Talking Plants

Can you maintain and honour a landscape design after the inevitable demise of the designer and the equally inevitable decline and death of its constituent plants? At one extreme the design might be viewed as colour-by-numbers outline, where future garden carers and owners simply recolour it now and then, as per the instructions. Like for like, in terms of species composition and placement. Curve for curve, and vista for vista, in terms of outline. Nothing wanted or needed in terms of creative input. This assumes such an approach is possible. Plants grow larger, change in shape and form, and then die. Seldom can you replace some landscape element with a fully sized replacement; nor should you for stability and health of the new plant. Overlay that with changes in climate and surrounding environment which may alter what will grow successfully in the garden. Then there is garden fashion or personal taste. Should that have any place in a heritage garden? I think yes, which brings us to...