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IMAGINATIVE GARDENING This Florida yard features tier planting. Contributed photo WHY NOT TRY TIER PLANTING? By Rick Wielgorecki Contributing Writer One of the least imaginative ways of laying out plants is installing them in a straight line. A rigid row of like cultivars stretched out along a foundation or border is sure to elicit yawns. That is why when I am enhancing a landscape I try to create design displays that combine different colors, textures, sizes and shapes to encourage the viewers' eye to roam. Any interesting plan will include what I call "flow." I want to take the observer on a little trip — lead him to the entryway or along the lines of the home's footprint or into a special corner, where the mind can find peace and repose. conductor or choir director will use the tools available — musical instruments or voices — to evoke a mood or express an idea. Horticultural tiers need not be arranged formally in straight rows ascending upward — one, two, three. Plants can be arranged along curves or staggered to break up linear arrangements and challenge the viewer to look deeper into the design. In the accompanying photo of one of my projects, the fifth and tallest tier already existed: the palm trees and East Palatka holly. The object was to lead the eye inward and upward, beginning with the small colorful crotons in One way to generate interest is through tier the foreground. Next, green and yellow, varplanting. By way of musical metaphor, the iegated arboricola make their appearance.