Garden Design – A Dog’s Eye View

estimate what ? dog are n’t in reality colorblind ; they just have a stack less chromatic sensitivity than humans . That ’s why I do n’t let Biff the Wonder Spaniel piece my outfits . On the other paw , he might have a leg up on me ( wienerwurst punning ) when it comes to designing gardens .

When I start a novel design , I picture the industrial plant the same way Biff in all probability sees them . I conceive of they will never blossom — that I ’ll have to swear on something other than flowered color for interest . I choose and conflate plant using all their other ocular qualities — the silhouette of the plant , its foliage shape , leaf size , density and surface texture , for model . The flowers ice the cake .

So I got to thinking . What if Biff take after his old homo and created a garden blog for dogs ? How would he describe the two most fundamental design principles that dogs and their bipedal slave should master ?

The “ grown two ” areharmonyandcontrast . We useharmonywhen we combine plant that share one or more characteristic , andcontrastwhen there are obvious differences . Select too many harmonious elements and your garden might start you snore , whereas too many contrasting element could send out you reaching for the Dramamine .

Don Your Doggie Spectacles

I ’ve change the following pictures to grayscale to emphasize their forms and textures . As you front at the images , notice the flesh and heaviness of the leaves , the relative lightsomeness or dark of each plant , and the overall form , sometimes call in its architecture — mounding , arching , weeping , spiky , vertical , etc .

This pair ofAeonium(back ) andCotyledon(front ) is a good place to start . The two plants share similarly shaped leaves that diversify in a little potato configuration , a simple way of life to make harmony . On the other side of the scale of measurement , the relative darkness and lightsomeness of the leaf , blend with the subtle difference in thickness and slant of the foliage , allow for enough contrast to make things interesting .

Vocabulary brainwave ! Here ’s my list of adjectives that describe the lavender(LavandulaXintermedia‘Provence ’ ) in front : “ mounding ” , “ light - colored ” , “ dim ” , “ bouncy ” , “ stiff ” , “ erect ” , “ small - leaved ” . The pinkish breath of heaven(Coleonema pulchrum)in the background partake a mounding form and is also dull , but the leaves are much darker and of a finer grain .

So far , these combos have all been more similar than dissimilar . Let ’s flip that around .

The leopard plant(Farfugium japonicum‘Aureo - maculata ’ ) seem like an enormous beach umbrella bulk large over the tiny ground cover of moneywort(Lysimachia nummularia).Contrast abounds ! gargantuan vs. teeny - weeny , speckled vs. substantial , illumination vs. dark , yet each has a rounded edge that marries them .

Now if this do n’t knock your windsock off … examine your own vocabulary brainstorm . catch a stamp pad and pencil . I ’ll expect …

Did you drop a line “ spiky ” , “ o.k. ” , “ explosive ” , “ sullen ” , “ stellate ” , “ politic ” , peradventure even “ visual character ” for the Mexican grass tree(Dasylirion longissimum)in the back ? Perhaps “ chunky ” , “ perpendicular ” , “ rough ” , “ ghostly ” , or “ geometric ” for theEuphorbia resinifera?I imagine you ’ve got it !

This last pic is the stuff that swim my sauceboat . remark how the folio of theAgave‘Blue Glow ’ are contain at the same angle as the spicy chalk fingers ( Senecio mandraliscae ) . Each plant life has a strong upright line , though the agave reaches out more broadly speaking . A light background sets off the lightly embossed , fleshy agave , highlighting the crisp edges of the plump leaves . They just seem to make horse sense together .

Do It Yourself

If you have digital picture of garden you like , you could try this at habitation with just a little technical knowledge . All digital photography software has a stage setting that change image from color to grayscale . examine this employment with a few of your favorite photos and see if you may find the “ deep design ” that issue forth from a working noesis of these principles .

In the meantime , I ’ll be helping Biff get his web log started . I ’m thinking we might need to instal a voice dictation computer program on his laptop . Seems our three - year experiment withMavis Beacon Teaches Typingsoftware has been a binge .

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