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the addition of a large pot or an elevated planting position in a rockery. They are often underestimated
and can be of great value in smaller gardens and spaces where tall architectural plants either don’t
fit or overwhelm the space. In larger garden with tall architectural plants they are often used as the
layered filler plants below the taller specimens. They often add colour, texture and depth to any
taller planting scheme and provide a cohesive unity between different areas with enough variety to
provide visual interest.

Examples of medium architectural plants include medium size Aloes, Donkey Ears
(Kalanchoe beharensis, opposite page), Kudu Lilies (Pachypodium saundersii) opposite page),
Impala Lilies (Adenium spp.), Agapanthus, Clivias, Ferns, Cycads, Schefflera, Codiaeum and Aucuba,
Cordylines, Plumbago and Portulacaria afra and Strelitzia reginae.
Smaller common architectural plant examples include Tulbaghia, Plectranthus, Watergrass
(Chlorophytum saundersiae) or Hen-and-chickens (Chlorophytum comosum), Bulbine frutescens, Sedums,
Moss Roses (Portulaca), Sun Roses (Aptenias) and a large variety of Mesembryanthemums,
Crassulas, spotted, dwarf and stemless Aloes, as well as the odd Stapelia, Huernia and Orbea.

There are no hard and fast rules in any garden design apart from what common sense and practical
systems dictates … and plants are no longer subjected to rigid and specific rules regarding their
status as an architectural specimen or not. We, and our gardens, need to adapt to our changing
environmental and economic climate … so research your plant choices and options, balance your
plant sizes and varieties and plant what will survive according to your environment, resources and
abilities. It is often a trial-and-error exercise that takes many attempts to perfect, but it is a wonderful,
often joyful, sometimes frustrating, colourful lifelong gardening journey. by Petra Strydom

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