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Shapes and textures
Plant shapes are the backbone of a design. Look at a border and you’ll notice several groups of plant shapes. Here are some examples:
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Tall and upright
- A good rule of thumb is ‘tallest at the back, shortest at the front’
- The same applies to a bed you can walk around: tallest in the centre, smallest at the edges
- To introduce variety, use a few upright plants in the middle or front, such as delphiniums and lupins
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Spiky
- Plants with upright leaves that look a bit like sword blades make great ‘exclamation marks’ at the start and, or end of a border
- And as centrepieces in a bed
- Use small, spiky plants to introduce variety
- Ones to try include yucca and phormium
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Low and spreading
- Use low plants at the front, and have them ‘flop’ over the edge to ‘soften’ the shape of the border
- Important if the bed/border has straight edges
- Examples include aubrieta and stachys
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