Blue Daisy Blog

One of the questions I get asked the most is ‘how can I make my garden more interesting’ and there are a few elements to consider for example form, texture and colour but here we are looking at movement.  What is important to remember is it really doesn’t matter whether you have a small urban garden or a big estate the same design principles can be applied albeit in different quantities.

Quite a few gardens that I visit often appear static, with plants that look as though they have been placed like ornaments, rather than contributing to the ambience and dynamism of the garden.  

Movement doesn’t have to be drastic though it can be a subtle addition to the space you are trying to create. 

Quite often I am asked the question ‘how can I make my garden more interesting’ and movement is one element of good garden design that often gets overlooked.  It is just as important as all the other elements, not only does it create a feel, an ambience, but also added interest.   Movement doesn’t have to be dramatic or exciting it can be soft, understated and subtle and each person can have their own take on what movement in the garden means.

It can be incorporating moving water, for instance, which shimmers and sparkles in the light but also adding that refreshing trickling sound as it moves, creating a mood.  The sound of movement often adds that extra layer that works and plays on the senses too - not only trickling water but rustling leaves, swishing grasses and other 'movement sounds' all play their part.

Navigating around a garden can also be what some people define movement to be, how to create journeys so you interact and move through the garden.  Paths are great elements for this but care must be taken with the dimensions of them and their exact purpose, adding a path as an afterthought can often look out of place.  

Incorporating plants that move gently in the breeze and give that extra vertical lift can really make them stand out from their more static counterparts.  Ornamental grasses are great for adding movement as their habits are quite different and there are some that offer good all year round interest of both foliage and seed heads which last right into winter.