Harmony and balance in the garden

Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’

How do you create balance and harmony in the garden? We can see when a garden is balanced and harmonious and we can see when one isn’t, so why is creating this so tricky? We can spend a lot of time, energy, and money, getting our garden to look right, but in spite of planting many interesting varieties the result feels off. Too many bright colours are garish. A big tree makes a small space gloomy. We can get excited by adding new plants that we fall in love with, and keep adding and adding, forgetting about the overall effect, about the garden as a whole. Your attention is drawn in a garden like this from one eye catcher to another, with no rhythm. There is a restless impression. Such an effect is not calming, not harmonious.  

Creating a balanced harmonious garden may seem like an impossible task, however if you break this puzzle down into different elements it becomes a fun, creative project.

Polemonium ‘Northern Lights’

Step one is to access your space and your use of it. Think of it from outside, when you are in the garden and from inside the house- what you can see out the windows. What you can see from the windows is simple enough- we want to see something nice out the window, and we want light to come in. What about outside? Are you framing a view? Hiding something ugly? Creating an enclosed space? Think about areas of light and shadow. A garden is a 3D space, it has depth. A narrow bed in front of a tall wall can look off. Do your beds need to be wider? Wider borders mean you can include taller perennials or shrubs. For visual interest and balance try to have plantings for ground level, mid-level, eye-height and over-head height. Plants all at one level can look 2D and boring, especially in very narrow borders. Do think about any paths, are they causing you to rush through the space, or do they meander and let you relax and take the time to enjoy your garden?

When you have assessed the physical aspects of your garden you need to think about what you want from it. About your natural taste. This is instinctive and we all have it.  Get rid of anything you don’t like. Just dig it out. This will give you a chance to refresh the soil! Access what you have left. Visiting other gardens is a great source of inspiration. Think about what aspects you were drawn to in those gardens.

Many of our customers say that they feel really inspired walking around our nursery. We have created a space where you can stroll at your own pace and view our 875 different varieties of plants. All of our staff are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Catananche caerulea

To create harmony and balance we recommend that you sketch a planting plan. Make choices on colour, we recommend choosing complimentary colours for a calming, harmonious overall effect. Stick to your plan and be bold with your choices. Being brave and going with a choice will bring that harmonious balanced look rather than an indecisive muddle. Think about texture as well as colour. Foliage is vital. Rhythm brings visual harmony. Repeat elements in your planting plan. For example, one block of your plan could contain (we are going to go with blue tones here) Catananche caerulea, Polemonium ‘Northern Lights’ and Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’. My block is 1.5m x 1.5m and contains 13 plants. 5x Catananche, 3x Polemonium and 5x Amsonia. I have three colours that compliment each other. I have three different heights, giving a natural look. The Amsonia blooms before the Catananche and the Polemonium and will give autumn colour when its leaves turn yellow. The soft foliage of the Polemonium contrasts with the Amsonia. The Catananche has foliage that grows in a rosette against the ground so it gives us something there at gound level. While the Catananche and the Polemonium have over lapping blooming times the slender stems of the Catananche wave in the breeze and you can see between them- they’re not going to prevent you from seeing something planted behind them. This block of planting needs to be repeated in the garden to give a feeling of balance and harmony. It will feel more harmonious if it is repeated an uneven number of times. Three, five or seven of these blocks depending on the size of your garden. Another block, maybe a smaller block of 1m x 1m beside it. Maybe you bring in some orange or yellow here with a grass or you could choose whites.

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’

To frame a view a shrub would be ideal. We love Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diablo’ or Ninebark. This deciduous shrub grows to about 160cm. It has a natural arching dome shape so only needs pruning to check its height, pruning will give you denser, darker foliage. The foliage on this Physocarpus is really great. The leaves start our bronzy purple and get darker purple as the season progresses. They don’t turn green from the sun, they maintain their dark colour all summer. It’s a flowering shrub and has lots of cream-white flowers with a flushed pink centre. This shrub makes a great background, we like Eupatorium or Rudbeckia in front of it. The dome shape means it can frame a view in a naturalistic manner, without being too obvious. It can look as if a view is framed by these wonderful dark leaves by a lucky chance rather than by design. This shrub will grow happily in any reasonable soil, it does well even in the harsh conditions in Caherhurley.

Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Little Goldstar’

For something fast growing, to act as a background, a screen or to set off a view or a feature in your garden Salix purpurea ‘Nancy Saunders’ is a compact deciduous shrub. The silvery leaves flutter prettily in even light breezes. Its season of interest is extended with the appearance of its fluffy silvery catkins in late winter to early spring. Prune for a bushier plant and for the vibrant red young stems. Annual hard pruning creates a pleasing neat coppiced shrub even when leaves have been shed during the winter months.

Salix purpurea ‘Nancy Saunders’

Keep a notebook to record what you have planted where and when it flowers. This will be an aid in the future to continue to maintain this harmony that you have achieved. Include mature sizes of plants.

Following these tips and ideas will help you to create a balanced garden that is to your taste and gives you what you want from your space as well as helping you to get the best from your plants. As your garden grows and settles into itself maintain balance and harmony by keeping pruning shrubs, cutting back perennials in winter, splitting plants that have grown too big for their space and removing anything you decide you don’t like.