Gardeners can struggle with making naturalistic gardens feel connected and unified.
I ran into this issue when I started my plantings at Ephemera Farm. I had been a horticultural nomad for 8 years living in rental dwellings. My amassed plants I threw into makeshift trial beds around our house to save me from having to water so much, and their proximity kept deer and other critters at bay. With an eye towards naturalistic planting, I then added to this space species to evaluate how they grew in east Texas.
But, once I built the fenced in patch for protecting my trial plants, it came time to start overhauling these trial beds for plantings. As I took some plants out and left others I wanted to keep, the beds felt disconnected and disparate.
I realized what was missing was repetition to create a sense of unity. I began to repeat plants in this area to make the beds feel unified. Using the same plants throughout the space took the plantings from a crazy-looking collection to a garden.
WHY REPETITION WORKS
Humans by nature are great at recognizing patterns to help us make sense of a chaotic world.
In nature repeating plants breeds familiarity, and we realize the plants are connected as part of the whole space. Because plants are usually growing where conditions are optimal for them and not others, we usually see a few species repeated across a landscape during their season of interest. A mature prairie or forest that has reached equilibrium with a few plants repeating looks much better than the chaos of a weedy field.
Baptisia australis var. minor (wild indigo) repeats in a prairie near Dallas, TX.
The repeated rising spires of Arnoglossum plantagineum (prairie indian plantain) provide impact in early spring.
We can also find woodies repeated throughout a natural setting. Coppiced bonfires of Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum) blaze in this field and connect to those in the forest beyond.
While repeated plants in nature are randomly arranged, we can find inspiration in repetition in the wild and purposefully bring that into designed landscapes.
Repetition in the designed landscape is an application of the gestalt principles of similarity (where we group similar elements in our mind) and continuity (where the mind groups repeated items into something continuous). Drawing from the research of Kaplan and Kaplan, repetition also builds coherence and legibility in the landscape. It creates a sense of order and helps us quickly process what we see before us.
It’s like a song. The chorus repeats to give us something familiar to return to.
REPETITION AT EPHEMERA FARM
Those beds that I told you about earlier have come a long way in seven years. I repeat plants that are seasonal stalwarts throughout the beds for all four seasons. To help make the garden feel connected.
Repetition of Baptisia alba (wild white indigo), Penstemon digitalis (foxglove beardtongue), and Phlox pilosa (prairie phlox) make my garden feel connected in the spring.
Because so many perennials flower early in our hot climate, midsummer often feels dearth of flowers. Repeating Lilium formosanum (Formosan lily) helps provide interest in the heat.
Repeating Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘Raydon’s Favorite’ (aromatic aster) and Symphyotrichum drummondii (Drummond’s aster) helps make the space feel unified.
We cant forget around repeating plants in the matrix layer, a category where repetition is key. In the winter the haze of Eragrostis spectabilis still provides a foil for darker seedheads to pop against.
REPETITION IN OTHER GARDENS
I’ve seen repetition used well in other gardens. Here’s some more inspiration to help you see other ways to repeat plants throughout a landscape.
Repetition in the Long Border at Great Dixter
Echinacea purpurea ‘Green Edge’ repeats through the southern portion of the Lurie Garden.
Muhlenbergia capillaris (pink muhly grass) repeated on the elevated walkway. After this grass was used in the elevated walkway plantings at Chanticleer…
…Joe Henderson said he repeated more on the rock ledge that’s some 350 feet away to make the garden feel more connected. So, repeated plants don’t have to be in close proximity.
Besides repeating the same plants, we can also repeat plant forms. At Hillside, the Digitalis ferruginea (rusty foxglove) and Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver’s root) have a similar emergent habit.
Repetition doesn’t have to be too overpowering. At Westerkade in Rotterdam, the neutral white Allium nigrum (black garlic) and rusty Aruncus ‘Horatio’ (goat’s beard) make the spaces feel connected. I like to imagine that a totally different design was in one of the two beds. Would they still feel unified if so? I think not.
STRATEGIES FOR REPEATING PLANTS IN YOUR DESIGNS
I’m continuing to explore repetition in my garden to help other areas I’m planting feel more connected to the entire space. Here are a few of the strategies I’m using that you can apply.
My next step is to compare my plant list of species and look through them to determine which ones have the greatest impact
Identify key plants: Choose what species you want to repeat. Will they be a presence for multiple seasons or will they be more focused on a single season? Even trees and shrubs are fair game here. And, bonus points if your plants have ecological benefits!
Make sure they perform well. The last thing you need is a repeated plant through your landscape that looks like trash. It’s ok if it eventually fades. While Baptisia alba is a season-long plant for most people, for us in east Texas they go dormant in early August, about three months before frost. I rely on asters and grasses to fill the gap they leave.
Repeat with purpose: Repeating plants is a conscious choice that sacrifices variety but increases coherence. If you’re limited on room, you may have to make some hard calls on what to remove to be able to plant more of a particular species. Ask yourself is there anything here that struggles or looks bad? Consider removing that to make room for more repeating plants. Keeping a diary or bloom calendar can help with such decisions.
Consider sociability. Sociability is the way that plants naturally group themselves in nature. Some have low sociability while others normally occur in large groups. Try to mimic the patterns you see in nature (or the pictures that you look up online through ecosystem sleuthing). But, remember that just because you plant species in groups similar to what you see in nature that they will automatically be in a stable community! That’s not true, and change can occur.
Seasonal succession. Also consider time across the planting. Can you focus on having plants that appear in the same space at different times of the year? Perhaps have Narcissus (daffodils) emerge early in the spring through asters, and then when the foliage is collapsing, give them both a good cut back in mid-May. The daffodils will be dormant, and the asters will benefit from the reduction to keep them tight as they head into summer.
Grow your own: Use division or seed propagation to strategically plant multiples across the landscape. Most of my repeated plants come from seed I’ve sown myself or divisions. And, if you want an in depth class on growing your own from seed, check out my Botanic Bootcamp Success with Seed Sowing.
Cover the ground. Repetition is key in the groundcover layer. Too much diversity here, and the design can be chaotic. Repeat the same species but consider blending as you grade from one species (say Carex, sedge) to the next (Eragrostis, love grass).
Consider rhythm. There is a duality of repetition. You want familiarity and connectedness, not boredom from everything being the same. If you don’t want to overdo one plant selection much, consider some variety. Mix up and use different colors of the same species. Or, repeat plant form, color, or shape amongst different species. Doing so creates a sense of a repeating theme throughout the landscape.
Repetition may seem simple, but its effects in a garden are profound. And, like I’ve employed at Ephemera Farm, by repeating key plants, you can create spaces that feel cohesive, connected, and in harmony with nature.
KEEP GROWING
