Ivydene Gardens Garden Design:
Plant Selection

Garden Design Pages

Private Garden Design Introduction.

Before You Start What is your Budget and What are the purposes for Your Garden?

Designing for a Purpose : Areas which require answers before

answering your
Designing for a
Purpose Questionnaire.

Then, do the
Site Survey
with photographs, before

putting the
Current Design on paper or PC.

Using the
Broad Design
elements of Scale, which Garden Style to use:-

Low Maintenance Garden Style,

Cottage Garden Garden Style,

Wildlife Garden Style or

Japanese Garden Style and the

Hard and Soft Landscaping elements, to create the
Broad Proposed Design.

Then, the
Detailed Design
of each Hard Landscaping item with
Example of Detailed Design for my New Garage

followed by the
Soft Landscaping elements:
The Soil,

Changing the Microclimate,
and the (Relationship between bees and plants)

Plant Selection is influenced by *

the Colour Wheel, with

Plant Quantities determined by time to establish versus width between

plants and
Companion Planting will provide helpful neighbouring plants.

Garden Design Bibliography and further Design Concepts

Garden Design Site Map with Parallel Thinking not
Adversarial Thinking to find the ‘Way Forward’ to help you and your family create an agreed design for your garden.

See Explanation of Structure of this Website with User Guidelines to aid your use of this website.
 

The Selection of Plants

Maintaining a garden is a time-consuming business, but there are some things which can be done to minimise the time.

Try to build into any scheme, in particular, the use of ground cover plants (see Ground Cover Page). If you do not have a specific style of garden in mind, the most appropriate is usually an informal mix of trees and shrubs, hardy perennials (as ground cover) and bulbs (in ground cover areas and lawns), with broad sweeps of lawn — not too fiddly to mow.

Using too many herbaceous plants is labour intensive, and will not provide colour all the year round, which most people want. In this type of planting, the trees or shrubs provide the background or shape, the bulbs and hardy perennials provide definite colour during the spring, summer and autumn, and the ground cover retains moisture and prevents the growth of weeds.

From everything we have said, it can be seen that trees and plants for your garden should be selected, not on a whim, but to fit in with a specific design.

The first step is to decide which trees and large shrubs will form the line and shape of the garden. This ‘structural’ element requires trees and shrubs which are more than 2.1m (7ft) high so that they will not only provide the line of the garden and form the required shape within the hard lines of the boundary, but also act as a screen to hide poor views together with providing privacy and shelter.

Having established the types of ‘structural’ plants that could be used, you then consider specific aspects of each plant as detailed in the step-by-step guide to selecting plants. In addition, each plant must be selected so that it will complement both those existing plants next to it and any new ones in colour, texture, form and shape.

Public demand for water has increased by 70 per cent over the last 30 years, and 40-70 per cent of the water supply for the south and east of England is dependent on ground water reserves. Due to these water restrictions, your plant designs should move towards drought tolerant plants and to use a 4 inch deep organic mulch (Spent Mushroom Compost, Garden Compost or Cow Manure) over the whole of the bed or hedge area after the plants have been planted.

Previous Page....Next Page

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Remember that a Garden is 3 dimensional and the next 2 columns in this row should assist you in producing a good selection of plants for each of the 3 height sectors defined there. The same height sector rules can be used to a house wall, a fedge, a hedge, a fence, a pergola, a tree or a garden bed:-

3 Sector Vertical Plant System from Infill3 Gallery

The Gardener's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Climbers & Wall Shrubs - A guide to more than 2000 varieties including Roses, Clematis and Fruit Trees by Brian Davis. Published by Penguin Books Ltd. in 1990. ISBN 0-670-82929-3 is providing more climbers to add to the ones from Ramblers Scramblers & Twiners by Michael Jefferson-Brown (ISBN 0 - 7153 - 0942 - 0) which describes how to choose, plant and nurture over 500 high-performance climbing plants and wall shrubs, so that more can be made of your garden if you think not just laterally on the ground but use the vertical support structures including the house as well.

Warning - Just as it is a mistake to try to keep a tiger in a dog's kennel, it can be a disaster to plant a rampant grower in a site that it will very quickly outgrow. Strong climbers, especially self-supporting ones (Ivy, Ampelopsis, Parthenocissus and Vitis), can quickly get to the eaves, where they may sabotage gutters, and if allowed to get onto the roof, distort or even dislodge tiling. Climbing roses must be supported by humans tying them to structures since the roses cannot do it themselves (keep the top of the structures 36 inches (90 cms) below the eaves so that annual pruning can reduce the risk of the odd stem reaching the guttering!! See Damage by Plants in Chilham Village - Pages 1, 2, 3, 4 ).

There are 3 sectors on a house wall or high wall:-

• 0-36 inches (0-90 cms) in height - The Base. This gives the most sheltered conditions in the garden, with soil and air temperatures above those of the surrounding area. This area will suffer less buffeting from wind. Soil care will be ensuring a high humus content - to enrich the nutrient value and help to create reservoirs of moisture. Light intensity will depend on the aspect of the wall (North-facing will get very little sunlight) with the surrounding buildings and plants, including trees.
  The following pages in InFill3 gallery cover
  The Base:
  • 1a Base of Wall Plants
  • 1b Annuals
  • 1c Herbs and Vegetables
  • 1d Cut Flowers, Cut Foliage
  • 1e Scented Flower or Foliage
  • 1f Foliage Use only.
• 36-120 inches (90-300 cms) in height - The Prime Site. As the plant moves upwards to about 6 feet, conditions change: plants still benefit from the reflected heat and stored heat of walls warmed by the sun but have more light and air. Many climbers will have established a trunk below and now begin to spread themselves. This middle section is visually important, because it is at eye level and just below that that we should display those items to which we want to draw most attention. Most of the shrubs that are suitable for growing against walls are between 3 and 10 feet in height.
  The following pages in Infill3 gallery cover
  The Prime Site:
  • 2a Wall Shrubs 1, 2, 3, 4
  • 2b Fruit Trees
  • Plants for Wildlife-use as well
  • Raised Bed for Wheelchair Users
• Above 120 inches (300+ cms) in height - The Higher Reaches. This is only likely to occur on house walls and other tall buildings with climbers and trained trees/shrubs covering all the way up to 36 inches from the guttering at roof level ( to prevent ingress to the internal roof space or blockage of the guttering).
  The following pages in Infill3 gallery cover
  The Higher Reaches:
  • 3a House-Wall Ramblers
  • 3b Non-House-Wall Climbing Twiners 1, 2
  • 3c Non-House-Wall Self-Clinging Climbers

The climbers in this gallery have been placed into one of these 3 heights with the Text Box Boundary in:-

• Blue for 0-36 inches (0-90 cms)
• Green for 36-120 inches (90-300 cms)
• Red for above 10 feet.

This Gallery splits the climbers into their following ways of climbing:-

• Ramblers/Scramblers - These climbers lean on other plants or need artificial supports to climb - Roses, Jasmine, Espalier-trained Fruit Tree/Fruit Ramblers. These are suitable for house or building walls where vine-eye and wire or 1 inch square timber trellis support structures can be erected up to 3 feet below the gutter for the climbers to be tied to with natural twine (not plastic or metal wire - stems grow sideways but plastic and metal contrict this, whereas natural twine will eventually rot or be broken by the expanding stem), or they can be trained on chainlink fences, trellis, pergolas or arbours. Herbaceous Clematis has been added since the top growth dies off completely in the Autumn and Non-Climbing Clematis since it will require being tied to a support structure. In theInfill3 Plants Index Gallery, these climbers go into the
  3a House-Wall Ramblers
   
• Self-Clingers: Aerial Roots - A series of roots are produced along the length of its stems. These attach themselves very strongly to the surfaces they find - Ivy (Hedera).
  Self-Clingers: Sucker Pads - Tendrils are produced along the young growing stems, opposite the leaves. The main tendril stem divides into a number of slender filaments, each of which has a scarcely perceivable pad at its tip.Once the tips have established contact, the tiny pad is much expanded and becomes a significant sucker, which fits so strongly to the surface that if the stem is pulled away the suckers are left behind- Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia).
  Self-Clingers: Twining - Many climbers find support simply by twining their stems around any object they find - Wisteria and Honeysuckle.
  Self-Clingers: Twining Leaf-Stem - Some climbers make do with sensitive leaf stalks which wrap themselves around objects for support - Clematis. Others establish themselves with thorns, hooks, spines and prickles.
  Self-Clingers: Twining Tendrils - A group of climbers climb by producing a series of tendrils. These are touch sensitive and will curl round any small object they come into contact with and thus enable the plant to climb securely on itself or other plants or manmade support structures - Chinese Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus henryana), Sweet Pea and the Pea Family (Leguminosae).
  All these Self-Clingers are suitable for garden walls, chainlink fences, trellis, pergolas or fedges, but not for House-Walls. In the Infill3 Plants Index Gallery, these climbers go into the
  3b The Higher Reaches - Non-House-Wall Climbing Twiners 1, 2 Page or
  3c The Higher Reaches - Non-House-Wall Self-Clinging Climbers Page.
   

Climber 3 Sector Vertical Plant System Use Pages:-

• Fastest Covering
• Least Protruding Growth when fan-trained
• Evergreen 1, 2
• In Exposed Position
• Produces Ornamental Fruit 1, 2
• Scented Flowers
• Autumn Foliage Colour 1, 2
• Winter Bark
• Winter and Early Spring Flowers
• Edible Fruit
• Needs Conservatory or Greenhouse
• Large Pots and Containers
• Cut Flowers
• Attractive to Bees
• Use as Hedge
• Use as Groundcover
• Has Flowers during:-
  • January
  • February
  • March
  • April
  • May 1, 2
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
  • October
  • November
  • December
• Simple Flower Shape:-
  • Stars
  • Bowls, Cups and Saucers
  • Globes, Goblets and Chalices
  • Trumpets and Funnels
  • Salverform
  • Bells, Thimbles and Urns
• Elaborated Flower Shape:-
  • Tubes, Lips and Straps
  • Slippers, Spurs and Lockets
  • Hats, Hoods and Helmets
  • Standards, Wings and Keels
  • Disks and Florets
  • Pin-cushions, Tufts, Petal-less and Cushions
  • Umbels, Buttons and Pompoms

Further details of each are available in Climber Gallery
Climber Ramblers and Scramblers for House Wall and other supports like garden walls, pergolas, tripods, shrubs, trees,
Climber Wall Shrub Index for House Wall and other areas of the garden,
Climber Annuals Index for all support areas except House Walls,
Climber Base of Wall Plants for all support areas except House Walls,
Climber Self-Clinging Index for all support areas except House Walls,
Climber Tender Plants Index for all support areas except House Walls, or
Climber Twiners Index for all support areas except House Walls
.

These are split into the following in the Comparison Pages (since the pages use a fixed template format, then if the Title of the Page has a White Background and its a Twiner you are looking for, the photos will be at the bottom of the page with blanks before it. A Page Title with a Green Background indicates an empty page) :-

• Ramblers/Scramblers for the Ramblers/Scramblers
• Self-Clinging Climbers for the Self-Clingers: Aerial Roots and Self-Clingers: Sucker Pads.
• Twiners for the Self-Clingers: Twining, Self-Clingers: Twining Leaf-Stem and Self-Clingers: Twining Tendrils.

This plant gallery has thumbnail pictures of climber flowers in the following colours per month:-

• (o)Blue
• Orange
• (o)Other Colours
• (o)Pink
• (o)Red
• (o)White
• (o)Yellow

If you click on a thumbnail the window changes to one with 9 larger images (Flower, Foliage and Form - for Flower, Foliage and Form pages) and the following plant description:-

• Plant Name
• Common Name
• Soil
• Sun Aspect
• Soil Moisture
• Plant Type
• Height x Spread in inches (cms)
• Foliage
• Flower Colour in Month(s). Fruit.
• Comments - Form Type, Pruning Group, Native UK Plant. There are further details on pruning of climbers in the Pruning Page of the Plants Section.
   

You might consider having plants with fragrance in their flowers, leaf, wood, bark and roots or have fragrant fungi:-

Sense of Fragrance from Roy Genders

Fragrant Plants:-
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Flowers
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Leaves
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Trees and Shrubs with Aromatic Bark
1, 2, 3
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for an
Acid Soil
1, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a
Chalky or Limestone Soil
1, 2, 3, 4
Shrubs bearing Scented Flowers for a
Sandy Soil
1, 2, 3
Herbaceous Plants with Scented Flowers
1, 2, 3
Herbaceous Plants with Scented Leaves
1, 2, 3
Annual and Biennial Plants with Scented Flowers or Leaves
1, 2
Bulbs and Corms with Scented Flowers
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Scented Plants of Climbing and Trailing Habit
1, 2, 3
Winter-flowering Plants with Scented Flowers
1, 2
Night-scented Flowering Plants
1, 2
Scented Aquatic Plants.
Plants with Scented Fruits.
Plants with Scented Roots
1, 2
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Wood.
Trees and Shrubs with Scented Gums.
Scented Cacti and Succulents.
Plants bearing Flowers or Leaves of Unpleasant Smell 1, 2

Flower Perfume Group:-
Miscellaneous Group with scents - Balm, Brandy, Cedar, Cloying, Cowslip, Cucumber, Damask Rose, Daphne, Exotic, Freesia, Fur-like, Gardenia, Hay-like, Heliotrope, Honeysuckle, Hops, Hyacinth, Incense-like, Jasmine, Laburnham, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Meadowsweet, Mignonette, Mint, Mossy, Muscat, Muscatel, Myrtle-like, Newly Mown Hay, Nutmeg, Piercing, Primrose, Pungent, Resinous, Sandalwood, Sassafras, Seductive, Slight, Soft, Stephanotis, Sulphur, Starch, Sweet, Sweet-briar, Tea-rose, Treacle and Very Sweet.

Flower Perfume Group:-
Indoloid Group.
Aminoid Group with scent - Hawthorn.
Heavy Group with scents -
Jonquil and
Lily.
Aromatic Group with scents - Almond,
Aniseed,
Balsamic,
Carnation,
Cinnamon,
Clove,
Spicy and
Vanilla.
Violet Group.
Rose Group.
Lemon Group with scent -
Verbena.
Fruit-scented Group with scents -
Apricot,
Fruity,
Green Apple,
Orange,
Pineapple,
Ripe Apple,
Ripe Banana and
Ripe Plum.

Flower Perfume Group:-
Animal-scented Group with scents -
Cat,
Dog,
Ferret,
Fox,
Goat,
Human Perspiration,
Musk,
Ripe Apple and
Tom Cat.
Honey Group.
Unpleasant Smell Group with scents -
Animal,
Fetid,
Fishy,
Foxy,
Fur-like,
Garlic,
Hemlock,
Manure,
Nauseating,
Perspiration,
Petrol,
Putrid,
Rancid,
Sickly,
Skunk,
Stale Lint
Sulphur and
Urinous,

Leaf Perfume Group:-
Turpentine Group.
Camphor and Eucalyptus Group.
Mint Group.
Sulphur Group.
Indoloid Group.
Aminoid Group.
Heavy Group.
Aromatic Group.
Violet Group.
Rose Group.
Lemon Group.
Fruit-scented Group.
Animal-scented Group.
Honey Group.

Scent of Wood, Bark and Roots Group:-
Aromatic Group.
Turpentine Group.
Rose Group.
Violet Group.
Stale Perspiration Group.

Scent of Fungi Group:-
Indoloid Group.
Aminoid Group.
Sulphur Group.
Aromatic Group.
Rose Group.
Violet Group.
Fruit Group.
Animal Group.
Honey Group

The 3 rows below provide a

Garden Design Work-flow Diagram

indicating which pages in this site help with each respective section:-

Glossary for Page

Perennial Strictly, any plant living for at least three seasons; commonly applied to herbaceous plants (evergreen perennials) and woody perennials (i.e. trees and shrubs). (See also Annual, Biennial.)

Bulb A modified stem acting as a storage organ and consisting mainly of fleshy, more or less separate or tightly packed, scale leaves (a modified bud) on a much reduced stem (basal plate).

Herbaceous A non-woody plant in which the upper parts die down to a rootstock at the end of the growing season. It is chiefly applied to perennials, although botanically it also applies to annuals and biennials.

When you buy a house, you would not paint your toilet in a Gaugin Style with many colours without thinking that you wanted Magnolia paint colour in the rest of the house, because it would look out of place.

This design process hopefully persuades you to think as carefully about your use and enjoyment of the garden as you do about your lounge, kitchen and bedroom and prepare plans that will be acceptable to the whole family.

The most important design consideration is who and how long per week is maintenance on the garden going to be done. One hour-garden by Joanna Smith book helps in this part of the design process.

If you decide that you would like to redesign all or only a part of your garden

then ----->

otherwise

It might be useful to read the following pages in this Design Topic:

This page followed by these:-
Introduction
Before You Start
Designing for a Purpose
Questionnaire
Site Survey

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You may decide to simply add more plants to your existing beds

like plants to Rock Gardens using
Rock Plant Flowers 53
...Rock Plant Photos Galleries.

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Then, you can decide on the Garden Style that you wish to use in your garden, so these pages in this Design Topic may help:

The Design Itself
Broad Design
Low Maintenance Style
Cottage Garden Style
Wildlife Garden Style
Japanese Garden Style

Additional Garden Design Concepts have been written using the beds at Wisley to provide examples:-

Using the Mixed Border, Jubilee Rose Garden and Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden in the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden at Wisley for examples, I am still creating The Mixed Borders Garden Design Topic . The Mixed Borders Garden Design topic may help you in planning your garden, especially if you decide to show your garden to the public - i.e Make plant labels visible in your garden to aid your own plant sales.

RHS Mixed Borders

as well as from

Garden Style

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In choosing your style, there are other considerations to take into account like

If you suffer from hay fever, then bee-pollinated plants and very little grass would be useful

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Then, view these Garden Design Pages in this order or any order you want

Hard and Soft Landscaping
Detailed Design
The Soil
Changing the Microclimate
Plant Selection
The Colour Wheel
Plant Quantities
Companion Planting
Bibliography and further Design Concepts

before

choosing 1 of these different Plant selection Methods:-

1. Choose a plant from 1 of 53 flower colours in the Colour Wheel Gallery.

2. Choose a plant from 1 of 12 flower colours in each month of the year from 12 Bloom Colours per Month Index Gallery.

3. Choose a plant from 1 of 6 flower colours per month for each type of plant:-

Aquatic
Bedding
Bulb
Climber
Conifer
Deciduous Shrub
Deciduous Tree
Evergreen Perennial
Evergreen Shrub
Evergreen Tree
Hedging
Herbaceous Perennial
Herb
Odds and Sods
Rhododendron
Rose
Soft Fruit
Top Fruit
Wild Flower

4. Choose a plant from its Flower Shape:-

Shape, Form
Index
Flower Shape

5. Choose a plant from its foliage:-

Bamboo
Conifer
Fern
Grass
Vegetable

6. There are 6 Plant Selection Levels including Bee Pollinated Plants for Hay Fever Sufferers in
Plants Topic.

7. Your chosen Garden Style then changes your Plant Selection Process:-

Garden Style
...Infill Plants
...12 Bloom Colours per Month Index
...12 Foliage Colours per Month Index
...All Plants Index
...Cultivation, Position, Use Index
...Shape, Form
Index

I have moved on in March 2016 to create the Garden Style and the other design galleries for the New Plant Selection Process number 7.

Bee-Pollinated Plants information in this website using the Bee-Pollinated Bloom in Month Colour Wheel Gallery:-

Besides the plants in the
British Floral Sources of importance to Honey Bees
and
Bee Pollinated Plants for Hay Fever Sufferers
the following 3 sets of Bee-pollinated plants are suitable for Hay-fever Sufferers; except for the 2 grasses in the second list:-

• The Bee-pollinated Bloom in Month gallery compares the photos from 13 flower colours per month for many plants from the other Galleries, by clicking on the 1 in the relevant Flower per month Colour in the Colour Wheel down on the right of its pages,
• the Bee-pollinated Index Gallery provides the tabular index of another 264 plants with the relevant colour in that respective month:-
  • 51 ANNUALS
  • 2 ANNUAL - VEGETABLE
  • 4 AQUATIC PLANTS
  • 11 BIENNIALS
  • 21 BULBS, CORMS, OR RHIZOMES
  • 4 CLIMBERS
  • 31 DECIDUOUS SHRUBS
  • 26 DECIDUOUS TREES
  • 9 EVERGREEN PERENNIALS
  • 22 EVERGREEN SHRUBS
  • 2 EVERGREEN TREES
  • 2 GRASSES which cause hayfever
  • 4 SEMI-EVERGREEN SHRUBS
  • 66 HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS
  • 9 PERENNIAL HERBS
    followed by
• Click on these extra bee-pollinated plant names:-
  • ACER (Deciduous/Evergreen Shrub/Tree) in March-April
    CHAENOMELES SPECIOSA (Herbaceous Perennial) in March-May
    CROCUS (Bulb) in September-April
    CYDONIA OBLONGA (Deciduous Shrub) in April-June
    DAFFODIL (Bulb) in December-May
    DAHLIA (Bulb) in June-November
    DUTCH HYACINTH (Bulb) in March-April
    HEATHERS (Evergreen Shrub) in every month
    HEDERA HELIX (Evergreen Climber) in September-November as last major source of nectar and pollen in the year
    HELIANTHEMUM (Deciduous Shrub) in June-August - Pollen only collected when the flowers open during sunny weather
    HELENIUM (Herbaceous Perennial) in June-October
    HELLEBORUS (Herbaceous Perennial) in January-March
    HEUCHERA (Evergreen Perennial) in May-September
    HIBISCUS (Deciduous Shrub) in August-September
    ILEX (Evergreen Tree) in May-June
    LAVANDULA (Annual, Herbaceous Perennial or Shrub) in June-July
    LAVATERA (Annual, Biennial, or Herbaceous Perennial) in May-August
    LEPTOSIPHON (Annual) in June-August
    MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA (Evergreen Tree) in August-September
    MALVA SYLVESTRIS (Biennial) in June-September
    MENTHA (Herb) in July-August
    NEMOPHILA (Annual) in April-June
    NIGELLA (Annual) in July-September
    PHILADELPHUS species only with single flowers (Shrub) in June
    POLEMONIUM (Herbaceous Perennial) in April-June
    PRUNUS CERASIFERA (Deciduous Tree) in February-March
    PRUNUS LAUROCERASUS (Evergreen Shrub) in April-June
    PYRACANTHA COCCINEA (Evergreen Shrub) in May-June
    ROSES (Deciduous Shrub/Climber) in June-October
    RUBUS IDAEUS (Raspberry) (Soft Fruit) in May-June
    SALVIA SUPERBA (Herbaceous Perennial) in June-September - no bee garden should be without this plant - for those plants.