Creating a Stunning Garden with Contrasting Textures and Colours: Inspired by Declan Buckley's Design
Beneath the submerged urban landscape, a sunken city garden has been metamorphosed into an appealing, lush tropical haven.
Discover how to create a garden that captivates with contrasting textures and colours, inspired by the work of a renowned garden designer, Declan Buckley. Although specific information about Buckley's gardens or the plants he uses is not readily available, we can draw on expert recommendations for creating striking garden images using a range of plants with varied leaf shapes and shades of green.
Contrasting Leaf Forms
To achieve a garden that stands out, consider incorporating plants with different leaf shapes. These plants are often chosen by designers for their structure, elegance, and year-round appeal:
- Round and large: Funkie (Hosta), Bergenia
- Lanceolate and slim: Ziergräser (e.g. Japangras/Hakonechloa), Taglilie
- Feathered: Ferns (e.g. Female Fern/Athyrium), Zier-Lauch (Allium)
- Lobed or fern-like: Maple (Acer), Hellebore
- Egg-shaped and smooth: Boxwood (Buxus), Euonymus
Varied Shades of Green
To add depth and interest to your garden, consider using plants with different shades of green:
- Dark green: Ivy (Hedera), Yew (Taxus)
- Light green: Golden Raspberry (Ribes aureum), Pale-leaved Sedum (Lysimachia punctata)
- Blue-green: Blue-leaved Fescue (Festuca glauca), Lavender (Lavandula)
- Yellow-green: Golden Willow (Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’), Lemon-leaved Sedum (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’)
- Reddish or coppery: Copper Plant (Heuchera), Copper Beech (Acer palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’)
Recommended Combinations
- Large, dark-green Hosta leaves next to fine, light-green grasses like Japangras.
- Sphere-shaped Boxwood next to long, slender leaves of Zierlauch (Allium).
- Blue-leaved Fescue (whose silvery-blue leaves stand out) against the dark background of Yew.
- Dyer's Woad (Isatis tinctoria) with blue-green leaves next to bright yellow-green Hostas.
If you're referring to a specific person
If you're thinking of another designer (such as the well-known garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith, Piet Oudolf or Dan Pearson), please provide the correct name or more details, and I'll find more specific information and design ideas from their gardens!
In Summary
Whether you're interested in the design concept or not, you can create beautiful contrasts between form and colour using the plants mentioned above. If Declan Buckley is indeed a well-known garden designer, please share more information with me – I'm happy to help you further!
As the day turns to dusk, the foliage of perennial plants becomes deeper and less distinct.
The dwarf fan palm Chamaerops humilis var. argentea adds low-flying drama.
The garden's principal vista is along its breadth, best appreciated from the seating/dining area at the west end of the garden.
Liriope muscari and Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost' are perennial plants adding moodily rich purple-blue notes.
Cautleya spicata 'Arun Flame' has dramatic orange flowers.
Wild sorrel is abundant in the garden, with intermittent floral effusions of small groups of white arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica 'Crowborough') and Cautleya spicata 'Arun Flame'.
Persicaria filiformis 'Batwings' brings in delicate upright stalks bearing red flowers.
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