Landscape Designers Share 8 Tips for Creating a Cohesive Garden
If this past year has sparked an interest in making more of your outdoors, this expert advice will lay the groundwork
As spring kicks off, and suddenly there are masses of cheerful plants for sale, it’s tempting to grab a selection to add instant garden color. However, without a little planning, it’s easy to end up with an incoherent design that doesn’t quite work. So before you head off to the nursery, dig into these insider tips from experienced landscape pros.
2. Think in Four Dimensions
John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens suggests you also consider the fact that plants are constantly changing. “Not only is what you plant going to grow and spread, it’s also going to change over time,” Brennan says. “If it’s a tree or shrub, it will get larger and also cast more shade, which will affect what’s planted nearby.”
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John Brennan of Yorkshire Gardens suggests you also consider the fact that plants are constantly changing. “Not only is what you plant going to grow and spread, it’s also going to change over time,” Brennan says. “If it’s a tree or shrub, it will get larger and also cast more shade, which will affect what’s planted nearby.”
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3. Maximize Your Planting Beds
The classic landscape layout consists of a central lawn and narrow flowerbeds around the outside, but Peter Reader of Peter Reader Landscapes says enlarging the planting space can not only introduce more interest and color, it can actually make life simpler. “Deep beds are easier to maintain, as the plants can grow to their full size, while planting[s] or features emerging into the central spaces create interest and structure, and draw you out into the [yard],” Reader says.
The classic landscape layout consists of a central lawn and narrow flowerbeds around the outside, but Peter Reader of Peter Reader Landscapes says enlarging the planting space can not only introduce more interest and color, it can actually make life simpler. “Deep beds are easier to maintain, as the plants can grow to their full size, while planting[s] or features emerging into the central spaces create interest and structure, and draw you out into the [yard],” Reader says.
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4. Look Where the Sunlight Falls
Before you purchase anything for your yard, it’s worth spending some time in it to find out where the sunny and shady areas are, so you can choose your plants and position your seating accordingly.
“Draw a little map and mark in the shady areas in the morning, at noon and in the evening,” Tyrrell says. Note whether each area is mostly in sun, mostly in shade or in part-sun, part-shade. “Then, when choosing plants, it becomes much easier to identify where they will grow best,” she says.
“This is also a useful exercise for identifying areas of the [yard] for a patio or seating to get the morning or evening sun; a shady area where you can locate your garden shed, or a place that gets the sun all day for vegetables or a greenhouse,” she adds.
Reader agrees, saying, “When buying plants, do your research, and go for what will grow well in your [landscape’s] conditions. Don’t just buy what the garden center has to offer. ‘The right plant for the right place’ is the [landscape] designers’ mantra.”
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Before you purchase anything for your yard, it’s worth spending some time in it to find out where the sunny and shady areas are, so you can choose your plants and position your seating accordingly.
“Draw a little map and mark in the shady areas in the morning, at noon and in the evening,” Tyrrell says. Note whether each area is mostly in sun, mostly in shade or in part-sun, part-shade. “Then, when choosing plants, it becomes much easier to identify where they will grow best,” she says.
“This is also a useful exercise for identifying areas of the [yard] for a patio or seating to get the morning or evening sun; a shady area where you can locate your garden shed, or a place that gets the sun all day for vegetables or a greenhouse,” she adds.
Reader agrees, saying, “When buying plants, do your research, and go for what will grow well in your [landscape’s] conditions. Don’t just buy what the garden center has to offer. ‘The right plant for the right place’ is the [landscape] designers’ mantra.”
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Brennan adds that plants not only survive better in the right light, but look best in their natural habitat. “Large-leaved plants with cooler-colored flowers probably originated from woodlands and will look better in the shade,” he says. “Hot-colored flowers look good planted next to grasses to give a natural, prairie feel, while herbs often prefer poor soil and look good planted through gravel.”
How to Find the Best Plants for Your Yard
How to Find the Best Plants for Your Yard
5. Buy in Multiples
Tyrrell and Reader both suggest you shouldn’t buy one of everything, but several, preferably in odd numbers — three, five or even seven. “Mix them around the garden,” Reader says. “Repetition pulls the space and design together and creates harmony.”
Tyrrell and Reader both suggest you shouldn’t buy one of everything, but several, preferably in odd numbers — three, five or even seven. “Mix them around the garden,” Reader says. “Repetition pulls the space and design together and creates harmony.”
6. Avoid Bare Patches
Whether you have deep or shallow beds, it’s wise to fill them with your favorite plants. “If you leave bare soil in your garden, nature will fill it with weeds,” Tyrrell says, “so it’s important to try to achieve a complete ground cover. Not only will your landscape be more colorful and interesting, it will also be easier to maintain.”
Whether you have deep or shallow beds, it’s wise to fill them with your favorite plants. “If you leave bare soil in your garden, nature will fill it with weeds,” Tyrrell says, “so it’s important to try to achieve a complete ground cover. Not only will your landscape be more colorful and interesting, it will also be easier to maintain.”
7. Create Intrigue to Make the Space Feel Bigger
The sense that there’s more to explore beyond what you can immediately see is a trick many designers use to make a yard feel bigger than it is, so consider partially hiding an area. “If you have a [yard] where all parts are visible at once, you could think about partitioning it, either physically with screens or hedges, or through different planting styles with different atmospheres,” Brennan says.
This Design Move Can Make a Garden Feel More Expansive
The sense that there’s more to explore beyond what you can immediately see is a trick many designers use to make a yard feel bigger than it is, so consider partially hiding an area. “If you have a [yard] where all parts are visible at once, you could think about partitioning it, either physically with screens or hedges, or through different planting styles with different atmospheres,” Brennan says.
This Design Move Can Make a Garden Feel More Expansive
8. Don’t Forget There Are Four Seasons
All our experts recommend you try to consider different flowering times and changing leaf colors. “If you visit a garden center, don’t purchase all the plants that are in flower, as you’ll end up with a [landscape] that only has color at one time of year,” Tyrell says.
Brennan adds that a range is important so other plants take over when early flowerers have gone past their best. “Bear in mind plants will change throughout the season, so what you’re buying from the garden center may look great now, but may look very different in six months’ time,” he says.
“Plan for interest for the whole year,” Reader says. “Select a mix of plants that flower at different times or have two seasons of interest, such as spring blossom and autumn foliage color, so there’s always something of interest going on.”
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All our experts recommend you try to consider different flowering times and changing leaf colors. “If you visit a garden center, don’t purchase all the plants that are in flower, as you’ll end up with a [landscape] that only has color at one time of year,” Tyrell says.
Brennan adds that a range is important so other plants take over when early flowerers have gone past their best. “Bear in mind plants will change throughout the season, so what you’re buying from the garden center may look great now, but may look very different in six months’ time,” he says.
“Plan for interest for the whole year,” Reader says. “Select a mix of plants that flower at different times or have two seasons of interest, such as spring blossom and autumn foliage color, so there’s always something of interest going on.”
More on Houzz
10 Tips for Beginning Gardeners
Find more gardening guides
Work with a professional in your area
Shop for lawn and garden supplies
If you were dressing your living room or bedroom, you wouldn’t just think about the flooring, you’d consider all the layers, from curtains and pictures to cabinets and cushions. Patricia Tyrrell of Patricia Tyrrell Living Landscapes suggests you treat your landscape in a similar way and think of your plants like the furnishings of a house.
“Low-growing, mainly perennial plants should be the carpet and therefore purchased in largest numbers,” Tyrrell says. “Shrubs are the furniture, so you have to be careful about the quantity and leave space around them in order that they can be appreciated for their individual forms and not grow together into an untidy mass. Trees are the ceiling and windows, creating the roof and framing the views.”
She says that the trees and shrubs should sit on the low-growing plants in a layer, just like furniture would sit on carpet in a room. “It would look pretty silly if you cut a square out of your carpet to sit the sofa on and the same applies in the garden.”