Clients would often approach me in the garden centre asking for help to find a “couple of shrubs”. Instead of asking what kind of shrub, I generally would always ask where they were putting the shrubs and what else was in the bed. I can get a lot of information from those answers, that will enable me to find the best shrubs for my customer.

If they would be planting on the east side of the house, we’re looking for something part sun, at best. South side, without shade, something that can take it hot and dry. Out on a long drive way exposed to all types of weather, we need something tough as nails and hardy. If the customer stated that they had just dug a new bed in the corner of a fence now I have to explain to them why I really want to sell them three things, not two.

The purpose of landscape design is ultimately to please and amuse the eye. Yes, we address concerns of functionality such as privacy, paths or drainage problems. Designers address form in terms of food gardens and wildlife habitat. The end game in all of the designing is something that is appealing to view. Things in odd numbers are more interesting to look at.

Think of a pair of evergreens surrounding the front door. The two ‘sentinels’ are easily dismissed by the eye and the viewer notices the door instead. The pair (two) even if they are different plants is not challenging to the eye, it is overlooked, although it does formalize the entry way. Things in odd numbers makes the eye move from the first item, to the second and on to the third to take it all in. There is more interest; some call it tension.

The ‘Rule of Thirds’ is not new and is not exclusive to garden design. Artists have been using it for centuries to create paintings that are more dynamic. Read more about the use in art and photography here. Interior designers use it in everything from furniture layout to creating vignettes on mantles and tabletops. Read more about that here. It is not just ‘three’ it is odd numbers. One, three, five, seven, you get the idea. That’s why a single shade tree, in its’ own bed, works. Consider the recipe for container planting; the saying is you need a thriller, a spiller and a filler…three things.

For my client looking for a couple of shrubs, there are a few possibilities. The three things do not necessarily have to all be shrubs, the third thing could be a perennial, a boulder, a pot with annuals or a statue. We just need to achieve that tension to make a garden bed that is more interesting to view. Now I think you should go view your garden beds that you may find boring and start counting! Maybe even take another look at some of the groupings inside your home.