Before I purchased the Sunnyside Nursery back in 1989, I owned a landscape contracting business in California. That company designed, installed and maintained residential, commercial and municipal landscapes.
The bread and butter of the business was the maintenance, but from time to time I would get to actually design a whole landscape. At that time, I pretty much followed traditional landscape design principles. I kept it simple using maybe three to four different types of plants and planting them in large drifts.
This uncomplicated method resulted in a pleasing composition that visually held together, was easy to maintain and looked nice 12 months a year. But in retrospect, I would have to say that those landscapes weren’t real exciting, nor were they very attractive to wildlife, like birds and bees.
Fast forward to present day, where for the last 30 years I have been immersed in an incredible and inexhaustible variety of plant material. The thought of limiting a landscape to three or four varieties is unimaginable — I simply have too many favorites.
Now the challenge is incorporating multiple varieties of plants so it doesn’t look like just a collection, but rather a designed arrangement. For me, the technique of “layering” has solved that problem.
Good design calls for some level of repetition, which creates a feeling of cohesiveness. Landscape architects accomplish this by repeating the same plant throughout the design, but homeowners can achieve the same effect by using a variety of plants that have the same overall look.
I find that bold foliage repeated every 4 to 6 feet (or more if you have a large area) keeps my eye moving through the design. In between that bold foliage I will cram an assortment of finer textures, until plants are touching and overlaying their neighbors. Gaps or open soil are a no-no.
If the bed is deep enough, I will do the same thing behind the front row, with those plants spilling over and into that area, so that it looks like there are “layers” of vegetation. The result is a more natural-looking landscape that contains a rich variety of plants (with often four seasons of interest).
When combined, they form a composition that is interesting to the eye yet uncluttered, with just enough repetition to hold it all together.
It’s a known fact that the worst person to ask for landscape design advice is a nursery owner, and for good reason — they want to sell you one of every plant on the property.
While this would normally be a recipe for disaster, I am convinced that by using the “layering” concept and spacing out the plants with bold foliage, anyone can assemble an attractive landscape. Granted it will take a little more finesse, but it is totally doable.
For those of us who want it all, this is the best of both worlds: lots of plants and a good-looking yard.
As a bonus, the fun part comes as things grow and we get to guide our arrangement into the picture we had envisioned. Some things will need to be tamed, while others will need some encouragement. Eventually some will even need to be replaced, which is always a happy occasion for the gardener. Us gardeners love to take a trip to the garden center and find some new treasures.
If you would like to see some examples of layering, feel free to explore my garden any time. It’s right next to the nursery.
Steve Smith is the owner of Sunnyside Nursery and can be reached at info@sunnysidenursery.net.
Hydrangeas &Fuchsias
Attend a free class on how to grow hydrangeas at 10 a.m. July 22 and another free class on growing hardy fuchsias at 11 a.m. July 23 at Sunnyside Nursery, 3915 Sunnyside Blvd., Marysville. For more information or to sign up, visit www.sunnysidenursery.net.
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