Learning to paint with plants

Well, are you closer to Picasso or Pseudopicasso? I can't paint in the conventional manner worth $#!+, but I'm slowly learning/understanding plant artistry. The beauty is it doesn't matter how you do it, it's just that you do it. I wish everyone would do it.

I think I am impressionist, in that I hope to at least give the impression that I'm a real gardener. I am gradually building a repertoire of happy accidental pairings in the yard. At least I do not think of green meatballs as great sculpture.

The beauty is also that if you're the one doing it, you get to do it the way you want to do it : )
The hard part, for me, is leaving enough room for shrubs to grow without bleeding into each other. I'm always tempted to fill the white spaces on the canvas.

That's called quilting. White spaces would end up being holes, and who needs that?

I'm pretty sure that if you like it, you're doing it right. Kinda like...well, you know.

No rules, just right? I like it !

Yes, it's kind of like that. Sometimes I surprise myself with plantings that I walk by and think to myself "damn, that looks good," but I still spend way too much time moving plants. The current champion is a small Bosnian Pine, which was moved three times over a one year period. I wouldn't advise that, but it seems to be doing OK.

Just stop it.

You don't know what could possibly be right or wrong with three moves in a year. I don't think you could know whether you liked a certain beer - or bourbon - with that short of a test period.

What does Jan see in you, exactly?

I love the planting process. but killed a nine bark that way.

So what sort of epiphany has anyone had about combinations or painting?
I feel I learned the visual appeal of a defined border, versus full beds flowing into half crappy lawn. I have some kind of flat border, like brick at least , along many edges- subtle but helpful.
I think more about texture and foliage than I used to.

I move plants way more than I want to, too. It's a lot of work, but sometimes the plants either look like they're going to die, or don't bloom, or both, and I hate throwing plants away. I call part of my backyard the "shrub graveyard", because it's their last stop before the curb. All of them have made it, probably because it was shady and that's what they wanted.
I am not looking forward to some of the rearranging I should do (emphasis on "should") due to the changing sun conditions in my yard. For one, I need more room to plant sun-lovers I never thought I could have, and for two, some of the shade-lovers might die if I don't move them.

What does Jan see in me? Geez, where do I begin. In horticultural terms: highly ornamental with four season interest; good fruit production; very adaptable, culturally tolerant (very important to her), and hardy. I'd like to say long lived, but too early to tell.

Touché, lol!

Edited to add: Hey, that's not what I wrote.

This message was edited Dec 6, 2013 8:01 PM

What about low maintenance, Pseudo? That's a great quality in plants, people, pets, you name it!

Sally, I also pay attention to foliage - texture, shape and color. I'm picky about my "greens": they either have to match or contrast. Unlike different shades of gray, I think some shades of green just look bad together.

Great point, Muddy. Reminds me of a scene from When Harry Met Sally:

Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.

Sally Albright: Which one am I?

Harry Burns: You're the worst kind; you're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance.

Sally Albright: I don't see that.

Harry Burns: You don't see that? Waiter, I'll begin with a house salad, but I don't want the regular dressing. I'll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. "On the side" is a very big thing for you.

Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it.

Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.

Haha...Muddy, I have a shrub graveyard too, it started as one plant I put there that I didn't care if it lived or died. It soon turned into a garden that I use as an excuse to buy different shrubs I like and don't have space for elsewhere. It's becoming quite attractive :)

In that regard, you may consider me a Jackson Pollock type plant painter....I don't care about color schemes, I'm not a big fan of white flowers (even though I have some), and spare room in a garden is virtually unheard of...

Mine started with a Pieris japonica that did terribly in the first 3 locations. It was joined by 2 Aucubas that I ousted in favor of more Cherry Laurels, then a rag tag assortment of volunteers that elected to move in with the exiles. I also added shrubs I wanted to try but thought I had no room for elsewhere: a Viburnum 'Pragense' (still there) and some Japanese species of Chamaecyparis (died a sudden death). I added a dogwood tree this year to give the area some structure, but it still would be the "before" picture in a before and after garden makeover article.

One issue I'm grappling with now is whether to space shrubs so they don't rub elbows 10 years from now, or plant them closer for earlier gratification.

This message was edited Dec 6, 2013 11:10 PM

Jackson Pollock- I like that.

Muddy- I just redid an area in the front of my house. I planted several quite small ones with the knowledge that they may become too big…and I will happily keep an eye on them and correct it in a few years by moving some out.

Sally, you're so brave. I try so hard to plant for the full grown versions.

I don't really know what kind of a plant painter I am, but definitely loving the tapestry look. From a design perspective, I've got an overall 'pink theme' and introduce different hits of colors. I'm especially fond of growing different foliage size and color adjacent to one another. It's all about texture.

I have no idea what you're talking about, but it sounds wonderful. Gardening by colors is trippy to say the least. I wish I got it, but I seem to be missing that gene altogether. Dang!

Around here, they end that sentence with:

"...and your mother dresses you funny."

So what do Pseudopicasso plant paintings look like?

Which sentence, VV?

For instance, the majority of my plants bloom pink or have some variation of pink in their leaves, either in summer and/or fall. Once I got the 'pink' running sufficiently throughout, I interjected a pop of another color here and there. All the while selecting plants that would contrast with the foliage next to them in either one or more of these criteria; shape, color, size and sheen. Everything had to be selected for a specific site and reason (lots of research).

To borrow from somebody else..."it's all about the journey" and I enjoyed every last minute so far.

If she was allowed, my mother would still dress me funny (and it would probably be pink).

While I see a hint of Hydrangea, mostly I detect herbaceousness. Wherefore art thy woodies?

Fagus sylvatica 'Roseomarginata perhaps - or maybe I should shut up, lest ye harken to 'Hakuro Nishiki'.

Speaking of research...

I don't know how many Ericaceae members you grow (or try to grow) in your garden, but you probably know all about the desirability of an acid-reaction soil for these species.

The one thing that is noticeable in the images above use of lava rock. If you are experiencing any difficulty in growing acid soil preference species, you might delve into the effects of using that type material as mulch - as well as other standard diagnostics as taking soil samples for testing and checking the pH of your irrigation/tap water.

Beautiful plant artistry, Mipii ! That's the type of contrast I aim for.

Pretty pics Mipii!

Thanks Muddy, I'm sure your bit of heaven is beautiful too.

VV, you are a treat...I grew a Fagus sylvatica (Common Beech) volunteer for a few years and gave it to a nursery. If it was Fagus sylvatica 'Roseomarginata' it would have been a kept woman! Predictably, I tried 'Hakuro Nishiki' and the 4-7' species outgrew it's desirability, I took it out at a whopping 10' x 10' before I lost all the frontage to property line. I should have used it for 'willow water'. I think the overbearing nature of the Willow also played a role in the demise of my Calluna (loved that little guy), along with the alkaline soil.

I've amended areas to grow acid loving plants to no avail, but didn't consider the pH of the lava rock or my tap water. I doubt I'll ever run out of research material...no matter how far I get, there's always so much more to learn (gotta love it).

Here are some of my 'woodies'
1. Acer palmatum 'Shirazz'
2. Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' - backdrop to JM with Yellow foliage in the fall
3. Weigela "My Monet'
4. Unidentified volunteer Juniper with magnificent peeling bark
5. Rhamnus frangula 'Fine Line'

Thanks Sally, so many of you share your pics I really enjoy seeing. So, thank-you for that too!