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Planting Design Lessons from Raleigh NC

Billy Goodnick, contributor

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Blessing or curse, I find it difficult to look at a garden without awakening the design teacher in my brain. A voice in my head instantly starts deciphering the visual principles in place as if I were explaining the tableau to my students. I imagine it’s no different for a film critic enduring their brother-in-law’s home videos.

So wasn’t I lucky to have Kate Frank, my editor at Fine Gardening, following me around with a video camera during our Garden Writers Association September tour of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University? You bet! That little red light on the video camera commenced to glowing, my frontal cortex ignited and my tongue started flapping about.

Bold Contrast - Tropical Thunder
As you’re probably aware, I’m a sucker for plant combinations that don’t rely solely on flowers. After all, flowers are ephemeral but structure and foliage contrast have staying power. The first clip in this video features the broad, luscious green leaves of rice paper plant (Tetrapanax papyrifera) combined with the strong vertical lines and bright foliage of variegated bamboo. Even if you aren’t inclined toward a tropical effect in your garden, there’s a lesson to be learned in creating bold contrasts.

You Have No Business Being Here
I was a stranger in a strange land for much of my Raleigh trip, having developed my horticultural palette in SoCal. I had more than one Gomer Pyle “Gaahh-ly!” moment gawking at plants that probably incite yawns from locals.

So imagine my surprise espying some old friends from my neck of the woods. Whooda thunk that my tried and true arid-theme buddies, the century plant (Agave americana) and opuntia cactus (genus Opuntia) would be growing in a garden bed 3000 miles away in North Carolina? Check out the segment where I apologize to these plants on bended knee (literally) only to do a one-eighty a moment later.

Reality Check
I’ll admit it. I can be a bit rigid about combining plants. Say I’m doing a Mediterranean-style design and my client suggests a plant like Japanese maple. Square peg, round hole, as far as I’m concerned—kinda like putting cranberry sauce on a hot dog. But right on the heels of asking forgiveness from the aforementioned cactus, I beheld the boldly artistic (dare I say daring?) killer combo of opuntia and silver grass (Miscanthus species). The fine, wispy texture of the grass sharing the composition with the ping-pong paddle-shaped structure of the cactus was sheer genius.

So stingy-brim hats off to the imaginative designers at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens for their exquisite design sense and for giving me a chance to interpret a few of their little gems.

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Comments (3)

yaass writes: It is very good Posted: 2:36 pm on November 8th

CoolGreenGardens writes: Mainegardener: I've been using the idea of variegated and light colored foliage in shady beds for a long time. It's unfortunate that so many people end up massing dark green foliage in already dim light. It just makes sense to create a foundation of brightness before adding color, since flowers tend to be so ephemeral. Glad you liked the vid. More on the way. Posted: 11:58 am on October 28th

mainegardener writes: Great video - I really loved your comment about how you can use color to throw a spotlight on an area. I hope you do a garden series and let your inner design teacher go wild. Posted: 8:29 pm on October 27th

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