How to do it

GARRIGUE

Cover all the ground by selecting low evergreen shrubs, or evergreen perennials ranging from 30cm–1.2m high. Choose a high proportion of plants (at least 30 per cent, and not more than 70 per cent) with a crisp outline. These may be shrubs with a naturally tight outline (like many of the small-leafed hebes, such as Hebe glaucophylla or H. ’Boughton Dome’, or the recently released Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance), or those that are easy to keep clipped and ‘tight’ due to their small foliage and densely branching structure, such as coastal rosemary or various types of box.

By contrast, the rest of the shrub layer should be soft and shaggy, so it’s worth including other shrubs or permanent perennials that won’t be clipped, such as Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii, perennials such as acanthus, or succulents like cotyledon.

Then, in key positions, plant small trees that will provide a light canopy hovering overhead, supported by open, clear trunks that allow views through to and over the shrubby layer. The more multi-stemmed these trees are, the better. Olives are great for this purpose; so too are many of the small eucalypts, such as Eucalyptus caesia.

STEPPE

Select low grasses, shrubs and evergreen perennials appropriate to your climate zone, and scatter these repeatedly over the planting area. Diversity in this permanent matrix isn’t necessary or desirable, so choose only 3–4 plants of contrasting shape or form, and place them as if self-sown.

Plant bulbs and other low annuals in spaces between the matrix plants – again, repeatedly over the space. It’s better to stick with plants and bulbs that are available affordably in large numbers than to create a collection of rarities, as the point is to create an overall effect rather than a series of micro-highlights.

Mulch the whole area with an organic mulch, or a graded gravel or pebble of 5–10mm particle size (as it contains no ‘fines’, or smaller particles, it won’t pack down hard), and spread at least 50mm thick.

PRAIRIE

This style works best when you’re covering a broad area with plants, rather than planting in a border-type arrangement. Start by selecting a small range of grasses and perennials that you’re reasonably sure will succeed in your area. Repetition is essential to the style, so it’s not necessary to have a lot of different plants. Choose according to the style’s various categories of shape and form, including strongly vertical and upright plants (penstemons or perennial foxgloves, for instance, or grasses such as Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’), horizontal plants (such as achilleas), and domes (like the taller sedums, including Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and S. ‘Matrona’). Essential to the look is ‘featheriness’, which ornamental grasses provide brilliantly, along with fine-textured flowers such as Agastache aurantiaca or A. ‘Sweet Lili’.

Place plants in clumps over the planting space. The number and size of the clumps depends on the size of the garden. A small garden might contain clumps of three of each plant, while in an enormous garden you might plant groups of 50. Repeat these clumps around the garden, so that when any one variety is in bloom, it ‘echoes’ through the entire planted space.