Get great garden design tips from renowned Canadian designer Brian Minter.
Integrate Your Plants
Vegetables and herbs have a place in theflower garden.
“In the garden, integration is the key,” he says.
Play Up Texture
Pay attention to foliage texture, as well ascolor.
Here, for example, purple heuchera makes a lovely contrast against ‘Burgundy Glow’ ajuga and gray-blue stones.
Here, for example, fernySorbaria’Sem' is a stunning partner for burgundy-leaf Red Majestic hazelnut.
“Defining an entrance makes a big statement,” Brian says: “Welcome.”
Whether they’re used or not, a decorative table and chair invite contemplation.
They’re a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds.
Astilbes and skunk cabbage enhance the scene with their foliage.
He starts with a weeping hemlock, then adds a euphorbia or two.
Next comes a sampling ofHeuchera’Marmalade' followed by a streak ofSedum’Angelina'.
“With foliage like this, who needs flowers?”
He does tuck in a few violas – but mostly for his chefs to toss into springtime salads.
“The idea is to lift the eye up off the ground,” Brian says.
“The pillars create a sense of antiquity and add an element of surprise and mystery.”
Incorporate Curves
The secret to cultivating intrigue in the garden?
“Always have a curve,” Brian says.
“You want to keep them guessing – What’s up ahead?
What will I discover?
You don’t need a lot of space to achieve that.”
The result: a space that appears one-and-a-half times its actual length.
Thanks to its frosty-white-tip foliage, it shines like a beacon in the border.
“The ordinary green form would disappear,” Brian says.
“Use variegated plants to mix things up.”
Plus, the plant’s lemony scent offers passersby a sensory moment.
“Black foliage creates magical combinations in the garden,” he says.
“Just look at these dark-leaved begonias and’Bishop of Llandaff' dahlias.”
Keep it Simple
Create a sensation by putting a single magnificent plant in a spectacular pot.
Brian does it here withSedum’Angelina’in a 3-foot-tall rust-crusted urn.
“There’s elegance in simplicity,” he says.
“People tend to get too busy and complicated in their container plantings.”
Brian likes this golden sun-loving succulent for its heat and drought tolerance.
Solve a Slope
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.
Thirty years ago, Brian decided to plant nasturtiums on a sunny hillside.
It worked so well, he’s been doing it ever since.
“Nasturtiumsremind people of their grandmother’s garden.
They’re charming and have an old-fashioned fragrance,” he says.
“And they don’t mind crummy soil.”
Add Flowers to Your Fence
Go green and install a living fence instead of a wood version.
“Add value to plants by giving them a purpose,” Brian says.
Brighten Shady Spots
Let in the light with shade plants that shine like high-wattage stars.
Brian brightens a hillside planting of native bracken ferns with a swath of ‘Patriot’ hostas.
Their big wavy leaves with wide white margins are like lights in the woods.
Massed, ‘Patriot’ delivers high impact.
The lesson, Brian says, is simple: “Let Nature do the arranging.”
Stop Fighting Moss
This is no rolling stone and it has the moss to prove it.
“Nature created it for me to admire.”
Include Climbing Vines
“Do the unexpected,” Brian says.
Just about any cascading plant can do the trick and look lovely at the same time.
