Texture
Use tactile plants to give borders a sensory twist that rewards hands-on exploration
Texture is an oft-forgotten element when making plant combinations. Yet think of the ribbed leaves of hostas, hazel and rodgersia, the tufts and feathery flowers of grasses, and the sword-tip spikes of sea hollies, cordylines and agaves, and you realise there’s plenty of scope for creating contrasts. Using tactile plants like these is all about tantalising the senses. Some textures look more inviting than others: who can resist the little bunny tail flowers of Lagurus ovatus? Other grasses are equally rewarding – Stipa tenuissima is a favourite for contrasting with all sorts of intricate blooms, while silky-flowered miscanthus, pennisetum and the bushy tails of Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) promise other soft and sensory rewards. Many silver foliage plants are soft to touch too: velvety Stachys byzantina, verbascum and senecio can be teamed with their spiky opposites – eryngiums and echiums – for a stylish silvery blue border. Other good plant textures to contrast include rough acer bark, prickly holly, papery physalis lanterns, silky tulips and poppies, waxy laurel and aucuba foliage and glossy leaves of Fatsia japonica. With all these options, there’s sure to be contrasts of texture in the garden all year round.