I’d like to invite you to take a sneak peek into my life as a garden designer. Finally, home after a long, sweaty day of working in my clients’ gardens and all I want to do is sit on my back patio with a glass of wine and the book I have been meaning to read for the last six months. I grab my glass, my book and head out. The birds are singing, the fountain gurgling and all is well in the world. That is until I spot IT. The browning, half-dead flower clinging stubbornly to its stem and ruining the look of the planter it’s in, as well as my Zen moment.
Clippers in hand I decide to just take a minute and tidy things up. You can guess the rest. That flower had lots of friends in the same state and before I knew it that minute had turned into an hour. I had not opened the book or had one sip of wine and now the family wants to know what’s for dinner!
This scenario is what happens on way too many days to count, and it is the inspiration for the planters on my patio – which now consist of only foliage plants.
There are so many benefits of creating container gardens using only foliage.
The Benefits of Foliage Containers
They are low maintenance. When we focus on flowers in our planters, we are usually talking about annuals which embrace the motto “live fast, die young.” Annuals are hungry and need lots of fertilizer and deadheading to keep blooming. When George Gershwin wrote “Summertime and the livin’ is easy…” I’m thinking he probably did not spend it constantly deadheading his flowers.
Foliage first containers have lasting good looks. With a planter filled with great foliage you never have to wait while the flowers take a break. Foliage containers, and I have pictures to prove it, will look better in September than they did when you planted them in May. Can you say that about the pot of petunias you bought?
Finally, when we focus on foliage we are talking about less waste – fewer things to end up in the compost pile. Foliage first containers incorporate perennials, tropicals, even houseplants. At the end of the season these plants can be planted back into the garden (perennials) or overwintered (tropicals) or brought into the house (houseplants). My daughter was recently married, and her room has become my plant nursery. Until, of course, it is needed as a grandbaby’s nursery!
If you, like me, want to take back your summer and read your book consider designing all foliage containers. They are easy to put together if you follow a few simple steps.
Design Tips for Foliage
1. Assure interest and keep things from being boring by introducing contrast. Different forms, leaf shapes and textures will give your container garden that long-lasting “wow” factor. And even without flowers make sure you consider color. After all, foliage has color and can provide wonderful contrast. Consider the chartreuse leaves of lysimachia combined with the dark purple clover-like leaves of oxalis. It’s not just the leaves that have color, think about stems as well in your designs. alocasia and colocasia, also known as Elephant’s Ears have some beautiful stems that run the gamut from pink to yellow to black – even striped.
2. Mix and match foliage patterns by considering the “power of 3”. Choose an inspiration plant – you might like the colorful leaf or graceful form. This is your star. If your inspiration has a loud colorful pattern add another plant (#2) that has two of the same colors but on a smaller scale. Then your final plant (#3) can be just one color. Echoing color in your container design creates a dynamic yet unifying foliage display.
3. Don’t forget texture. Try to combine textures like fine (think fern), medium and coarse (think hosta leaves).
Plant Suggestions
Some of my favorite foliage plants include coleus, cannas, heuchera, plectranthus, and Persian Shield (strobilanthes). I also love dieffenbachia, especially the variety called ‘Camouflage’. If you are looking for trailers and weavers for your container, I recommend alternanthera, irisene, lysimachia, muehlenbeckia, thyme and mint. Mint is actually great for keeping squirrels out of your containers although you might want to keep it in its own pot, so it doesn’t take over the neighborhood.
Finally, make sure your design complements the pot you are using. I love the Crescent Garden TruDrop planters, and I used the TruDrop Dot planter in slate to play off the grayish purples of my design. I especially like the way the trailing Wandering Jew echoes the planter’s color. Side note: Watering is another garden chore that keeps me from relaxing at the end of a summer work day. If I am using the TruDrop self-watering planters I can get away without watering for weeks.
Focusing on using foliage in your containers is the easiest way to take back your summer. Now if you will excuse me, I have a book to read.
