rarely make any sense and often look disjointed and unrelated, unless and this is a biggy - they are layered and overlapped by other beds so that when viewed from most angles they look to be an extension of the beds in the foreground and background with grassy paths between. In those rare cases when it's done effectively, the plantings can be different but relate as if it were a continuous border and use of some tying, common plant should run through all of the beds.

I've got some berms/islands with mostly evergreens and shrubs. If you're interested contact me via my email.

I second nicethyme. They're called island beds because they look isolated. Better to put same plants in a border, leave lawn uncluttered.

...on which you walk through your garden. Island beds are obstructions that you have to walk around to continue on.

I'm with nicethyme and Bboy on this one also. Islands inturrupt the flow of the lawn and act as a visual obstruction. Rarely are they done well enough not to look like a cutout or afterthought.

I'm not going to join the gang but challenge it: if you don't do island beds, how do you avoid perimeteritis? I often don't like the look of island beds either, but am not sure I see how else to (a) reduce a big swath of lawn if lawn isn't the look you want, or (b) fit in a lot of plants if you want them all.

You make an isthmus.

Sorry, more practical is a penninsula.

You people and your rules. Too much reading I would say. All lawns are bad and all islands are wrong. I don't think so.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alan Bloom

His "islands" are actually large enough to be continents, which then just become borders for seperate areas. Add to that, his relate to surrounding plantings and are that layered extension that I described.

I agree with miss rr, a penninsula. My husband likes to tease that I have made all types of phalic shapes in our gardens!

Maybe this should be on the sexist stereotype thread?

Awesome Web site Laag, thanks for posting it!

I think it depends on size and design. Unfortuneately, many people create small islands that are flat. Islands that are bigger, and especially if they are higher in the middle can be very attractive as in the example above.

The second criteria (the above meets this criteria as well) is that the island should have purpose. ie it should look like it belongs or that there is a reason for it.

This garden consists of 7 island beds all connected by pathways.

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here is the anti-perimeteritis

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even though it appears to continue into the hemlocks and down to the shed, it doesn't. And lawn was left between it and the fence.

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All right...now we are getting somewhere. That Dell Garden would be something to tour...5 acres with 47 island beds! I agree that the island beds pictured on the linked site are more massive than the typical bed. Maybe that mass is needed?

madtripper's picture is also very nice and again follows the mass formula. It also fits in with nicethyme's first post: "layered and overlapped by other beds so that when viewed from most angles they look to be an extension of the beds in the foreground and background".

nicethyme: Are those pictures from your personal garden? I am not sure I am attracted to the first one but maybe it is just because the plants are young. Or maybe it is because the grass is too wide to be a "path" so they look more like beds jutting out into a lawn. The second photo is very attractive.

A lady two doors down from me has a number of island beds in her 1/4 acre suburban front yard (it's a corner lot, so there is a little extra "front" yard). It is the most attractive front yard in the neighborhood. I was paying more attention to it yesterday. She has 4 or 5 island beds (depending on how you define island versus border). Each of the beds contains a tree (some small, some medium). I wonder if it is the trees that give each bed an anchor...a reason.

The island bed pictured in the "Looking for suggestions on shape of planting bed" is one that looks like it does not belong. Did it look good when the pear trees were there? Will it look good once the Dawn Redwood grows up a little?

- Brent

Brent - could you post some pics of the neighbors islands? I live in NOVA on a corner and would love to be able to see some options.

Maybe...I am reluctant to post pictures of other people's homes on the Internet. Plus, I have not taken any pictures yet. Send me an email and if I take any pictures I will let you know.

- Brent

Would you call this an island or a peninsula?

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An island, I believe, is a bed that is viewed from all sides. A peninsula is a bed that juts out from another, larger bed. A border "borders" something, and can be viewed from both sides. So a border can have a peninsula.

A border can be viewed from one OR two sides.

Here is a picture of my big one. Since it is so big, hard to get a picture showing the whole bed. I do have grass going around the entire bed.

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hi, here are some photos of a small island i created about a year ago. it's sitting on a bare plot of grass that separates my house from my neighbor's. i say if it makes you happy, than what's so wrong about an island bed? i've only been gardening for a little less than 1year now, but my family and myself are very pleased with this little island - and that's all that really matters. forget about all these rules of design - gardening is supposed to be fun! i worked as a graphic designer for a number of years and all the constant analyzing just drove me crazy because it took the fun completely out of the process. enjoy the 'process'. JUST PLAY:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Assorted Property Photos

brent n nova, the island that you like is one I made for a client (I wish I had those mountain views)

This is one year later on my own beds, yeah yeah, there's weeds, holes, plants in need of new locations.. gardens are never done and mine are used for experimenting and testing...

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Only one year later? Looking much nicer! One comment that I will have is that there does not seem to be a destination for these paths. Is there a reason that I would want to walk into this area (besides to ogle at the plants)? Just wondering...maybe you have different reasons for creating these beds than I would.

- Brent

funny actually cause I've said that to many clients over the years and never applied to myself! lol

truth be told, my only reason to walk down into that lawn is to take in different views of plants! but it was all simply created this way to break up a mass of rectangular lawn much to my husband's dismay. there are smaller paths that lead to the roads (we're a corner lot) for the mower to get to the outer strips of lawn, one is on the right just behind the yellowbed and the other is behind the redbed or 2nd penninsula on the left.

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Behind the white bed is just a circular space of lawn that I envision as a good sitting area as it's relatively flat. Before the white bed or 1st penn on the left is a patio in progress located under the shade of the big red maple, too much woody roots on the surface to plant. My place for a hammock.

What you are seeing, is truely a comprimise of husband and wife, I would have less lawn, he would have more. So this does seguy into the sexist stereotype thread hey? LOL

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or as Ink said, it's all just colored hay (I've had an awakening to the fact - that is my design style) But man I love it!

to feed my addiction to plants!

Bobby, what is your islands' purpose, other than something to mow around. When you flippantly make comments about tossing out rules, purpose. Do you know that you are belittling and insulting those people who have dedicated their whole lives to studying and the development of outdoor spaces.

Gardening is an extremely satisfying and yes FUN endeaver but there are different levels to it - something that you are thrilled with because was hard work and you're proud of, does not necessarily improve the aesthetics nor value of your property. In fact it may be a detriment for resale and not even be worth the expense of doing, if the result is just something to mow around.

I like islands in driveways, but not in lawns. Maybe because driveways are always a minimum, comparatively broad width than grass sections around island beds often end up being--as is shown in photo(s) above.

I like nicethyme's 'islands' because they don't look like small isolated islands stuck in an ocean of all encompassing grass. The overall look is one of a beautiful garden that invites exploring. I wouldn't be able to drive by without stopping. It's a beautiful showcase for your talents nicethyme. Not many of us 'Pros' can boast of a garden that looks as nice.

I think the island effect is much more attractive in settings where lawn is not the surrounding material. Arizona gardens which use desert plants and trees set in a sea of gravel could also be considered islands of plantings, but look more natural. Here in coastal California, islands are often created using groundcovers of various heights as the medium that knits the islands together, often incorporating stone or gravel paths for access. Something about a soft flowing mass of Blue Chalk Sticks/Senecio mandraliscae, or Mexican Evening Primrose/Oenothera berlandieri, or Snow in Summer/Cerastium tomentosum in lieu of lawn makes all the difference in my mind, and saves water to boot in our mediterannean climate with 7 months of dry season.

Or, if turf is to be the linking material, then why not a more natural meadow using a low growing grass that can be left natural or only cropped at intervals during the season? Some of the dwarf Carex species are superb for this effect here along the west coast, such as Carex pansa or Carex tumicola/Berkeley Sedge, (which has lately been found out as a non-California native imposter from the east coast/England, but still does incredibly well here with minimal to no summer irrigation.

My favorite "island" planting schemes are the natural vistas I see here along the coast where our soft chaparral natives combine soft grays and greens along with succulents and bush lupines to make undulating mounds interspersed amongst lower growing bunch grasses, or the very similar appearing fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape of South Africa with the proteas, succulents, restios and heathers giving a similar effect. Mown grass as the linking planting would just look out of place in such a panorama...

That's true with landscaping in general, unless the scene contains no natural materials at all the mind expects it to have some similarity to natural models or it doesn't look "right".