1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 1 The WELL-DESIGNED M I X E D G A R D E N 1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 2 1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 3 The W E L L - D E S I G N E D M I X E D G A R D E N Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs Tracy DiSabato-Aust Timber Press Portland ~ Cambridge 1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 4 All photographs are by the author unless otherwise noted. Design renderings are by Megan H.King,as indicated. Color model,value scale,and color scheme watercolors by Stacey Renee Peters,as indicated;color scheme icons by Martin Knapp. The color wheel that appears on page 39 is copyright 2001 The Taunton Press,Inc.Reprinted with permission from issue no.78 of Fine Gardening,Box 5506,Newtown,CT 06470-5506.To order a copy of Fine Gardening,call 1.800.888.8286 or visit their website at www.taunton.com Copyright ©2003 by Tracy DiSabato-Aust.All rights reserved. Published in 2003 by Timber Press,Inc. Timber Press The Haseltine Building 2 Station Road 133 S.W.Second Avenue,Suite 450 Swavesy Portland,Oregon 97204,U.S.A. Cambridge CB4 5QJ,U.K. Printed through Colorcraft Ltd.,Hong Kong Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DiSabato-Aust,Tracy. The well-designed mixed garden :building beds and borders with trees,shrubs,perennials,annuals,and bulbs / Tracy DiSabato- Aust. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.). ISBN 0-88192-559-4 1.Landscape gardening.2.Landscape plants.I.Title. SB473.D57 2003 712--dc21 2002023191 1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 5 In memory of my mother and my greatest cheerleader,Therese DiSabato, who taught me strength and persistence, and my father-in-law, Jim Aust, who taught me gentleness and patience. This page intentionally left blank 1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 7 CONTENTS Foreword by C.Colston Burrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .369 Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Heights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Winter Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377 Fruit,Seedheads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .377 PART ONE. Mixed Garden Design Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Evergreen Foliage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378 Cut Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378 Chapter 1.Why a Mixed Garden? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Fragrance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380 Chapter 2.First Steps in the Design Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Songbirds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381 Chapter 3.Color,Texture,and Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Hummingbirds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381 Chapter 4.Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Butterflies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .381 Chapter 5.Putting It on Paper:Drawing the Design . . . . . . .63 Chapter 6.Art in the Mixed Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 APPENDIX C. Plants by Maintenance Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . .383 Chapter 7.Maintaining the Mixed Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Culture Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384 PART TWO. Mixed Garden Design Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91 Light Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .429 Dry Shade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .432 Chapter 8.Small and Medium Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93 Dry Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .432 Chapter 9.Large Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 Wet Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .433 Lower Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434 PART THREE. Encyclopedia of Plant Combinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 APPENDIX A. Scientific and Common Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .437 Metric Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438 APPENDIX B. Plants by Design Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439 Design Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442 Flower,Foliage,and Fruit Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .358 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .444 Color Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .364 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449 Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367 7 This page intentionally left blank 1-WellDes2-Begin .qxd 11/8/02 5:14 PM Page 9 FOREWORD Designing a garden, like riding a bicycle, is both an art and a personal design element that can make the difference between a science. On a bike, science keeps you upright and propels you mundane garden and an extraordinary one.The book starts off forward.The art lies in the finesse with which you ride.To avoid with an overview of the design process,giving a nod to the history scrapes and bruises, many people start off with training wheels, of gardening in America and abroad. Tracy presents historical which help build confidence and proficiency. The Well-Designed precedent not as an end point but as a jumping-off point for Mixed Gardenis like a set of training wheels for fledglings,as well exploring the garden as a rich canvas for artistic expression. as experienced and professional designers. Every page propels The first step is to put down your trowel and open your eyes. you forward with excellent, easy-to-understand information that The most important lesson you can learn is to match your garden you can put to use each step of the way. to your needs, taste, and budget. Once you know where you are Readers familiar with Tracy’s best-selling book The Well-Tended heading, it’s onto your bike and off you go, with Tracy skillfully Perennial Garden know she is an excellent teacher and skilled gar- instructing you along each leg of the journey. dener.Garden design is another of her talents.She has spent years If you want a garden that will give the maximum impact with honing her skills at home and in the gardens of her clients. It is the least input (and who doesn’t?), you must understand your only natural that Tracy would turn her pen to design.In this new site. Site evaluation is a woefully neglected step in the design book she shares her enthusiasm and knowledge to help you create process,though it is the foundation on which a successful garden a garden that utilizes the wealth of plants available today, from is built.You must learn the dictates and limitations inherent in perennials and annuals,to bulbs,shrubs,and flowering trees. your property’s boundaries and context so you can work with, If you think design happens mysteriously after a soaking rain, rather than against,your site.Tracy tells you how. or by the light of the full moon,then this book is for you.Do you If color confounds you, then you will devour the chapter long to get into the dirt but do not know how to build a stunning devoted to this compelling characteristic of plants and gardens. border? Have you gone wild at the nursery and arrived home with Tracy covers color theory thoroughly yet in an easily understood no idea how to use the plants you just bought? Even old hands fashion.She teaches you ways to blend color and how to use it to occasionally come up short on inspiration. Read on, this lavishly elicit varied emotional responses. The chapter also includes illustrated book will guide you! No matter what your experience dynamic illustrations depicting the often misunderstood factors or expertise, this book will help you become an artful designer. affecting color, such as light, intensity, and color association. Tracy takes the mystery, and the missteps, out of designing a Once you master color,its time to move on to heavy-duty design mixed bed or border. theory. Always enthusiastic and never dogmatic,Tracy presents In every chapter, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden encourages simple rules without demanding that we slavishly adhere to them. you to have fun with design and use the process to personalize Terms such as order, unity, and rhythm are often bandied about your garden. Tracy demonstrates that art is a compelling yet by designers. Far from abstract notions, these useful tenets are 9