Gardens are like onions… They have layers
I think just about everyone has come across a landscape, and thought “ Hmm…. that looks ok, but it ain’t great”… Well, for the person who owns the property.. That sucks. What a waste of time, money, and a crap ton of sweat. I don’t want that to be YOU! Your shit needs to be fire!
Well today I’m going to cover one of the basics for creating a ballin’ ass landscape. Just like Shrek, great gardens have LAYERS! You’re out here trying to create a 3 dimensional masterpiece.. and with all due respect to your kids, you don’t want someone thinking that a 5 year old came up with the design.
Think of your garden like you would a painting. You want it to be full, vibrant, and appear three dimensional. Most great paintings have these elements in common, a background, a midground, and a foreground.
The Background, as the name suggests, is the farthest back. It’s a backdrop for what lies in front of it. For this reason, the background MUST be the tallest element in the landscape (aside from trees). Generally some type of evergreen is best utilized here… Yew, Vibernum, large cammelias, ornamental grasses, etc. That backdrop will set the tempo for what’s to come in front.
The Midground will lie just in front of the background. Here, you have a myriad of options. Maybe that includes evergreen shrubs (azaleas, loropetalum, camellia). Maybe that’s a flowering perennials (hydrangea, agapanthus, iris, etc.) The midground allows you to have fun and utilize your creativity.
The Foreground is the closest to the front of the landscape. Think of this as your border. It’s going to be the shortest plants in the garden and adds that finishing touching that every garden needs. Think ground covers (creeping jenny, verbena, juniper) or even perennial plants like caladiums.
When you start thinking of your landscape as a layered masterpiece, you’ll be a lot closer to “wow” and farther away from “yow.”
As always, I love to give advice to help you create a landscape that doesn’t look like shit… emerald-consultants@outlook.com
