In the Garden Articles

Creating a Romantic Garden

by Joan S. Bolton

With February the month for romance, what better place than the garden for Cupid's dart to zing a lucky heart?

Gardens have provided settings for love and intrigue for centuries. Those that are designed for romance possess a timeless quality that captivates our senses. They beckon us to enter and to linger, to suspend time and space for a few minutes or a few hours.

Fortunately, you don't have to rely on a mythical winged archer on February 14 to complete the scene. Instead, you can capture the magic of whispered possibilities by staging vignettes that suggest enchantment throughout the year.

Devising such a garden requires attention to three special elements:

o a layout that embraces intimacy and offers a promise that hidden treasures may be just steps away;

o an informal planting style of lush, layered foliage and flowers;

o man-made ornaments that provide seating, suggest whimsy and tempt visitors to stay a while.

The Layout

Above all, romantic gardens offer a sense of privacy and seclusion, through the skillful placement of shrubs, hedges, trees and fences. That sense is heightened if your private retreat is far enough away that it becomes a destination, rather than a few paces from the back door. The journey to reach it then becomes part of the process.

Avoid any straight lines that hasten the trip. A meandering path offers more time for inner reflection or a chance to leisurely converse with others. It also creates a sense of anticipation, that something exciting about to unfold, just beyond the next bend.

Use natural materials, such as flagstone, stepping stones or gravel that's been tumbled to soften the edges. Remember, the emphasis is on the informal. Make the path wide enough to easily accommodate travelers walking two by two. Three to 4 feet wide should do -- any narrower and you'll be in for follow-the-leader. Wider, and the path may feel too grand.

The retreat itself should be large enough to allow for cozy, yet comfortable seating. A simple bench may take up only a few square feet, while a table for two may slip into something a little larger.

Overhead, arbors and pergolas will reinforce a sense of enclosure. Cover them with vines to soften their surfaces.

The Plants

Romantic gardens are often composed of many layers. Rather than stiff, formal hedges or long bands of edging plants, the greenery in a romantic garden presents a softer, flowing appearance.

Start by selecting background plants that bear rich green, glossy foliage. In the shade, you might choose traditional camellias. In the sun, consider tall, glossy xylosma (Xylosma congestum) or spreading star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides). Add a layer of frothy, billowy plants, such as fragrant catmint (Nepeta), misty chartreuse lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis) or white, puffy baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata).

Invoke contrast with plants bearing variegated or silvery leaves that shimmer in the moonlight. Then add shrubs or trees that produce quasi heart-shaped leaves, such as white orchid tree (Bauhinia forficata), redbud (Cercis), heartleaf geranium (Pelargonium cordifolium) or some of the many coral bells (Heuchera).

Throughout the ages, poets have proclaimed roses to be the most romantic of flowers. The best shrub roses, floribundas, David Austin and heirloom roses will bloom for months, all the while releasing their sweet perfume.

For other flowers, look to pastel blooms flushed with soft pink, lavender, blue, yellow or white. If the flowers are fragrant, such as breath of heaven (Coleonema pulchrum), gardenia or white heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens), that's all the better.

At eye level and above, flowering vines will fill visual gaps between lower plantings and the canopy of trees.

Bleeding heart glorybower vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae) is a dainty, evergreen vine that bears a profusion of tiny, red and white flowers. Potato vine (Solanum jasminoides), with its white, dangling star-shaped flowers, mimics a starry sky, while sturdy night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum) infuses the evening air with an intense scent.

Below your feet, plant aromatic herbs between stepping stones. Creeping thyme is a classic, and will release its fragrance each time a visitor passes by.

The Ornaments

Intimate seating is essential to the romantic garden.

Consider the effects of a bench tucked into a secluded corner, a love-seat nestled beneath a rose-covered arbor, a wooden swing gently swaying from the gnarled limb of a mature sycamore, or even a double hammock squeezed onto the edge of a patio.

There's a certain star-crossed irony in the acknowledgement that even if you rarely sit in any of these romantic spaces, the simple view of them still offers an invigorating sense of possibility, and a standing invitation to daydream.

Likewise, whimsical sculptures, birdbaths, sundials and other garden ornaments may bring a smile to the lips and tease the imagination.

Moreover, the sound of water can contribute to that overall sense of emotional escape.

A trickling brook or spouting fountain may block the everyday commotion of the outside world.

Ornamental grasses at the water's edge will bow and flex in the breeze, play with the sunlight and cast interesting reflections.

And a slow-moving pond of water lilies is a perfect companion while one quietly contemplates the vagaries of love.

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Say It With Flowers

A bouquet of any of the following annuals, perennials or wispy shrubs may convey far more emotion than mere mortal words:

Baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata)

Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus)

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

Bleeding heart glorybower (Clerodendrum thomsoniae)

Breath of heaven (Coleonema pulchrum)

Canterbury bell (Campanula medium)

Cupid's dart (Catananche caerulea)

Fairy primrose (Primula malacoides)

Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

Heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica)

Jump-up-and-kiss-me (Viola odorata)

Keys of heaven (Centranthus ruber)

Lady bells (Adenophora liliifolia)

Ladys-mantle (Alchemilla mollis)

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena)

Love-in-a-puff (Cardiospermum halicacabum)

Love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus)

Maiden pink (Dianthus deltoides)

Maiden's tears (Silene vulgaris)

Meadowsweet (Filipendula purpurea)

Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana)

Old maid (Catharanthus roseus)

Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)

Speedwell (Veronica hybrids)

Spring adonis (Adonis vernalis)

Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus)

Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)

Touch-me-not (Impatiens wallerana)

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Seeds of Wisdom

Install an interesting gate, tall shrubs on either side of the path or an arbor overhead to signal to all who enter that they're about to take a special stroll through your romantic garden.