IHAVE LOTS of coffee table books on garden design, each with glossy photos and a subliminal message: this is the way it’s supposed to be. But I am, at heart, a plant collector – and a bit rebellious. My gardens don’t look like Martha Stewart’s and never will.

Sometimes I make a list of what’s in bloom for me, and have –in high season - listed well over 100 different kinds of flowers in bloom at once. That doesn’t leave me space to have a hillside of lupine, or drifts of pink cosmos. So here’s my message: it’s my darn garden, and I can make it look like whatever I want. You can, too.

That said, I’m also a professional garden designer and gardener so I need to create pleasing gardens for others. The first thing I do when designing a garden is determine what plants are special to the homeowner. My grandmother grew peonies, and they resonate with me. If you have fond memories of poppies or iris or roses in your youth, you should grow them.

Joe Pye Weed over Goldenrod So, when designing a garden I work on developing a plant list of a person’s favorites, which I supplement with flowers that I know will do well in that environment. If there’s an old apple tree, for example, I know that primroses will grow well under it – so I’ll suggest them, even if your grandma never grew them.

Never buy just one perennial. At a minimum, buy three. Three will look good, even in year one. One daisy? Pretty lonely and pathetic. Three, arranged like the dots on dice, look great. And they will, by year three, join into one big visually yummy clump. Of course, there are exceptions: big decorative grasses or other plants that will get huge quickly can be used singly as specimen plants. I planted a single Joe Pyeweed (Eupatorium purpureum) plant, and in 5 years the clump was more than 4 feet across and the stems 5 feet tall. Three? They’d take over all but the biggest garden.

Color is important, but each of us has strong preferences – and we should plant accordingly. I wear pink shirts, and purple ones, because I like the colors. I use a lot of pinks and purples in the garden, too. But I’ve known people to ask for a garden that only displays white flowers. White is great at dusk because it stands out much more than other colors, but I like more variety. As I said before, it’s your garden, and you can have what you like.

Sydney Eddsion in her lovely book, The Gardener’s Palette: Creating Color in the Garden explains that colors can be contrasting or harmonious. Contrasting colors are opposites on the color wheel: red and green; yellow and violet, blue and orange. They create a bold statement that stands out. But, she explains, “You don’t want too many extreme contrasts battling it out in a perennial border.” Used in moderation, contrasting colors add zip and vigor to a garden.

If you want a relaxing garden, choose plants with harmonious colors. Adjacent colors on the color wheel go well together, and create a quiet feel: red with violet and blue, for example. They are near each other on the color wheel – violet is the blending of red and blue, after all. Warm colors – red-orange and yellow – give the feeling of advancing toward you; cool colors - blue green and violet – give the impression of receding.

Intensity of color matters, too. A bright red is much more intense than a pink, which really is just red with white added. Different shades and tones of a single color can be used to create a harmonious garden. The problem is, of course, that you cannot always know the exact shade of blue you will get when buying plants – unless you buy them in bloom.

Height is important, too. Generally, the rule is to place tall things in the back of a border, shorter things in front. That said, you can create a ‘peekaboo’ effect by hiding a small or medium sized plant behind taller plants. That works well if trying to grow shade-loving plants in full sun. Some plants get browned lower leaves early in the summer – sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) for example – so should always be planted so that other things will block view of their ‘legs.’

Don’t forget how important foliage is in a garden: it’s there all summer, even when the plant is not in bloom. When I was young I wanted bright colors that popped out at me. Now, I have come to love the shades of green that plants have to offer. I enjoy studying the different colors of green in a mixed bed of hostas, for example.

Texture is another facet of designing a garden. A garden where there is a predominance of smooth glossy leaves can get boring. Add something spiky and tall or with finely cut leaves to remove the monotony.

So whatever you do in the garden this summer, follow your own instincts. Let your garden be a reflection of your personality – or demonstrate what you hope to be. If you‘re a quiet mouse who wants to be more outgoing, plant a new flower bed – with outrageous colors and dramatic plants.

Henry Homeyer can be reached at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or by email at henry.homeyer@ comcasts.net. His web address is www.Gardening- Guy.com.