Hello, KT. Nice to see you here! So happy to share my random thots with you, tho wonder about their value!

At any rate...I think we need to think about focal points in gardens on 2 levels -- within the small compositions of individual beds, and in the larger context -- the whole garden -- like a big canvas made of many smaller compositions. How do these smaller compositions hold together? You can't just have disparate wonderful beds -- you also need a sense of connection, flow, traveling from one bed to the next, a sense of movement thru the garden -- like the way your eye travels over a painting.

Lines in paintings (gestures, garments, rays of light, roads, etc.) direct your eye toward the focal point of the painting -- where lines converge, where energy focuses -- right? Landscape paintings really do this -- they reflect a journey, a direction, a sense of movement, even tho they capture only a moment. There are usually mysteries around turns, a road from here to there, a sense of passage.

In fact, I believe one of the teachers at the Landscape Institute has her Design 1 students start by looking at paintings to get a sense of organization.

I think the same can be said of the garden. It's all about the journey! Lines (paths, edges of borders, repetition of horizontals or verticals) move the eye and direct the body thru the garden. As you follow these lines, each new bed that you move toward becomes the focal point -- and then within the new bed, you probably have transient focal points -- whatever is in bloom at that time?

So...I can't think of any good rules of thumb -- but I would love to know more about how DTD's beds hold together. How do your beds hold together? Would your landscape change if you installed some suggestion of direction from bed to bed -- to direct the eye and the body?

Well...my 2 cents....

Best,
ML

Katy,
Here's an idea: go inorganic. Statuary, beautiful pots which raise the eyes to an unexpected level and plants that surprise. I suggest this because in a richly planted landscape, which yours is, the biggest impact for a focal point may be the unchanging colbalt blue of a planter or a big metal sun with a patina that draws the eye upwards to the sky. This is one of many ways, and maybe a quick and dirty way, of "brightening and tightening" a spot or two.
Marie/Idabean

Very occasionally, rarely, really, I come across a post where I completely disagree with the facts or ideas presented, and think, 'Well, that's just wrong.'

This, however, is the first time I've read a post and thought, 'What a liar!' So, first, let's just say that my garden is a wreck, and Katy is being incredibly ... kind. (And, I'm sure she tripped over one of the hoses or garden tools or possibly a dog toy, one of many objects that litter my yard, especially at this time of year.)

Anyway, back to the topic.

I agree with Mayalena that the sense of journey is the thing that makes a garden interesting, and that focal points should act to draw you along on that journey. I'm in the process (one of at least 12 projects I'm determined to make progress on this year) of designing a path around, across and through my yard. I got the idea from Katy, actually, as a tour of her garden takes you along paths and draws you into different areas, as the scene changes from more formal, open and sunny areas through more natural, shaded woodsy sections. All the while you're surrounded by the most beautifully-grown and interesting plants, and the designer's hand is always there, although you can almost forget it played a role when you're in the more natural sections of the garden. Focal points include a huge driftwood sculpture, a woodland seating area, and of course the brick path itself, bordered as it is by pia hydrangea and an assortment of other choice cultivars.

I think a path like that really beckons people to enter your garden, and shows the way. Plant repetitions help tie the sections of a garden together, and also draw people along the path. I love the idea of plants marking the boundaries between sections - Hayward talks about that a lot as I recall.

I also think maintaining a 'sense of place' helps make a garden succeed. If I had a woodland setting, I hope I'd be able to use it to advantage as Katy has done. In a small in-town garden, how do you accomplish that? I'm still working on a sense of enclosure and privacy; it's hard to balance that with the need to bring the garden out from the edges, to create distinct areas, and to collect every interesting or unusual plant you find - eventually you just run out of space.

Focal points? Hmm. I like seating areas, because they seem so inviting, something to look at that also evokes the possibility of sitting down and relaxing - not that I would actually do that, but it seems like it would be wonderful for anyone who could.

There's an article in this month's Horticulture about using Wow plants, which I'd hoped would address how to site these herbaceous focal points. It's a little ... thin, but has a few good concepts that I hope to try out this year.

Good morning.

Ha! Love your lead, DTD.
Katy...Figures that you already have loads of perfect paths. You are way ahead of the rest of us!

Speaking of Hort mag, I read the letter from the editor last night and thot of this post. She writes "My biggest challenge in the garden continues to be design. I want a garden that looks natural, that blends into the surrounding wild landscape, with the plants fitting into one neat picture. But I want design to be obvious, too -- it may look natural, but it's crafted and should show that. And there should be a few standout plants in the mix. Every group needs a strongest player, just as every race needs someone who will break from the pack...."

Isn't that what you are striving for? Now I've got to find that article on placing bold plants....

ML

Hmmm..such interesting thoughts!
At any rate...I think we need to think about focal points in gardens on 2 levels -- within the small compositions of individual beds, and in the larger context -- the whole garden -- like a big canvas made of many smaller compositions. How do these smaller compositions hold together? You can't just have disparate wonderful beds -- you also need a sense of connection, flow, traveling from one bed to the next, a sense of movement thru the garden -- like the way your eye travels over a painting.
Mayalena,
This is a wonderful visual explanation it really resonated with me and of course highlights the importance of transitional planting. The interesting thing about placing lets say a more formal Japanese Maple alone in a less formal more woodland environment is it will stand up a scream I DON"T BELONG HERE (I can attest to this as I have done this) but if I were to add shrubs (transitional plantings) coming from leading from the closest (small canvas) and progressively add plants that speak to the native woodland surrounding as well as add to a more formal feel (many varieties of Viburnum come to mind, the Japanese Maple will quiet down.
Idabean,
Here's an idea: go inorganic. Interesting that you suggested this as I have over the years added "yard art" throughout my property with the intent to elicit surprise or humor. To be honest after seeing how dtd has been able to use plants to provoke emotions I now want the WOW thing in my gardens to be plants.
Dtd,
I forgive you for calling me a liar.
Plant repetitions help tie the sections of a garden together, and also draw people along the path.
I agree that there is something comfortable about plant repetitions that allow you to wander down a path but there is a fine line between comfortable and boredom which is why I am looking to add plantings that will draw the visitor and yet still offer a sense that it is tied to that bed.
Mayalena,
"My biggest challenge in the garden continues to be design. I want a garden that looks natural, that blends into the surrounding wild landscape, with the plants fitting into one neat picture. But I want design to be obvious, too -- it may look natural, but it's crafted and should show that. And there should be a few standout plants in the mix. Every group needs a strongest player, just as every race needs someone who will break from the pack...."
THAT IS IT !!! This person has described my quest. Now can we track her/him down and invite her/him to lunch or better yet hire him/her as a garden coach.

I find very interesting the conflicting opinions of the gardener and the visitor certainly to all who know dtd know how humble she is but I wonder if to some extent we gardeners are somewhat blind in our own gardens. I was thinking how helpful it would be to have to have many different types of garden appraisal, from the nine year old boy who you ask whats the first thing he noticed in your back yard to gardening friends who share your enthusiasm and then of course the professionals. Honestly when showing my garden to a others I am usually too busy talking (mostly about why the garden is a mess) to listen to what if anything might move the visitor. Well need to get back to work. kt

I agree with this -"Every group needs a strongest player, just as every race needs someone who will break from the pack...." but it's difficult to do. The recent Hort Mag article suggests that you pick up and repeat one aspect of your 'star' plant to keep it somehow connected to the other plants nearby. I'm going to try that this year with red castor bean, which I love, and always grow, and which always looks like it dropped out of the sky. I have a spot next to an herbaceous clematis with burgundy foliage, and I'll see if maybe that makes the castor bean, in all its huge glory, look a little less like an alien invader.

> I wonder if to some extent we gardeners are somewhat blind in our own gardens. I was thinking how helpful it would be to have to have many different types of garden appraisal,

That certainly is true. It's amazing to find out what others see in your garden. (And, Katy, thanks for forgiving me, and for the praise for my garden, which I should have accepted graciously, even if it was undeserved!)

This is a great post and I am learning so much from reading it. When I first started gardening and posting here, many of you got on my case to read garden design books, and I read plenty of magazines, but only now have I really delved into the books and it makes such a difference. I think I just had to learn the hard way that I couldn't figure it all out on my own and make it look great.

DTD said:
"The recent Hort Mag article suggests that you pick up and repeat one aspect of your 'star' plant to keep it somehow connected to the other plants nearby."

I've been trying to focus on how to get just the right mix of unity and contrast. I agree that "wow" plants need to be connected somehow to their environs, but too much connection diminishes their impact. It's a tricky balance. DTD, I would love to see how the castor bean looks with the burgandy foliaged clematis. I have an alien invader right now as well - - Angelica gigas, which I added to a summer/fall border of yellows (rudbeckias, helianthus, daisies, etc.) for a punch of impact. It also looks like it "fell out of the sky." I think I will add a little something with burgundy foliage to help it settle in.

Thanks for the continuing education.

KT - It is so nice to see you here again. I'm not particularly skilled with design (I'm more of the plant nerd type of gardener,) so have nothing to contribute other than to say I've missed your posts which tend to make me really think about how the garden looks and some of the philosophy behind what we do in our gardens.

Thanks to everyone else for your contributions.

This has been the most educational thread! I'm a real newbie gardener, but have the time now to start learning and I have learned that what grabs me is the design, only I didn't know that until I read all of your input! I keep seeing it in my mind's eye - wishful thinking mind's eye. I live in a small city - with a postage stamp lot (9000 sf - including house, garage, driveway) and virtually no privacy (not bad, I love my neighbors!). I have no environment in which to blend - I must create it. I love digging the holes, but I keep drawing things on paper trying to balance all of it. But I really do need to just put those 10 new plants into the ground instead of rearranging them in the various beds. What design book should I read first?

I am really glad to have Katy back on GW too!

Hey, Paigect - I love Angelica gigas, and its less refined cousin, A. archangelica. The Swedes plant the taller, white A.a. in their potagers, both because it draws pollinators and because the scent of the leaves is an antidepressant. Sounds odd, I know, but the Swedes are experts in all things having to do with depression, plus the vegetable gardens, at least the ones that are open to the public, are works of art.

Now if I can just convince that clematis (C. recta 'Purpurea' ) to retain its foliage color through the heat of summer, when the castor bean will be glowing dark red...

Annie - I have a lot of design books. My favorites are by Gordon Hayward, because he explains things in a way that makes sense to me. Right now I'm reading his "The Welcoming Garden" about front yard gardens, but also like the one that's about his own place - "The Intimate Garden". The ideas in that book can be applied anywhere. There are loads of great writers, and I admit I collect garden books as well as plants. Lots less work.

Hi Annie.

You'll find that posts started by KT are usually the most interesting!

In terms of design, I am still a beginner too. I spent years really worrying about where I was putting plants. But I'm over it now! I try to think in pairs or combinations. Which 2 or 3 plants compliment each other in terms of shape, color, texture, bloom time, etc.? I now happily rearrange plants -- I've moved everything at least 3 times -- to make combinations that work for me. Hopefully, some day...I'll be able to make compositions from by combinations and those will be my beautiful beds, held together by wandering, inviting, journey-ful paths. It's much easier that trying to balance plants on paper.

Optimistically,
ML

Thank for such a welcoming return I truly appreciate it. Currently I am away from home without my lap top so I need to be brief as there are other folks milling around the lobby waiting their turn.
Annie,
Just as I have collected more plants than I have the room to grow I have ridiculously collected more gardening books than I have the room to store or time to read but a few that come to mind that I found particularly helpful are "The Authentic Garden" by Clair E Sawyer and "Consider The Leaf" by Judy Glattstein.

Thank you Dtd and KT for the book recommendations. Also, based on your experience, I think I'll see if my library has them and then buy judiciously! Thanks Maya for giving me permission to throw them in the ground! They're all going in tomorrow. My challenge will be size. I asked the designer for a garden that focuses on foliage and contrast, also I didn't have a huge amount of time to spend. So his design includes lots of shrubs - and I'm thinking they won't be so easy to move in a couple of years. Of course, I had to get my fingerprints on it, so I'm "adjusting" his design here and there and that's taking me time to learn it first. The gardens did not exist last year at this time. The back yard was a completely blank space of grass (and weeds). The landscapers put in the beds and big stuff (like emerald arbs and purple ninebark). So now I'm working on the next layer myself - and that includes lots of things that get to be 4-8 feet tall. The irony is I know now that I will find the time to garden because I'm enjoying it. So it will be all of the cool things that fill in around the big stuff. Everyone on this post has wonderful advice - I will regularly look for all of your names here.

I have been thinking about a comment idabean made during a nursery visit, we both were examining a variety of viburnum that dtd had pointed out and was new to us. What followed was that stream of consciousness of horticultural questions that happens when gardeners are presented with a new plant that has caught their interest. "How tall, how wide, fall color, berries, who also berries at the same time, what does it like?" As I headed off to query the nursery owner idabean called out "what shape, is it a V shape?" this comment has been stuck in my mind ever since. I suppose we all have strengths and weaknesses when it comes to design in our garden and admittedly form is mine, I asked earlier if there was anything other than color or texture to help a WOW planting really stand out of course now thanks to idabeans comment it is clear that contrasting shapes can highlight a focal planting. As I have been thinking about the issue of plant shapes with a fresh eye I am thankful to be away from my garden as I suspect I will be moving some things around, but it has also become clear that folks who design conifer gardens are highly successful at working with form. I thought I would use my camera again as a gardening tool and print out some photos in black and white and attempt to identify the different plant shapes by outlining the plant image with a marker. kt

Hey,
I cannot make any suggestions about design cause I am still at the point of just using my instinct to make it all work. But I wanted to chime in and speak up that I am very happy to see a post offered up by kt. I agree with mayalena that kt always starts out some of the most interesting posts. She has a great, thoughtful perspective that challenges the reader and makes everyone think about gardening a different way. I have missed her posts and appreciate this thread. I feel like a sponge filling up with thoughts as I read all of your posts.

greg

Alright now I can use some concrete help I went out and bought a bronze colored caster bean plant that I spent yesterday TRYING to place in my landscape but I am afraid in my scrubby landscape this will be more of a question mark (what is that tropical plant doing amongst a canvas of Pitch Pine and Poison Ivy) than the exclamation point of a WOW look at that amazing plant way over there. What if anything should I couple this monster with? kt

I forgot to mention I was watching a interview of Piet Oudolf in his own garden and he mentioned that he never uses more than 30% of grasses overall in any garden. Do you think his rule would hold true to other types of plants as well? kt

Annie, welcome aboard! I planted a bunch of shrubs three years ago and I'm still moving them now. I don't believe I'll ever stop!

I really like Tracy DiSabato-Aust's "The Well Designed Mixed Garden." Her advice is fairly concrete and she uses lots of pictures and detailed plans you can refer to. She also includes a glossary at the back with all kinds of very useful information about all of the plants mentioned in the book, which are also plants frequently mentioned here (since she is typically a zone 5 gardener). I bought this one and use it as a constant resource.

And yes, agreed, welcome back KT!

While I certainly agree with paigect that "A Well Tended Garden" is a fabulous book on my way to the dentist needing a book that would allow my mind to drift away to a better place I grabbed Jill Billingtons "Architectural Foliage" from my book case. This book printed in the 1990s is a design book that the non-pro can really embrace. Unlike most books written on this topic she includes specific plant choices and groupings with her discussion of plant shape, form and texture. In a chapter titled "Prima Donnas" she discusses what I have called WOW plants and breaks down those plants into the following categories; Large Leaves, Exotics, Small Trees, Ferns, Spikes and Prickles, Hostas, Bamboos, Grasses, Silver-Greys, and Climbers. She concluded this chapter with the following;
"The planting around the prima donnas should be non-competitive and retiring. There is a need for sensitively related foliage patterns which will act as a subordinate background. Should other of these stiking prima donna plants be seen within the same view there must be a linking theme, for example some exotic shapes like palms, bamboos, grasses and fatsia will all look well together. On the whole these plants are better treated as specimens where attention focuses upon them. Other plants can provide a backcloth like yew, portugues laurel, viburnums and so forth, or act as relatively anonymous fillers such as spiraea, ribes, or day lilies.

KT, that book sounds great. I will have to check it out of the library.

The DiSabato-Aust book I referred to is her second (I think) book. "The Well Tended Perennial Garden", her first, which you referred to, is another that I have and is also useful, but in a different way - - more for maintenance. "The Well Designed Mixed Garden" is about design, and the tables, charts and lists in the appendix give all sorts of info about plants which is design related, such as listing plants by flower or foliage color and season in bloom, by form, by size, by maintenance level, etc., as well as a table with each mentioned plant and useful design/culture info about it. I find it to be invaluable when I need to find, say, a red flowering summer bloomer of a certain height to bridge the gap between peonies and sedums. She also has extensive info about color in the garden, which is one thing I really like to focus on. After reading that book, I decided to break my garden into monotone or analogous 'color zones'.