Diary of a Gardener Avoid Planting an Assortment of Colorful Chocolates
Walking into a garden center can be overwhelming. The colors, textures, and flowers… oh my! Everything inside of you wants to grab the largest cart they have and pick one of every plant and in every color… HARD STOP. I have been as guilty of doing this as I know you have too. You pick one plant of every one you like. Two, but usually one of this and one of that. The excitement of going home to plant in your landscaping starts to wain when you get home and realize you have one plant of ten different varieties and no idea what to do with them.
You decide to plop one over there and two over there and before you realize it your landscape looks like an assortment of boxed chocolates only in plants. Not the look you were going for? No, I did not think so.
When deciding what to plant in your landscape there are a few rules to follow. The first would be to go with some kind of idea of what you are trying to accomplish before getting out of the car at your favorite garden center. Have some restraint. Going window shopping is a great idea, but you need to have a loose plan. Did you want shrubs under the windows, flowers, or groundcover? How big do you want the plants to be mature and how much maintenance are you willing to put in? And most important, what is your sun exposure?
Second, after the loose plan (on paper or in your head) you may enter the garden center. Instead of choosing plants with many assorted colors, choose plants that are green most of the year, but second choose their flowers based on a color scheme and try to limit those to 3-5 colors. Creating a fruit cocktail of colors is not always pleasing to the eye. Next, once you decide the plants and their colors, choose more than one. Depending on the size you need to fill, you may need 3-5 shrubs. When it comes to border plants, filler plants, flowers, etc. always make sure to pick a minimum of three of the same plant and color. Plants look better in bundles of 3, 5, 7 and 9. For example, if you have several small areas to fill in front of small shrubs choose 3-5 perennials for each section, such as a Penta or Sorrell Vinca. You can mix more than one color, but if you are planting three small areas, choose two colors not three. Plant in groupings not in singles. When the plants mature and flower, they will look better in the mass than single. Also stagger plants, do not plant in straight lines. And when planting shrubs, stay 2-3 feet away from the house. That is a major pet peeve of mine!
Find an accent plant, the power piece, the focal point. That may be a tree or interesting shrub or specimen plant. That could also be your front door, window, or the large Oak tree in your yard. Work off that piece, draw your attention to that area or plant. You are trying to accent your home, not cover it up (normally).
The most important advice I can give you, you must like what you planted. If you chuck all my rules and do what you want and love it, then that is what you are supposed to have. The only person your landscape needs to impress is you. Have fun and plant on!
If you are struggling to design a landscape, you love reach out to a designer or garden consultant to help you get the ideas flowing. I am happy to design a colorful, fun, Florida Friendly landscape you can enjoy all year long.
