Your Garden
WE grow plants for the flowers, dense growth, perfume, growth habit but what about the bark, structure or leaf shape.
There are Maples (Acers), Arbutus, Birches, Cornus, Prunus, Salix, Eucalypts to name a few, can have beautiful peeling or coloured bark which alone makes them worthy of a spot in the garden. Some have silver or white bark, some bright yellow or red, some cinnamon colours, some textured and some striped. Many peel to reveal these features but all make a valuable addition to the palette which is your garden.
Always try to place your plants to show off their features to advantage. This might be to catch the light and sunshine, be adjacent to where you walk or sit or as a winter feature when the leaves are absent.
Plants grow in a myriad of shapes and leaves vary in size, colour, texture and shape.
The hazels and witch hazels are great examples, contorted growth makes a fascinating feature in all seasons, leafy or bare.
Tortured willows, Lacy Lady Robinias, Wire Netting Plants and lots of others are available. There are even roses with massive or coloured thorns grown solely for this feature.
Leaves can also be amazing, huge leaves, variegated leaves, lobed or cut-leafed foliage, new spring foliage of an attractive colour, autumn leaf colour and coloured foliage are all reasons some plants are selected and grown.
Evergreen magnolias and Michelias can have beautiful bronze buds and backs of the leaves which can be another great feature. By using plants with any of these features a garden with year round features is quite achievable.
