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Re: [SHADEGARDENS] sources for info on foliage combos - was where is list

You're right, it is kinda hard to find books that concentrate on foliage
combinations as most seem to concentrate on flower combinations.

Beth Chatto (my garden idol) wrote a book called "The Green Tapestry" which
might give you some ideas....lotsa great photos.  It's not totally about
shade plants, however her philosophy about using plants together works in
sun or shade.  This book may be a tad difficult to get your hands on as it
was published a few years ago.  I haven't checked Amazon.com or Timber
Press and if it's out of print, you can try bibliofile.com and do a search
to see which used book stores on the web have it.  I highly recommend it,
as I do all of her books.  BTW, if you've never heard of her, she has a
display garden and a nursery called 'Unusual Plants' near Colchester in the
UK.  She won many gold medals at Chelsea Flower Show over the years and is
highly respected as a plantswomen.

Christopher Lloyd wrote a book entitled, if I remember correctly, 'Foliage
Plants' which is also a good read and should give you some food for
thought.  Again, it's been out a while and you may need to hunt for it.

Pamela Harper has a couple out - of course I can't remember the names -
that you might look for.  Her books are good and she gardens in the US,
although she is originally from the UK, so her books give one the best of
both worlds.  Her books also have lots of good photos in them.

Really, it boils down to looking at photographs of gardens that appeal to
you and noting what plant combinations make it appealing;  as well as going
to every public garden and nursery you can find to see plants in real life
-- and then, trial and error.  No matter what the picture you paint in your
head is like, plants are living creatures and they will interpret it in
their own way....sometimes much more successfully than you ever could and
sometimes not.

I look at plants as a living palette with which we can paint our gardens;
and I'm speaking mainly about foliage texture, shape and color since
flowers (much as I love them) are fleeting and not the prime consideration
in shady gardens -- they're more icing on the cake, if you know what I
mean.

FWIW, I did a few articles last fall in a series on 'Living Palettes' or
something like that -- it's late and my brain is fried -- that might be of
interest as they concentrate on foliage combinations.  Some of them are a
bit slow loading as I used a bunch of photos as illustrations, so please
excuse and be patient:-)  They can be found in my previous articles on
Suite101.  You can get to the index by clicking 'more articles' in the left
column on my front page.  Then scroll down 'til you find the titles.  The
URL to my front page is in my SIG.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
http://www.suite101.com/frontpage/frontpage.cfm?topicID=222
Gardening Topic Index for Suite101:
http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/gardening.html


----------
> From: tmatsu <tmatsu@INCH.COM>
> Date: Tuesday, March 17, 1998 8:13 AM
>
> Regarding -
>
> "Most new shade gardeners, she tells me, want lots of flowers.
> Instructing
> with foliage, shape, and texture was difficult."
>
> I have to admit that as a new gardener, I too look for plants "florally
> first". But this winter has given me ample time to investigate the other
> aspects you mentioned; foliage texture, etc.
>
> What I seem to be having the most trouble with is finding sources that
> show how to effectively combine plants to highlight their best features,
> emphasize contrast, etc. Most perennial books and catalogs I've seen give
> closeups that ignore/exclude the plants companions.
>
>
> What are some of your favorite plant combinations? Please list as many as
> possible!!
>
> Also, what books or other sources have you found helpful with this
> problem?
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Carmel Matsushita
>
> Queens, New York Zone 6
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