10 Minute Plant Combo Exercise

We've spent all week receiving deliveries from nurseries for the City Hort Team's shrub replacements and now have a whole standing out area full of wonderful yummy looking plants.
I had a few minutes at the end of the day and set myself a quick game of coming up with a couple of plant combos using the available plants. It made me realize that you just can't pick plants from a photograph online, you really have to see them in real life to get a good feel for their colour and form - less internet perusing and more nursery visits for me I think! - oh, what a shame ;)

I should start with a disclaimer that this exercise was merely for plant shapes and colour combos - the science of whether they will actually grow together in the same conditions is a different matter! So all just strictly hypothetical fun here...

So my first combo was slightly predictable of me - Reds, I have a weakness for all plants red. Throw in a few silvers as well and it's got Sabrina written all over it.

The first plant of the group that I picked up and chose as my starting point was the Grevillea 'Gaudi Chaudi' (wonderful name!) I liked how the new leaves start red/maroon and turn into a deep glossy green. The shape of the leaves is interesting with it's seven lobes. And an added bonus upon further research, the flowers are a deep burgundy colour to go with the foliage.

So now, I want plant number 2 to go with my Gaudi Chaudi and my eye was caught by the Raoulia hookeri. This is a new plant to me, but I was taken by its dense silver foliage, each leaf is tiny and so tightly clustered it almost looks like gravel from a distance. The mat forming ground cover will act as a glowing light-box underneath the foliage of the Grevillea and really accentuate the interesting leaf shape and colour. The silver of the Raoulia matching the highlights on the glossy Grevillea foliage reflecting the sky (albeit a raining one - yes i was out drooling over plants in the rain - so this pairing may not look as good in the full sun)

Plant 3, I want something of the same deep burgundy red to compliment the Grevillea's new growth. Enter stage right, Phormium 'Dark Delight'. The deep colour reminds me of red cabbage. This plant is an attention grabber, and I have to confess to not being a Phormium fan, but i'll allow an exception to the rule for this colour. Its just a shade darker than the Grevillea but I think it continues the gradient perfectly. It give continuity of colour but the shape provides the contrast and presence that this plant combo needs.

And lastly - yes I know i've only chosen 4 plants, breaking the odd number rule, but I was pushed for time! Pachystegia rufa. I already have clumping tiny silver leaves, tall spiky dark red, lobed red and green, so now I want something calming, a nice deep green to compliment but not compete, and smooth rounded, quintessential leaf shape to add balance to the extremes of the others, a mid ground to tie them together. The rufa has a more muted tone than the P. insignis, which would be too white for this palette. And the overall height of this plant also acts as a middle stepping stone between the spreading Grevilliea and Raoulia to the Phormium.

In hindsight, and after a little research, both the Raoulia and Pachy have yellow flowers that may not be suited to the deep red tones i'm after - just goes to show how important it is to know your plants before picking them purely on foliage colour!

Combo 2. Yellow.
I hate yellow, it is the colour of sickness and the hardest colour to work with, but Sabrina likes a challenge! Let's step outside the comfort zone and work out what the hell to do with this ugly colour.
Sitting either side of yellow on the colour wheel is orange and green, so let's try something to compliment the Coleonema 'Sunset Bold' that I have challenged myself with. The foliage is somewhere between heather and juniper, small and needle-like and the overall shape is spraying up and out like a miniature explosion of yellowness.

Working with the orange idea, my eye was drawn to the Libertia 'Taupo Sunset'. The colours in this are wonderful - orange is on my super-yum colour list :), the streaks in this range from pale orange to bronze, and standing next to the Coleonema the colours work great together, fiery and bright. The shape of the Libertia blades with their definite direction mimics the up and out form of its yellow neighbor too.

Selection 3, an unlikely plant companion in reality, Azalea 'Ria hardijzer' (pronunciation suggestions written on a postcard sent to me please!). Again I was seeking a calming green, but the large leafed pachys would be too much against the fine heather-like Coleonema, so I opted for a small leaved green shrub, that also happened to have orange stems and buds - my tie-in with the Libertia. But again, that ol' hindsight kicks in and research says this has bright pink flowers. Pink and yellow...no.

Plant 4. Actual heather this time - Erica 'Springwood White'. The foliage compliments the Coleonema with a similar form, if slightly less assertively straight. The flower buds is what drew me to this plant with their creamy hue, although it will flower in white. Not perfect, but using the logic that lighter colours attract the eye first, it might divert away from the yellow...

And lastly, against my reluctance to like divaricates, I beelined for the Coprosma acerosa. I have seen this plant many times and been thoroughly uninspired by it, but put it next to yellow and orange and I actually like it. The form is crazy and messy, but next to the strict upward trusts of the Coleonema and Libertia it adds a certain softness that is needed.

I'm not totally sold on my yellow scheme, but given that I had 10 minutes to choose 5 plants, the initial colour and form are what led my decisions. And I learnt a lot from it, a) Go to a nursery and look at real plants and not just pictures, b) Phormiums can be attractive, c) Research!!! Don't just look at the foliage colour, the flowers will make a huge difference to a colour scheme, d) step outside your comfort zone and try something different, e) yellow still sucks to work with :)

Clever use of colour in planting design

I just saw this image on Facebook from Gamble Garden and have fallen in love with the planting scheme. I recently spoke to Karl about writing reports on gardens to get into the habit to evaluating design and planting and really look at the composition of what makes the garden good, so I saw this photo and thought it would be a good place to start. I realise my plant ID is woefully lacking as I'm not sure I can name anything here with certainty, so i'll focus on the colour, form and shape.

So, my overall impression of this image was one of calmness and a sense of seclusion, and my eye was instantly drawn to the burgundy shrubs opposite each other on the pathway because they are unexpected. I'm not entirely sure what they are, possible berberis (?). My first thought was that this is a white garden with highlights of burgundy and then I started seeing the other hints of colour, there are pale pinks and blues in there as well. Punctuated by the solid and plump dark green conifers to provide a rest between the colours and fine texture of the small flowers. I note there are three of them in a row, being the magic number. These are framed again by more solid burgundy peeping up behind the dark green, acting like a roof to the design, steering the eye back down by way of the glaucous shrub in front, whereas a lighter tree would continue to draw the eye up and away.
The dark green is echoed in the smaller topiaries sitting on the angles of the path - almost acting like subtle punctuation for the change of direction.
The flamboyant big white rose is clearly meant as the center of attention as the biggest, brightest flower, it says 'Look at Me!' and has no equal contender. My first impression of it being a white garden come from this but on second glance little else is white - the main focal point really does set the scene in a design! The burgundy supports the rose but recedes next to it, and the row of daisies are merely the chorus line supporting the main act, necessary though they are. These daisies are steering the journey through the garden, and they want you to follow, but the soft and abundant spray of flowers isn't in a hurry like a more solid block of colouring would be. This is a garden in which to linger.
The big buddleia (?) adds more height and emphasis on the seclusion, but it feels like the full stop barrier before a different garden continues behind in different shades of pale yellow not belonging to this garden. The subtle blues helps highlight the glaucous colour of it's neighbour and supports the small blue flowers in the foreground, and I imagine more on the other side of the path that we cannot see. The small pinks in the foreground also are supporting colours to the burgundy and just soft enough to add to the overall effect of the garden without contending to attention. A bigger, brasher pink would have been too strong and confused the design.

I suspect this scene will look much different in another season, though there are a few evergreens in there to keep its structure intact.

I find this garden very pleasing to look at and certainly well designed.

Spirit, Science and Art

I just bought Bev McConnell's books from Ayrlies. I'm only 20 pages in so far, but had to stop to write this note. She said that to create a good garden you have to use a combination of these three principles:

1 - find out the spirit of the place, what does it want to be, what is sympathetic to the natural surroundings and environment.
2 - use science.  Where do plants come from, what is their natural environment, how do they grow and why
3 - now use art to put these plants together. Create artistic compositions within the architecture of the landscape.

And most importantly, a garden is never finished. It is constantly evolving and changing.