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How to Layer Plants in Landscaping in 3 Easy Steps

It’s not hard to put some plants in the ground. With a few basic tools and just a little bit of effort, you can easily add some plants and flowers to the beds on your property. But will those areas look as beautiful as you’d hoped once everything has grown in? Maybe not. There is an art to designing a garden, and layering is one of the key concepts to remember within that art. 

We’d like to use the article below to explain some of the basics of garden layering. If you feel like you could use some help in employing landscape design to your Jackson property, get in touch with the professional team here at TLC right away to schedule an appointment. We’d love to help you create an outdoor space that will bring a smile to your face for years to come. 

How to Layer Plants in Landscaping in 3 Steps

For the core of your layered garden bed, consider using an evergreen plant that is going to serve as a steady presence around which you can build the rest of your design. Depending on the size of the planting area in question, a small shrub may be perfect for this role – but on bigger properties, it might even be a short tree that does the job. You should find the task of organizing the rest of the garden becomes easier once you have your “anchor” pieces in place. 

  1. Consider a Theme

Part of the appeal of a layered garden bed is the somewhat chaotic appearance of the area when it is in full bloom. When done right, a layered bed will look like it just came up from the earth without any help from the gardener. However, in going for this natural appearance, you’ll need to employ some strategy to help it come together just right. 

One effective strategy for selecting plants is to have a theme in mind – such as a particular color scheme to highlight. You don’t need to stick with all the same shade of that color, or even the same plants, but tying things together with colors that blend gives you a visually appealing cohesion and will also represent nature; where like plants often grow together because the conditions are just right. So, for instance, you might use blue, pink, and white to use within a layered bed. To do this find different plants that grow in the same conditions but stick to this color theme. 

  1. Variable Height

Variable heights are critical to achieving the right look with garden layering. After all, it’s hard for anything to look layered if it is all the same height from front to back. Most likely, that evergreen we mentioned earlier will be one of the tallest elements – if not the tallest – within the garden. From there, you can pick plants that have differing expected heights, along with assorted shapes, to produce the wild appearance you are after. 

On the topic of height, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that everything needs to get gradually taller from front to back. While you’ll want to follow that general pattern, so you can see as many of the plants and flowers as possible, there should be some randomness to how tall each piece is in the spring and summer. If you have some flowers that shoot up taller and display a bold color when they bloom, those might be a good pick as a focal point. 

  1. Look to the Ground

You’ll want your finished garden bed to look as full as possible when the growing season arrives. Part of making that happen involves using ground cover to hide the soil and make things green throughout the area. You might choose to use a flowering ground cover to add even more color to the space, or you could pick one that remains green and allows the other flowers you have selected to play a starring role. Remember that ground cover needs to be managed actively so it doesn’t spread too far beyond the limits of your garden – stay on top of pruning duties so you don’t wind up with a big cleanup job at the end of the year. 

Help Layering Plants in Landscaping

With the right layering, you can create a garden space that is an ideal place to spend time throughout the growing season. You can certainly take on the challenge of designing flower beds on your own, but if you would like some assistance, TLC is ready to jump into action. Give us a call today to learn more about our landscaping design services and more.