In our May/June issue, you read how plants and hardscapes can work together to create a distinct motif. Here are a few more plants and suggestions that can bring your garden’s unique theme to life.

MODERN
The modern style focuses on clean, simple lines; few, if any, purely decorative elements; and the practicality of “form follows function.” The plants used in this theme often have geometric shapes, balanced form, and low maintenance needs. Check with a local nursery or cooperative extension service to make sure none of these plants are invasive in your region.

Banana yucca (Yucca baccata, Zones 5 to 12)
Dasylirion (Dasylirion acrotrichum, Zones 9 to 11)
Desert spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri, Zones 6 to 10)
Hedgehog agave (Agave stricta ‘Pueblensis’, Zones 7 to 11)
Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale, Zones 3 to 11)
Jade plant (Crassula ovata, Zones 9 to 11)

Grasses
Blue fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’, Zones 4 to 8)
Blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens, Zones 4 to 9)
Golden hakone grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, Zones 5 to 9)
Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium, Zones 5 to 9)
Sideoats grama grass (Bouteloua curtipendula, Zones 4 to 9)
Tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa, Zones 4 to 9)
 

SOUTHWESTERN
Southwestern gardens are all about sheltering and conservation in a tough environment. Hacienda-style architecture usually features an enclosed patio surrounded by high walls and heavy gates. Overhead shade structures, called ramadas, are built of rough logs or timbers, and adobe-covered walls on homes and other buildings provide a neutral background for brightly colored flowers.

Southwestern gardens feature xeric (drought-tolerant) plants. Cacti come immediately to mind, but there are many xeric plants that bloom longer and give the garden color throughout the year:

Agave
Century plant (Agave americana, Zones 9 to 11)
Mescal (Agave parryi, Zones 9 to 11)
Sharkskin agave (Agave ‘Sharkskin’, Zones 8 to 11)
Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, Zones 4 to 8)
Autumn sage (Salvia greggii, Zones 7 to 9)
Cacti
Bunny ears cactus (Opuntia microdasys, Zones 8 to 10)
Cholla (Cylindropuntia spp., Zones 5 to 9)
Hedgehog cacti (Echinocereus spp., Zones 4 to 10)
Pincushion cacti (Escobaria spp., Zones 5 to 9)
Prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha, Zones 4 to 9)
California fuchsia (Zauschneria californica, Zones 8 to 10)
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica, annual)
Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus, annual)
Crocosmia (Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’, Zones 6 to 9)
Dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis, Zones 4 to 9)
Desert sunflower (Geraea canescens, annual)
Ice plant (Delosperma cooperi, Zones 5 to 9)
Jupiter’s beard (Centranthus ruber, Zones 5 to 8)
New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax, Zones 9 to 10)
Perennial sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani, Zones 4 to 9)
Pineleaf penstemon (Penstemon pinifolius, Zones 4 to 9)
Red hyssop (Agastache rupestris, Zones 4 to 9)
Spanish bayonet (Yucca harrimaniae, Zones 5 to 8)
Tetraneuris (Tetraneuris acaulis, Zones 4 to 8)
Texas red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora, Zones 8 to 10)
Voodoo sedum (Sedum spurium ‘Voodoo’, Zones 4 to 8)
Wine cups (Callirhoe involucrata, Zones 4 to 8)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium, Zones 3 to 9)
Yellow columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha, Zones 4 to 8)

ASIAN
An Asian garden is designed as a sanctuary from the stress of everyday life. It’s meant to express and distill the essence of nature. Japanese gardens will have some or all of these elements:
• water (real or symbolic) with fish
• rocks
• an island, with a bridge or stepping stones to the island
• a tea house or pavilion
• an enclosing wall
• limited plant palette
• “borrowed” landscapes (views outside the garden)
• odd numbers of components in an asymmetrical arrangement

Every element is selected and arranged to create a sense of passage from one place to another, slow the observer down, and inspire serenity.

This isn’t a garden where you want to pack in the plants. Unlike Western gardens, which celebrate change from the first spring bulb to the last autumn leaf, Asian gardens honor stability and constancy.

Limited colors, shapes, and textures are the hallmark of this style.

At the edges of ponds and streams:
Irish moss (Sagina subulata, Zones 4 to 7)
Japanese water iris (Iris ensata, Zones 5 to 8)
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera, Zones 5 to 10)
Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris, Zones 3 to 7)
Miniature cattails (Typha minima, Zones 3 to 11)
Grassy-leaved sweet flag (Acorus gramineus, Zones 10 to 11)

Trees:
Flowering cherry (Prunus spp., Zones 5 to 9)
Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii, Zones 5 to 10)
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum, Zones 5 to 9)
Sargent’s crabapple (Malus sargentii, Zones 4 to 8)
Willow (Salix spp., Zones 3 to 9)

Shrubs:
Azalea (Rhododendron indicum, Zones 6 to 10)
Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica, Zones 6 to 9)
Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum, Zones 7 to 10)
Tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa, Zones 4 to 9)

Perennials (choose more foliage plants than bright, colorful attention-getters):
African lily (Agapanthus africanus, Zones 9 to 10)
Clivia (Clivia miniata, Zones 9 to 10)
Daylilies (Hemerocallis spp., Zones 3 to 10)
Hostas (Hosta spp., Zones 4 to 9)
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis, Zones 2 to 7)
Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, Zones 3 to 8)
Shield fern (Polystichgum setiferum, Zones 6 to 9)
Variegated sweet iris (Iris pallida ‘Variegata’, Zones 4 to 9)
 
Grasses:
Boulder blue festuca grass (Festuca glauca ‘Boulder Blue’, Zones 4 to 9)
Carex (Carex hachijoensis ‘Evergold’, Zones 6 to 9)
Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Zones 3 to 9)
Japanese pampas grass (Miscanthus sinensis, Zones 5 to 9)
Oriental fountain grass (Pennisetum orientale, Zones 2 to 6)
Sea urchin blue fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Sea Urchin’, Zones 4 to 9)

Add color by sprinkling Asian-themed containers filled with annuals and tropicals throughout.

ECLECTIC
The great thing about this free-spirited garden style is that it can contain just about any kind of plant, hardscape, or decoration. Nothing is out of bounds. The ones that really work have a secret, though. The crazy quilt of styles, colors, and shapes is really a combination of small, well-balanced vignettes.

Containers of colorful succulents could be grouped together right next to a patch of annual wildflowers, surrounded by a formal boxwood hedge in front of an antique wheelbarrow full of pansies. The eye will first see the cacophony, but then seek out the islands of similarity, resting on one before moving to the next.

Small vignettes are easier to maintain than huge garden spaces. When an individual scene gets tired, or you get tired of it, you can put together a new design without changing the garden’s overall feel.

Eclectic gardens are terrific for plant collectors, recyclers, and anyone with more ideas than space.