“Flowers are the music of the ground from earth’s lips spoken without sound.”
—EDWIN CURRAN
Flowers have a life of their own—they grow and bloom according to an inborn schedule and, in so doing, brighten our days. We, gardeners, enjoy their “aliveness” and grow both annual and perennial flowers in plant beds, along fences, bordering our walks, or in a vase. We tip them back, pull out errant seedlings, and apply water when needed. Flower gardening helps us connect with the green world in a beautiful way.
Sometimes the understanding that “flowers are plants” is lost to more lofty notions of art, design, and composition. Beware of this trap. Some people may become so involved with flowers as an artistic medium that they forget they are living plants. Roberto Burle Marx, the great 20th-century Brazilian landscape designer, reminded us of this in his 1962 lecture, “The Garden as a Form of Art.” Said Marx: “One may think of a plant as a brushstroke, as a single stitch of embroidery; but one must never forget that it is a living thing.”
Burle Marx was instrumental in defining 20th-century modern landscape design. He was a great artist-designer and an innovative plantsman. He exemplified, in his long career, the blending of artistic and ecological concerns. Today the awareness that plants are living things is imperative. No longer can we impose our will upon the earth without being mindful of the consequences of our actions. Chemical fertilizers adversely affect microscopic life in the soil. Insecticides kill more than pesky pests. We are not alone in our gardening endeavors; we are literally co-creating with Nature.
So as you plant flowers in your garden, in whichever way you choose, remember that artistic expression and growing healthy flowers are not mutually exclusive. They are one together. That is the essence of great flower garden design.
The Japanese windflower ‘Honorine Jobert’ (Anemone hybrid ‘Honorine Jobert’) was named the PPA’s 2016 Perennial Plant of the Year. It does best when planted in partial shade, or protected from hot afternoon sun. These tough perennials will naturalize and form a colony over time. Zones 4–8.