Unity - Part 7 - Shapes

This article is almost a continuation of my article on form. In my article on form I stressed that when using form to unify a garden, it is best to not focus on individual plants, but I have to admit that it is the growth patterns of individual plants which create the forms that most gardens are composed out of, so this article is about the shapes of plants and how they can be used to create a garden that is a unified work of art.

Trees are the tallest elements in most gardens, so they are the dominant element. The shape of a tree against the sky can set the mood for an entire garden. As the trees mature, their influence over the garden becomes stronger and stronger, so it is best to think about the mature shape of trees before planting them.

During the 18th century many Cedars of Lebanon were planted on English estates. These trees, with their strongly horizontal or tabulate branching pattern are now unifying features in the gardens that have developed around them. The distinctive form of the cedars is easy to recognize from every part of the garden, so even though each room in the garden may have it's own theme, they all feel like they are part of one garden.

Cedars of Lebanon are not fast growing and they only have tabulate structure at maturity, but these patriarchs of English gardens have a lot to teach us about how to use shape to unify a garden. When trees are small, they aren't very impressive, so we tend to plant too many of them. Trees with striking shapes are most effective when viewed against the sky, not as a part of a mass of trees. If you can practice self-restraint and patience, your garden may only need one large tree which has a striking growth pattern.

If you are creating a new garden in an area without trees, you should look at the shapes of mature trees. Many deciduous trees have cloud-like shapes maturity. Cedars and many pines are tabulate at maturity, but when they are young they have the cone like shape typical of conifers. Other conifers retain this cone-like shape throughout their lives. Some trees have a columnar (or fastigate) shape, they are best used as exclamation points in the landscape, although they can be used like columns in formal gardens. Weeping trees direct they eyes downward, so you should have something at their base which is worthy of such a dramatic flourish.

Fastigate and weeping trees should be used with caution, most gardens only have room for a few trees with such dramatic shapes. Hollywood junipers have an almost flame-like shape; plants like this should be used in spots where you would place a dramatic piece of sculpture.

It is easier to have a collection of trees with horizontal branching patterns, since the trees will interlock with each other. The different textures of the trees will contrast with each other, but the shapes will harmonize. You could have a Japanese black pine as the dominant element in the planting with a Japanese Snowbell as an understory tree. There aren't a lot of shrubs with tabulate structure, but Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' has very horizontal branches. This plant is lower growing than the flowering dogwoods, it matures at 8 to 10 feet, but it has an effect similar to the dogwood without the disease problems that are plaguing the American dogwoods.

Some trees and shrubs are planted for the effect of their bare branches during the winter. Harry Lauder's Walkingstick is an example of this kind of plant, during the winter it is one of the most striking plants in the garden, but during the summer it is just a mass of rather coarse leaves. Saucer Magnolias are at their best when the blooms open on the bare branches, but the mature structure of the branches is striking all winter. During the summer Saucer Magnolias are mainly a mass of bold leaves, not quite interesting enough on their own, but very attractive as a a background to plants such as threadleaf Japanese Maples or Sumac.

When thinking about shrubs, don't forget about the lowest layer of the garden. Many low growing shrubs are rounded, Mugho pines contribute a very nice billowing effect to this layer of the garden. You can also echo the tabulate structure of trees by planting Kew broom. The Wilton carpet juniper will provide an effect similar to a stormy sea when planted in a mass.

When thinking of the lowest level of the garden, most of us think of lawns, but there are ornamental grasses which have as much impact as a large shrub. Bamboo is a grass which can have as much impact as a grove of trees.

Lily-turf has an effect similar to grass, and I like the dull lavender-blue flowers in late summer. New Zealand Flax has all of the drama of the largest grasses, so do yuccas. Plume Poppies can have as much impact as a large shrub, and Gunnera has even more dramatic impact than any shrub that I can think of. There are many shapes among perennials, these are just a few. I was only limited by my desire to provide images. I hope that this was enough to give a starting point to those of you who are just beginning to think about the shapes that plants contribute to the form of a garden. It takes a lifetime to become a master of all the possible ways to use these forms to create a unified garden, I am far from being a master of that art, but I am constantly learning. That is one of the best things about garden design, it is such a complex art that there is always something to learn, it keeps us young.