New gardeners often focus on flowers and color in their first design effort, only to feel less than satisfied with the floral results. Experts advise us to think about plant form and leaf texture for a design that works no matter what the season. Two books demystify the “designing with foliage” concept:
Dramatic Effect with Architectural Plants by Noel Kingsbury (Overlook Press, $35.00)
The occasional black-and white-photos reinforce the lesson that architectural plants look good without distracting color. Kingsbury explains how shapes are used in the garden and how this design concept works for all garden styles from the Japanese look to Southwest themes. The last section of the book is a mini encyclopedia detailing all the suggested plants.
Foliage: Dramatic and Subtle Leaves for the Garden by David Joyce (Trafalgar Square, $35.00)
Joyce goes farther with classifying types of foliage shapes with poetic descriptions like, ‘Needles and Threads’ and ‘Eggs and Spoons’. A concise list of trees, shrubs, perennials and edibles is provided for each foliage shape. The color photos show off the plants in isolation so readers can focus on the shape and texture.