Thrillers, spillers & fillers

Aren't you wondering what this post is about ? I first came across these terms in a book by Vanessa Gardner Nagel - she uses them to describe the function that a plant might perform in a garden.

She recommends a straightforward process to design and build a garden from scratch ( she should know what she is talking about - her middle name is Gardner !).

I particularly liked Chapter 8 Plants: A Structural Perspective - this is definitely worth studying if one is a garden enthusiast.

In the past when I visited a nursery or spoke with a landscape designer they simply classified plants as perennials or seasonals. Nagel on the other hand proposes that one thinks about plants along three dimensions - function, form & leaf shape/colour.

A plant has a function to perform in the overall landscape

o a highlight or a focal point (thriller),

o it can spillover an area unevenly to provide an unmanicured cover (spiller) or

o it could simply provide green cover (filler)

The shape of the plant in terms of its natural growth

o columnar: like a column, upright and narrow

o vase: like a vase, narrower at the base, upright and spreading toward the top

o arching: growing in a series of arcs, usually outward from the center

o pyramidal: like a pyramid, narrow at the top and wide at the base

o mounded: wider than high, with a rounded form

o prostrate: clinging to the ground or very low growing

o weeping: upright, then dropping—often to the ground, more pronounced than arching

o upright: usually taller than wide, with branches that extend distinctly skyward

o broad: wider than tall, not necessarily with a rounded form

Leaf shape & colour - this is self explanatory

I like this terminology and we agreed to use it to discuss and finalise the design of our garden.

...The fall of Pride rock

...Not just another brick in the wall