Matching house and garden in style and personality. Using color and texture to blend the garden. Adding visual rhythm and repetition to the garden. Creating focal points
Restoring a
Designing with plant partners
Grandmother’s Garden
Growing up on a depression-era Georgia farm meant there was lots of work to do. Each of the eight children of the Patterson family had their list of chores. Virginia, my grandmother, had the task of helping her mother with the garden. She had to walk through the flower garden around the house, giving a dipper of water to each plant. She was willing to do her part, but as she hauled around the heavy bucket of water, she mumbled under her breath, “When I grown up, I will not have a single flower in my yard!” Well, something wonderful happened somewhere along the
way of being the Caregiver to the Garden. My grandmother fell in love with those thirsty flowers. Indeed, as an adult, her own yard was always full of flowers. She took great joy in working the soil and planting and tending, and even watering her flowers. She also loved sharing her flowers with others. She would share bouquets, and cuttings, and divisions, and seeds to anyone who showed an interest. We attended a small Presbyterian church and whenever possible, she would bring a simple bouquet of garden gems to place on the altar table — a gift to God and to the people of God. During the week, she would walk through her garden and see a lovely flower and would tell it, “If you stay pretty through the weekend, then I’ll take you to church with me.” Nearly three years ago, we had a wonderful
opportunity to move back to South Carolina. We also were given the opportunity to purchase my grandparent’s house. We jumped at the chance. The small house on Broadway Lake was the summer “home” of my memories. Hours of swimming in the lake with brothers, cousins, and friends. Eating corn so fresh that it had been plucked from its stalk after the water had already come to a boil. We would eat scuppernongs from the vine and have a competition on who could spit the seeds the farthest. And, of course, walk through the flowers with my grandmother. My grandfather had passed away over twenty years earlier. Because of her health, my grandmother had lived with my parents for ten years. She passed away two years ago. The beloved house and gardens had suffered from their lack of constant care. The process of restoring the garden would begin as a rescue mission — to search out worthy survivors from the perennial beds and move them to safety before starting over. We had only lived in the home for a few weeks when a new septic tank was unavoidable. (enough said). The only place for the new septic tank was directly under the main section of the flower garden. We simply had to do what must be done. But that meant that the soil that was so carefully tended and enriched by decades of my grandparents work would now be dug and turned back over to the hard red brick Carolina clay. And so, a garden renovation became a garden restore from scratch. The plan was never to re -create my grandmother’s garden (even her garden was never the same from year to year— perennials were divided and moved, annuals reseeds in different places, plants were added or removed). The plan was to create a garden inspired by her great love of beautiful things. The first year had to focus on restoring the soil. The many, many moving boxes became a biodegradable weed barrier. We began with several truck loads of good soil. We added lots of chopped leaves and wood chipped mulch to blanket the soil and prevent a new generation of weeds from taking over. (We also began raising some chickens, which provided quality fertilizer for the new garden.) The garden was expanded and new pebble paths were placed through the area. Heuchera “Pistache” and “Georgia Plumb” with variegated garden sage. The statue of St. Francis was an anniversary gift from my wife.
Now that we had a “blank slate” we could make decisions on the garden style and design. A good design should match the personality of the gardener and match the style of the home. My personality is rather laid back and casual. We were moving from a long, brick ranch home in middle Georgia. The home was very symmetrical and read more formal than our current home. I had to find a balance between a casual feel with formal structures. Top— Our home in AL had a continental European feel with an arbor, pergola, and fountain providing structure. Bottom — Our house in GA was a symmetrical ranch. We opted for a casual, but symmetrical style. Plants were kept in larger groups and symetrical shrubs near the house. Curved beds softened the hard lines of the house.
The Lake House in Anderson was calling for that easy going lake-living style. My personal favorite casual style is a cottage garden with the weaving of perennials and annuals and shrubs and bulbs. But there is quite a bit of work that goes into designing that “thrown together, natural look.” It can be difficult to make this higglety pigglety design work without becoming too overwhelming. One key is using a cohesive color scheme throughout the garden. The repetition of color can even help the plant collector garden look unified.(I must-have-one-of-each-plant-I-seesyndrome). My grandmother loved the excitement of yellows and oranges, but I much prefer the calmer blues, purples, and pinks. Some punches of yellow can help break up the purples and blues and also helps unify parts of my grandmother’s garden with my own design.
Using silver as a blending/connecting foliage. One of my favorite color design additions is the use of silver leaved plants. Most of these plants are over looked at garden centers. They are not particularly attractive on their own, but they work wonderfully blending colors and weaving throughout the garden. It provides unity without drawing attention to itself. They can also add wonderful texture to the garden. I love dusty miller, lambs ear, garden sage, and “powis castle” artimesia. (This is the only artimesia that I have found successfully survives in our humidity and I highly recommend it.) The silver color combines beautifully with the cool colors, but it can also do wonders calming some of the hotter colors. It can also be one of the best ways to visually blend colors that might not normally work well together.
Top— the variegated gaura “Passionate Rainbow” is combined with the silver texture of Artimesia “Powis Castle”. Left— Dusty Miller weaves through snapdragons, pincussions, and beartongues. Above — “Helen Van Stein” has larger leaves than the species lamb’s ear. It rarely if ever blooms
A chartreuse green can also work to blend colors and add texture in a garden. It is, of course, a much more vibrant color for blending and works well with some colors but perhaps not with all colors. Silver fades away, highlighting it’s neighbors. Chartreuse stand out, but it can also wonderfully draw attention to its neighbors. A dark green has long been a color to blend other colors. Many lighter colored blooms will really shine with a dark green background. Finding a variety of textures is key to keeping a green garden from looking bland. But used correctly, green foliage can create and very calm and cohesive space. A chartreuse variety of pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) “Golden Delicious” is planted beside a blue leaved rue (Ruta graveolens).
Using Dark leaved drama to add rhythm, repetition, and movement. So, we have chosen a garden style. We have chosen a color scheme. We have chosen a color for blending and texture. A cohesive garden also needs visual rhythm and repetition. These “soft” focal points draw the eye throughout the garden and provides visual continuity (especially needed in the casual cottage garden). It brings some order to an otherwise chaotic garden. Color and texture add beauty to the garden, but rhythm of garden design adds the movement that draws the eye throughout the area. The repetition of a distinct plant or color can add that rhythm. A series of groups of dramatic iris throughout the garden can work to add that rhythm, but flowers are only temporary. Using dramatic foliage can provide a lasting rhythm. You can use the same plant, but I like using the design element called "Big Brother/ Little Brother" and it uses color to connect elements of the garden. You can use groupings of the same plants to effect a rhythm to the garden but using big brother little brother schemes adds even more interest. Here I am using purple foliage as the connector. I begin with my favorite tree - the eastern redbud, variety “Forest Pansy.” It is covered in small magenta pea-like blooms in spring before the rich Purple Heart shaped leaves appear. It will eventually grow into a 25 - 30 ft understory tree. Mine is currently about 12 feet tall. If this is the big brother, then the little brother would be loropetalum “Purple Diamond”. The old fashioned loropetalums grow to 20 feet, but this newer variety stays a manageable 4ft. This shrub also blooms
in the spring with a shocking fuchsia color, but it is the purple foliage with small round leaves that make it a standout in the garden. (I lucked out by catching these on sale for only $5 each so I snatched them up. Now they are a couple years old and are looking great.) There is a third member of the purple partners-- a baby brother, if you will. This is the heuchera Plum Pudding. This smaller perennial grows about 12 inches tall and echoes the color of its two bigger brothers in the color family. These plants are spread across the garden and connects and unifies the areas. If you planted all of them together in one spot, you would have a very dark and heavy blob in your garden, but spread throughout, you create a visual rhythm pulsing throughout. Variegated foliage plants can have a similar effect creating a nice rhythm throughout the garden. The Kousa Dogwood, “Wolf eyes” is a very nice variegated small tree. There are a number of variegated shrubs and perennials that would also fit the bill for this Big Brother/little Brother design. Even a dramatic shape The burgundy foliage of gaura “Gaudi Pink” looks great even when it is not in bloom. It also works well in this Big brother/Little broth- can be er combination. used to add rhythm. The vertical accent of a dwarf or medium sized conifer can work well. The fountain sprayed foliage of many tall grasses can also be the element that connects the garden and draws the viewer into all the areas.
Left — Ajuga “Burgundy Glow” makes a nice ground cover. Its tricolor leaves can easily connect other variegated plants to the pink/purple flowers of the garden, Right — Variegated Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum odoratum) makes a nice addition to a shaded garden. It adds a new texture when combined with hostas and ferns.
A Focal points provides a place of visual rest.
Anuals such as snapdragons, pansies, violas, and torenia can planted in inexpensive thrift store baskets to add emphasis to an area of the garden.
A final element of garden design that should be addressed when planning a new garden should be a “focal point”. You can use an architectural element as a focal point—an arch or an urn or birdbath, a fountain or garden art. A focal point can direct the viewer to an area that you want to highlight. It can also draw the attention away from a less-appealing area of your garden. A planted pot can make a fine focal point. This works especially well if you have space to fill while waiting for perennials to mature. The pots can be moved to change the focus to areas throughout the garden. The plants in the pots can be changed as needed throughout the season. In a casual cottage style garden, inexpensive thrift store baskets work well as containers. A focal point provides a resting place for the eye. Rhythm provides movement; focal points provide visual resting points.
A pot of vibrantly colored Angelonia makes a statement in the garden. This first-year “Becky” Shasta daisy will fill this area by next year, but the pot fills the space for this season. The pot can be moved to other areas to add focus as needed.
Companion Plant Combinations When you create a floral arrangement, you have an eye for combinations that work well together. You want a background and texture and supporting flowers and a main focus flower. These same principles work when designing a mixed planted pot. Why not use the same principles when planting a garden. Explore how the color of neighbors help each other, the variety of textures add interest, and how they blend or contrast with each other. Blending similar colors creates a calm, cohesive harmony. Using contrasting colors creates excitement and drama to the combination.
This unnamed Daylily variety paired with achellia “Summer Berries” The yarrow’s softer pink flowers highlight and enhance the deeper shade of the purple daylily. The same daylily is featured on the cover, paired with coneflower (Echinacea) “pow-wow berry” and Artimisia “Powis Castle.” The coneflower echoes the darker purple eye zone and the artimesia highlights the subtle silvery frilled edge of the daylily.
Foxglove is a classic choice for a cottage garden. Here it is paired with the blooms of a crape myrtle. Both the color and the texture of the crape myrtle mimics the spotted throat of the fox glove.
Wishbone flowers (Torenia) in purple and white are paired with purple heart (Tradiscantia) and sweet allysim. This combination uses color and texture to add interest to this simi-shaded area. The bright green foliage and lighter flowers helps the darker purple heart stand out. The purple and white flowers of the torenia helps to ground and connect all of the plants in this grouping.
My favorite fern is the painted Japanese fern. It has silvery leaves with a deep burgundy stem. Here it is planted beside a “Black Scalop” bugle weed (aguja). The lighter fern prevents the dark ajuga from fading away. The burgundy stems of the fern connect to the ajuga and makes a pleasing contrast to the dark and light combination.
This “dwarf” tall verbena (verbena bonariensis) “Lollipop” grows to only about 24-36 inches instead of the five feet or more of the species. It has long thin stems that easily weave throughout other plants. Here it is paired with gayfeather (liatris). The blooms of the liatris are bright magenta and its tall stalks look great with the purple verbena. In this picture, however, it is the willowy texture of the liatris foliage that enhances the bright purple verbena. I think it looks like explosions of fireworks. It’s an extra bonus when plant combinations work in multiple seasons.
This was the first season that the Siberian iris “Caesar’s Brother” bloomed. I thought it looked quite nice with the background of catmint “Walker’s Low” with silvery foliage and lavender blooms. Even when not in bloom, the combination makes a nice textural combination. The catmint is soft and billowy pairs well with the arching strap-like leaves of the iris.
Viola “Etain” has soft buttery yellow flowers edged in purple. It is planted in a wicker basket with purple pansies and placed among purple blooming salvia “May Night.”
The pastel blooms of a butterfly bush (Buddleia) takes center stage in this combination. The pastel blooms of the yarrow (achelia) “summer berries” have already begun to fade, but a darker purple bee balm (monarda) “Dark Panticum” is about to take their place. The silvery stems of the butterfly bush is echoed in the dusty miller peaking out in the background.
Peony This peony survived in my grandmother’s garden. It even managed to survive being trampled by heavy equipment during the septic tank episode. (It survived, but is not as large and beautiful as it was under my grandmother’s care—I hope it will continue its recovery). Peonies are very long-lived but really do not like to be moved. They will recover from a move, but may not bloom again for a year or two while it settles into its new home. Peonies need a cold rest during the winter and therefore needs to be planted only a couple inches below the soil. The big double
bloom varieties often don’t do well in our humidity, so it is best to plant some of the single flowered varieties or an early blooming double (like “Festiva maxima”) Beardtongue (Penstemon) “Red Rocks” (Penstemon Mexicali hybrid) This is my favorite (so far) of the penstemons I have grown. The rosy pink blooms last for weeks throughout early summer and often bloom again after a rest during the heat of summer. Penstemons can be a bit tricky to grow, so it’s important to find them the right home. They do not survive winters with wet soil! They are not always long-lived perennials but these have done well for four years now. I divide a few in the fall each year to make sure there is always healthy new stock. Last year, I planted a purple flowered variety of P. Mexicali and I am hoping that it will be as hearty as its rose colored cousin.
Achillia (Yarrow) “Summer Berries” This rosy pink variety loves sun and well drained soil. The flowers open a darker magenta and fade to a softer pale pink. The combination of tones make for a nice combination. The foliage is a soft fern-like pale green. When it is happy, it will spread, but the shallow roots make it easy to remove if it has escaped its bounds. So far, I have been happy to see it meander among its neighbors who are aggressive enough to hold their own. It is very easy to transplant divisions. Perennial zones 3-9
Angelonia
Zinnia
Cosmos
This has been one of my favorite annuals for years. It just blooms all summer long. (Give it some extra fertilizer throughout the season to keep it well-fed). There are several new varieties that come in different heights and colors. They come in purple, white, pink, and raspberry (pictured). There are even a couple of bi-colors (purple/white and purple/pink.) Most grow between 1224 inches. The purple/white bicolor seems to be the tallest at about 3 feet.
My grandmother always grew zinnias. It was a staple in her summer garden. Zinnias are also probably my favorite annual as well. Zinnias come in almost every color (except true blue) and make wonderful cut flowers. They are simple to start from seed. As long as you dead head (or cut and bring inside), they will bloom throughout the heat of summer and on into fall.
Cosmos is another old fashioned favorite annual. It is also very easy to start from seed. Like zinnia, the seeds are large and easy to handle so it makes a great for children to use and plant in pots. They like lots of sun. Many can be tall and require staking. There are varieties of double or single flowers in the colors of pink, red, white, or lavender. Some, like “Day Dream”, (above) are bicolored. They also make great flowers for cutting to use in loose casual bouquets for the house. Last year, I tried a new variety “Cupcakes” (below) and I liked it very much. It stayed more compact with very strong branches that did not require staking.
This plant was perennial where we lived in south Georgia and I have had success growing them in pots and bringing the pot into a cool garage during the winter.
Bearded Iris This lovely white iris was rescued from the overgrown weedy garden. It was a very small rhizome and I was not sure it would survive. It did survive and grow and last year it gave its first blooms in years. It has doubled in size again and will probably be divided this fall. In order to keep them healthy and blooming, iris need to be divided every three years or so. The rhizome (a modified stem) should be planted at soil level.
Many of the newer varieties will bloom in the spring and then a smaller bloom during the fall. The iris pictured below, was a gift from a dear choir member. She gave it to me when we moved (10 years and 3 houses ago). I have brought a division of this iris everywhere we gone. It might be “Autumn Circus� (not really sure) but I simply call it the Fesperman Iris after the one who gave it to me. Foxglove (Digitalis) The foxglove is another quintessential cottage garden plant. It does well in a semi-shaded area of the garden. This variety is shorter (2 feet tall) than many other varieties. It has a light pink/levendar bloom with darker spots in the throat. Foxgloves are generally considered biennial (they grow a full season before blooming, setting seeds and then dying.) This variety bloomed the first year from seed and returned for a second year with a bigger bloom display before dying. New plants grew from the dropped seeds. The seedlings were easy to lift and transplant and even to share with friends.
Mexican Sage Salvia leucantha Mexican sage blooms in late summer/fall, when most of the garden has petered out. It will grow to 3-4 feet tall and wide. The fuzzy white blooms (some varieties are purple) are produced on purple calyces. The calyces remain on the plant long after the blooms have faded, extending the color season. It enjoys sunshine and even moisture. Once it is established, it requires little care. It can be propagated from seeds, division, or stem cuttings. It makes great cut flowers for fall arrangements. It is hardy in zones 8-10
Stokes Aster Stokesia laevis Stokes Aster is a very showy native wild flower. There are some white varieties, but most are a shade of blue purple. The blooms are in impressive 3-4 inches across and blooms above 12-18 inch plants. It has a long blooming season as long as you continue to deadhead the old blooms, preventing them from setting seeds. The flower buds and the spent flowers look quite similar, so examine it carefully before you snip it off. It thrives in sun to partial sun with evenly moist, well draining soil. It is unfazed by our heat and humidity. It will happily form large clumps, but does not wander or spread. Like many perennials, it needs to be divided every 3-4 years to keep it happy and blooming. It is very easy to divide and add to new areas or share with friends. It also makes a nice cut flower.
Astilbe I have long admired the fluffy, feathery blooms of astilbe. I had tried growing it several times with little success while we were in GA. They always looked puny and went dormant after a short spring. I guess I just never found a happy spot for them. I tried them again in the new garden and I am very glad that I did. They have grown lush and full and has bloomed well for the last two years. I have two varieties, but “Amythist” is the better of the two. I planted more last year and hope to see them blooming this spring. Astilbe need consistent moisture. If it dries out, the leaves will turn crunchy and will look that way for the rest of the season. In the south, they need protection for hot afternoon sun. mine get some morning sun and shade in the afternoon. If they are in too much shade, then they will not bloom very well. The key is finding the right balance. Once the right spot is found, they require little other care.
Lycoris squamigera Forgotten lily, Resurrection Lily, Naked ladies This is a lovely hardy bulb related to the amaryllis. It has thrived in my grandmother’s garden for many years without any additional care. The amaryllis like strappy leaves emerge in early spring then the foliage dies down during the heat of summer. The large pink flowers seam to leap out of the ground overnight in late summer to early fall. It is this habit of blooming after the leaves have died away that gives it its colorful names like “Forgotten Lily”, “Resurrection Lilly”, or (my favorite) “Naked Ladies”. My grandmother always called them forgotten lilies. I have very large clumps that need to be divided. They may skip a bloom season when they are first divided, but should soon be back to surprising the gardener in late summer. I have to be careful and not plant bachelor buttons too close to the naked ladies because that would just be completely inappropriate!
Not all garden color is provided by flowers. Here the lovely tiger swallowtail butterfly is feasting on the pink clouds of Joe Pye Weed. This variety, “Baby Joe” only grows to about 3 feet tall. The native plants grow 6-8 feet tall.
Blooms from my grandmother’s snowball bush (Viburnum opulus) fill a water pitcher that belonged to her mother.
My grandmother, Virginia Patterson Yeargin, who continues to inspire me. I am honored to dig in the same dirt she once dug. I am thrilled to see blooms from plants that she placed in the ground.