Small gardens seem to be the norm these days. And that means that planting space is at a premium. So when selecting plants for my garden and the gardens I make with my clients, I’m always on the lookout for plants that are attractive for multiple seasons. If they look good year-round, all the better! ..

Creating a garden that fits together—one that makes sense and works as a whole—is like a jigsaw puzzle, a word jumble, or really any puzzle that challenges us to create order from chaos. Our puzzle is further complicated by the fact that we're working in four dimensions, if we take the seasonal aspect of our creation into consideration. Though as the pieces, or in our case plants, start falling into place, the overall scene starts shaping up. It begins to make more sense and everything gets a bit easier. But getting started can feel daunting. ..

The current trend toward simpler, tidier gardens points toward using a more restricted palette of plants. While landing on a small number of plants to use in your garden can be an effective means of achieving a cohesive whole, simplicity is not necessarily simple to achieve. But there are at least three good reasons to consider limiting yourself in this way when creating your garden.  ..