Informal Planting

Question 1

What are the features of informal design?

Answer 1

Irregular shapes within design.

Plantings less restricted by shape and free flowing.

Full colour palette

Planting in odd numbers

Planted water features

Structure and shape as well as flowering for woody perennials

Lovely plantings that obscure the view beyond

Naturalistic plantings

Question 2

Name three designers

Answer 2

Gertrude Jekyll
William Robinson
Vita Sackville-West

Question 3

What was Jekyll known for?

Answer 3

Lots of flowering perennials with ribbons of colour.

Hestercombe House, Somerset
Mustead Wood, Busbridge Surrey

Question 4

What was Vita Sackville West known for

Answer 4

Range of herbaceous perennials and other plantings interspersed with key Evergreen plants. However, despite some formality it was informal in it’s setting.

Sissinghurst Castle., Kent

Question 5

Is self-seeding formal or informal?

Answer 5

INFORMAL

Plants are allowed to spread and self-seed.

good for biodiversity

EXAMPLES:

Phlomis russeliana (food source for overwintering)
Ornamental grasses (nesting material and over wintering)

Question 6

Describe a cottage garden

Answer 6

Informal
Functional using ornamental and edible plants which are often intermingled.
Have little or no lawn because they take up space that could be used for other plant e.g. herbs and cut flowers

Question 7

What is matrix planting?

Answer 7

A way of gardening in which multiple species are planted to replicate a natural appearance.

A design that mimics one found naturally.

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS:
Bold drifts of bright native flowers.
A sense of drama and impact.
Less maintenance than traditional gardens.
Rather than neat static rows of plants found in traditional gardens, the naturalistic garden is more diverse group of plant species with all year interest and although designed, appears unstudied.
Supoorts natural weed control,

Question 8

Explain plant numbers in naturalistic planting

Answer 8

Odd numbers
Bulbs
Perennials
Grasses

Extends season

Question 9

Modern designers

Answer 9

Piet Oudolf - naturalistic mostly Her. Perr) but w/o need of staking or irrigation
LESS IS MORE (fewer kinds of plants but repeated across the area)

Wisley perennial borders
Millenium Garden, Pensthorpe Norfolk.

Question 10

Water features

Answer 10

Beds
Borders
Containers ALSO Add

Water feature: improves control of various pests and disease.

Encouraging parasites and predators to deal with aphids etc.

Question 11

Plants to use in a water feature?

Answer 11

Marginals: need roots in water. Transition between water and ground. They help amphibious creature to get in and out.

Deep water: Leaves sit on the top. WATER LILLIES:

Floating aquatics. They float across the pond.

Oxygenators (if needed);

Question 12

List 2 marginals

Answer 12

Caltha palustris (marsh marigold)

Pontederia cordata (Pickerel weed)

Question 13

List 1 deep water plants

Answer 13

Nymphaea “Gladstoniana’

1. these plants grow in water that is between 30–90 cm deep.
2. They help to reduce algae by cutting down the light that reaches the water surface.

Question 14

List 2 surface floaters

Answer 14

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae (Frogbit)

Pistia stratiotes (Water lettuce tender)

These plants reduce amount of light reaching the water, but care must be taken not to let them smother or kill the oxygenators

Question 15

List two oxygenators

Answer 15

Ceratophyllum demersum (Rigid Hornwort)

Potamogeton crispus (Curly leaf pondweed)

These are submerged plants that help to oxygenate the water and help keep it clear of algae by competing for nutrients in the water, and are essential if the pond is to be stocked with fish.

Question 16

Name 2 bog plants

Answer 16

Gunnera manicata
Primula florindae (Giant Cowslip)

These plants thrive in a moist soil that does not dry out.

Question 17

Discuss Hidcote Manor

Answer 17

Arts and Crafts Garden

Hedging is meticulously clipped and shaped to act as a divider between on space and the next, creating a series of rooms.

Red border circular hedge with just green lawn space within. The hedge is a FOIL to show off red but also acting as a divider between one space and the next.

CREATING ROOMS USING GEOMETRIC HEDGING

Question 18

Regents Park Case study

Answer 18

Managed by Royal Parks

Formal bedding gradually being replaced with more drifts of perennials and bedding-type plants.

MORE SUSTAINABLE.

CONSIDERATIONS: Add wider colour pallete or reduce certain features within that space.

Question 19

What is william robinson known for?

Answer 19

Victorian era

One of the first to develop the woodland drifts of native perennials to get the naturalistic look.

“The Wild Garden” decreed that a garden should encourage natural development and have respect for plant form, colour, growing habits and foliage rather than adhere strictly to a layout.

Permanent planting rather than bedding plants and insistence on achieving an informal garden by mixing native and exotics all played an important role in the change we know today.

GRAVETYE MANOR, Sussex was Arts and Crafts designed by William Robinson

Question 20

History

Answer 20

Gardens are living histories, discovering garden styles through power and politics.

Benefits of all forms of landscape, they create well-being.

However, informal does provide space for wildlife and pollinators.

Question 21

Psychological benefits of gardening.

Answer 21

Improves depression
Increased mental health
Stress relief
Mycobacterium vaccae - harmless bacteria in soil that boosts serotonin in brain.
Boosts vit. D
Lose weight
Exercise
Nutrient dense produce

Question 22

Describe FOUR key features of an informal style garden.

Answer 22

a. The Informal Garden design includes the use of irregular shapes within the design rather than the formal, geometric shapes that were evident in places such as Hever Castle and Hampton Court. The informal design is based on what we see in nature, a free-flowing design rather than the structure and rigidity forced on nature in the formal garden. Places such as Gertrude Jekyll’s Munstead Wood is a good example of an informal planting design as plants are allowed to spread and flow. Nature prevails, rather than continual clipping of the plants to fit a geometric shape.
b. In formal planting the colours used are often evergreen and perhaps one other color. It’s often monochrome as in Sissinghurst Castle’s white garden. In an informal garden the colour palette is much grander. Gertrude Jekyll was known for her ribbons of colour in her gardens where the eye would travel through the garden enjoying the natural spread and beauty that seems unending. Visiting Hestercombe in Somerset, designed by Jekyll, provides that vision of ribbons of colours throughout as one would see in nature.
c. Informal garden planting uses odd number of plants when planting, perhaps 3, 5 or 7s. This is done to give a more naturalistic view of the garden rather than a strict linear, regimented and perfectly symmetrical spacing of formal gardens. The odd number planting seems to give a more casual and relaxed feeling to the space. Although I have never actually count
d. ed the plants in each garden, the evocative feel from a naturalistic garden is much more relaxing and pleasing than a formal, regimented style.
e. Informal gardens tend to use a matrix system of planting. In formal gardens, the monochromatic and even numbered plantings provide a regimented, static décor. With the matrix system there are blocks of limited plantings interspersed within the border. This matrix system provides a look of bold drifts, drama and impact in the garden as well as providing natural weed control. The Millenium Garden in Norfolk, designed by Piet Oudolf is a great example of the naturalistic matrix system.

Question 23

Name TWO influential informal planting garden designers and describe the key features of their work

Answer 23

a. GERTRUDE JEKYLL: Gertrude Jekyll was known for planting plenty of flowering perennials with ribbons of colour running through the garden as can be seen at Hestercombe House in Somerset and Munstead Wood, Surrey. This variety of herbaceous perennials, flowers and seed heads provided a wealth of pollen and nectar for pollinators. Whereas the previous formal gardens kept the garden so clipped that birds and pollinators could not find good food/habitat.
b. WILLIAM ROBINSON: William Robinson, during the Victorian era, was known as the pioneer of Woodland gardens using drifts of perennial plants that worked well in shady plantings. Robinson’s woodland planting provided excellent habitats for pollinators, birds and woodland creatures.

Question 24

Name TWO plants you might include in an informal style garden and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Answer 24

a. Herbaceous perennials such as Echinacea purpurea would be a good choice with the beautiful cone flowers adding beauty to the garden, especially if they were planted as part of the matrix system.
i. ADVANTAGES: Provides pollen for pollinators and flowers from June – September. It is also a hardy perennial so will withstand frost. The seedheads are a beautiful cone head during winter and will provide food for the birds.
ii. DISADVANTAGES: As the plant reseeds easily, it may become an invasive plant and overtake other species.
b. Alchemilla mollis another herbaceous perennial, would be a beautiful yellow green umbel flower that blends well with the Echinacea purpurea during the summer and provide seed heads in the winter.
i. ADVANTAGES: Alchemilla can drop seeds and spread, which can be both an advantage and disadvantage – should it take over. Like the Echinacea, Alchemilla will die back in the fall, leaving seed heads for the birds. They are easily trimmed in late winter and grow again the spring, saving time and cost for replanting. Additionally, having herbaceous perennials in the garden is good for the carbon footprint as one doesn’t need to purchase new plants.
ii. DISADVANTAGES: Again, like Echinacea, this plant can spread causing some issues, if not kept under control. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Question 25

What are the benefits of using a matrix garden design?

Answer 25

a. A matrix garden design provides a naturalistic and eye catching design to the garden. In the matrix garden groups of the same species plants are placed together in the border as well as being spaced out amongst the entire space. By placing these same plants dotted in different areas it provides a naturalistic and expansive view in the garden. Additionally, by using less varieties, the visual impact is much stronger.
b. By planting in tightly packed groups of plants, they may well reduce the number of weeds which in turn, reduces the maintenance time. By having such strong visual impact with large groups of flowers the possibility for pollen and nectar for pollinators is greatly increased.
c. Piet Oudolf is the master of matrix planting with his expansive naturalistic gardens that he has designed at the High Line in NYC and the Olympic gardens at Stratford Park, London.

Question 26

Descrbe TWO ways you could incorporate water features into an informal garden design, and the advantages of EACH feature for biodiversity.

Answer 26

a. WILDLIFE POND: Building a pond in the garden will provide a safe habitat for animals such as frogs and reptiles. There are numerous sizes of ponds, but planting marginal plants such as Pontederia cordata and Caltha palustris at the edge will provide a steppingstone for the animals to get to the water. Providing this water feature will bring in parasites and animals that can help reduce the number of pests in your garden such as aphids.
b. BOG: In areas of the garden where the soil is moist and doesn’t dry out, perhaps adding bog plants would be a good way to provide habitats for animals. These plants, such as Gunnera manicata and Primula florindae thrive in moist soil and will provide winter homes for creatures. The variety of bog plants will provide more space for more diverse habitats.

Question 27

What are the key differences between a formal and informal garden design?

Answer 27

FORMAL INFORMAL
Geometric designs set out in a symmetrical format with central axis.

INFORMAL: Matrix planting

FORMAL: Plantings of multiple of 2
INFORMAL: Plantings in mult of 3

FORMAL: Constant pruning to keep design
INFORMA: Less pruning and weeding

FORMAL: Mostly evergreen with limited range of plants and often 1 other colour
INFORMAL: Variety of colours, often in groups.

FORMAL: Annuals for seasonal planting
INFORMAL: Flowering HP with a greater range of plant types which may incl edibles as well as ornamentals.

FORMAL: Rigid design
INFORMAL: Free flowing design

FORMAL: Little biodiversity
INFORMAL: Biodiverse garden planting

FORMAL: Large areas of lawn, highly manicure as a result of labour intensive often set out in geomtric shapes.
INFORMAL: Lawn may incorporate less rigid maintenance and benefit from the addition of spring/ summer meadows, informal in shape etc

Question 28

How might you use a plant leaf adaptation in informal planting design?

Answer 28

a. Glandular trichome (essential oils). In an informal garden design the pathway is meandering and plants are able to grow over the edge. As you walk by a glandular trichome, such as Lavandula angustifolia, the leaves will be crushed, releases the sweet smell of lavender.
b. As the informal garden provides a “view beyond” providing leaf adaptations such as a variety of leaf shapes provides a strong interest. Large ovate green leaves will be a stark difference to the Salvia rosmarinus that has narrow leaves.

NOTES:
You’re nearly there with this question, it’s very much about identifying what the leaf adaption is and stating how you would use it in an informal way. For example, with Rosemary, it has a reduced leaf area, is grey blue in colour and as a result suits at garden which has an aspect which is South facing, hot and dry. How could you use it? It could be used as a dot plant which is repeated throughout a mixed border. It could be used as part of a collection of Mediterranean plants in a terracotta container sat on a patio which enjoys hot dry conditions. I hope this helps.