Flower Gardening--Basic Principles of Design

For the mixed border and mass planting, the following design tips will allow you to design your own flower bed or border. As described above, repetition is key to the border and the massed planting. You can repeat color, texture and form in your plantings, among different types of plants to achieve repetition without boredom. In massed plantings, you may want to choose three plants, each representing a different characteristic, for variety and repetition.

Color

Consider the leaf color and flower color when selecting plants for your garden. Some plants are interesting specifically because they have neat leaf colors. Sweet potato vine-purple and chartreuse, coral bells, elephant ears and other plants all have unique leaves and virtually no flowers.

Warm Colors vs. Cool Colors

Warm colors appear closer than they actually are, and cool colors appear further away.

Warm Colors:

• Red
• Yellow
• Orange
• Pink

Cool Colors:

• Green
• Blue
• Purple
• Lavender

To add depth to your garden, and make it appear larger than it is, choose cool colors. White is a class in and of itself. White immediately jumps out at the eye, and draws the eye back to it. White, unless used repetitively, breaks up the garden.

Choosing a Color Palette

When designing either a mixed border or a massed planting, you will want to choose between three and seven colors to repeat-no more. More than seven colors in a mixed border will make the border appear messy. Choose an odd number of colors, as odd numbers please the eye, and are restful to look at. You can choose to use complimentary colors-colors of the same hue (red, orange, pink) or contrasting colors (red and purple, orange and purple, yellow and blue, etc.). You can design a mixed border using one color, and only vary the texture and form of the plants.

Choose a color scheme that will look good with your house or the rest of the yard. Reds do not show up well against brick houses, while blues and lavenders will not show up against gray houses. Whatever the color scheme for the plant flowers or leaves, be sure that it will contrast with either the foundation planting, or the house.

For massed plantings, bright colors such as reds, whites, yellows and bright pinks jump out the most. Purples and blues work if they contrast to the other colors in the border.

Texture in the Garden

Plant texture is also an important factor in garden design. Leaves and flowers each contribute to plant texture. Select a mixture of textures to plant an interesting border. Plants with "fine texture" are plants that, when flowering, have a "whispy" look. Plants like whirling butterflies (Guara), foam flower (Tiarella), and ornamental grasses have a fine texture. Plants with thin leaves, such as ornamental grasses, provide fine texture. Ferns and other deeply-cut leaves also fall into this category. Plants with broad leaves provide a different sensory experience. Elephant ears and begonias each have large, solid leaves that contrast well with fine-textured leaves and flowers.

Flower gardens are most interesting when they have a variety of colors and textures. Contrast between textures provides change within the garden. You can use plants of the same color, but if they have different texture, the garden will not be boring.

Form

Plant form is the overall shape of the plant. Iris and some grasses are linear in shape because of the direct up and down of the leaves. Some plants have more of a fountain or "V" shape. Some ornamental grasses, such as pannicum grass, and flowering plants like false indigo, have strong v-shapes. Impatiens, begonias, and roses are more mounded. Some plants have spiky flowers-such as delphinium and stock, which contribute to form. An interesting flower garden has rounded plants, linear plants, crawling plats and more.

Combining Color, Texture and Form

When designing a flower garden, you must combine color, texture and form for a pleasing look. Always combine the three categories in odd numbers for the most pleasing look. Some designers start with form first, and then find plants that meet the form. Others select colors, and then find plants of varying form and texture to use. Once you choose your plants, arrange them in a pattern, and repeat the pattern to create a mixed border. For mass plantings, plant each plant in a mass together.