It was easy to pick Jac Semmler’s garden at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS). Hers was the one with the coral pink deck and the joyous sea of plants. It was both electrifying and understated at the same time.
Semmler, who runs the “plant practice” Super Bloom, is a horticulturalist, planting designer and author who is shaking up how we garden, partly by encouraging people to plant exactly what they like. In her eyes, gardens are for pleasure and the only person you should seek to please is yourself.
But she does have a caveat and that is that climate compatible plants should come first. Plants, she says, are “the great giver” and it is these, rather than built elements, that should be the central player.
The MIFGS display, made by Super Bloom in partnership with Heliotrope Studio, Evergreen Infrastructure and Mood Construction contained hundreds upon hundreds of perennials, annuals, shrubs and succulents. There were no beds or borders as such because the entire 40-square-metre garden, save for the pink path, was an intricate mass of flowers, foliage and seed-heads.
Even allowing for the fact that MIFGS displays have been getting softer and looser by the year, last week’s show was especially free-spirited. Burgundy-red everlasting daisies were knocking into purple penstemons and towering over orange agastaches. The blue flowers of Ceratostigma griffithii were tangling with the powdery silver leaves of Cotyledon orbiculata and with coral pink salvias. Kangaroo grass danced with Californian poppies. Flashes of violet dianthus were interspersed with the drumstick seed heads of Scabiosa stellata.
Semmler says that creating a beautiful garden isn’t about following a formula but about adopting a creative approach that focuses on the nuance of plants.
In her latest book, Flower Power: Designing Gardens for Year-Round Wonder, launched in Melbourne last month, she admits to particular botanical biases – wispy shapes, the colour blue, Mediterranean-like landscapes – but advises gardeners to follow their own preferences.
The book, launching in Sydney next week, offers guidance on how gardeners can chart their own way.
Plan, play and experiment
Choose a diversity of plants that suit your soil and climate, and that you love. Rather than focusing on one flowering peak – traditionally late spring and summer – Semmler encourages us to make gardens that look good all year round.
While succulents and shrubs provide permanence, annuals biennials, perennials and bulbs operate on different time frames and will provide various moments of delight throughout the year. These seasonal highlights often come from flowers but other aspects of plant life, such as the colour of fresh growth or the structure of seed heads, bring visual peaks too.
If you feel unsure start small, then scale up. Semmler suggests that one approach when building a composition is to start with a “flower hero”, then choose a “support act” with more subtle qualities to highlight that hero and then a “camouflage” to cover the ground, reduce radiant heat and suppress weeds. Gradually, keep adding diversity with the addition of more plant species, with attention to colour, shape, height and texture.
The role of set structure and repetition
Known patterns and lines, such as a pathway or a wall, help introduce a degree of “readability” in a garden and create a balance between the wild and the controlled.
Repetition can also make everything belong together and create a sense of coherence. “The human eye loves repetition, as it makes us feel that we are part of something greater,” Semmler writes.
Just start
The most important thing is to begin a planting and then see where it takes you. Semmler insists that anyone, no matter how much space they have or how much gardening experience, can make a garden. Consider your place and its planting possibilities, and then observe how what you plant works. You can learn to garden by doing it, and your ideas change as your garden develops. Make it a pleasure not a burden.
Let the plants lead the maintenance
Consider your garden as an ever-changing place that flourishes and grows rather than just establishes and survives. Instead of following a predetermined list of “jobs to do this month or week”, take your cue from your plants and be proactive rather than reactive. Over time, you will get to know the unique timing of your garden and when to deadhead, prune or provide other care.
This is especially true in a changing climate, when plants don’t always conform to our experiences or expectations. “The only guarantee is more shifting seasons and unpredictability, so listen harder and plant with adaption in mind,” Semmler says.
Finally, remember that by choosing plants that are resilient you are less likely to be overwhelmed by their care.
Flower Power: Designing Gardens for Year-Round Wonder (Thames & Hudson) by Jac Semmler is out now.
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