Texture in My Garden

Like many gardeners, in the beginning, it was all about flowers.  Starting with impatiens and marigolds, moving on to cosmos and zinnias, the desire to fill my garden with the colors and shapes of flowers dominated my seed searching and my sometimes weekly visits to the nursery.  Then, in my mom's garden,  I discovered perennials!  You mean they come back every year?  Soon daisies, coneflowers and black-eyed susans usurped a good portion of the best spaces in my garden.  I think the discovery of perennials, which are not in flower the whole season, made me look at foliage more closely.  There were thousands of plants out there with foliage that could bring beauty to the garden when the flowers were not blooming...just waiting to be discovered! The more difficult (shady) areas of my garden got the first big dose of texture.  Hostas and ferns suddenly looked more interesting and beautiful. And were soon followed by tiarellas, cimicifugas, and solomon's seal.

Textured plants and "garden art" make good companions.  Piggy looks so comfy!

A pot adds another textural element as well as space for more plants.

There are many textured plants for sun.  Thyme, zebra grass and sedum fill up hot, dry, rocky sites beautifully.  These plants are all drought tolerant.

There are fewer long-flowering choices for shade, so texture is a must.  Hostas come in nearly every combination of size, shape, color and texture you could hope for.

Contrast is key.  Tiny foliage, strappy foliage, dark foliage, a few flowers, some rocks and mulch. Suddenly you have a little piece of living art. 

So what is texture?  I suppose flowers do have texture, but when I think of adding texture as a garden element, I think foliage.  The size, shape and feel of a leaf is what gives it its texture.  Canna leaves are large and sword-shaped.  Boxwood leaves are small and shiny.  Leaves can be unbelievably soft and fluffy like lamb's ears or a bit rough and sharp like those of irises.  Hosta leaves are described as rounded , pointy, smooth or textured to such an extreme that they resemble corrugated cardboard.  Some of my favorite plants have lacy foliage:  ferns, cimicifugas (actaea), bleeding hearts, and sambucus.  Color is important because it makes the contrast in foliage texture stand out:  Imagine a burgundy leaved canna surrounded by the tiny, golden leaves of creeping jenny.  Or a rounded-leaved golden hosta amid  purple and silver lacy-leaved Japanese painted fern.  So whether designing a new garden bed or just adding a few new plants to an already gorgeous garden this Spring:  Think Texture and Enjoy!