Basic garden plans for long term plantings should consider:
Colour:
Most ornamentals range the following colour spectrum of silver, grey, blue-grey, blue-green, hunter green, kelly green, bright emerald green, yellow-green, yellow, brown, violet and black (the last four tend to be rare.) One nice effect is to vary ornamental dwarf evergreens with deciduous shrubs that have bright red or violet trunks and stems, like Siberian dogwood or wild roses so that there is a nice interplay of colour in the winter when the leaves fall.
Texture: feathery leaves, fans, spearheads, spikes, fronds, umbrels, etc.. For evergreens: needles, firs, waxy leaves or powdery leaves. Grasses.
How it fills the space: Vines and espaliered fruit trees cover unattractive or worn wall and fence surfaces (although espaliered fruit needs babying) — at least during the summer. They can also crawl over pergolas and archways for shade and large-scale shaping. They create a nice background of colour and texture. So you plant them to break up a plain, boring wall-space. They aren't groundcover.
Shrubs and hedgerows provide windbreaks and privacy.
Ornamental shrubs can be shaped for interesting variety and contrast against the background space. Deciduous ones are usually chosen for the colour of their leaves in autumn (sumac, burning bush, wolf berries, etc.)
Dwarf evergreens also provide those interesting shapes and textures, although they tend to come in predetermined shapes that don't need much pruning (junipers are either ground cover or flare out, some trees are shaped like flames, some are 'fat and pudgey'.)
The shape of garden as it grows in: Height, shape, the space it fills. Think some tall and short trees and shrubs planted in 'staging areas', some perennials that can be switched out for variation in colour and texture (styles change over the years and you want that flexibility), and ground cover to beat back the weeds (usually lawn is chosen as the ground cover, but it looks like yours doesn't do well during hot summers.)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
When you plan a space for a long term result, it's different than quick solutions.
Date: 2011-08-25 06:46 pm (UTC)
- Colour:
Most ornamentals range the following colour spectrum of silver, grey, blue-grey, blue-green, hunter green, kelly green, bright emerald green, yellow-green, yellow, brown, violet and black (the last four tend to be rare.) One nice effect is to vary ornamental dwarf evergreens with deciduous shrubs that have bright red or violet trunks and stems, like Siberian dogwood or wild roses so that there is a nice interplay of colour in the winter when the leaves fall.Shrubs and hedgerows provide windbreaks and privacy.
Ornamental shrubs can be shaped for interesting variety and contrast against the background space. Deciduous ones are usually chosen for the colour of their leaves in autumn (sumac, burning bush, wolf berries, etc.)
Dwarf evergreens also provide those interesting shapes and textures, although they tend to come in predetermined shapes that don't need much pruning (junipers are either ground cover or flare out, some trees are shaped like flames, some are 'fat and pudgey'.)