Focus — Passing the Test of Time
Perennial Drama — Karla Patterson-Lynch Shares Her Thoughts on Plants and Design by Nina Koziol
There are thousands of perennials — species
and cultivars — for sun and shade, but until you use them on a job site or in your own landscape, or see them thriving in a public garden, how do you know what works? And not only works, but goes into overtime with extra flower power, fabulous foliage, winter interest or longevity? Landscape designer Karla Patterson-Lynch, Gardens for People, is intimately familiar with many great perennials. In 2016, she designed and managed the installation of Midwest Groundcovers Perennial and Ornamental Grass Display Gardens. This spring, Midwest Groundcovers invited her to give a virtual talk about how to create drama in the garden. After all, a landscape is like a theater. You’re the director and the plants play different roles. Directing the siting and combination of plants boils down to three key elements, Patterson-Lynch said. “It’s your design intent, the specific site, and the design characteristics that you combine to create the drama. Develop a design intent for each planting plan and relate the garden style to nearby architecture.” For designers who are new to the industry, she stresses observing architecture. “Formal architecture is usually symmetrical with fewer types of plants, geometric edging and requires more care to keep the strong geometric look.” It also can make plant replacement more difficult when one or several plants in a formal line, such as boxwood, dies. “When you have informal architecture, there’s a broader range of plants and curvilinear lines that are more forgiving at the edges so losses and replacements are not so big an issue. If you’ve been to Midwest Groundcovers, you’ve seen informal gardens. I refer to these as matrix gardens. They really lend themselves to large spaces and typically involve a lot of grasses in full sun and they can be used in any setting.”
spark my creativity.” And, when choosing plants, recognize the difference between site preference and tolerance. “This is something you can only learn by experience.” Plants don’t read the books. One example is sun-loving daylilies. Some plants will perform in semi-shade, such as at the edge of tree’s drip line where they will get enough afternoon sun to flower.
MWG’s Perennial & Grass Display Garden
New plant stars took the Midwest Groundcovers stage this spring with other well-known supporting actors. “If you haven’t seen the perennial garden, it’s laid out in loose alphabetical order,” she said. “Different cultivars are close to each other so you can compare them.” Check out Midwest Groundcovers (midwestgroundcovers. com) and make plans to visit their facility so you can observe the many display gardens and plant combinations. You won’t be disappointed. Here are some of the underused newer perennials that Patterson-Lynch talked about.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Alexander’s Great’
“It has a lot of visual energy. Because the silver and white foliage place it in the cool color family, I’d use it with blue hostas, blue carex, Orchid Frost lamium, dwarf Chinese astilbe and an ajuga with dark foliage. (Check out Ajuga reptans) ‘Binblasca’--Black Scallop Bugleweed.)
Echinacea PowWow® White
Dynamic Plantings
“If you want to create drama you need high visual energy plants.” This includes plants that provide vertical or upright forms, coarse or bold textures, and contrasting leaf or flower colors and shapes. “Flower color is fleeting. When I’m designing I want to pick form and height first, the foliage color and texture next. I worry about flowers at the end.” “We can fall into a rut using the same plants over and over,” she said. “I’ll thumb through a catalog or web sites to 10
The Landscape Contractor August 2021
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