The habit of the plant is the next point to be considered, and it is by no means an unimportant one. Habit not only means shape, size, and general appearance, but also those special characters, which distinguish one plant from another. It may consist in mode of branching, texture of foliage, form of flower head, color of foliage, denseness or sparseness of blossom, or time of flowering in relation to leaf production (some plants, it is well known, put forth their flowers before their leaves, as the daphne, forsythia, etc.).
It is only when we know these details that we are in a position to use the plant to best advantage. It is important that garden plants should be allowed freedom of growth to develop their individual characters amongst outdoor statuary, indoor wall fountains that have been incorporated outdoors, or garden waterfalls that may be a part of the garden as well. Character in the plant is one of its greatest charms to those who regard it not merely as a means for producing blossom.
“Freedom of growth” refers to the growing of plants in a way to develop their special habit, instead of pinching and cutting them into some conventional form foreign to their nature. In a herbaceous border the best general effect is produced when there is no rigid system of grading the plants in height. Though the rule should be to put the taller and more robust plants to the back, it is essential to the best results from a picturesque point of view that this rule should be broken occasionally, by here and there reversing it.
One or more bold clumps of flower brought to the front at irregular intervals gives a character to the border that would be unobtainable in any other way. If you pride yourself on a tidy garden you may resent the intrusion of a massy clump upon the path or grass edge, and will keep it within bounds by ill-judged mutilation, till the poor intruder becomes a maimed wreck. It is by this kind of gardening that plants are shorn of their beauty, and the border is made a stiff and formal detail.
The next point is to see that each plant has sufficient elbow-room to develop without hindrance from its neighbors (including a potential outdoor fountain, wall water fountain, or piece of garden statuary). This does not imply a starved bed or border only that armed with the knowledge of the habit of each plant, the gardener allots it just sufficient room to grow centrifugally without check from its companions. Thus the taller plants may be separated by others of more moderate growth, and the former will have space above to expand their foliage unhindered.
Again, with a knowledge of plant habit we may associate bushy plants with those which tend to legginess — to use a term well known to the gardening fraternity — and thereby conceal the uninteresting view of a sheaf of bare stalks. Plants which throw up long narrow spikes of flower may keep company with others having a tufted habit, to their mutual advantage in the general effect.
Those with silvery, glaucous, or bronze foliage maybe placed where they will reinforce others whose flowers are best set off by contrast with these special kinds of foliage. Shrubs and plants which flower in advance of their leaves may be supported by evergreen or early leafing plants. Again, we may use the bold foliaged plant for association with those of sparse and inconspicuous habit.
The final result of care in these particulars will be a natural, informal effect, in which every individual plant appears to be, and is, at home in its surroundings, and in consequence is best conditioned for producing its maximum contribution to the aggregate picture. If some vigorous plant pushes forward beyond the boundary, begins to overshadow your large fountains, patio statuary, or garden water features, or some pretty trailer ignores the edging, it is a gain to the gardener and no fault of the planting. Such accidents should be within reason and can even be conspired for the special purpose of importing informality into the garden.
In the back row, variety of height is desirable, even when all are tall, for the plants will silhouette against the background, and an even row, like soldiers on parade, would be monotonous. In beds and groups of beds the same principles apply, but not quite in the same degree. You can group the tall plants in the centre and reserve the margin for others of smaller and more uniform size. Though you may plan on geometrical lines, you should, like the painter, endeavor to soften them. Your plants will do that for you if only you allow them.
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