How and why to plant in multiples, plus which plants to pair.

Sometimes more is better. Planting in multiples, often referred to as massing, creates excitement in a garden. I’m not talking about monotonous beds of single species plantings but creating a composition with a limited community of compatible plants and going big on the numbers. How big? Of course, that depends on the size of your garden.

Richard Hartlage is founding principal of Land Morphology, a landscape architecture firm that designs and implements grand landscapes—think public gardens, private estates, and artfully planted urban spaces. “We plant en masse when designing contemporary landscapes where the client is looking for simplicity and impact,” Hartlage says. Drifts of ornamental grasses underplanted with bulbs for seasonal interest figure prominently in these Land Morphology designs. “Only the most durable plants with multiple seasons of interest work in this scenario,” he adds.

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GROW in The Seattle Times