Lasagna Planting With Layering

How to Add Depth with Layered Planting Strategies

Designing a landscape can be difficult if you have never done it before. There is so much to consider. One mistake people new to landscaping make is to make everything in the landscape the same height. Nature is messy, and plants tend to be jumbled together. Layering will make the landscape more pleasing to the eye if you strive to have a landscape you will enjoy.

Vertical Layers

The first layer is made using the height of the plants you install. Ground Covers Ground covers are plants that grow up to six inches tall. Their purpose is to cover the ground and prevent soil erosion. Many people use turf grass as the ground cover. However, turf grass is very water-hungry. Some areas now prohibit new turf grass because the area is running out of water. Alternatively, you can use a creeping vine such as Virginia creeper to cover an area. If the area is shaded, you can use something like partridge berry.

Foreground

Foreground plants grow from 6 inches to 2 feet tall. They usually form the edges of flower beds and provide a transition from the short ground cover to the larger plants in the flower bed. Annuals such as annual phlox are often used to form this layer of the landscape. They reseed year after year without much care on your part.

Midground

Midground plants grow from 2 to 5 feet tall. They will make up the majority of your flowerbed. Midground plants provide spatial definition, link the lower layers to buildings and tall plants, and splash color throughout the landscape. Many smaller shrubs and perennials fit in this layer. For example, blanket flower thrives in sunlight, and some cultivars grow to be 36 inches tall.

Background

These include plants trees, and large shrubs that are in the back of the landscape bed or behind it. Trees and shrubs in this layer can screen the property, cool the area in summer, and act as a wind break.

Horizontal Layers

Horizontal layers are created by the spacing of plants along the ground plane. The layers interlock and vary in their depth. Since background plants are often along a building wall, fence, or property line, it is best to start with them and work forward through the layers.

When designing horizontal layers, remember two rules: space the plants so they will just touch when they are mature and overlap the horizontal layers so there is no space between the plants when they are mature. Bare ground draws the eye and will overshadow the plants. The exception to this is to leave some bare soil in a corner of the landscaping so native bees and other beneficial insects that nest in tunnels in the soil can find it.

Vary Heights Within Layers

When designing a landscape, it is important to vary the height and width of the vertical and horizontal layers. Planting things in sharp lines can work in formal gardens, but if you want your landscape to look natural, use uneven curves and zigzags.

Avoid Monoculture Layers

Avoid planting large landscape parts in the same plant. For example, if you plant a hedge as a background layer, don’t just plant a row of the same evergreen plant. If a disease or pest comes along, you can lose an entire layer of your landscape. Fortunately, mixing different species in a layer makes it unlikely that you will lose the entire layer at once. 

Mixing the layers up across plants is more visually interesting

Using Masses of Plants Group similar plants into masses of plants. Use an odd number of plants, like three or five. Connect the masses by overlapping them. A large mass should have a few small masses on either side. The plants in each mass should be spaced so they will touch when mature.

Vary the shape of the masses

Some should be long and lean, while others are squat and wide. Use fewer smaller masses if you have a small space to landscape, such as a small courtyard. If you have a large area to landscape, it is best to increase the size of the masses instead of the number of masses, or the landscape will look chaotic.

Create Patterns to Unify Landscapes

The composition is unbalanced if each flower bed does its own thing with nothing to connect it to other landscape areas. To avoid this problem, choose one or two specimens and repeat them across flower beds. Surround these plants with simple plants that won’t overshadow the specimen plants.

Drop one or two plants in the middle between specimens and simply in the beds to avoid unbalanced beds. Repeat Colors Another way to create patterns is to choose two or three colors and repeat them in the landscape. For example, many plants have white flowers that are slightly different shades. Keep the white color across the landscape, but plant different white flowers.

The color unifies the landscape. Another popular way to use color is to plant all blue or red flowers but vary the shade of the primary color across plants. Repeat Forms Plant forms are how they are shaped. Strong forms are often upright and irregular. They contrast with more simple horizontal or rounded forms. Do not cluster too many strong forms, or they will overwhelm the eye and look unbalanced. Instead, pick a strong form and repeat it in several beds to link them.

Use simple forms as filler

To avoid a bland layer, use one or two less dramatic but interesting plants to balance the bed. Repeat Texture is the combination of leaves, stems, and flowers. Coarse textures are stronger than fine textures. You can use texture to make a site look larger or smaller. Course textures in the background make a space look smaller, and course textures in the foreground make a space look larger.

A coarse texture in the background makes fine-textured plants look more fragile, while fine-textured plants in the background make coarse-textured plants stand out more. We Can Help TN Nursery has trained staff that can assist you in coming up with a design to fit your space.

We emphasize native plants because they are easier to care for and improve the biodiversity of a landscape. Give us a call at 931.692.7325 to get advice on the right native plants for your landscape.