I love exploring historic homes and their accompanying gardens, so when I went to visit my parents one time last summer, my Dad suggested finding some historic homes in Knoxville. We settled on Crescent Bend House and Garden near the University of Tennessee. When we arrived, we weren’t entirely sure it was open because we didn’t see anyone else around. However, we rang the doorbell (or knocked…not quite sure) and someone came to invite us in. They were setting up for a wedding, but a member of the staff was able to give us a tour of the house, its rooms, and the beautiful furnishings. Several items are original to the home, but the rest are antiques of that period. They also have an extensive silver collection on display.
While the house seems somewhat unassuming from the front, the interior is beautiful! Photographs weren’t allowed inside, so check out the website to see pictures of the interior. The gardens outside the back of the home demonstrate that it isn’t necessary to have an incredible variety of plants to have an incredible garden. As you can see in the picture below, this first level of the garden makes use of repetition of one shrub to create a striking visual effect. Mass plantings of boxwood or holly bushes can be shaped into well manicured forms and planted symmetrically around a focal point (like the fountain pictured) for stunning results! Keeping it simple with the plant choice allows you to be more creative with the design and layout of the plantings. Due to this solitary plant choice it doesn’t feel like there is too much going on with the layout.
The next level down shows a similar idea. The fountain is so grand and beautiful, there isn’t much need to go over the top with the landscaping. The simple mass planting of red begonias contrasts beautifully with the green. As mentioned in a previous post, red and green are complementary colors, so they are the perfect combination for this simple, symmetrical design. The line of the fountain is mirrored in the line of begonias on each side. Evergreen trees and shrubs provide year round color and texture.
From the top of the gardens looking down, you can’t help but notice the bottom level by the water with the groups of red and green. When you get down to that level, you see that it’s not as complicated as you might have thought. Again, there is a fountain in the middle. In symmetrical groupings, you have red begonias again and monkey grass for the borders.
Garden design doesn’t have to be complicated. Create some shapes in your landscape and make them symmetrical. Use evergreen shrubs as a base because they will always have leaves on them and won’t be bare in the winter. Prune them in cube or spherical forms. Create mass plantings of annuals in one color to make a visual impact and provide color all season long. Create a border for your beds using monkey grass, sedge, liriope, or other similar plants.
Landscape design does not have to be complicated. Start with an evergreen shrub and one or two additional plants, plant large groups of them, and use symmetry for a powerful effect. I hope this inspired you to get out there and plant something. You don’t need a lot of plants to have a beautiful garden. Pick a favorite and plant lots of it!
