The look itself is somewhat more difficult to get
right, but as I have mentioned before, plants did
move 3 or 4 times before I was happy with them,
or they were happy with their spot in the garden.
"One of the most remarkable
surprises was that I found this,
much easier to maintain."
I do not have the hassle grass garden lovers have
of weeds, pests, lots of dead ends, compacted
dead soils and an overal messy fire hazardous
look. My best advice would be to get some help
with your layout, by doing a course, or help from
a landscape designer, and have a go at the
planting yourself. Plants are remarkably resilient,
and though they showed a little unhappiness
when I move them, they soon flourish again, with
some tender love and care.
Contrast Is KEY
The main thing about these Country
style borders is to keep the contrast
evident. Textures against texture,
colour against greens, forms against
backgrounds, and order juxtaposed
to chaos. It can easily look like a hot
mess, but the decision to prune some
plants into a more recognisable form,
will help to calm everything down
visual y.
The baby steps of such a garden planting
scheme might be a little more difficult than a
straight forward planting scheme, but the long
term benefits, and the fact that almost any
plant can go into it, makes it al worthwhile. Not
many gardens al ow this kind of freedom to
experiment with plants as if they were paint
colours on a canvas, and that is probably this
style's greatest feature, that it is not static!
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Article by: Lee Burger

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