Structured Foliage

Flowers come and go, but leaf shape is what a garden is actually made of for eleven months of the year. This collection is organised around exactly that idea: plants chosen for the geometry of their foliage, from strappy fountains and spiky rosettes to broad paddles and fine clipped domes.

The simplest way to use structured foliage is the rule of three textures: in any one bed, combine a strap leaf, a broad leaf and a fine leaf, then repeat that trio along the bed rather than adding new varieties. Repetition is what reads as design. Scale matters too: as a rough guide, your tallest foliage plant should be about one third the height of the wall or fence behind it, with mid and low layers stepping down in front. Most plants in this collection are genuinely low maintenance once established, needing little more than an annual tidy, which makes them ideal for front gardens, commercial frontages and rental properties where regular pruning will not happen. Most tolerate heat, wind and short dry spells far better than soft flowering perennials, so they also suit exposed sites where fussier plants fail.

• Group in odd numbers of 3, 5 or 7 for natural looking mass planting
• Contrast leaf colour as well as shape: silver and burgundy foliage lifts an all green scheme
• Check drainage before planting rosette and succulent forms, which sulk in wet feet
• Use gravel or pebble mulch around sculptural plants so the form stays visible

Two workhorses of this style have their own care guides: the lomandra care guide covers Australia's most planted strappy leaf, and the agave care guide is essential reading before placing rosette succulents near paths. If your project leans more towards statement specimens than repeated texture, the architectural plants collection looks at the same palette through a designer's lens. For help matching foliage types to your climate and aspect, run your details through the plant finder.