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Can you have too many different plants?
Andy Leeds
Posts: 518
in Plants
Watching one of 'Big Dreams Small Spaces' I think there was mention of having 7-10 different plants in a garden.
Where I can see this would 'flow', I was wondering if people here stick to a restricted number of plants or just get what they like?
Being relatively new to this gardening lark, I've been lured into buying lots (for me) of different shrubs, bulbs, herbaceous perennials - far more than the 10 'suggested' maximum.
Not that I'm going to change my approach, just interested to see what other people do / think.
0
Posts
Absolute tosh.
It's your garden, have what you want.
The design ideal is to have a few varieties tastefully placed throughout the garden. It give cohesion and continuity, and it does not allow you to indulge your passion for all those lovely things that you would like to see in your garden. My garden is a mess because I like to grow a lot of different things. I do not care, and neither should you.
I have 5 varieties of clematis alone! No hope for me
It might work in more formal gardens I suppose? I'm more of the 'bung it in and see what happens' school...
The more the merrier as far as the bees are concerned. A restricted pallette can cut down on the amount of pollen and nectar available to insects.
I think I'm at about 20 different Clematis, over 100 varieties of Hosta, about 40 different Agapanthus.
If you have a tiny courtyard garden, certainly I'd restrict the number, however, there is no "magic" number, any more than there is a magic number for pairs of shoes, or shirts or handbags or books or anything else for that matter.
Grow what you fancy. Plant more if you like them. Dig them out if you don't.
It's your garden.
My garden is full of different plants some I just grow for the pleasure or the challenge of it and some have planted themselves. If they look tasteful, great. If not, so what!
You could try to have seven types of plants but I don't think mother nature has got around to watching the programme. Some of the most striking combinations of plants come from self-seeded ' weeds'
I can't have too many plants
But I've often got too many waiting to be planted out and no garden ready to receive them
In the sticks near Peterborough
Totally believe you can never, ever have too many different varieties of plants! Soooooo many plants soooooo little time!
I kind of thought this would be the response. Like I said, I'm not going to change my approach anyway from the 'buy what I want' - as B3 says I can dig stuff out if I want.
Does anyone conform to this approach? I'm assuming not
The whole approach is about not conforming unless you want to