I love the work of garden designer Dan Pearson.
His advice when creating a planting plan is to choose plants appropriate to the spirit of the place, plants that are right for the soil and situation, and plants that sit well together. Make a list of your favourites – then halve it. Less is more.
It’s true that sometimes it is tempting to plant a variety of plants in a space in an attempt to give year long interest, but then a border is in danger of never quite having the wow factor, at any time. Dan’s advice is to aim for simplicity; limit the palette and bulk up the quantities. Also give credit to the green in the garden. That way it will always be interesting and easy on the eye whether it is in flower or not. Wise words!
