Combine Opposites

Color is fleeting, but texture stays with you for the long haul. Consider all parts of a plant—leaves, flowers, bark, and fruit. "The key to texture is to pair opposite forms: rough with smooth, coarse with fine, and round with linear," says Jenks Farmer, the garden's former director. The swath of lawn that parts the meadow of muhly grass and sedges is a great example. To decide which plants offer the best contrast, try using this technique from Jenks: Any combo that looks good printed in black and white has enough textural interest to be beautiful all season long.