How to Create a Sucessful Planting Scheme

Analyze the role of plants in garden design by exploring structural plantings, the forms and textures of plant matter, and how color relationships influence overall design choices.

Explore plant form and texture with a hands-on exercise: cut and arrange printed shapes into triangular compositions, then glue and photocopy to create a clear planting scheme.

Explore collage as a hands-on art technique using magazines, cut shapes, and glue to explore form, texture, negative space, and rhythm, with plant imagery as a subject.

Planting in triangles creates energy lines and movement, using apex or pyramid shapes around a center tree, with slow to moderate energy, while asymmetrical triangles yield faster energy across borders.

Explore section three by examining flower shapes and spacing in garden planting, and discover how plant forms and sizes uplift outdoor spaces and influence mood.

Explore herbaceous flower forms and how different flower heads—spiders, plumes, screens, daisies, buttons and gloves—shape planting schemes and garden drama.

Explore section four introduction to learn how to place plants with elevation drawings and select garden plants, emphasizing high-quality specimens.

Plan a planting scheme for sunny or shady borders using scale drawings (1 in 50) and elevation views, guided by a planting philosophy and orientation, with six plant clumps maximum.

Discover how design choices address challenges in the garden after the cold snap, and stay connected via the website and Facebook page for more about us.

Watch a seasonal container planting demonstration in a small plastic trough, focusing on drainage, soil mix, and a balanced triangle design with Helleborus and bulbs for winter interest.

Create a quiet garden space for contemplation, bereavement counselling, and outdoor prayer by clearing the site, removing obstacles, and laying natural green and gravel paths.