desiGn and its relationshiP to Maintenance 27
with gallon sizes, I space similar species at 18 in. Larger-growing plants such as
Baptisia, Monarda, ornamental grasses, and others I space 2 to 3 ft. apart. With
Baptisia and Monarda I use single plants, giving them 2 or 3 ft. of space, then
repeat them elsewhere in the border if appropriate.
When designing, you need to know the square footage of area your drift will
cover. (I normally design on quarter-inch graph paper, with the scale 1/4 in. = 1 ft.,
and then I can count the number of squares per drift to determine the square
footage.) Once the square footage of area is determined, you can calculate the
number of plants needed for that area by multiplying the area by the number of
plants per square foot—that is, number of plants needed = square footage of area
to be covered × number of plants per square foot. The following table shows the
number of plants per square foot for a given spacing.
Spacing number of plantS per Sq. ft.
12 in. 1.00
15 in. 0 .64
18 in. 0 .45
24 in. 0 .25
36 in. 0 .11
For example: to space plants 18 in. apart in an area of 7 sq. ft. would require 3
plants (7 sq. ft. of area × 0.45 plants per sq. ft. = 3 plants).
Now that you have taken the time to design an award-winning garden, take
the time to properly prepare the soil, plant the perennials, and maintain the
garden by reading the rest of the story presented in the following chapters.
Good luck!
In this area of Hayden Run
Garden, viewed mainly
from distant balconies and
roads, large drifts of plants—
30 to more than 50 plants per
drift—were required for
proper visibility and scale.
Interplanting different
species within a drift (here
Liatris spicata and Lilium
‘Stargazer’) creates exciting
contrasts in color and form
and prolongs interest, but also
may space out maintenance
requirements. As one species
fades the other shines!