GARDENING FLAX MAKES A STATEMENT.

Byline: Joshua Siskin

The garden style that gains devotees by the day - the one for people with little spare time and less spare money - gives maximum color and form while requiring minimum maintenance. This trend has moved plants with distinctive foliage and little or no woody growth to center stage, while plants known mainly for their flowers have had to prove themselves in an additional capacity - be it longevity of flowering (six to nine months a year with little or no need for dead-heading), resistance to pests, foliage beauty, fragrance or shapeliness. A select number of floribunda roses (such as the white Iceberg), ground cover roses (such as the Floral Carpet series), and French, English and Spanish lavenders are among a handful of flowering plants that pass the test, in most quarters, for overall horticultural excellence.

It is highly unusual to find a plant that has both memorable flowers and captivating form. For years, full-sun landscapes included the fortnight lily (Dietes vegeta), a plant that was thought to represent the essence of horticultural beauty since it had both flowers and form, its large butterfly blooms emerging from a vase-shaped body of lancelike leaves.

The problem with the fortnight lily is that almost no one has the knowledge or the time to maintain it properly and, within a few years of planting, it often takes on a very shabby appearance.

Enter New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax). It would be safe to say this plant has caused, or could cause, a revolution in landscaping. It has both color and form, and provides drama and a sense of permanence. At the same time, there is a flowing, fountainlike quality to its foliage, which is not stiff like that of other spear-leafed plants such as fortnight lilies, yuccas and agaves.

There is considerable diversity among New Zealand flax cultivars. For years the mention of New Zealand flax conjured up a vision of 5- to 6-foot specimen plants, useful as container subjects because of their drought tolerance, or as accents near entryways. Usually, you would plant a single 15-gallon flax all by itself to make a point. You would never put more than two or three into a single garden or landscape.

In recent years, landscapers have become used to the idea of planting New Zealand flax en masse. This is partly because of the increased desire to make bold architectural statements with plants and partly because the smaller flax cultivars - which reach 2 to 4 feet at maturity - have become more widely available. In addition, many flax cultivars have yellow or rainbow-striped variegations.

One of the most simple yet alluring landscapes I have seen placed bronze or reddish-purple flax (Phormium tenax Rubrum or Atropurpurea cultivars) in combination with Wheeler's dwarf pittosporum (Pittosporum Tobira Wheeleri.) The mounding Wheeler's dwarf contrasted perfectly with the diagonal lines of the flax, and the fresh green of the Wheeler dwarf shrubs positively glowed against the darker background of the flax.

In long shrub beds and on slopes, flax is being used to create a formal, layered look with tall cultivars in back, medium-size cultivars in middle ground and dwarf cultivars up front. Interspersed among the flaxes as ground cover is blue fescue (Festuca ovina 'Glauca'), dwarf lily turf (Liriope spp.) or mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus), depending on the amount of available sun.

Flax thrives in full to partial sun. In truth, it can grow in almost any exposure except deep shade. It might burn in full-sun locations in some of the hotter Valley areas, but the singed leaves can be removed without compromising the health of the plant, which will return to full vigor when temperatures cool in the fall.

The full palette of ornamental grasses should be investigated for compatibility with New Zealand flax in xeriphytic (low-water) planting schemes. Ornamental grasses are available in a wide array of colors and sizes. In particular, the light and breezy feeling provided by the taller grasses relieves the more severe mood evoked by New Zealand flax.

A landscape of New Zealand flax, variegated lily turf and ornamental grasses has been planted on a north-facing slope along the south side of Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. For years, large and expensive plantings of annual flowers, which had to be replaced every few months, occupied this space. The new landscape is eye-catching, water-thrifty compared to annual plantings and should last for years to come.

Tip of the week: To compose a shade garden of plants with colorful foliage, consider Little John azaleas and Bloodgood Japanese maples, both of which have burgundy foliage. For partial shade or at the edge of a water garden, plant sedges (Carex species) - grass-like plants whose foliage may be gold, blue, gray or striped in green and white.