Paint—painting with plants
Painting with plants is a great way of covering up and redecorating your vertical surfaces.
People are always looking for more visually challenging backdrops, and paint plants—plants that can provide a series of textural changes in foliage, colour contast and depth within the vertical outlook—are a great way of adding life and drama to your canvas.
If you have an ugly shed, a blank wall that’s crying out for visual relief or a small courtyard without enough space for a screening hedge, a treatment with a splash of plant paint might just be the answer.
Like real paint, clever use of colour, texture and contrast are important design considerations. For example, if I had an unsightly wall to cover up I would consider first painting the wall with a bold or contrasting colour, like burnt red, before planting a climber to scramble its way over the surface. The action of the fresh green climber slowly would be accentuated by the vibrant burnt red.
Some of my favourite paint plants are:
• Bougainvillea cvs BOUGAINVILLEA
•
Ficus pumila CREEPING FIG
•
Hibbertia scandens SNAKE VINE
•
Mandevilla hybrids
CHILEAN JASMINE
• Tillandsia usneoides SPANISH MOSS
•
Vitis vinifera 'Alicane Bouchet'
ORNAMENTAL GRAPE
• For more see my book
The Source Book Second Edition
