Garden Centre

Monday, February 25, 2008

Garden planters revisited – the courtyard garden effect

This is a style I love, and when you see it in city gardens it adds a welcome splash of natural colour and exuberance to the gritty greyness of town life. As I said before, I’m drawing plans and moving tubs and planters to try and get the best use from my container plants this year, and there are several other ‘classic’ uses I need to bear in mind:

Grouping: this is where you cluster a whole collection of tubs and containers together to give a focal point to a garden design. A group of planters will look best when the collection is unified by shape, colour, or a common planting scheme. In the picture, for example, similar pots hold different plants, but the way they are lined up along the steps also emphasises regularity and repetition, given the design what’s called ‘rhythm’.

This courtyard garden also utilises the final classic use for tubs and containers which is using planters and pots to minimise the effect of large expanses of ‘hard’ landscaping. In a cityscape where what we usually see is simply a range of grey, hard surfaces and straight lines, the effect of containers of plants can be to deliver a splash of colour, scent and softness. In addition, people are generally inclined to slow down and look at flowers, which is why posh shops have orange or bay trees, or other plants in containers outside – it’s not just that they love to garden, it’s that they know we can’t help tarrying where we find a green oasis!

Labels: city gardens, container plants, courtyard garden, garden planters, garden tubs and pots, using planters in the garden

The All Seasons Gardener at 12:18 AM

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