If you are like me, you want to create a garden that feels organized yet natural all at the same time. This is a more contemporary and satisfying way of using plants like flowers and grasses. Naturalistic yards are more sustainable and attractive. However, this is much easier said than done. It has taken me years and years of practice to start getting it right. In that time, I’ve likely planted over 20,000 plants. So to help you achieve the same beautiful look that brings butterflies and hummingbirds into your yard, here are three of the most important lessons I’ve learned to transform your garden!
Transformation means doing things a little different that the status quo. But these three little tips can jumpstart your efforts. You’ll be amazed just how big of a difference they can make.
NUMBER ONE: Stop using only one specimen of a plant. I see this all the time. Lovers of plants want lots of them, so they focus too much on variety and not enough on numbers. Nature rarely has just one of anything. SO!! Whenever you use a species use them in groups. For the best results, use odd numbers of them such as 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 or better 13! Yes, 13! As you get to this density, you will create what is known as a block of plants. Block planting is one of the secret sauces to majestic places like the High Line and Lurie Park. Blocks also help the eye better understand the same and the depth of variety you may have in your garden.
NUMBER TWO: NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, E V E R R R R RR R R R !!! plant in straight lines! Straight lines are a leftover of the easiest days of gardening when all the experts were creating guidelines based on agriculture. But if you are not a farmer or trying to grow tomatoes, fight the urge to plop your plants side by side. It’s great to maximize a yield from a field, but looks forced and totally unnatural in a contemporary garden. Once you’ve got your odd number of plants, you want to think like nature – and that means clustered…also known as clustered block plantings. Native plants don’t need to be evenly spaced to mature and mesmerize you, but they do want to interact as they would in the environment. The sketch below illustrates both of these points. EXTRA CREDIT!! This clustering will open doors of perception for you as you incorporate other principles for contemporary gardening.
NUMBER ONE: Stop using only one specimen of a plant. I see this all the time. Lovers of plants want lots of them, so they focus too much on variety and not enough on numbers. Nature rarely has just one of anything. SO!! Whenever you use a species use them in groups. For the best results, use odd numbers of them such as 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 or better 13! Yes, 13! As you get to this density, you will create what is known as a block of plants. Block planting is one of the secret sauces to majestic places like the High Line and Lurie Park. Blocks also help the eye better understand the same and the depth of variety you may have in your garden.
NUMBER TWO: NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, E V E R R R R RR R R R !!! plant in straight lines! Straight lines are a leftover of the easiest days of gardening when all the experts were creating guidelines based on agriculture. But if you are not a farmer or trying to grow tomatoes, fight the urge to plop your plants side by side. It’s great to maximize a yield from a field, but looks forced and totally unnatural in a contemporary garden. Once you’ve got your odd number of plants, you want to think like nature – and that means clustered…also known as clustered block plantings. Native plants don’t need to be evenly spaced to mature and mesmerize you, but they do want to interact as they would in the environment. The sketch below illustrates both of these points. EXTRA CREDIT!! This clustering will open doors of perception for you as you incorporate other principles for contemporary gardening.
NUMBER THREE: This isn’t an easy step, but critical for engaging in more natural gardening. You can’t really learn this in a book or online either. As you select different types of plants, you really need to know how they will look from March to December, or better from March to March. From anchor plants to filler plants – you want to create presense with your gardening choices and this means using species that transform week to week and season to season in a way that never loses appeal. So, don’t simply pick a plant for its flower. That can be one factor, but blooms come and go…stems and leaves stay around much more. Also, consider how the flower will look pre-bloom and post-bloom even in the winter. Some great examples of plants that will melt your heart from spring to spring are Echinacea, Salvia, Amsonia, Baptisia, and Pycnanthemum, or from the grass world, Panicum and Calamagrostis. The images below show how Echinacea looks pre - during and post-bloom.
EXTRA TIP! As I eluded to above, clustered blocks open the door to new ways of seeing the world. And if you are like me, there’s lots of incredible flowers you love that only show up for about 2 weeks out of the year with color and texture to die for…but then quickly disappear into ruin. Asclepias tuberosa is a great example of this – its orange petals blast into life only to fade into nothingness as the entire plant goes with it. These plants are known as seasonal interest plants. They aren’t best used for your blocks because they don’t have the presense to persist for 9 to 12 months. But as you begin to use odd number of plants and stop planting in straight lines, the spaces for these beauties will magically appear before your eyes. You can see below how the example from above easily and effortlessly offers ground for some of our favorite plants to grow.
So try these tips out and let me know how they work for you!
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