Call 01747 858215
Jan 2013
Winter is a great time to sit back and take stock of your garden.
When the green fullness of summer has died back is the winter skeleton that you are left with sufficient to maintain interest until fresh growth begins again in earnest?
Plant structure not only provides something of interest (and sometimes scent) through the winter months but also offers a backdrop or anchor to the loose, frothy summer flowering plants. Repeating the same structural plant also creates a rhythm, tying together otherwise unconnected sections of garden.
Vertical structural plants, such as Italian cypress or Irish yew, make a strong connection between the ground and the sky above, a useful device in more overlooked or small spaces.
Rounded forms such as Hebes, Viburnum davidii or clipped mounds such as yew or box are ‘grounding’ in their effect. The eye is focused at ground level where such shapes lend often evergreen solidity to the chaos of summer effervescence.
Horizontal forms are calm and relaxing and can work well next to water.
Border shapes are also more noticeable now, so it’s a good time to consider how they perform in the absence of planting? Do they leave pleasing shapes that guide the eye to focal points or leave claerly remarked paths, or are those attempts to create gentle sweeping ‘natural’ lines now at odds with the garden as a whole?
If you would like some help with ensuring your garden is a delight all year please call me on 01747 830737. I work within a 40 mile radius of Shaftesbury, Dorset.
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