If your garden lacks unity, the addition of a few water features may tie it all together. A lily pond in one part of the garden, a simple fountain in another part, and a birdbath in a third part may be all that your garden needs to tie the disparate parts together. Then again, depending on your yard, it might just add to the feeling that your garden has too many features. It is always best to think and dream for months before adding anything. Live with ideas in your head before spending time and money on them.
Lawn is even better at unifying a garden than water.
If your planting is very complex, you need negative space. A theme should be used to create an overall sense of unity, the feeling that every part of the garden is a part of one garden. If you can find a theme that you can stay within, you can indulge your collector's instincts without creating a garden that feels like a collection of unrelated ideas. Like Debbie, I'm a rebel. In fact I did an article For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Kirk Johnson's Garden Design topic, please visit the Discussions page .