any quondam spot . Be certain to identify these appreciate pet in spotlight where their best property will fall and where their conditional needs will be met . Every garden innovation should bear flora that personify the follow characteristics .

1 . Fragrance

A pungent odor is emitted when you brush up against the leaf of wild quinine ( Parthenium integrifolium , Zones 4–8 ) . Plants that not only pique your ocular interest but also your sentiency of smell are important for cement a intuitive link with the landscape .

2 . Texture

The soft , frondlike leave of ‘ Sutherland Gold ’ elder ( Sambucus racemosa‘Sutherland Gold ’ , Zones 3–7 ) stand out for not only their color but also their pillowy texture , which is in direct demarcation to the ring industrial plant with broad leaves .

3 . Seasonality

Conifers , like this Colorado blue spruce ( Picea pungens , Zones 2–8 ) , are important in provide class - round interest but really become key thespian in wintertime when nothing else is looking good .

4 . soma

Hellenic foxglove ( Digitalis lanata , Zones 3–9 ) is center - catch for its color and its potent architectural presence . Having plant that make an impression because of their shape add another bed of sake to a design .

5 . Color

The chromaticity of your plants should take a hint from their surroundings . Here , the smart peak of yellow coneflower ( Echinacea paradoxa , Zones 5–8 ) stand out against the green background but also complement the Paris green leaf of the elder .

Consider site, purpose, and plants simultaneously

Designers typically lay out a quad first , then select and place plants on the site to match predetermined goals . Gardeners , on the other hand , normally acquire their preferred plants first , then explore for suitable patch to place them . The idealistic approach is to reckon purpose , blank space , plant selection , and placement all at the same clock time .

The creation of our home garden in northern Colorado is an example of plant - force back design . Our prop was an uninspired , flat half Akka in a recently built subdivision — a vacuous slate of half - all in lawn , rather than the more distinctive suburban heritage of rabble , ill localize landscape plants and endless mulch . The legal age of Edwin Herbert Land was in the back ( for extra privacy ) , with nice views to the west , and the site was blessed with cryptical territory — something rare in our region . Otherwise , this was about as prosaic a root for a garden as one could guess .

A little fragrance goes a long way

1.‘Princes Irene ’ tulip(Tulipa‘Princes Irene ’ , Zones 4–8 )

2.‘Mesa Verde ’ Colorado gamy spruce(Picea pungens‘Mesa Verde ’ , Zones 2–8 )

3.Tulip(Tulipacv . , Zones 4–8 )

4.Lady tulip(Tulipa clusiana , Zones 4–8 )

5.Cushion spurge(Euphorbia polychroma , Zones 5–9 )

6.‘Crandall ’ clove currant(Ribes odoratum‘Crandall ’ , Zones 5–8 )

7.‘Hillside ’ Colorado blue spruce(Picea pungens‘Hillside ’ , Zones 2–8 )

We start thinking immediately about which of our much - make out plant would thrive , given these challenge and opportunity . course occurring conditions , like good mystifying soil , meant we could grow lots of different plants , especially trees and shrubs . We joyfully and covetously set about progress to a leaning of desired trees . The following spring , we implant closely to 100 of them : for riddle , for shade , for fruit , to build views , and some just because we liked the plants so much and wanted to experiment with them in our mood .

The scenic environment of our property root on our garden ’s style and , in turning , our plant selection . We decided to create hayfield , steppe , chaparral , and rock gardens to recall the land forms and industrial plant community beyond , linking the garden to the snippet of wild mantrap that we could see right out our room access . What favorite plants of ours would echo the emotional state of the regional landscape ? And which ones would also fulfill our finish of sustainable diversity by digest a low input of water and no soil amendment or fertilizers , and only requiring as much care as the two of us could provide given our time constraints and the size of the tidy sum ?

conifer of all size — chiefly pines ( Pinusspp . and cvs . , USDA Hardiness Zones 3–10 ) and spruce ( Piceaspp . and cvs . , Zones 2–8)—were good choices because they grow well in our clime and dominate much of the aboriginal mountain woods yet they propose a multifariousness of specie and form . sure decorative grasses were also idealistic choices , echoing the short - grass prairie our section had displace and yield the centre a needed rest with the balminess and peace of mind of a low , all right - textured planting ( similar to a lawn but more interesting and less resource intensive ) . We satisfied our passion for bulbs by inter planting yard of ephemeral foul-up and a smattering of rare species . A plant - ample garden was develop that continually fascinated and involved us .

Capture and highlight the spirit of your plants

A plant life - repulse garden is created around a love for sure plant . Those plants have unequalled collection and item-by-item personalities that surrogate interaction and connexion while meeting other plan goals . Most important , their ethnic want must be address . But beyond that , you need to find ways to show off the attributes that describe you to them .

Strong colors and forms are important in every design

1.Willowleaf sunflower(Helianthus salicifolius , Zones 6–9 )

2.Burgundy burnet(Sanguisorba menziesii , Zones 4–8 )

3.Red - hot poker(Kniphofiacv . , Zones 5–9 )

Photo by Lauren Springer Ogden, design by the staff of the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona

4.‘Little Joe ’ Joe Pye weed(Eutrochium dubium‘Little Joe ’ , Zones 3–9 )

5.‘Fontanelle ’ spuria iris(Iris‘Fontanelle ’ , Zones 6–9 )

6.Annual larkspur(Consolida ambigua , one-year )

Photo by Lauren Springer Ogden, design by the staff of the Sonoran Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona

Specific flora character , such as seasonality , fragrance , texture , form , and color , should be celebrated . Colorado , like much of the country , has mark seasons . With that in mind , we chose plants that would thrive in our overweening , moist springiness ; dry yet pleasantly warm summer ; nippy , bright autumn ; and long but crystalline winter . Jewel - toned bulb blooms , like crocuses ( Crocus chrysanthuscvs . , Zones 3–8 ) , pocket-sized specie tulips , and others , give us high hopes in spring while the residue of the garden still sleepily hold back . Summer burst forth with ornamental green goddess and our favourite drought - resistant perennial , such as firecracker penstemon ( Penstemoneatonii , Zones 4–9 ) , ‘ Walker ’s Low ’ catmint ( Nepetafaassenii‘Walker ’s Low ’ , Zones 4–8 ) , and golden dome alyssum ( Alyssum markgrafii , Zones 4–8 ) , which add a spattering of vibrant color .

Fall is when many deciduous trees , such as serviceberry and Rocky Mountain Splendor ™ birch tree , take their routine in the spotlight with outrageous autumnal chromaticity . As winter descends , grasses go tawny and much of the garden retreats to black and white as coniferous tree become the adept , with their intriguing viridity , silver , and dismal silhouette often dusted in Charles Percy Snow .

Fragrance encourages up - close encounters with certain plants , so these are essential in any excogitation . They should occupy prize spot along tract or by seating area . A darling interference fringe tree and coarse lilacs ( Syringa vulgariscvs . , Zones 4–8 ) are given places of pride near our chief routes . ‘ Crandall ’ clove currant is one of the early fragrant things to bloom for us , before the viburnums even think of gap . It is intensely fragrant , and I plant it in almost all gardens I project in this realm . These scented beauties advance a close connectedness to the garden because of their sensual appeal .

Color is most effective when taking its discriminative stimulus from the surrounding landscape painting . In Colorado , for example , lush green is lowly to sage green , flatware , grey , and aristocratic for much of the year , so we planted an array of silvern subshrub , such as artemisia ( Artemisiaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) and salvia ( Salviaspp . and cvs . , zone 5–11 ) . Brightly colored flowers show better than pastels in the fierce sun . Luminescent red - hot poker and blue larkspur entertain up to the sun of high noontide and glow when backlit in the morning and good afternoon light .

Seasonality and texture ensure that the garden never sleeps

1.Atlas fescue(Festuca mairei , Zones 4–8 )

2.Rocky Mountain Splendor ™ birch(Betula‘Rockimon ’ , Zones 4–7 )

3.Ohio buckeye(Aesculus glabra , Zones 3–7 )

4.Hop tree(Ptelea trifoliata , Zones 5–9 )

5.Serviceberry(Amelanchier canadensis , zona 3–7 )

6.Fringe tree(Chionanthus virginicus , Zones 4–9 )

7.‘Carolina Moonlight ’ false indigo(Baptisia‘Carolina Moonlight ’ , Zones 4–9 )

8.Aromatic aster(Aster oblongifolius , Zones 4–9 )

9.Arizona corkbark fir(Abies lasiocarpavar.arizonica , Zones 5–6 )

To me , textural and sculptural flora are vital in any garden because of their long season of interest and power to set a mood . At home , columnar Tree and shrub block our close-fitting neighbor , stopping the center along the narrow-minded part of the garden with their arresting sentinel - similar form . Spiky plants , such as bear grass ( Xerophyllum tenax , zona 5–8 ) and agave ( Agavespp . and cvs . , Zones 7–11 ) , create strong year - round bodily structure amid twiglike , more formless , drouth - repellent shrub and perennial . sens , like Atlas fescue , lend a fleshly softness to the often lumpy , jumpy medium textures of so many herbaceous planting ( photo , above ) . They make our garden seem larger and more generous .

As a garden grows , it develops , over time , its own sense of rhythm method of birth control and balance that couch people and plants together in a well-off context . The gardener / designer ’s manus and the will of the plant life engage in their own saltation of spontaneity and control . Pruning , editing , reincarnate , and replace are as much the essence of industrial plant - driven design as that first exciting creation on paper and in unfinished globe . Gardens where flora get first — no matter the style or the region — prognosticate change , surprise , and delight . A relationship is born and a reconnection with the innate world is made .

Accentuate Plant Traitswith Light

In a garden , light exchange its quality and direction every hour of every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , yet it is often overlooked in design . Be indisputable to consider how a industrial plant ’s form and texture react to light before deciding where it should be placed .

Fuzzy or opaque:

Plants with hirsute or fluffy surfaces ( like the ornamental green goddess , envision ) trap light , highlighting their unparalleled textures . Backlighting translucent leaves and petal creates a glow .

Reflective:

Some flowers and foliage have shiny qualities . These flora , when hit with clean , gleam .

Architectural:

Plants with a bluff outline are grave by strong lighting and shadow , and give the landscape painting striking silhouettes .

Lauren Springer Ogden and her husband , Scott , are garden architect in Fort Collins , Colorado , and are the author ofPlant - Driven Design .

Photos and designs , except where noted : Lauren Springer Ogden

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