Flowerbeds along Borders
Simplified for the Beginning Gardener
Flower beds along borders provide a dramatic look and feel.
I live on a piece of land with a fence that borders the side of my property. It spans a long length of my yard. My five kids love to run around and play sports on the large areas of available grass. The fact that they enjoy the grass so much, limits my ability to put flowerbeds all over my yard. I’d never want to hinder their ability to get outside and run around. In my dream world, I would have all sorts of structures, defined spaces, less grass, and brick pathways throughout. With a bit of creativity and time, I know I will create those things all while keeping the grass.
When I first started gardening, I knew nothing regarding garden design and borders. I also believe that creating too many rules with gardening takes the fun out of it. We all have our own personality and design ideas. That being said, there are some simple rules to follow when creating a beautiful English Cottage style border. My hope is to simplify it for you a bit so you can create a border with some knowledge and confidence. I’ll share with you a few things I didn’t do at the beginning; things that, I feel, make a huge difference in the overall appearance of a garden border. When I say border a mean a flower bed that goes along a fence or wall. It sits in front of some sort of structure. This is a border.
Basic Guidelines
Create deep flower beds. I would recommend 8-10 feet deep (measured from fence or structure to the front edge), if you have that available space. I like more flowers and less grass. In the beginning I had no idea this was so important for creating a flower bed that is dramatic. Overtime I slowly expanded my flower beds afraid of going bigger, but I should have just done it at the beginning. Shallow flower beds don’t give you the opportunity to layer, created depth, and abundance. My yard is large, so I prefer deep flower beds to make it look more balanced. I know my flower beds will change and evolve overtime. It’s never-ending. They can always improve. This flexibility is so good for my creativity and provides a therapeutic outlet. I’m the queen of mixing things up. Sometimes to my own detriment.
Layer your beds. This basically means putting tall plants in the back, medium in the center, and small ones in the front. You’re trying to achieve a declining layered effect that is beautiful and calming. These are just guidelines rather than strict rules. As your flower bed grows and matures, you can mix it up to increase visual appeal. This can take practice, trial and error, and especially time. The shrubs in the back will take a while to get large and your flower beds won’t have the layered affect immediately. This waiting game is hard for me and I just have to imagine what its going to look like in 3-4 years.
This border has less height and less variety, while still dramatic.
Use a variety of plants and pack your flowerbed full. Anything from shrubs, roses, obelisks with vines, bulbs, annuals, etc. There are so many different plant combinations to create a beautiful flower bed border. For me, a flower bed border (in this style) wouldn’t be complete without a mass of roses, catmint, short silvery leaved perennials, some red-leafed shrubs, and a beautiful obelisk vine, just for starters.
For greater ease, plant flowers and perennials that require the same general care and requirements of water and soil. I don’t tend to follow these rules. In one of my beds I have a watering loving hydrangea, paired with a drought tolerant Artemisia. I have to water the hydrangea by hand, while my Artemisia requires very little water. Here I’m making up my own rules. Sometimes you have to put in the extra effort to get the combinations of flowers that you desire.
Create diversity for the blooming season from spring to fall. For me this means planning and planting flowers that bloom at different times. You could plant a nice yellow evergreen next to a red-leafed smokebush with some silver-leafed perennials in the front, on the borders edge. These will provide beautiful color all summer long requiring no flowers…since many perennial flowers don’t bloom all season. Add annuals to have flowers when the perennials phase out of their flowering period.
Create interest by using a variety of texture combinations. For example, plant spiky plants with round ones and large-leafed plants with small-leafed ones. This is where your imagination can go wild. There are endless opportunities to create your one-of-a-kind border. Overtime you will discover what you love and what you can live without.
Variety of textures, heights, and colors.
Creating borders along a fence line are among my favorite things to build. I can get lost in the art of creativity. Sometimes I want to fast forward 5 years, when everything is mature and more established, but I have to remind myself that the joy is in the journey. These borders change week to week, as they grow and bloom. It’s fascinating. Sometimes when I plan the least, I stumble upon the most satisfying and beautiful results. Flowers can take on a mind of their own as they grow, defying their description, which is fun and unexpected. I can’t wait for you to dive in next spring, with a new border of your own creativity.
- The Flower Fanatic
