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Unity - Part 3 - Patterns

© Kirk Johnson

This is the third in a series about how to create a garden that is a unified work of art.

Moving through a garden is like listening to music. The mood can change as you move through it. Repeating patterns throughout music, and throughout the garden will make it feel like a unified work of art, even if the various parts have contrasting moods and color schemes.

One of the more obvious ways to weave a pattern throughout the garden is to have paths with a design in the paving. Bricks almost demand to be arranged in a pattern. Concrete pavers are also most effective when arranged in patterns; they can be very attractive when combined with bricks.

Concrete pavers can be used as stepping stones, as, of course can real stones. The Japanese are masters of this art. In the 17th century stroll garden at Katsura, some of the stones are arranged in long rectangles, while the rest of the stones are arranged in curved patterns. This can give the feeling of moving through a musical composition. An interesting approach might be to arrange the stones like the notes in a favorite piece of music.

While poured concrete often looks harshly utilitarian in gardens, it can be made more attractive through the use of patterns. One of the most effective patterns imitates flagstones. You do this by scoring the smoothed surface of wet concrete into random geometric patterns using a length of 1/2 to 3/4 inch copper pipe that has been bent into a slight S curve. This is actually more attractive than crazy paving in stone because the uniform color of the concrete avoids the blotchy effect of most stone crazy paving.

Classic Chinese and Italian gardens often have mosaic paths composed of small rounded stones. While very labor-intensive to create and easily damaged by frost, they are a beautiful way to weave a pattern throughout a garden.

A parterre is an arrangement of planting beds on flat ground; this can be as simple as an arrangement of square or rectangular beds separated by paths or as elaborate as an oriental carpet. Renaissance parterres often look like quilt patterns composed out of stars and diamonds. If you love quilts, this might be a way for you to combine that love with gardening. The beds don't have to be geometric; they just have to be arranged in a pleasing pattern. Normust they be planted with masses of bedding plants, they can be planted in a cottage garden manner. The pattern of the beds will help to unify the diverse planting. For more information about parterres, click on the wordParterre.