Question
QUESTION: We are in the midst of finishing a 12 x 12 foot octagon cedar gazebo.  We would like to have a flower bed around the gazebo.  What height should the plants be?  Should they all be on the tall side or a mix?    We are partial to hydrangeas.  Could you suggest a design.  We live in zone 5.  Thank you.

ANSWER: Probably no taller than the lower rail that surrounds the base of the gazebo.  If the plants are too low (like lawn or annual flowers) it looks too contrived, and if the plants get too big (like reed grass or tall shrubs), it looks lost behind a "green wall".

Here are some lovely pictures of what others have done (with #2 and #3 using Hydrangeas):
http://www.plainfancybb.com/grounds.html
http://www.artstudiowork.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/backyard-gazebo-inspirat
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,322701,00.html
http://www.azaleas-lake-michigan.org/images/Hutchinson-Gazebo-large.jpg

Now it is O.K. to plant taller plants (like Japanese Maple, Sumac, or some other small accent tree) next to your Gazebo, just don't bury it behind heavy plantings.  The goal is to create a "place you want to go to", especially if it is detached from the home.  Annual flowers should be used as a seasoning, like salt.  Therefore, they should be used sparingly.

Now, if I can assume your Canadian zone 5 is the same as the UDSA zone 5, you can grow Cornus florida (flowering dogwood), Deutzia gracillis (slender deutzia), Ligustrum vulgare (common privet), Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Boston ivy), Rosa multiflora (Japanese rose) and Taxus cuspidata (Japanese yew).  All of these can work handsomely with your new gazebo.

Here is some more zone 5 help:
http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Gardening_Zone_5

As far as a mix, use no more than 4-5 different plants.  Too many and it looks cluttered, which is in fact a design style, called "english cottage"...but thats another question!

Enjoy your new gazebo.  ~Marc





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your reply to my first question.  If I may I have a second one relating to the same subject.  This gazebo is a couple of flagstones steps off the right hand corner of our 15 deep x 30 foot wide stone patio.  I would like to have landscaping off the left hand corner of the patio to balance off the gazebo on the right hand side. I would like to incorporate a honey locust for shade in the bed,  as we get the afternoon sun there.  My question is, does the flowerbed need to be approx the same dia as the gazebo and should the flowers/shrubs be about the same height as the plantings around the gazebo to create that visual balance? Thank you.

ANSWER: What you are trying to accomplish is called "balance"...A good design principle.  Design is not an exact science, so you don't have to measure the area exactly to compensate for the Gazebo area. It is a game of perception.  So, if the other planting bed is raised up, or has an exceptionally showy grouping of plants, you can get away with a smaller area. Even the use of contrast of the gazebo (say for instance it is white or has lights), you plant dark-green patch of evergreens, the same level of lighting, or a significant sculptural element, so that it should visually "balance" the scene.  In your case, it is "asymmetical balance" - Unless you wan to build TWO gazebos!

Here is a site that does a better job of explaining it - even uses a drawing of a gazebo:
http://www.homedecorresource.com/html/garden/balanceindesign.htm

As the article says, "Balance is like irony: It's hard to define, but you know when you see it."

~Marc



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have been reading up about "asymmetrical balance".  I think I have the concept.  Could you comment on the following idea I have to create this balance so see if it is a good plan in your professional opinion.

Around the gazebo I would plant all rose bushes, as the gazebo already has the visual weight and  rose bushes seem light and airy. (I would prefer hydrangea but I think it would look too heavy?)

On the opposite corner of the patio, I would dig a roundish shape bed, plant a locust tree in the middle (the height and canopy would eventually balance out the width of the gazebo.  Around the locust tree I would plant evergreen shrubs (this would give this area weight?)  

Answer
Sounds great.  I don't think that substituting roses for Hydrangeas is of great importance in the design, if you pick the right hydrangea (there are 130+ to choose from - big 'mophead' monsters to low groundcovers).  

If size is a concern, plant dwarf hydrangeas ('Cityline','Pia', or 'Sikes dwarf' varieties), or prune them back every year to keep them from getting 8 feet tall.  Here is aother website discussing the various types of Hydrangeas - even vining varieties!

http://www.springmeadownursery.com/article_5.htm

Your plan sounds well thought-out. Go and make it happen!
~M