is it better to have one type of plant in a large quantity or is it better to have differnt kinds of plants in a smaller quantity?

Well, I personally like a little bit of variety. It looks really nice if you have each type in pairs of 3 or 5. I have about 4 or 5 different types of plants in my tank. it really adds alot more to have the diff. shades, and textures.

I definitely agree with BigRedandBlindWillie, variety is the spice of life!

I agree with the above I like a variety of leaf shapes, textures and colour