Create a low-maintenance oasis using interesting textures, generous layers, and engaging art By Tina Dixon
Oftentimes what work on in living during your XXX and 40s is n’t sustainable later on ; this is especially reliable when it get along to gardening . After more than three decennary as a professional nurseryman with a high - visibility , high - maintenance home garden , my married man and I decided it was fourth dimension for a modification of scenery as we come near retreat . Our home base and “ dream garden ” just were n’t the ripe tantrum anymore . With a passion for gardening still flourishing and no budget for maintenance service , I needed a home with a downhearted - upkeep garden I could splash around in as I get on .
Our mission : rule a jailor mid - century advanced menage surrounded by a beautiful garden retirement where we could relax more and work less . We want the landscape to attract wildlife and leave year - round food and shelter for bee , birds , and other pollinators . Something with a panorama I did n’t have to maintain ( like mountains or water ) would be icing on the cake . In the end , we did n’t get gaoler , but a upkeep - destitute view of a little lake sold us on a mid - century home that needed both an interior and landscape update .
The live garden meandered through sac of Lord’s Day and specter and was fill with the limited mixed bag of plants you would have find in nurseries in the mid - century , including English common ivy ( Hedera helix*and cvs . , Zones 4–9 ) , azaleas and rhododendrons ( Rhododendronspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–8 ) , and juniper ( Juniperusspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) . With my low - maintenance mission in brain , I revamp the garden and weave the Lord’s Day and shade sphere together by choosing leisurely - charge plants with dynamic textures and calming color , creating deeply superimposed bed , and infuse the garden with engaging art .
Use water - sassy strategies for plants that need an extra drunkenness . Everyone need a garden they do n’t have to water , but in some areas this just is n’t an option . For plants like gunnera that take more water system than Mother Nature provides , try grouping them with other plant that have like water needs ( bottom photo ) . Drip irrigation is also a dependable idea for deeply tearing beds or container collections that ask more moisture ( top photograph ) .
Choose plants with dynamic textures
heyday are , of course of action , a wonderful part of a garden and essential for pollinators , but when it come to a low - sustenance design with staying power , I pay a lot of attention to foliage . I opt industrial plant with varied foliage sizes , shapes , and surface texture ( or lustre ) . The intermixture is best with juxtaposed contrasting attributes , such as thin and strappy with large , bold leaves , or hairy matte texture side by side to smooth , glazed leaf surface . extensive groupings and repeating of these features keep the composition from appear busy and chaotic .
Maximize the Layout, Mask the Views
While the beautiful perspective of the lake sell the fresh proprietor on this sign and location , not all sight on the attribute were pleasing . planting were used to test unwanted panorama , such as the road from the front windowpane . At the same prison term , deeply layered bed and borders heighten many of the familiar scenes in each subdivision of the garden .
1.House
2.Garage , shop , and nursery
3.Front entryway itinerary
4.Back deck
5.Baa ( sheep art )
6.Deeply planted fir and rhododendron boundary line
7.Lake dock
For my cohesive yet highly textural compositions , I prefer from an gentle - tending , sun- to partial - nicety plant palette to bridge the sunny and shady areas . On the downhill side of the house you are first recognize by stale - hardy bananas ( genus Musa basjoocvs . , Zones 5–10 ) and gargantuan rhubarb ( Gunnera manicata , zone 7–10 ) as you enter ( bottom photo , left ) . Nestled below these bold leaves is a slower - growing evergreen plant , dwarf hinoki cypress ( Chamaecyparis obtusa‘Nana Gracilis ’ , Zones 4–8 ) , which allow for a softer grain and year - stave social system . The substantiate backdrop for these three flora is the deep - blue star sign and a small , dark - leave alone boxleaf azara ( Azara microphylla , Zones 8–10 ) .
An adjacent arborvitae ( Thujaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–7 ) repeat the lenient texture of the hinoki cypress and provides privateness screening for our upper deck of cards ( photo p. 42 , top ) . Skirting the banana and giant rhubarb plant is ‘ Mitsch Select ’ Nipponese umbrella pine ( Sciadopitys verticillata‘Mitsch Select ’ , zone 5–8 ) , a dwarf conifer with whorled needles ; ‘ Fuchsiade ’ hardy fuchsia ( Fuchsia‘Fuchsiade ’ , Zones 8–10 ) ; and multiple Nipponese forest grasses ( Hakonechloa macra‘Aureola ’ , Zones 5–9 ) . This strappy locoweed add another grain , and its yellow diversification brightens the composition . A concrete giant rhubarb leaf , which is zero upkeep , supply “ evergreen ” sake when the banana tree and live giant rhubarb are down for their winter nap . evergreen plant flat coat cover creeping Australian honeysuckle ( Lonicera crassifolia , Zones 7–11 ) repeats the small green - leafage texture of the boxleaf azara while helping to retain stain wet .
Create deeply layered beds
When we purchased the place , a ripe part of the garden was covered in 12 inch of pearl - wry red bark mulch over landscape painting fabric , which blocked piss penetration and the development of constitutive layers from the soil to a lower place . It postulate backbreaking work to murder the obstructive layers and amend the territory , but eventually the plant rewarded us with deeper tooth root and good drouth resistance .
This soil - improvement gradation dovetail with the renovation of the planting areas into deeply layer beds to showcase my curated low - care plant pallette . Using disagree plant heights to produce vertical interest , I started by placing my tallest plant life first and working my elbow room down . In the launching garden , we first placed a goodish ‘ Burgundy Jewel ’ maple ( Acer circinatum‘Burgundy Jewel ’ , Zones 4–9 ) in front of the dining way windowpane to obscure a prospect of the route ( picture pp . 40–41 ) . Because I wanted to evoke the feeling of “ hey , you ’re home , get ready to slacken , ” I chose calming colors in shades of green and rich , dark tones . The Bourgogne of the maple may seem like a passing , but it contribute to the soft color premix by playing a digest purpose with dark contrast that shows off its neighbor .
With bed reaching up to 15 foot deep and a full-bodied tapestry of plant stratum , the garden complement the scene , serving as a visual partner with the household and hardscapes rather than looking like an rethink accessory . The fine foliage of English yew ( Taxus baccata‘Amersfoort ’ and ‘ Melford ’ , Zones 6–7 ) and bold palmate leaves of sensationalistic wax bells ( Kirengeshoma palmata , geographical zone 5–8 ) contribute to the next layer under the canopy of medium - sized star - like leaves of the arresting maple . ‘ Concorde ’ barberry ( Berberis thunbergii*‘Concorde ’ , Zones 4–9 ) supply a grounding people of color echo of the maple ’s burgundy feel , while the with child , fuzzy green leaves of ‘ Dixter Form ’ bergenia ( Bergenia ciliata‘Dixter Form ’ , Zones 4–8 ) add a low - growing twisting contrast . Behind these layers is a hedge of sweet box ( Sarcococca confusa , Zones 6–9 ) chosen for its shade and drouth margin , late wintertime flowers that feed the hummingbirds , and medium - sized , shining recondite - unripened leave . Its pernicious black berry double the color of the black mondo grass ( Ophiopogon planiscapusand cvs . , Zones 6–9 ) and other benighted element woven through the design in both Dominicus and shadiness vulnerability .
Infuse engaging art throughout the garden
To keep the garden from “ disappearing ” in the wintertime month , I like to include a commixture of evergreens , industrial plant with architectural and colourful separate structure , rocks , container , and , particularly , art . I find art needs to be incorporate with thoughtful restraint . Too many focal points can blur the eye , promptly clutter up the tantrum , and lessen their own impact . However , when wander judiciously throughout the landscape , art is a wonderful puppet for visually connect various parts of a garden and lend year - bout interest .
Art is the Jewelry of the Garden that is Best Worn meagrely
Well - placed art in the garden add marvellously surprising moments of arbitrariness and personality throughout the year . One of the beautiful thing about art is that it does n’t care about sun exposure or water , and it typically take small to zero maintenance . But there is such a affair as too much . By determine natural selection and filter them throughout each section of the garden it becomes obvious less is indeed more .
I love whimsical graphics . Pieces I have sport in my garden admit an oversized metallic element nest holding bowling balls as “ testis , ” black alloy crow on the lawn , a pair of 24 - inch - tall concrete cayenne jasmine - blue pears , and a 7 - animal foot - tall metal forking scooping up edible nasturtium ( Tropaeolum majuscvs . , one-year ) . I also use rusty forged metal stakes as attractive plant stakes . lastly , Baa , a life - sized concrete sheep , stands in a meadow of unmown lawn and keeps a watchful centre over the lake ( picture p. 47 ) . She ’s a curiosity to puzzled Panama and is often view sporting a hat .
Besides the form itself , the color of your graphics can help tie the scene together by echoing colors of your house , other structures , and plants . The blackened trim semblance on my house is take over in my landscape with black mondo grass , smuggled containers , bowling ball in the metal nest , and the two unforesightful metal fencing artistry pieces . The fence were added to define and create a sentiency of arrival . They are made of pulverisation - coated steel and should never need put back ( bottom right-hand photo ) .
Placing big containers into the garden as art ( planted or not ) is a great path to preface or repeat a colour you love or can not achieve in your flora choices . I like to place them early ( after large tree diagram and bush are in ) then plant around them ( exposure above ) .
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A FRESH START. The goal of this relatively new garden was to seamlessly blend sunny areas with shady ones. Using lush textures, calming hues, and artful touches created a serene cohesive retreat for the owners and visitors alike.
For me , shape with plants is both a labour of love and creative endeavor . I want to make gardens that are accomplishable and visually pleasing , while still bestow support to wildlife , birds , bees , and other pollinators . If I can accomplish this collaborative goal without drawing hard on Earth ’s resources , then I think everyone wins , and I rest a bit easier .
Tina Dixon is a gardening professional with a wealth of plant life noesis and an eye for pattern in Snohomish , Washington .
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Choose cohorts that highlight each other’s best traits. While individual plants are beautiful alone, it is often their neighbors that help make their amazing qualities stand out. Pairing contrasting features like color, texture, and shape help plants pop, especially in deeply layered configurations.
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Save Plants with Substance and Stamina.When renovating a garden, not all original plants need to go. Upon arrival, 70-foot-tall Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii and cvs., Zones 4–6) bordered much of the property along with a large collection of rhododendrons. Both groups served as mighty drought warriors and beautiful design anchors, so the healthiest of the bunch were retained to continue their role as a robust living backdrop.
