THE VERTICAL PLANE
Defining Your Garden Walls
Last month, we shaped the garden floor…the edges and shapes that define each outdoor room. Now it’s time to build upward. The vertical plane—your garden “walls”—turns flat spaces into three-dimensional rooms that feel intentional, structured, and alive.
Vertical planes aren’t just fences or walls…they include trees, shrubs, hedges, arbors, trellises, and even subtle changes in grade. They define boundaries, support function, and reinforce the style and mood of your garden.
This month, we’ll explore vertical planes in a hands-on activity using plan obliques, a simple drawing technique that brings your design into three dimensions. You’ll experiment with height, layering, and enclosure to see how vertical walls shape both space and experience.
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Let's get started!
GOODNESS FOR YOU THIS MONTH
Below you will find several items to help you learn more about THE VERTICAL PLANE. From written words to video to applied activities to our Design Library to group discussions. Explore our topic from different angles and gain a new perspective. Click below to download a PDF of your Garden Design Guide and Activity. Further down you will find a demo video and links to our community, plus a live Monthly Meetup!
VIDEO: Drawing the Vertical Plane in Plan Oblique
This month's video shows how I use the plan oblique drawing technique to communicate the vertical plane. It's a wonderful way to draw directly from your plan view up into three dimensions.
RESOURCES in our DESIGN LIBRARY
Below are some resources to help you with this month's topic.
GARDEN ROOMS
Garden rooms are the basic unit of landscape design and an important concept to understand as you make connections between indoor and outdoor spaces.
DESIGNING IN ELEVATION
When you view your design in elevation (as if you’re standing in front of it) it’s easier to understand the space and be able to visualize yourself in it. This is a great tool while you explore options for sculpting your outdoor spaces.
TEMPLATE LIBRARY
This is tucked into our membership's main page. It includes templates - for furniture, plants, paving and much more - that you can trace directly or simply use them as inspiration. For this month...look for the people and elevation plantings that can be used in your PLAN OBLIQUE drawings.
OUR COMMUNITY
Don't forget to hang out with us this month.
Check in to share your activity. Try it yourself and/or learn from the submissions of your peers. No need to stress. Just enjoy!
ACTIVITIES
We have two activities this month. Choose one, both or simply learn from your peer submissions.
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ACTIVITY ONE: Vertical Plane Inspiration
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Do you have a question?
Do you have a question on this month's topic or another design question? Let's all learn together!
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Click below to add it to our community.
Moved closer to a goal?
Share your win with us.
Tell us what you’ve done this month that got you one step closer to your dream...we’re ready to celebrate with you!
LIVE SESSIONS
We have two this month: our normal Monthly MeetUp, plus a discussion on soils. These will be recorded in case you can't make it (then posted right back here). Check out all UPCOMING MEETUPS here.
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Please CLICK HERE to sign up for a Small Group Introduction session with me and four of your peers.
Designing for Biology: Our Jobsite Approach to Healthy Soil
We are thrilled to have Laurie Dixon of Biotic Lens join us to discuss soils...and BTW, she is also one of our awesome members. :)
Tuesday, December 9
8 AM PT | 9 AM MT | 10 AM CT | 11 AM ET
London: 4 PM GMT
Sydney: December 10 at 3 AM AEDT
Monthly MeetUp
Let's catch up on this month's topic, plus share our activities. I can't wait to see you!
Thursday, December 18
10 AM PT | 11 AM MT | Noon CT | 1 PM ET
London: 6 PM GMT
Sydney: December 19 at 5 AM AEDT
I'd love your feedback once you've devoured all this goodness.
Drop me a note at the email below and let me know what you loved and what could be improved. Thank you!
Please contact me at [email protected]
