08 Nov Planting Combinations
The plantscaping in my garden designs is my most favourite part of the design process. I love considering what the finished look will be once the plants grow and fill in all the gaps between themselves. Plant selection is the key to a successful garden. I always first take into consideration the habit of the plant, its foliage (which includes the foliage texture, foliage shape, foliage size and foliage colour – “the four features of foliage”) and its flower colour and season. In this newsletter I thought I would try to bring to you each month an interesting plant combo that might work in your garden.
Planting List
This month we have a 3 layered planting of Bearded Iris, Rosemary officinalis and Thuja orientalis ” Nana”.
Site Analysis
Location – Border planting along side of driveway
Soil – Heavy compacted clay
Aspect – Afternoon Sun
Size of Bed – 5 metres in length x 2.5 metres wide.
Using the “four features of foliage” selection of this combo couldn’t be more striking. The border planting of Iris have the smooth spiky strappy silver leaf form. The mid level planting of Rosemary has the narrow angular dark green glossy leaf form and then the back drop of Thuja has a lime green to mid green upright vertical form. They are all very hardy reliable plants. The seasonal colour of blue flowers on the rosemary and the deep purple on the Iris are added bonus.
