Garden Design Basics: Texture and Focal Point
Texture and focal point are two other important things to consider when planning a garden.
Texture is not something you always think about when considering garden design, but it is very important. It adds interest, and makes you pause and really look at things. Texture can mean foliage textures, as mentioned in the article linked above. It can mean the texture on the bark of your trees and shrubs. Some bark is smooth and clean looking, and others are rough, or exfoliating.
You don’t need to go overboard on this, but a few plants with interesting texture will add a ton of interest to your landscape. River birches, crabapples, ninebarks, and sycamores all have really interesting bark. Evergreens can add a lot of texture to a garden as well. Think of the short, spiky needles on a spruce, or the long, feathery needles on a white pine or the lacy broad needle texture of arborvitaes. Just adding a couple of these plants will give your garden all the texture it needs. And, as a bonus, when you plant evergreens or plants with interesting bark, you automatically get winter interest. It’s a winning proposition all around.
Focal Point
The final principle I want to discuss is focal point. This is probably the main thing that can help you organize your garden. You will know where to focus your planting if you know where you want the eye to go. For example, in the front yard, the entrance to your home is an automatic focal point. Use your plantings to draw the eye toward the entrance.
In the backyard, maybe you have a pond, or a fountain, or a patio that you want as a focal point. Use your plantings to highlight these, drawing the eye away from less attractive areas.
As an example, let’s say we have a really pretty fountain in a corner of our back yard. Let’s also say that it’s just kind of sitting there by itself surrounded by grass, because we want people to see it. And let’s also say that on the other side of the yard, we have a really pretty perennial bed. Well, guess what? When your garden is growing, no one is looking at your beautiful fountain because the flowers are taking all of their attention. Does this mean tear out the flowers so people will look at the fountain? Of course not. But it does mean that you should bring some of that same color over to the area where the fountain is. Maybe you start a small, round bed surrounding the fountain, and fill it with the same perennials that are in that other bed. Now what you’ve done is drawn the eye back to that corner, because whoever is looking at your yard is following the color of the flowers through the yard, and landing right at your beautiful fountain. It takes a little bit of thought, but once you develop and highlight your focal point, your garden will automatically flow better and be more organized.
If you already have a yard full of plants screaming for organization, start digging! You can transplant perennials and even smaller shrubs so they fit better into your design. And, by dividing your perennials when you dig them up, you have even more plants to spread around. Maybe you have one Black Eyed Susan in this bed, another over in that bed, and maybe another in the front yard. Well, how about digging all three up and either planting them together in one big clump, or at least putting all three in the same bed so that they repeat each other? Doing small things like this will get your garden into shape without a ton of work. And when you’re buying plants, try to think: what colors or forms do I already have that I need to repeat? What do I have too much of? Don’t buy any more pink phlox if you already have way, way too much pink in your garden. (Unless you’re going monochromatic, which is a really pretty look too.)
I hope these ideas help you get your landscape in order. An organized garden will bring you peace, serenity, and relaxation. . . until you start thinking about the next chore you need to take care of!
Texture is not something you always think about when considering garden design, but it is very important. It adds interest, and makes you pause and really look at things. Texture can mean foliage textures, as mentioned in the article linked above. It can mean the texture on the bark of your trees and shrubs. Some bark is smooth and clean looking, and others are rough, or exfoliating.
You don’t need to go overboard on this, but a few plants with interesting texture will add a ton of interest to your landscape. River birches, crabapples, ninebarks, and sycamores all have really interesting bark. Evergreens can add a lot of texture to a garden as well. Think of the short, spiky needles on a spruce, or the long, feathery needles on a white pine or the lacy broad needle texture of arborvitaes. Just adding a couple of these plants will give your garden all the texture it needs. And, as a bonus, when you plant evergreens or plants with interesting bark, you automatically get winter interest. It’s a winning proposition all around.
Focal Point
The final principle I want to discuss is focal point. This is probably the main thing that can help you organize your garden. You will know where to focus your planting if you know where you want the eye to go. For example, in the front yard, the entrance to your home is an automatic focal point. Use your plantings to draw the eye toward the entrance.
In the backyard, maybe you have a pond, or a fountain, or a patio that you want as a focal point. Use your plantings to highlight these, drawing the eye away from less attractive areas.
As an example, let’s say we have a really pretty fountain in a corner of our back yard. Let’s also say that it’s just kind of sitting there by itself surrounded by grass, because we want people to see it. And let’s also say that on the other side of the yard, we have a really pretty perennial bed. Well, guess what? When your garden is growing, no one is looking at your beautiful fountain because the flowers are taking all of their attention. Does this mean tear out the flowers so people will look at the fountain? Of course not. But it does mean that you should bring some of that same color over to the area where the fountain is. Maybe you start a small, round bed surrounding the fountain, and fill it with the same perennials that are in that other bed. Now what you’ve done is drawn the eye back to that corner, because whoever is looking at your yard is following the color of the flowers through the yard, and landing right at your beautiful fountain. It takes a little bit of thought, but once you develop and highlight your focal point, your garden will automatically flow better and be more organized.
If you already have a yard full of plants screaming for organization, start digging! You can transplant perennials and even smaller shrubs so they fit better into your design. And, by dividing your perennials when you dig them up, you have even more plants to spread around. Maybe you have one Black Eyed Susan in this bed, another over in that bed, and maybe another in the front yard. Well, how about digging all three up and either planting them together in one big clump, or at least putting all three in the same bed so that they repeat each other? Doing small things like this will get your garden into shape without a ton of work. And when you’re buying plants, try to think: what colors or forms do I already have that I need to repeat? What do I have too much of? Don’t buy any more pink phlox if you already have way, way too much pink in your garden. (Unless you’re going monochromatic, which is a really pretty look too.)
I hope these ideas help you get your landscape in order. An organized garden will bring you peace, serenity, and relaxation. . . until you start thinking about the next chore you need to take care of!