It's spring and my garden fever is running high. If you're like me, you're full-on in plant acquisition and garden-making mode.  ..

On the hottest days of summer my husband and I gravitate to a pair of comfortably worn Adirondack chairs in our "secret garden"—a cozy backyard spot under the shelter of two linden trees. What draws us into that part of the garden? What makes one seating area more inviting than another? ..

Let's say you've assembled a palette of plants that you think work well together. It doesn't really matter how you arrived at it—maybe you dreamed it up yourself, or perhaps you followed one of the many road maps to success you'll find here on eGardenGo. Whatever the source of your inspiration, though, getting your plants laid out in an organized and logical fashion can be daunting until you get the hang of it.  ..

I'm in the midst of preparing a couple of presentations for talks I'll be giving this year at various garden events. So I've been thinking a lot about how to best communicate about the art and science of combining plants—trying to articulate what I'm thinking about as I create plant combinations for my garden, client gardens, and for the eGardenGo site. ..

Happy New Year! Thanks so much for following along as I've created and shared planting combination ideas, design tips, and more —I hope that you've found eGardenGo to be loaded with inspiring and fun content— I've sure had a blast creating it and connecting with you! ..

Below you'll find a gallery of gorgeous images with lots of examples from creative gardeners, just like you, who are creating inspired gardens using the simple, but effective method of strategically repeating a color to lend coherence, draw the eye, and create a cohesive and lovely garden scene. ..

Figuring out what to plant with what is often a delicate balance between the pursuit of artful ambitions while simultaneously tending to more practical considerations. Gardeners I talk to often ask me for guidelines, so I've provided a few in this post. Following these guidelines can help you be more successful when creating plant combinations in your garden—they take the mystery out of the making so that you can focus on the fun! ..

Whether it's an exuberantly overstuffed single pot or a grouping of multiple pots, successful container plantings—just like in-garden planting schemes—strive to strike a delicate balance. Enough repetition to create a harmonious whole, tempered by a enough contrast and drama to excite without resulting in chaos.  ..

When I pick up my pencil to doodle, my squiggles usually start morphing into plant shapes. I guess I’m a bit obsessed by the study of plants as shapes, textures, and masses, and by thinking about how to create balanced vignettes that are pleasing to the eye. ..

I’m quite practical and down-to-earth when it comes to choosing plants for the gardens I make, particularly those I do with clients. I tend to be a bit more experimental in my own space, but most of the time, my clients don’t want to take too many risks in terms of plant selections. Typically, that’s why they’ve called on me in the first place—they’ve been trying to solve the puzzle, but keep getting stumped. They’ll create a planting scheme that looks good for a while and then fizzles, often within weeks or months; but even if it takes a year, or several, to peter out, it can be a big disappointment if it’s not what they expected to happen. They’re left wondering, “What went wrong?” ..

Some gardens have that certain something that makes them memorable—an overall look and feel that resonates and sticks with you. Oftentimes, it’s difficult to put a finger on a particular reason they work, they just do. Their plants, however, are usually well-chosen, which means the gardeners of these special-something gardens used one or more of these tried-and-true design devices: ..

The possibilities for garden beds in different shapes are as varied as the gardeners who tend them. The internet offers a gushing, endless stream of luscious garden photos that entice, but offer little guidance in terms of how to translate that picture into an actual, in-the-ground garden. Converting the garden of your imagination into a real-world, concrete plan of action can be tricky.  ..