Sometimes, it is the material you combine with your plants that makes pleasing garden pictures. The professional touch at flower shows last spring was the result of a careful combination of walls, fencing, paving, etc. with plants.
The drifts of tulips and daffodils and the grouping of azaleas and rhododendrons were made more beautiful by planting in conjunction with garden structures.
After each show, my drawing pad bulges with landscape sketches, and when planting time rolls around, I have a multitude of ideas to put to use in my garden.
But, if I didn’t have my sketchbook handy, I would certainly have forgotten many of them when I needed them most – in the fall.
As the planting season is with us, it is time for you to consider where you will drift small bulbs, and where you need a mass of azaleas and rhododendrons, where you want an effective clump of Dutch iris.
I hope these sketches will suggest planting locations to you. Even though there may not be an idea here that you can use exactly in your garden, there certainly should be many suggestions you can follow.
Different Planting Locations
Split Cedar Fence
SPLIT CEDAR FENCE is protection to limbs and is stepped down in front of the brick retaining wall. For a subtle color effect, the fence is painted a dull red-violet rubbed over with white.
No one would have difficulty finding these steps. – New York Botanical Garden, New York Show.
Good Sculpture
GOOD SCULPTURE almost hidden among plants makes an interesting surprise for visitors. Here is a statue of Saint Francis, a kind friend of birds, placed in a weathered wooden shelter.
The berried shrubs attract birds. Stones and plants in the foreground are chosen to be in scale with the feature. – TowPath Gardens, West Hartford, Conn., the New York Show.
Soften Corner
SOFTEN THE CORNER of a wall with an old millstone, with a circular- arrangement of bricks, or by the use of cut stone. This is an ideal spot to feature your choice of geranium.
Stonework must harmonize with the architecture of your house. TowPath Gardens, New York Show.
Construction Features
CONSTRUCTION FEATURES, in combination, should be made of saute materials. Here the use of the same type of stone draws the wall, pools, and steps into a satisfying unity. The accent is a good feature like this with a strong vertical line.
A clump of birch serves the purpose here. At its base, you may drift bulbs. Pennsylvania State University, Philadelphia Show.
Dramatic Formality
DRAMATIC FORMALITY is achieved below a picture window with a brick-paved octagon at the junction of two paths.
Spring flowering bulbs, followed by annuals, ensure color, while Lluxford holly provides winter interest. Huntington Valley Garden Club, The Philadelphia Show.
Terminal Features
TERMINAL FEATURES draw the eye down the length of a garden. The feeling of depth is increased in a small garden by forcing perspective, achieved here by placing a small graveled circle in the back of a larger entrance circle. Holliston Garden Club, Boston Show.
Patterns in Brick
PATTERNS IN BRICK make interesting paths but do not detract from the plantings that border them.
Create designs by setting some bricks fiat and others on end. Pattern repetition can lead visitors through a garden. The Boston Show.
Informal Surfacing
INFORMAL SURFACING, ideal for a woodland terrace, is made of cut lop dipped in a wood preservative and then set in the ground. A large section forms a step between the levels of this terrace.
Boulders for retaining walls. Norumbega Nurseries, Weston, Mass., at the Boston Show.
Modern Fences
MODERN FENCES of the corrugated board provide an interesting shadow play behind colorful flowers.
On the left, privacy and air circulation are had by alternating pickets on either side of the fence. Four Counties Garden Club, Philadelphia Show.
Cutting Flagstone
CUT FLAGSTONE set in sand or concrete is durable terrace surfacing. The square-cut pieces are suitable for formal use, but a freeform planting bed breaks what might have been a monotony of rectangles. West Chester Gordon Club, at Philadelphia Show.
44659 by John Brimer