By: Mark Cullen

When I started out on the adventure of creating my ‘dream’ garden I had no idea how much I would learn through the exercise.  In my enthusiasm to get to the job of planting I forgot some very important tenets of garden design that I wish to share with you here:

Plant by the Numbers

Garden design courses will often teach you to plant in 3’s or 5’s.  Gardening by the numbers provides a great foundation for any garden plan.  It is very simple.

Here is how it works:

One.  This is the ‘prime’ number.  A single specimen in your garden works well if - and only if – the single plant has dominant characteristics or a single quality that makes it a stand out.  A gorgeous Japanese Maple specimen can work well in a front garden, an Oak or other specimen shade tree in the corner of your backyard also can work.  Whatever you choose make sure that you love it.  This may be the one plant that you make your most substantial investment in.

Two.  Formality.  Think of the guards at Buckingham Palace: sentries posted on either side of an entrance.  The goal is to draw your attention to what is between the two plants, not the plants themselves.  For this reason these plants are often evergreens like yews or boxwood, which provide a rich green appearance year round.

Three.   Three plants in the garden works very well when spaced into an equilateral triangle.  Planted in a row is almost always a mistake.  Vertical or mounding plants can look unifying when planted in threes.

Four.  This can be a challenge.  Two and two, planted on either side of a walkway does not work largely because we are dealing with Mother Nature and she does not like to produce identical twins in the plant world.  This creates a feeling that is ‘off balance’.  It is like having a wobbly wheel on one side of your car.  Four can work where three are used on one side of a path and the fourth on the other.  Or at the four corners where two paths intersect.

Five.  Perhaps this number is used most in garden designs: it provides balance when configured like 5 bowling pins lined up at the end of an alley.  It provides mass and unity at the edge of a large perennial border or shrub planting.

Six.  Six in a row only works if you are planting a hedge.  Six begs to be broken up into three and three, staggered through a large planting or in a triangle.  The idea is to create a look that unifies the whole, without attracting attention to any one plant in the grouping of 6.

Seven.  Magic in the garden.  Your attempt to make a strong visual statement in the garden can be achieved with ‘lucky’ seven almost every time.  Break up 7’s with 3 on one side of a path and 4 on the other and you will not diminish the overall impact.  This should only be attempted with plants that fit an area in terms of overall interest and size, relative to the garden itself.  Most urban gardens can only take one or two groupings of 7 of any one plant, and even then you should be careful.

Mark Cullen appears on Canada AM every Thursday morning at 8:40.  He is spokesperson for Home Hardware Lawn and Garden.  Sign up for his free monthly newsletter at www.markcullen.com.