There are many landscaping products that are used by garden designers to add structure. Anything from patio slabs to wooden pergolas have structural qualities that often create a sense of a room within a garden design. However, you can also achieve similar effects without the need to turn to hard landscaping. With landscaping plants, you will also find that greater structure can be added to your garden. Read on to find out how.
Hedging Plants Create Natural Boundaries
Establishing clear boundaries within your garden doesn't always mean you necessarily have to turn to brick walls or wooden fences. Hedges, with their dense growth, will serve as verdant alternatives. Plants such as the Lilly Pilly or the privet hedges are popular choices in Australian gardens. Their consistent height and thickness make them perfect for creating structures that demarcate rooms within a garden design. They can also be used to show where the boundary of a property lies. Perhaps more importantly, they offer a sense of privacy and can baffle noise from nearby roads and neighbours. Many designers use them to make a garden more serene as well as green.
Feature Trees Generate Focal Points
A garden design will alter significantly by the strategic placing of feature trees as landscaping plants. A species like the Jacaranda, which benefits from vibrant purple blossoms, is good as a feature tree. Equally, the elegant Silver Princess Eucalyptus can become the heart of any garden. The idea is to draw eyes toward something further away. This tends to anchor the surrounding landscape and planting. By positioning feature trees at central points or intersections within a garden design, you can create visual interest. Over time, the height that these landscaping plants grow to will give the design a more established feel, too.
Shrubs and Smaller Trees Add Visual Layers
Introducing layers through landscaping plants with varying heights can lend depth and complexity to a garden. Start by planting tall shrubs like the Golden Cane Palm. These should go at the garden's edges. Follow them with middle-sized shrubs such as the Bottlebrush or Kangaroo Paw. Taking a tiered approach, like this, will mean every plant gets its share of sunlight while contributing to a structured feel.
Ground-Covering Plants Define Pathways and Borders
Finally, ground-covering landscaping plants are the unsung heroes of structured gardens. Low-growing plants, such as Native Violet or Kidney Weed, are best used to delineate pathways or as markers at the edges of garden beds. Use them to create patterns on open ground. Their ability to spread and cover soil will also help with weed control, so they're practical as well as structural.
For more landscaping plant ideas, reach out to a local service.
