Potted plants can add whimsy and textural appeal to any garden.

When choosing plants for my own landscape, the first thing I consider is the color and texture of the foliage. This may seem a little odd; but when you consider most plants haveshort bloom periods, it begins to make more sense. Contrasting foliage will remain attractive during the entire season and prevent drab, colorless areas in the landscape.

The spring perennial plant, Bergenia blooms along a meandering fieldstone path in this garden.Gardeners often think of plants as close friends, companions, someone to fight with or admire incessantly;but many find it difficult to stand back and choose plants that are simply “functional.” Many gardeners and, occasionally, designers tend to be so infatuated with certain flowers that it is daunting to see that their favorite plant could be enhanced by combining it with another plant or framing it with foliage. Well-sited foliage plants can make an enormous difference in the way a landscape or garden is perceived and enjoyed. The use of plants as backdrops, accents, or screens can make the difference between an ordinary landscape and an extraordinary one!

Plants look best when they set the scene with depth, color, and mood. The ideal backdrop is to create deep planting areas with room for evergreens, deciduous trees, shrubs, a variety of perennials, and some groundcover. Another example might be to plant a line of evergreens, a flowering hedge of sorts, or an informal grouping of small trees and shrubs. To some extent, these can serve as windbreaks, provide wildlife habitat, or screen unsightly neighbors. Backdrops can even frame a particular view, which can be improved if seen through – or “around” – the branches of your favorite deciduous tree or large shrub, such as a lilac, mockorange or viburnum. You must, however, be cognizant of trees blocking the view. Judicious pruning every couple of years will remedy that, should it occur.

Often, a stylish wall or fence can create an attractive backdrop in lieu of trees or large growing shrubs. Walls can have foliage cascading over them, and fences can have plants climbing on them.

In addition to a backdrop, a landscape or garden needs a focus. This can be an unusual specimen tree, such as a fragrant snowbell (Styrax japonica), or a bench tucked into a corner or at the end of a path. Selecting a focal point is a personal decision. For some, it could be a well-placed birdbath, a small table with a couple of chairs, or an assortment of decorative pots spilling with annuals. For those blessed with large properties, you may wish to have several focuses that include meandering paths, or well-designed walks that lead to a special piece of sculpture, center of a formal rose garden, or an inviting water feature.

A carved stone birdbath serves as a focal point in this “wildlife” garden.

When given enough room, certain foliage plants can function as punctuation marks in a landscape or garden. For example, a tall, slender ornamental grass, known as Clamagrostis, or a conical evergreen can make interesting beginnings or endings to a border or a planting. I’ve noticed some homeowners will use a topiary (trained) plant for this purpose or a giant-leafed plant like Elephant ear. Often it is great fun to add a show-stopper like a flowering cherry, a redbud tree, or a weeping hemlock.

One of the most practical uses of foliage is to camouflage unsightly necessities like trash cans, air conditioners, plastic tool sheds, or wading pools. In this case, creatively designed plantings of rhododendron, holly, dogwood shrubs, or certain ornamental grasses will do the trick.

If your intent is to disguise gangly or fading foliage of other plants like spring tulips and daffodils, consider interspersing perennials like hosta, astilble, or brunnera. Perhaps even plant the aforementioned perennials in front of the bulbs so that the browning foliage is not visible.

Foliage can also be used to provide cohesion. It can create harmony in space where the color scheme may be out of sync or “loud” in the case of a preponderance of the primary colors. Here, the simple green of various ferns or the gray foliaged artemesia will help to subdue a garden or perennial border.

A mixed daylily border blooms against an evergreen backdrop.

The spring perennial plant, Bergenia blooms along a meandering fieldstone path in this garden.

Additionally, foliage is often used to create unity and repetition. For instance, soft yellow, lavender or blue flowering perennials can be repeated using those same colored (or similar) foliage shrubs in the landscape, such as chamecyparis species, weigela (‘Wine and Roses’), red-leafed barberry, or juniper (‘Blue Star’ or ‘Blue Pacific’).

Finally, foliage plants can serve as supports for other plants. A trellis or arbor may not always be appropriate or economical, so climbing plants can be just as effective crawling up a tree or through a shrub. This technique is used widely throughout Europe, but you have to be vigilant so the climbing plant doesn’t suffocate its cohort.

Having a well-designed landscape or garden that features a variety of foliage plants is both exciting and rewarding. As the season progresses, foliage changes color almost constantly—soft greens become bolder, pale blue-ish leaves turn a deeper blue. For the gardener, this season is a time of excitement. We have all been waiting for the soil to warm and to welcome back our plant friends. The irony is that the season can be so hectic with planning, planting, and tending that sometimes we forget to just sit back and watch the garden grow!

Having a garden or a well-planted landscape is like having a class full of children. One has to discipline the more assertive, non-compliant plants, while encouraging the timid ones and not neglecting the ones who sit back quietly, nearly unnoticed.

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener, a novice, or an astute property owner, be thankful for those plants that survive every year and flourish in spite of errors (or neglect). And every once in a while, make sure to sit back and watch the garden grow!

Richard A. Liberto is a landscape designer and horticulturist. He can be reached at Libertodesign@comcast.net