Texture in garden design refers to the visual roughness or smoothness of a plant. At close range the texture depends on individual leaves, flowers or bark. At a distance, however, texture is read in the mass and void of foliage or the patterns of light and dark.
Fine textured plants, such as boxwood and Japanese holly, have small leaves and appear delicate and seem to recede from view. These plants are able to make a space appear larger than it is thus making them particularly useful in a small garden. Plants with larger leaves such as rhododendron and magnolia, create a more intimate feeling in the garden.
In winter, after the trees and shrubs shed their leaves a plant’s bark becomes a prominent feature in the landscape. The Shag Bark Hickory (Carya ovata), as the name suggests, has bark which peels away from the trunk giving the tree a shaggy look. Ironwood (Carpinus caroliniana) is an easy grow, shade tolerant tree for the woodland garden. Its bark is smooth textured with sinewy, muscle-like ripples. The Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) is a large shade tree with dark gray-brown bark which contrasts nicely with the snow and adds texture to the landscape with its long, deep groves.
Most of the time gardeners select plants for their flowers, fall color or fragrance. This is understandable but there are other, overlooked features of plants which can add new dimensions to your landscape. So when designing your garden, experiment and take advantage of all the characteristics trees, shrubs or flowers have to offer.
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