Perennial Mixborder
The most spectacular and easy-to-care-for option is a free-style flowerbed, where the basis is made up of perennial crops. Such a mixborder develops gradually and fully reveals its beauty only in the 4th – 5th year of growth. However, the next season will allow you to appreciate the decorativeness of the plantings, especially if you supplement the perennials with annual flowering plants. Mixborders are radically updated after 7 – 8 years.
Approximate composition of the mixborder:
- Crops of long-term stable flowering – astilbe, hosta, heuchera, darmera. Most of these plants have large, beautiful leaves, which additionally diversify the texture of the mixborder.
- Decorative greenery – brassica, chard, ferns, bergenia and cereals. They compensate for the “gaps” between the flowering of different crops and maintain the picturesque appearance of the mixborder. This also includes low shrubs such as different varieties of barberry, silver oleaster and heather.
- Periodically or seasonally flowering plants. These include all bulbous plants, peonies, irises, rudbeckia, delphinium and so on. These plants form the basis of the mixborder. They are placed in small groups between stably flowering species to hide empty spaces after they fade.
The spring season of the mixborder begins with bulbous plants. They are planted in the foreground, since most flowers are low. It is better to use species that do not require annual digging: crocuses, daffodils, muscari and scilla.
To grow replacement bulbs and not spoil the appearance of the flowerbed, plants are planted in special baskets. With this solution, tulips can also be used for the mixborder. After the baskets have faded, they are dug up and moved to distant beds, and annuals are planted in their place.
Mixborder with conifers
Thanks to the conifers, the flowerbed will retain its aesthetics in the winter season. For mixed mixborders, thujas, junipers and miniature varieties of fir are recommended. They do not acidify the soil and do not create shade, from which other crops will suffer.
- Thujas make up the so-called skeleton of the composition, setting its highest point.
- For the next tier, beautifully flowering shrubs are selected: roses, panicle hydrangea and bladder senna. Delphinium and rudbeckia can be added to them.
- Then come hostas, heuchera, woolly stachis, hollyhocks, phlox, irises, bergenia and chrysanthemums.
- And the lower tier will consist of any groundcover crops, as well as low-growing perennials: daisies, pushkinia, warty carnation, armeria and asters.
Flowerbed of annuals
Simple compositions of annual crops will allow you to quickly change the appearance of the garden, “revive” the lawn and add a colorful accent in the entrance area. It is advisable to select plants of different heights to achieve a picturesque look. A natural style is suitable for a flowerbed, since with regular planning, areas of fading crops will be visible. And for lovers of strict geometry, it is better to decorate flowerbeds with seasonal plants and periodically update the plantings.
Annuals for continuous flowering:
- purslane,
- tagetes (marigolds),
- alyssum,
- petunia,
- annual dahlias,
- cineraria,
- anthirrinum (snapdragon),
- iberis,
- begonia,
- salvia,
- lobelia,
- calendula,
- callitesphus.
Annuals of the same color are planted in groups so that they are well “read” in the composition.
You can turn an old a cart, a barrel, a stump, a bathtub, etc. This solution will make the garden as a whole original and atmospheric.
Multi-level flowerbed
In multi-level structures, plants are planted according to the pyramid principle: the tallest are placed at the top, ground cover and low-growing ones at the bottom. As for the size of the inflorescences and leaves, here everything is the opposite: the higher, the smaller they should be. It is also important to have moisture-loving plants at the bottom, since during watering the water flows down and accumulates at the foot.
An example of a two-tiered country flower bed:
- The upper tier is multi-colored ampelous petunias in a circle and western thuja in the center.
- The lower tier is pelargonium, verbena, daylily, bearded irises, scaly juniper, Greek fir, cascading petunia, marigolds, and the groundcover perennial Arabis (cress).
Multi-tiered flower beds are located in well-lit areas. They are usually used to save space and create additional relief with minimal means.
Entrance arch
Decorating the entrance area with plants means making your home welcoming and hospitable. It is easy to choose an assortment, providing long and continuous flowering around the gate. The adjoining fence will be hidden by giants, such as decorative sunflowers, mallow and buddleia davidii. Next, you need to gradually reduce the height of the plants, completing the composition with a tier of sage, sedum and other ground covers.
Any climbing flowers are suitable for the arch itself, for example, climbing roses and clematis, which can be allowed to grow towards each other.
Rock garden
Continuous flowering softens the somewhat severe style of rock gardens. Low, graceful plants and ground covers are selected for the rock garden so as not to disturb its scale. An example of organizing continuous flowering in a rock garden:
- In the spring, overwintered deciduous perennials appear from under the snow. They form a carpet, which is complemented by glades of botanical crocuses – miniature and long-flowering. It is better to avoid hybrids in a rock garden, they do not match the style.
- Botanical tulips are the next to bloom.
- In May, subulate phlox, creeping bugleweed and thrift appear.
- Starting in mid-summer, the rock garden is filled with thyme, oregano, grass pink and Japanese spirea.
- Autumn crocuses complete their flowering.
In the winter season, the decorativeness of the rock garden is maintained by low-growing conifers, such as the mountain pine “Ophir” or juniper “Wilton”.
«Dry Stream»
Imitation of a stream is one of the most fashionable varieties of rockery. Instead of water, pebbles are used, which can be painted blue for authenticity or decorated with a layer of glass beads.
A mixborder of perennials is placed along the «banks». The tone is set by the bamboo leaf-sprout, replacing the thickets of cattail and reeds typical of reservoirs. Blue, lilac and purple flowers are also added to the composition – irises, bells, delphinium, lobelia. And plants with large leaves and creeping plants will help to create volume.
A vegetable garden of continuous flowering
Instead of garden crops, you can grow herbs in a flowerbed. Among them, there are also many beautifully flowering ones. The tradition of decorating a garden with herbs was borrowed from the English, although today this technique is used everywhere.
Approximate composition of a flowerbed:
- oregano,
- sage,
- lovage,
- thyme,
- basil of two types – with purple and green leaves,
- several varieties of chives with different colors of inflorescences,
- parsley.
I I advise you to draw a detailed diagram of the placement and grouping of plants, taking into account their height, area of growth and flowering period. Think over the viewing points and views that will open up as one crop is replaced by another. And finally, plan convenient paths for caring for the flowerbed – mulched paths or masonry of stones and cuts are best. But before starting work, let’s decide what the composition and style of our flowerbed will be.
Creating a flowerbed of continuous flowering is a creative process where you can show your individuality. To get a guaranteed result, it is better to use unpretentious and resistant plants of your strip. If some perennials have died or lost their decorative effect, they are replaced with annual crops similar in texture and color