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27 September 2006

Heaths and heathers! Landscape design! MetaChatters, you've helped me choose paint colors for my house. Who wants to help me design a heather bed for my front yard?
[More:]
Heather Bed Design
In the document linked above, I've written out my current thoughts on the heather bed design, and some of the things I'm afraid I'll get wrong. Bring on the opinions!

Feel free to chime in with alternative suggestions as well.
That's a great idea to use the heath and heathers together - they're low maintenance and drought-resistant. Plus they just look pretty. I kept reading your first sentence as 'Heaths and Ledgers!'

I agree that the oranges bookended like that doesn't seem right - either the colors should be all balanced and symmetrical, or none of them should be. I like asymmetry, myself. Also remember that hot or bright colors advance, and cool colors recede, so you probably don't want the oranges closer to the street/viewer than the purples and the pinks. Even in the photo, the orange totally pops and grabs your eye, so they should be placed farther back. I like your combination of colors; contrasts always work really well in garden design, I think.
posted by iconomy 27 September | 10:02
But then again remember that all rules were meant to be broken, so in the end, do what you think looks best! I'm just speaking in generalities.
posted by iconomy 27 September | 10:03
Hmm, I hadn't thought of putting the oranges more toward the back, and purples in front. Hot colors advance, cool recede? So if orange is advancing from the back and purple is receding from the front, that creates some kind of... uh... arty effect?

Heather beds should definitely not be symmetrical, so I will avoid that in my final layout.

Maybe the rules were meant to be broken, but it seems like one should know what the rules are first, and what it means to break them. :)

Thanks for the response, iconomy!
posted by agropyron 27 September | 10:29
I agree with ico. The orange is so bright,it looks like a wall around the others. I'd move it.

You will post pictures when you're done, right?
posted by jrossi4r 27 September | 10:29
You bet. It won't look like this for a couple of years though, as the plants grow to their mature size.
posted by agropyron 27 September | 10:30
After looking at the photo again, and then opening it in PS and moving the colors around, the orange in the back would be a gorgeous frame for the pinks and the purples, so yep, in this case, the rule works! I can't really tell by your photo, but of course just make sure that the plants in the back are larger than the plants in front, although the fact that they're on a slope helps with this a lot, obviously. The reason I mention it is that in your mock-up the orange plants looks stocky but not tall.
posted by iconomy 27 September | 11:05
I did a mockup too, and I think it looks nice with the orange in back. Excellent suggestion!

Take two, orange in back.

It's still too symmetrical in that mockup, but I will be able to make it non-symmetrical in real life.
posted by agropyron 27 September | 12:36
MUCH more pleasing! If you squint you can get a good feel for what this will look like in about 2-3 years.
posted by iconomy 27 September | 13:20
Who wants to help me design a heather bed for my front yard?
Why is Heather sleeping in your front yard?
posted by dg 27 September | 17:56
I first read it as "feather bed", my mistake.

I like Take 2,also. Great suggestion, Iconomy. This will look lovely when it's matured.
posted by redvixen 27 September | 18:12
Ah! Ich Habe Deinen Mund Geküßt... || NYC meetup tonight

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