October « 2012 « Not Another Gardening Blog

A week or so ago, before our balmy fall weather morphed into an early blast of winter, I took a drive through a couple of our city’s more ‘distinguished’ neighbourhoods looking for photo-ops. As I scanned the tastefully landscaped homes, which were all the more attractive with the accompanying hues of autumn, I found myself stopping and starting, braking and rubbernecking to get a better look. Yes I was that nuisance driver you wanted to bellow at: “Get moving lady!” “Move over lady!” “Move lady!”

Move!

My car may not have been moving but my eye certainly was – well designed landscapes invite that. In fact Movement is one of the Design Principles and just happens to be the subject of this post (shameless segue I know). The definition is of course self-explanatory: Movement refers to what keeps the eye in motion throughout a landscape. Of course this visual movement will occur with or without our intervention, but design choices can definitely affect how our eye will move through a garden.

One of the ways we can generate movement is with rhythmic repetition. You’ll recall that I discussed repetition several months ago in reference to Unity. However, repetition as it relates to Movement refers to a design element that is repeated at regular intervals or in an obvious pattern. It can be a single element recurring regularly or a more complex pattern of alternating elements.

Rhythmic repetition of grafted Syringa meyeri standards reinforce movement along this uniquely curving fence. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Picea pungens ‘Glauca Globosa’ & dwarf Pinus mugo alternate in front of the fence, and Populus tremula ‘Erecta’ & upright Picea pungens (unknown cv.) alternate behind the fence, creating effective rhythmic movement. The fence too has rhythm, due to the repeating brick pillars. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Repeating clumps of Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ direct and reinforce movement in two directions. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Straight lines = fast movement. Note how the eye shoots right back to the end of this path – likely the desired effect, i.e. the eye goes directly to the focal point at path’s end. Photo: Marny Estep

We can also affect movement with the design lines we choose. Straight lines, since they’re very direct, generate very fast, forceful movement. Angled lines, though still quite dynamic, are a little slower because they’re less direct – they move across our field of vision at the same time they’re moving with it. Curving lines create the slowest movement. Perhaps this gentle movement explains why curves are favoured by gardeners – a reprieve from our fast paced lives? Remember though that curves need to be big and bold if they’re to have this calming effect – too many small curves just feels busy.

The large curve of lawn space and the alternating blue and green junipers, create good flow and movement in this autumn landscape. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Movement can be affected by plant form as well. Rounded or mounding forms encourage movement – the eye just glides over them and moves on. Upright forms on the other hand, arrest the flow of movement – they literally interrupt our line of vision. For this reason they are useful in a long straight planting – the upright form acts as a visual stop to prevent the eye from reading the entire length at once. However, for this same reason, upright forms (especially very narrow ones) should be used sparingly or a ‘stop and start’ kind of movement results (a bit like my abovementioned driving).

The rhythmic repetition of clipped Buxus shrubs, in addition to their rounded form, creates nice movement along this walkway at Butchart Gardens, Victoria. Photo: Jane Reksten.

The large rounded forms of pruned Cotoneaster lucidus lead the eye to the upright pyramidal Picea pungens which abruptly halts visual movement. Photo: Pat Gaviller

So there you have it fellow gardeners – we’ve waded through yet another Design Principle. Moving on then….

Drive safe,

Sue

© Sue Gaviller and Not Another Gardening Blog 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sue Gaviller and Not Another Gardening Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

A Question of Balance – The Principled Gardener Part 5 (notanothergardeningblog.com)

They say dog is man’s best friend – well how about dogwood is gardener’s best friend? I don’t mean the graceful dogwood trees, Cornus kousa or Cornus florida – I wish I could say I was referring to them, but sadly no, we can’t grow these lovely trees in our zone 3, chinook-challenged climate. We can however, grow some splendid cultivars of our native Cornus sericea (red osier dogwood), and the closely related Cornus alba (Tatarian dogwood). I recall a recent quip from an out-of-province industry professional in reference to these…….he snorted, “That’s a dogwood? Where I come from dogwoods are trees.” Yeah, yeah, I know – we’re horticulturally deprived here. But no need to feel sorry for ourselves – the dogwood shrubs I speak of, though not as ornamental in flower, have special characteristics that set them apart from their arboreal counterparts. Not only are they extremely hardy in our fierce climate, they have a beauty all their own and offer it up year round.

Let’s take a walk through the seasons and see what these dogwoods have to offer

Winter Bark

Both species have colourful bark which is very showy in winter. C. sericea has dark red bark, C. alba has brighter red bark, and each have numerous cultivars presenting additional bark colours of green, yellow, coral and purple-black. Indeed it is this trait that makes dogwood so desirable in Northern climes – our winters are long and it provides a bright spot in a dreary landscape. The branches are often used in seasonal container arrangements as well, since they hold their colour well when cut.

Cornus sericea (red osier dogwood) lines the banks of the Bow River, its massive root system preventing erosion, and its colourful stems brightening the winter landscape. Photo: Pat Gaviller

The pliable branches are also useful for various crafts – basketweaving for example. Dream catchers too, were traditionally made of red osier dogwood, which some considered to be sacred.

Colourful bark makes dogwood branches useful in other landscape applications – the detail in the viewing window on the left is made from dogwood which I harvested from one of my very mature Cornus sericea ‘Flavirimea’. I then had my friend and colleague, Greg Booth of Sawback Developments, fashion this Japanese-style gate for a client. Photos: Sue Gaviller

Since it is the younger branches that are the most colourful, keeping old branches pruned out will ensure good bark colour. Very old, untidy specimens can be ‘rejuvenated’ by pruning them to the ground. Your efforts will be rewarded with lush new growth the following year.

Spring Flowers and Summer Berries

All of the C. Sericea and C. Alba cultivars have delicate white flowers in spring. Some years they flower abundantly, other years more sporadically, and while the blooms can’t compete visually with those of Malus or Syringa, they are nonetheless suitably pretty. In late summer these pretty white flowers become pretty white berries, which are especially attractive against the changing foliage colour.

Dogwood berries provide food for many species of birds – too numerous to list here. Suffice it to say that if you want to attract birds to your yard, include a native dogwood or two in your plan.

Dogwood flowers, though not particularly showy, still have ornamental value in the landscape. Left: Cornus sericea. Photo: Pat Gaviller. Right: Cornus alba ‘Aurea’. Photo credit: Wikipedia

Cornus sericea: small white flower clusters become cream-coloured berries – stunning against the red fall foliage. Photos: Pat Gaviller

Foliage Colour All Season Long

Cornus sericea and Cornus alba contribute both texture and colour to the garden. Texturally they are medium-coarse – these coarser textures are desirable for providing moments of emphasis and contrast in the landscape. As for colour, there is increasing variety in available foliage colours – bright gold, bronze-green, variegated green and gold, variegated green and white, and of course basic green. With all these colours to choose from, the lowly dogwood shrub can make a real splash in your garden.

Cornus alba ‘Aurea’ has intense bright golden foliage – a real standout. Here it contrasts beautifully with the dark green of Syringa vulgaris and the rich wine-coloured Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’. With colour like this who needs flowers? Photo: Sue Gaviller

Cornus alba ‘Strawberry Daiquiri’ (left) has very white leaf margins and strawberry coloured bark, while Cornus alba ‘Cream Cracker’ has butter cream variegation and dark purple-red bark. Such yummy names aren’t they? Photos: Sue Gaviller

Cornus sericea ‘Silver & Gold’ has green and cream variegated leaves and bright yellow bark – an attractive addition to the landscape any time of year. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Dogwoods also have brilliant fall foliage colour – the red-barked cultivars turn varying shades of red, the yellow-barked cultivars turn golden and the variegated cultivars turn shades of peach, pink or orange. These Cornus shrub species really do have something to offer in all four seasons – few plants have such versatility.

The bright red fall foliage of this small compact dogwood (which I suspect is Cornus sericea ‘Farrow’) looks stunning against the backdrop of a richly stained fence and the limestone boulder in the foreground. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Cornus alba ‘Cream Cracker’ in late summer, just beginning to show its fall colours. Photo: Sue Gaviller

Size Matters

C. sericea and C. alba species are quite large – 2 to 3 meters height and spread. This is great if you have lots of room, but if not, there are many cultivars bred specifically for the smaller yard. Cornus sericea ‘Farrow’ (Arctic Fire dogwood) is a compact bushy cultivar with lush green leaves and intense red stems, reaching about 1 meter tall and wide. Cornus sericea ‘Kelseyi’ is a cute little dwarf variety growing only about ½ metre. For variegated cultivars, the very pretty Cornus alba ‘Cream Cracker’ is a great choice for small yards with a height and spread of about 1 metre.

This client’s Northwest Calgary yard was one of the first designs in which I used Cornus alba ‘Cream Cracker’. I’ve been very happy with its performance – very little winterkill, bushy compact growth habit and beautiful warm variegated foliage has made it a great choice. Photo: Pat Gaviller

Dogwoods aren’t picky about where you put them – I have 12 or 13 of them in my yard, numerous cultivars of both species, placed in every conceivable growing condition – shade, semi-shade, full sun, moist, dry, sheltered, exposed and several combinations thereof. I can’t say any particular specimen is doing markedly better than others – the one in full sun with supplemental water from the downspout has perhaps grown the fastest, but on the whole they’re all pretty happy.

So you see there’s a dogwood for everyone, for every site, and for every season. Indeed they are a gardener’s best friend.

Thank y’all for reading,

Sue