A basic understanding of the elements of garden design is useful, but shouldn't be scary. Combine plants, hardscape, art and even borrowed scenery to create what you like, and don't worry about any rules. Saving photos you take at gardens, or find in newspapers and magazines, gives you ideas of what you like ... and the inspiration to take matters into your own hands.
Form, texture, color, balance. In garden design, we hear those words over and over. But what do they mean?
Definitions are easy enough.
Think of form as the shape of a plant. Ground covers have a flat form. Firs grow into pyramids. Arborvitae make columns.
Texture presents itself in the size, shape and denseness of foliage, flowers and fruit. Phormiums present as a bristle of swords, whereas Japanese maples -- at least the weeping kinds -- fall in a veil of softness.
Color is, well, color, which can relate to flowers, foliage, fruit and bark.
Balance is all about relationships. Like a good marriage, gardens are held together in a million ways, some more symmetrical than others. Formal gardens weigh space with straight lines; cottage gardens layer plants in an almost two-dimensional aspect; the Japanese turn negative space into an important design element.
The problem with definitions, though, is that they don't tell you how to put words into action. Sometimes design happens with no effort at all; everything just falls into place. More often, some planning is called for, and that's where some good old visual inspiration helps. We can't design your garden for you (darn it), but we can help with the inspiration part.
Here's a tip: Close one eye while looking at a photo. It eliminates distraction and helps concentrate the image.
Kym Pokorny: 503-221-8205; email@example.com; blog.oregonlive.com/kympokorny; twitter.com/diginwithkym
Form represents itself in the shape and size of plants, and how they're combined in the garden. Here, the strategic use of a low wave of brilliant gold veronica (V. prostrata 'Aztec Gold') restrains the mixed border that would otherwise descend into chaos. Top: The pawlike leaves of variegated Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica 'Spider's Web') trumpet the tropics in any combination, whether a solo planting or mixed with other shade-loving plants such as brunnera, trillium or golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra) Nothing is more exciting than a quiver of needles arising from the garden, but we don't want to overdo it. A red phormium, low ornamental grasses and a robust blue agave would be three random plants without the architecture of the wall, focus of the white urn and cottonlike tansy (Tanacetum) sandwiched in between. Opposites attract, with the knives of (Yucca filamentosa 'Color Guard') brought down to earth by the skirt of softness provided by lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina).
Ray Schreiner, co-owner of Schreiner's Iris Gardens and a more-than-enthusiastic gardener, takes chances with a medley of textures -- globes, spikes, tiny leaves and big ones -- that harmonize because of repetition. Even the pumpkins reflect the roundness of the potted boxwood and spaceship-shaped rhubarb. When it comes to Euphorbia myrsinites, you either like the scaly texture or you don't. Either way, there's no denying its usefulness on the plain face of a wall or snaking out of a hanging basket. Blood-red veins run through the heart of a 'Curly Fireflush' begonia, so distinctive it's like looking at an X-ray. Be careful not to cancel out the beauty with a busy background. Try this special plant with a similarly hued heuchera such as 'Fire Chief' and silvery blue oat grass. The tiny teeth of 'Brilliance' autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) can't be beat as a companion to just about anything that matches its need for shade, including bright green hosta or epimedium. If you're looking for contrast, though, veer away from other gold plants.
The Japanese engender the idea of balance with meticulous attention to form. Mounding plants predominate in the foreground with a grove of lacy maples pruned to fit the scene snugly, filling in and adding equilibrium. Garden art pieces add form just as much as plants do. Drops of delicate Turk's cap lily (Lilium martagon) make a significant contribution to this simple combination. Sometimes a plant balances itself, which is exactly how Norway spruce (Picea abies) behaves planted among rocks that set off the layered foliage. Top right: The equilibrium in this combination comes from color and texture. A red-leaved banana stars in the show, but without the curtain of golden Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra), the scene would fall short.
Though some may insist on rules, there's no such thing when it comes to color. Apricot-orange 'Twilight Fairy Gold' crocosmia makes a fabulous match with a violet agastache. But who would have thought to add the phormium in front? Whoever it was, bravo. The shape of these Japanese maple leaves may be familiar, but the salmon and chartreuse color is something else again. Dan Heims, co-owner of Terra Nova Nurseries, gives it additional punch with Monet-blue flowers. Slip on your sunglasses for the eye-searing pairing of ' 'Tropicanna' canna and 'Rustic Orange' coleus. The dark green streaks in the canna tone it down a bit, but, really, dazzle is the goal here. The horses are a temporary complement to Agastache 'Blue Boa,' which goes to show that not all genius combinations are planned.