Garden design 101

When I was a fledgling horticultural student with little more to recommend me than a love of gardening, the NYBG professors taught me how to transplant, if you will, my enthusiasm into a practical understanding of how nature works.  They highlighted the botanical needs of plants, including what I like to call the dirty half-dozen: 6 rules of thumb essential to all aspiring green thumbs.  I keep these "rules" in mind every time I begin a new project, like the one I'm starting here (right).  Before I begin selecting which plants to put in an area, I consider the following:

1. Botanical name
2. Common name
3. Size
4. Quantity
5. Spacing
6. Conditions

Other factors come into play as well, but following these horticultural fundamentals takes me from the planning phase to implementation, making it easy to make adjustments as the garden takes shape.

Botanical name:  Why is this important?  I mean, other than impressing others with your (limited) knowledge of Latin, what possible purpose is there in knowing that a butterfly weed is known as Asclepias tuberosa?  Why not just waltz into your local nursery and ask for a butterfly weed?  Because without the proper Latin name, you just may be given a butterfly bush--Buddleia davidii.  No big deal, right?  They are both lovely plants.  Of course, if you were looking to fill a small space with just the right orange-flowered gem, you'd be mighty disappointed by the four-foot-tall, purple-flowered bush that splays across all your other perennials, blocking out their sunlight.

As if that weren't bad enough, say you are an ardent fan of the Monarch butterfly, and you intend to plant butterfly weed all along your yard to attract the lovely flutterers.  Since the Monarch's young feed exclusively on this milkweed, you are doing great environmental good by planting this vital native in your yard.  But, ooops, you've just planted butterfly bush instead.  It will draw the desired Monarchs, but not the young, who so desperately need butterfly weed in order to survive.

Common Name:  Let's face it, your friends and neighbors aren't going to know what the heck you're talking about if you tout the merits of the Calamagrostis X acutiflora you planted on the perimeter of your property.  But they may just point out how much they like your feather reed grass.  Knowing only the Latin names for plants will impede your ability to share your gardening passion with others--not to mention make you sound like a bit of a horticultural snob.

Size:  The mature height and width of a plant is vital knowledge when designing a garden.  Always read garden tags closely, determining how large each intended plant will eventually get.  The knowledge can save you a lot of work (transplanting overgrown plants five years down the road), and money (buying too many plants).  All patient gardeners remember that they plant for the future, not the present.  A flowerbed of perennials that looks sparse today will fill in beautifully in just a few short seasons.

Quantity:  As I just mentioned, this ties in with plant size.  Obviously, the larger a plant gets, the fewer you will potentially need.  Lay down too many saplings and you'll be transplanting them or cutting them down in a few years time to reduce overcrowding. 

Spacing:  There are exceptions to the size/quantity rule.  One such exception is pictured in my photo, above.  I intentionally planted the Arborvitae thuja "Green Giant" (which can grow as high as 30 feet!) and Hydrangea arborescens  (which climbs to five-foot heights) closer than recommended because I intend to shape the rapidly growing cultivars into hedges.

Conditions:  This is an area that I feel is often overlooked.  People buy plants that are totally unsuitable to an area because they fall in love with the flowers, the foliage and/or growing habit.  Many's the time I've seen people planting climbing roses on a shady trellis, only to lament the demise of the foliage, and the fact that the darn thing won't produce blooms.  Know how much sunlight and what type of light your plants need.  I have a hydrangea tree that gets a good three hours of sunlight each day, but it's morning light, which tends to be weaker than the full-on rays of the afternoon, (which would scorch it).  Learn how deeply plants should be in the ground.  I will have to "lift" my peony this autumn because as I have planted things around it over the years, it has become entrenched, and no longer produces many blooms.  Understand the content of the soil.  Some plants like more alkaline surroundings (pH value of more than 7), while others crave acidic conditions (pH below 7), and study moisture preference.  I have a hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) that enjoys full sunlight but likes "wet feet."  Because it's hard to find a spot like that, I discovered an "overflow" area (where rainwater drains from a pipe) in full sun, and stuck the plant there.  It couldn't be happier with the choice!