Principles of Design #10

Principle #10   mix a palette of colors and textures

The posting today is the last of the series titled:

                               Principles of Design in use at Gardens at Waters East.

All ten (10) design principles are listed in an outline form which can be located on the November 14, 2010 posting.  Refer back to that date for the complete list of the guiding ideas used to develop and to bring unity throughout the many gardens.

It is interesting that a garden, even without flowers, can be very attractive indeed.  Flowers are the stars of a garden, but if you want your garden to continue to look good after the flowers have gone or before they show up on Fall bloomers, pay attention to leaf textures and forms.  For much of the Summer many of the perennials are not blooming.  Each kind of plant takes its turn in the spotlight as the days move through the Spring, Summer, and Fall, months.  Things are not blooming all the time.  Therefore pay close attention to the leaves, stems, structures of plants when choosing materials for your garden.  Use plantings that will have interest even when the flowers are not present.  You will be glad you did.

Within your garden make use of, tone on tone, variegated, smooth and rough, round and pointed, soft to hard, solid to lacy, leaves and stems.  In the Gardens at Waters East, these aspects of the plants are all present.  When the garden is not blooming here or there, the gardens still have great interest and variety which draws in the visitor and viewer.

Without any flowers yet present;   the textures of different green leaves ( Prairie Sunflower, Rattlesnake Master, Sedum, the large leaf Petasites - giganteus) and the driftwood gives interest to the Rain Garden.

Notice the many different textures and colors within this small area.

The wonderful light and airy texture of Blue Oat Grass 

Notice the many colors of the flowers,

and the very dark leaves and the red berries of Diablo Ninebark

There are a number of different variegated plants throughout the gardens.

Here is one example, the leaves of Ivory Halo Dogwood.

The pointed leaves of Siberian Iris, rounded leaves of Hosta, textured leaves of the Juniper, etc.

add much to this garden view. 

Here stone, steel, grass, give great hard and soft feel to the garden.

Colors and textures are in abundance.

The hard texture of stone and the dainty look of the daisies make a great combination.

Russian Sage gives a vertical form and texture mixed here with other garden plants.

Ligularia, Hosta, and the soft needles of the Yew against the driftwood fence,

shows many textured elements.

Flowers with colors and textures fill the area.

The gravel path, sight of water, greens, colors in flowers and bushes, textures,

all add interest here in the Gardens at Waters East.

Beyond the planting, as you have seen in previous postings, there are colors and textures in the rocks, barks, path ways, types of planters, etc.  Color and texture give the garden a real feel of importance.  The garden is more than just another flower bed.  There is substance to all that has been placed, and it showes.  The garden, your garden, becomes a work of art.

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Principles of Design #9

Principle #9   showcase native plants

The posting today is one of the series titled:

                               Principles of Design in use at Gardens at Waters East.

All ten (10) design principles are listed in an outline form which can be located on the November 14, 2010 posting.  Refer back to that date for the complete list of the guiding ideas used to develop and to bring unity throughout the many gardens.

Native plants are wonderful work horses for the garden.  They take so little care once established, and are oh so hardy.  These plants were meant to be in your garden.  Wherever your garden may be, consider using native plants from your particular area.  Natives know your soil, know your water conditions, know your climate zone better than you.  Give them an opportunity to prove to you, they know what is best.

Most people want to have more than just “natives” in the garden.  There may be favorites they have, or plants that bring back memories, or something that caught their eye in the past, or while in a garden center recently.  No one questions that there are many reasons to go beyond “natives”.  Just the variety of plants available today makes any committed gardener want to try more that the native plants of an area.  Principle nine (9) reminds us to consider at least some use of “natives” for your garden.  You will be happy with all the benefits that having “natives” can bring to your garden experience, not the least of which will be so little care and time needed from your schedule.  Mix things up.  Natives with newer or old favorites can work together bringing a variety that makes a pleasant garden. 

Birds, butterflies, insects of all kinds, will show up throughout the seasons when you use plants than are part of their diets.  Plants that brought them to your zone in the first place.  That is the great thing about native plantings.  They do help you do your gardening in many ways.

“Going native” makes lots of people and critters very happy.   In the Gardens at Waters East there are natives such as;  Cup Plants, Rattlesnake Master, Coneflowers, Compass Flowers, Prairie Sunflower,  Aster, Monarda, Baptisia, Columbine, Joe Pye Weed, Sweet Pea, Wood Violets, Primrose, Solomon’s Seal, Allium, even the native cactus (Opuntia polyacantha), and many more.  All these are found within the gardens mixed with  some not so native plantings of;  peony, daffodils, lavender, clematis, roses, hosta, ornamental grasses, and lots and lots of day lilies (more on those newly hybridized and never before seen day lilies in late Winter postings) etc.

mixed natives and others in Lily Garden

Joy Pye Weed

Coneflowers and Day Lilies

Rattlesnake Master

native Blue Aster

native tall Prairie Sunflower

native Pink Aster

field of Asters

some natives among the rocks

native Blue Star

natives mixed with others

Coneflower field

Gardens at Waters East has over four-hundred and fifty different kinds of trees, bushes, grasses, and flowering plants, many are natives.  Hopefully, all of that variety is in the garden without looking messy or over done.  Whatever you do plant, do try to incorporate some natives.  Mixing is not a bad idea.

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Principles of Design #8

Principle #8   use shape and form

The posting today is one of the series titled:

                               Principles of Design in use at Gardens at Waters East.

All ten (10) design principles are listed in an outline form which can be located on the November 14, 2010 posting.  Refer back to that date for the complete list of the guiding ideas used to develop and to bring unity throughout the many gardens.

There are many ways to bring shape and form to the garden.  It can be through living items such as plants, bushes, trees, or through inanimate objects like rocks, pathways, interesting items used as focal points, or items hidden only to be discovered when moving through the garden space.

However you do it, just do it.  Shape and form give shape and form to the garden.  How is that for double talk?  Make all your garden rooms interesting as you do with the rooms of your home.  Such spaces become much more attractive to the eye if different shapes and forms are part of the complete picture.  If all the furniture and accessories in your home are all the same period, or style, or even size, it is boring even if your friends don’t tell you.  Such spaces whether inside or outside – lack spirit.  That is sooooo dull.

There are a number of things that will bring interesting shape and form to your garden.  In prior postings, many of the pictures presented showed shape and form even when the photos were posted to cover a different principle of design.  Review them  and you will see many of the ways shape and form “just happen”.  In the Gardens at Waters East there are many examples.  Here is just one, which was mentioned in the November 14, 2010 posting outline;  the use of paths.  The use of interesting paths and walkways, can easily bring a dynamic movement of shape and form.   The photos in this posting will demonstrates how paths use this principle.

Gardens at Waters East has eight (8) different major paths.

a.     Lake Trail

b.     Middle Walk

c.      Berry Path

d.     A Walk Through Thyme

e.     Lily Path

f.      Rain Garden Way

g.     Formal Walk

h.     Secret Trail

Each walkway, and the entrance to that walkway, adds interest and even a sense of anticipation since only parts of the path can be seen at any one point along the way.  The final destination often is yet unknown.  That kind of mystery makes paths a very important element in the way form and shape can enhance the overall garden experience.  Paths are absolutely key in garden design.  Take your time and plan out how you want to walk through your garden.  Curves and corners can add mystery and the desire to go on to explore.  Straight line paths can highlight focal points, accents, and bring perspective.  Different trail textures can help designate different rooms.  Paths and walkways really do help a garden to be “special”.

Bring life to your garden using a mixture of shapes and forms in a variety of possibilities;

plants, pots, rocks, stepping stones, paths and walkways, etc. etc.

Keep it interesting without “overload”.

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Principles of Design #7

Principle #7   display objects of interest and art – “focal points”

The posting today is one of the series titled:

                               Principles of Design in use at Gardens at Waters East.

All ten (10) design principles are listed in an outline form which can be located on the November 14, 2010 posting.  Refer back to that date for the complete list of the guiding ideas used to develop and to bring unity throughout the many gardens.

There are a wide variety of objects that can be used in the garden as “focal points”.  The list is limited only by the gardener’s imagination.  Is there a sculpture that interest you, or a decorative pot or plant you have come across in a garden center, or a large rock, or a garden bench, or even an old chair in your garage, or broken pottery, etc. etc.?  On and on the list can go.  Whether the item is some well-made piece with substantial cost involved, or a whimsical piece you created as “home grown art”, or something you found in the neighbor’s junk;  if it is “you”, think about using it in your garden to make your garden space all the more personal and interesting.  The only caution, don’t over do it.  If there is too much to see, one sees nothing.

The following photos show a number of “focal points” found around the property used in the Gardens at Waters East.  Each one has its own space and “staging” allowing it be seen as a special piece and not be overpowered by other objects.

It is important to remember that “focal points” don’t have to be objects.  Certain unique species or forms of plants, bushes, or trees in the garden, are and should be seen as “focal points” too.  Give them the special “staging” they need.  Placement, framing, elevation, can all be used to accent a “focal point” whether it is an object or a living specimen.  The sculptured Scotch Pine used as a “Cloud Tree” in the Asian Fountain Garden (seen in previous photo postings) is a great example of a plant being a “focal point”.

 Buddha head in Asian Fountain Garden

nymph stone pot

antique pedestal in Main Entry Garden area

fountain head

smiling face tucked in among the juniper and sedum

broken clay pot in the Zen Garden

feet as "whimsy" sculpture near a decorative pot in Rain Garden

"viewing stone"

often seen in Asian gardens elevated for closer viewing

giving special notice and honor to a rock of importance or interest

candle lanterns

There are other "focal points" used in the Gardens at Waters East.

Those will be shown in an upcoming posting regarding found and created art for the garden.

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Principles of Design #6

Principle #6   create multiple “garden rooms” with seating in each

The posting today is one of the series titled:

                               Principles of Design in use at Gardens at Waters East.

All ten (10) design principles are listed in an outline form which can be located on the November 14, 2010 posting.  Refer back to that date for the complete list of the guiding ideas used to develop and to bring unity throughout the many gardens.

Garden “rooms” can help create a feeling of intimacy especially if your garden covers a large area on your property.  But even if your property is a small city lot, creating a garden “room” adds a feeling of closeness and comfort when shared with your friends.  Garden “rooms” help to create moods and experiences and also help the garden to have manageable size spaces.

Think of the garden room as a garden within a garden.  Showcase a special flower or bush.  Have a focal point, but only one.  Don’t clutter the space with lots of different “things”.  You want the space to slow you down, bring a sense of calm, focus your attention on that special place and special people who are with you in that place.  Then the “room” has a life of its own within the larger life of the garden.

The Gardens at Waters East, has ten (10) different garden rooms.  Each one offers;  a seating area, many interesting plants without having so many different plants that there is distraction rather than a sense of unity about the space, and all the garden rooms have only one main focal point.

Here at Gardens at Waters East you will find the following garden rooms.  Each one becomes a new and varied discovery when passing through the “gates” that mark the entrances.

a.     Main Entry Garden

b.     Overlook Rest Garden

c.      Rain Garden

d.     Zen Garden

e.     Secret Garden

f.      Asian Fountain Garden

g.     Nautical Artifacts Garden

h.     Rock Garden

i.       Lily Path & Birdbath Garden

j.   Formal Garden

There are also other garden areas but are not called rooms in this garden.  They are a vegetable garden, a nursery garden, a “holding” garden, and a berry garden.  Each of these garden areas function for a specific "work"or job to do at the gardens.

Here are photos of some of the "garden rooms" at

Gardens at Waters East. 

 This is the seating area of the Overlook Rest Garden at the edge of the lake bluff.

A simple garden area with fantastic views every day of the year.

The Formal Garden has a seating area just noticeable at the center bottom of the photo.

The Rock Garden

Part of the Lily Path & Birdbath garden with seating area

Entrance "gate" to the Secret Garden

The seating area of the Asian Fountain Garden seen in Winter

There are other photos of other garden areas but these six will give you the an idea of the use of focal point and seating within a garden room.

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Principles of Design #5

Principle #5   use a variety of structures

The posting today is one of the series titled:

                               Principles of Design in use at Gardens at Waters East.

All ten (10) design principles are listed in an outline form which can be located on the November 14, 2010 posting.  Refer back to that date for the complete list of the guiding ideas used to develop and to bring unity throughout the many gardens.

The use of structures, defined in a narrow or broad sense, can add dimension to your garden.  Structures such as entry ways, arches, pedestals, fence posts, benches, branches of trees and bushes even in winter, and the long grasses in any season, add structure.  Structures can be both aesthetic and functional.  In adding structure, a gardener can add interest and make an anchoring element.  The “voice” of the garden space “speaks” so much better when structure is part of the vocabulary.

Here are a couple examples used at Gardens at Waters East.  You will see these structures again, others you already may have seen in past postings, and others have yet to be posted.  As more photos are posted in the months ahead, take note of how the structures add meaning and interest, even if very simple in nature and design.

 The arched "gate" in the above photo leads out of the garden proper along the Lake Trail to the Overlook Rest Garden located at the very edge of the bluff.  It is approximately 7 1/2 ft. tall and 4 ft. wide.  There are four different arch "gates" in the Gardens at Waters East.

This is one of several simple brick and stone benches placed around the gardens for rest and viewing.

The above walkway leads to the main entry gate for the Gardens at Waters East.  Covered in Golden Hops vines, one enters a "cave like" enclosure before bursting out into the Main Entry Garden.  Notice how there is a real sense of mystery and the unknown when approaching this space.

This is the seating bench and area for viewing in the Lily Path and Birdbath Garden.

The photo was taken in late Fall so as to better show the seating area.

An example of branches giving structure to a garden space.

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