When we talk about the planting for your garden, you might expect me to ask about colour schemes and favourite flowers, all of which are important. But what I'm most interested in, is how you want your space to feel.
The photograph above is the planting for a patio area in full view of the house, the first space you enter. It has a demanding job to do. It needs to provide a welcome into the garden: fresh and inviting. It needs maximum seasonal variation, so that the picture changes from month to month, week to week almost in the summer, as seen from the house. This might require a lot of flowering plants, but it's seen from the house in winter too, and needs to still convey the spirit of a garden at that time of year. As the decorative element for a reception and entertaining space, the general feel is elegant, yet gently relaxed. The colours and textures work from a distance, but the eye can find much to explore when viewed close-to, and looking through these combinations of living shapes, textures and colours is absorbing and relaxing. In seasons when the planting is mainly viewed from inside, the colour palette can be stronger.
A different space might have a totally different planting brief, and it could be about fabulous leaf shapes, height or scent as much as the kind of flowering plants above. It is of course essential that the planting for any area suits the aspect and conditions available.
The photograph above is the planting for a patio area in full view of the house, the first space you enter. It has a demanding job to do. It needs to provide a welcome into the garden: fresh and inviting. It needs maximum seasonal variation, so that the picture changes from month to month, week to week almost in the summer, as seen from the house. This might require a lot of flowering plants, but it's seen from the house in winter too, and needs to still convey the spirit of a garden at that time of year. As the decorative element for a reception and entertaining space, the general feel is elegant, yet gently relaxed. The colours and textures work from a distance, but the eye can find much to explore when viewed close-to, and looking through these combinations of living shapes, textures and colours is absorbing and relaxing. In seasons when the planting is mainly viewed from inside, the colour palette can be stronger.
A different space might have a totally different planting brief, and it could be about fabulous leaf shapes, height or scent as much as the kind of flowering plants above. It is of course essential that the planting for any area suits the aspect and conditions available.