Hillside: planting design - part 2

Planting Design - Part 2

We planted this garden five years ago, and we are only now just starting to see the result of the structure coming through.

• Trees and shrubs at the beginning of the garden are structural elements that mark the entrance and function as a portal.
• They can also be clustered around buildings to help them feel 'held' within the landscape.
• Once you get beyond this point, the simpler trees give way to more interesting planting.
• Shrubs function as permanent 'stones' within the 'river' of moving perennials, providing volume as well as shade for other plants.
• Planting pools of colour together will hold the eye. You can place these bursts of colour strategically, close to an area of activity for example, to inject some energy into a space.
• I have focused the intensity of colour within the centre of the garden, and placed muted colours around the outskirts to fade and blend into the landscape
• In the centre, you begin to feel the garden's connection with the wider landscape.
• The entirety of the planting is underpinned by greens, which act as the foundation against which other elements are contrasted.
• Form and texture are just as important as colour. Soft, easy-moving elements contrast beautifully with static structures.
• Plant with your conditions in mind and harness them, rather than battling against them.
• Play around with the opacity of your planting. A static tree builds intrigue by concealing what lies beyond it, while diaphanous plants allow your eye to pass through them in a natural framing process.

Plant Directory

• Hawthorn tree
• Shrubby Willow
• Medlar tree
• Black Mulberry tree
• Tree Peonies
• Ash tree
• Sycamore tree
• Mulberry tree
• Potentilla Gibson's Scarlet
• Veronicastrum
• Vertical Allium
• Molinia Transparent
• Heptacodium
• Salix Purpurea Nancy Saunders
• Iris Sibirica
• Veronicastrum
• Nepeta
• Salvias
• Euphorbia Ceratocarpa
• Euphorbia Cornigera
• Vertical Grasses
• Dierama
• Pennisetum