We are now hopefully through the frost zone so you can get sowing seeds
Choose some nice annuals as they will grow quickly and give you lots of flowers
Perennial plants can be grown from seed, dividing or cuttings. Buying them in flower is useful as you can see exactly what you are getting.
Look after your tender new plants, slugs and snails will think they are tender too and very yummy, use organic methods such as nematodes to keep the little blighters at bay
Weed carefully around your new plantings, do not get weeding frenzy and pull up ones you want to keep
If you have children involve them in choosing and sowing seeds: big seeds like nasturtiums, sunflowers and marigolds are great for small hands to sow and reliable so will almost certainly grow
Drink a nice mug of cocoa at the end of the day and think how glorious it will all look in a few weeks time
Tuesday: Flowers from bulbs and tubers
What to choose for Summer bulbs
It should be warm enough for you to plant out your dahlias and cannas now. Keep them well watered so they establish quickly and give them a weekly feed. Liquid seawed is my plant food of choice.
Keep an eye out for slugs and snails, they love young dahlia shoots.
You will soon be choosing and planting bulbs to flower next Spring – always fun choosing what you want, keep notes on those you see and like so that you don’t forget.
Wednesday: Bare root and Rose Day
Make sure you are deadheading spent flowers so that they will repeat flower
Keep an eye out for greenfly, you can squidge them with your fingers or use soap-water made from swirling a bar of soap in some tepid water until it goes milky and then using this to wash off the greenfly.
Or leave the greenfly for the ladybirds and other wildlife that will eat them – decide how much damage you think they are doing and if you are prepared to just let them be.
Similarly decide your approach to blackspot. How much do you care? If you want to remove the affected leaves then do, but other than them looking a bit spotty they will not affect the blooms
Start keeping a list of the roses you want to plant next year. You can have too many as space is always a question, but you can push the limits of that space for quite a while.
Follow @rosesuk on Twitter if you want to see her daily rose choice, they are all so tempting
Thursday: Fruit and vegetable day
Look after your vegetable patch
Weed your vegs beds and award yourself a medal for doing so, I always think I should have a medal when I do
You should be harvesting some broad beans, maybe the last of your purple sprouting broccoli
Keep an eye on your new plantings, look out for slugs, snails – you know the usual suspects!
Successionally sow peas and beans
I grow nasturtiums in my veg bed as they look great and help attract the blackfly away from my beans
Fruit should be plumping up now, make sure the birds don’t steal all the cherries as they start to get a little pink
Make sure you keep everything watered and feed regularly. A bit of care and attention and you should get good crops
Friday: Floral Display Day
Making the best of cut flowers
Pick your flowers early in the morning or in the evening when it is out of the heat of the day
Plonk (technical term) cut blooms into a bucket of water as you walk around, this keeps them fresh
Arrange or re-plonk into a vase/anything that will hold water that takes your fancy
Make a list of the flowers you want to grow for cutting next year
Sit back, sip a Friday evening sherry, and admire your handywork
Saturday: Project and upcycle day
Upcycling ideas
Have a look for what you can upcycle into something new: that old coal scuttle can become a planter maybe?
What else have you got that might make a planter? An old sink? Some car tyres? If you have children ask them for their ideas and get them (safely) involved
Make a start on that project you have been putting off. Start drawing up a plan if it needs one, work on the shopping list and make sure you complete it, a half-finished project is a nagging project and no one wants that in their garden glaring at them.
Maybe make a bug hotel out of some old crates.
Drink tea and pat yourself on the back for getting through an enjoyable gardening filled week
Sunday: Transformation Day
Transformation tips
Go out into your garden and stand for a moment and breathe. Walk around fairly slowly, let your mind relax and listen to what your garden is telling you. What is the change you need to make?
Paint the shed a nice mauve lavender colour, maybe stencil some butterflies on it – go on, you know you want to really
Rearrange the pots with plants in to make them look different
Pour a large mug of tea and relax, transforming is tiring work
We have all been amazed by beautiful borders, whether we see them when we visit a great country house or when we admire Monty Don’s garden at Longmeadow or see those incredible show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show. Yet when we look at our own borders, we are sometimes less than impressed.
Sometimes our attempts to make our gardens beautiful somehow never seem to work. What we plant looks out of place or at worse, sadly dies.
So here to help is a ten step method for creating great borders.
Step 1. Know your garden.
You cannot hope to create a fabulous planting border unless you know the conditions that plants face once they are in your garden. The following list explains what you must consider.
Soil
This is one of the most important things you need to know, to find out your garden’s soil type.
This is a complex subject which deserves a blog post in it’s own right but if you know what type of soil you have you can then choose plants that will thrive there.
There are four main soil types:
Chalky
Sandy
Loam
Clay
Your own garden soil could be a mixture of these types, a sandy-loam for example.
For more details on soil types have a look at this article from the RHS.
Note: your garden may have different soil types in different areas. My own garden is predominantly a free-draining sandy-loam, but a I have a spot that has a high clay content and another area that is very sandy indeed.
pH
The pH scale is the measure of acidity and alkalinity in the soil.
Some plants are happier in different pH conditions.
How wet does your garden get to be – is it saturated with rain all year or is it a parched desert.
Growing thirsty plants in very dry conditions will not be successful unless you are prepared to regularly water them or provide irrigation.
Exposure
Is your garden open to the elements, is it sheltered or a mixture of the two?
Wind exposure causes havoc with plants, it can desiccate leaves, dry the soil or rock the roots. Even the most sheltered plot can have wind tunnels that cause isolated damage.
Slopes and dips
A sloped garden has its own complications – rainfall may wash away nutrients from the top of the slope and water may run in rivulets and damage plant roots. At the bottom of the slope or in dips in the garden, water may collect in pools in warmer weather or become frost pockets in the winter.
Light
How much sunlight does your garden and house get and when?,
In the Northern Hemisphere the tilt of the earth means that south facing walls or fences get the most sunlight, whilst north facing walls remain in shadow. This reverses south of the equator. East and West facing walls area also affected differently. East facing walls get the morning sun which though bright is still quite cool, West facing walls get the full force of the afternoon sun and can get very hot.
Away from the walls in the centre of the garden are areas which get sunlight all day these, especially lawns, can become very dry and parched.
As the day progresses certain parts of your garden dip into shadow. In the morning, long shadows are cast from north and west facing walls with the east and south facing walls enjoying the sun. As the day progresses the west facing walls become bathed in light, the east facing walls descend into shadow whilst the south facing wall still remains in the sun. North walls get very little sunlight at all. This also changes throughout the year with longer shadows in the winter and more sunlit areas in the summer.
Temperature
How warm or cold does your garden get and for how long. In the height of summer when the days are long and warm it is easy to forget the damp and icy conditions of winter. Tender summer plants can suffer and die in icy conditions.
Right plant, right place
In our gardens most of the plants that we buy end up perishing because they are planted in areas or conditions unsuited for them.
A sun loving plant will struggle in the shade, an acid loving shrub such as a rhododendron will suffer in alkaline soil.
This can be countered for example, by growing a shade loving plant in a less sunny area or growing plants that are happy in particular soil conditions. Similarly it is advisable to grow plants that can tolerate wind in exposed places.
Step 2. Analyse Your Site
Now you know the conditions and issues that can affect your plant you need to make notes on where these problems occur.
If you are able to, take a year to do a site analysis. Note things like:
The coldest and warmest temperatures and when they occur
The average temperature for the month
How much rain you get and when? Does the water collect in dips or troughs.
Your soil type – check this every 2m (6ft) or so, you’ll be surprized at the differences from place to place
Your soil pH – again check it every 2m
Note how much wind you get, when and where does it blow, do you get regular squalls that blow in certain places
Finally and most importantly, note the amount of light and shadow your garden receives throughout the year. Which walls or areas receive the most sunlight and when. Does the heat cause any issues such as dry and desiccated ground.
Step 3. Make a Plan
Before you consider adding your plants, you need to make a plan of your garden or bed.
This topic is too long for this blog so here is a link to the best online description of how to do it, courtesy of the Oxford College of Garden Design.
Step 4. Understand Form and Structure
Now you have your plan and know what conditions your garden has you can plan the plants and trees that will fill your space. Initially you need to decide on the larger plants that will give your garden form and structure.
Use borrowed landscape
Your neighbours may have trees or shrubs in their garden which may look interesting and are visible from your own site. Or their may be views to distant hills or woodlands that are worth looking at. This borrowing of external views can make it easier to design a space. You can make that beautiful scene or your neighbours fabulous shrub look like they belong in your garden own by creating structured planting that frames or accentuates those views.
Plant Types
Plants come in four main types
Trees
Any garden no matter how small benefits from a tree or two
They are wonderful in so many ways as they can become focal points, attract birds and other animals, block unwanted views and also provide shelter from strong winds
They also help connect the garden to the sky, thus making it look bigger
Add these plants first in any plan you make
Trees added to a design
Structural plants
Such as hedges and large shrubs
These form the backdrop of your garden
Add these next to your plan
Structural plants added to a design
Accent plants
These are a second layer of structural forms
Such as small shrubs and sub-shrubs or larger ornamental grasses
These add solidity to your garden
Add these after the structural plants
Addition of accent plants
And Fillers
Sometimes known as the pretties
These are the perennials or bedding plants that fill the gaps between your structural planting
Add these last.
Filler plants added to the design
Note: The plants in the above diagrams have been added in groups. Grouping plants (in odd numbers) is a great way to get a professional looking planting scheme. It creates a more natural look, is easier on the eye and many plants look better amongst their fellows than they do on their own.
For a little more information on how to create a planting plan have a look at this video from my own garden design tutor: Duncan Heather.
Step 6. Understand Plant Form
Plants come in many different shapes – known as forms. Each of these creates a different effect in the planting sceme.
Rounded, spherical and globular
These are common shapes, together with domed and mounded plants form the basis of most mixed plantings
Clipped globular forms (i.e. buxus balls)
Bold and eye catching
Make good focal points
Act as visual full stops in a border
Spaced equidistantly (often in pairs) they
Accentuate design geometry and
Can also frame views
Rounded trees can be used in avenues
Single specimens become focal points – noticeable from a distance
Example plants
Hebe ‘Emerald Gem’
Sorbus aria
Cercis candanensis
Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’
Buxus sempervirens
Domed and mounded
Along with rounded forms, domes anchor most planting schemes and act as contrasts to more dynamic shapes
Most common plant form found in nature
Can be used to blur boundaries between garden and landscape
Use domed or bell shaped trees and shrubs often throughout your garden
Example plants
Viburnum davidii
Pittosporum tobira ‘Nana’
Crataegus monogyna
Conical and pyramidal
Natural shape of conifers and many young trees
Combine well with rounded and domed forms
Provide a subtle contrast to the other plant forms
Are formal, distinctive and weighty
Give height and draw the eye upward
Example plants
Liquidambar styraciflua
Betula pendula
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’
Spiky
These plants create bold and interesting shapes
As they’re common to hotter climates
They go well with
Formal Mediterranean,
Gravel and
Tropical designs
Contrasting with rounded or domed forms, make good secondary focal points.
Can be very dramatic plants (for example, palms) but don’t overdo them
Example plants
Yucca filamentosa
Trachycarpus fortunei
Phormium tenax
Agarve americana
Columnar and ovoid
Distinctive tall fastigiate trees and shrubs
Make dramatic focal points
Great in isolation
Less good in groups or spaced equidistantly
Pencil-like forms are more assertive
Note: Fastigiate means having the branches more or less parallel to the main stem
Example plants
Taxus baccata ‘fastigiata’
Juniperus scolpulorum ‘Skyrocket’
Ilex crenata ‘Fastigiata’
Vase and Fan
Vase shaped plants come in two varieties
Broad
These are graceful partners to other plants
Use freely amongst your planting
Narrow
Attracts the eye
Good focal point if used individually
Can be grouped together but loses the dramatic effect if you do so
Vase shaped trees
Easiest to walk under
Can create an informal arch if on opposite sides of a path
Example plants
Miscanthus sinensis ‘Flamingo’
Mattuccia struthiopteris
Stipa tenuissima
Square
These are not natural forms and are created by:
Clipped hedges,
Pleached trees and
Topiary cubes
They are striking and formal
Enhance rectilinear design layouts
Provide tailored presence against billowing grasses and perennials
Example plants
Clipped Taxus baccata
Buxus sempervirens
Irregular
Amorphous and loosely shaped plants which cannot be categorised
They play a supporting role in the planting and contrast well with strong architecture
Example plants
Cotinis coggygria
Rhus typina
Aesculus parviflora
Step 7. Understand Flower Form
Flowers come in many varieties and forms. How these combine together can make a border look wonderful. Amongst these are the herbaceous perennials which can change shape dramatically throughout the year.
There are six universally accepted flower categories as devised by Piet Oudolf and Nöel Kingsbury.
Spires
Perform like columnar trees and shrubs
Sparsely spaced single stemmed perennials can be very theatrical
More delicate multi-branched spires have great impact planted in groups
Examples plants
Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis parviflora
Veronicastrum virginicum
Buttons and Globes
Perennials with globular flowers
These contrast well with spires and grasses
Less visually attesting than other flowers
But very eye-catching
Example plants
Echinops ritro
Astrantia major
Plumes
Airy and cloud-like plants
Act as mounded plant forms
Help soften the look of the border
Plant in large groups for impact
Example plants
Thalictrum delavayi
Panicum virgatum
Umbels
Rounded or plate-shaped flowers
Similar aspect to domed shrubs
Have a calming effect on pencil like flower forms
Ground the eye with a natural look
Example plants
Selenium wallichianum
Foeniculum vulgare
Ammi majus
Daisies
These are the commonest and most natural of flower forms
These flowers play a supporting role
Position at fore to mid border
Example plants
Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’
Symphyotrichum novi-belgii
Screens and Curtains
Light and lacy plant forms which
Allow you to look through them to the planting beyond and
Encourage the eye to investigate what’s beyond
Example plants
Verbena bonariensis
Step 8. Understand Colour
Above is an image of the colour wheel. Use this to create planting schemes with that wow factor.
Colour Categories and Combinations
The colour wheel is split into different categories
Primary colours
Red
Yellow
Blue
Secondary colours
Mixture of primary colours
Orange = Red + Yellow
Green = Yellow + Blue
Violet = Red + Blue
Tertiary colours
Mixture of the primary and secondary colours
Red – Orange
Orange – Yellow
Yellow – Green
Blue – Green
Blue -Violet
Red – Violet
Hues, Tints , Shade and Tones
Each of the primary, secondary and tertiary colours can be further segmented using hues, tints shades and tones these being:
Hue – a colour
Tint – any colour plus white
i.e. lilac = violet + white
Shade – any colour plus black
i.e. navy blue = blue + black
Tone – any colour + grey
i.e. gold = yellow + grey
Colour combinations can be broadly grouped into two main types
Harmony and
Contrast
Harmony uses adjacent colours
Contrast uses opposite colours on the wheel
Harmony
Here are some examples of using harmonious colour schemes
Monochromatic
These use different shaded tints of only one colour (+ green)
The look is bold and sophisticated
Suits formal or crisp modern designs
Analogous
Also called harmonic planting
Uses colours that are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel
i.e. Red, Violet-red and Blue-orange
Each colour shares similar pigments and creates a natural looking and pleasing scheme
Choose one colour to dominate with a second as support and third (or fourth) colours as accents to draw the eye
Contrast
Complementary
These combinations use colours opposite each other on the colour wheel
This creates maximum contrast
Lively, sometimes electric combinations
Especially if the colours are at full intensity
Eye catching
Use sparingly as focal points
Combinations can be accentuated with
Coloured walls or pots
There are six complementary partnerships
Red and Green
Yellow and Purple
Blue and Orange
Red-Orange and Blue Green
Yellow-orange and Blue Violet
Yellow-Green and Red-Violet
Two of these are considered below
Yellow and Purple
Most attention grabbing complementary combination
Yellow having the highest visual energy of all colours
Red and Green
Red always contrasts against the green of foliage
If there is a large array of green, red flowers pop like jewels
To accentuate what could be a (slightly) boring combo, add red-violet and red violet with green or
Blue-green and blue-yellow with red (both triadic combinations)
Triadic
Uses colours spaced equidistantly on the colour wheel
i.e. Blue-green, red-violet and yellow orange
Intense colour selections lead to vibrant displays
More muted colours lead to relaxing pastel combinations
Green is usually the common but recessive colour with
The two other colours added for contrast
Polychromatic
A scheme made from the mixture of many colours plus their tints, tones and shades
Don’t be tempted to plant all your favourites in the same place
Leads to a bitty, chaotic display
Reduce the number of plants and
Plant the remainder in larger masses
Rule 2. Widen the border
The larger the border the better
You can fit a larger range of shrubs, perennials and bedding plants.
This can work in smaller gardens that are limited for space
Avoid the thin border around the edges
Maybe try a large border one side and climbers and containers the other
This balances the garden, allows for a deeper planting but does not eat into people space
Consider sacrificing a lawn for more plants
Rule 3. Scale and Proportion
Consider the size of the garden you are planting in, the buildings that surround it and the areas to be planted
Try and work with plants that are in proportion to your garden
Avoid plants that grow too big or arrangements that look too small
Notably large gardens need large borders with larger plants or smaller plants arranged into bigger groups
In smaller spaces, height is needed from taller plants but be careful to limit the number of such plants otherwise it makes the garden claustrophobic
Rule 4. Unity
This is the sense of togetherness of the design
For example, If the garden overlooks the countryside, use similar plants, colours or forms in the garden as those seen in the view
Site characteristics will determine what works well.
For example, if the surrounding area is more open and wind-swept then a prairie style of planting may suit the garden.
Try and work with the landscape not against it.
Rule 5. Repetition
Unify planting by repeating plants with similar shapes or colours, these appeal to the eye and make connections that bring order out of the chaos
Popular reliable choices are:
Evergreen perennials
Grasses
Topiary
Rule 6. Rhythm
Rhythm in planting occurs when plants are repeated throughout the border or organised into sweeping drifts. Borders look better if the plants are organised in a distinct repeating patterns especially if these create change in height.
The larger the planting area, the more rhythms appear in it.
Rule 7. Harmony and Variety
Repetition of plant forms gives harmony but too much of the same thing over a large area can become boring. For example if the plants are the same colour. Variety adds the necessary spice.
Add plenty of different plants.
Different plant forms contrast with each other – leaf textures are most notable here.
Try combining large leaved plants with plants who have medium sized leaves.
Or medium leaves with finer leaf textures.
Variation creates interest and harmony.
Similarly combine large flowers amongst smaller blooms
Especially if the flower shapes and colours are different.
This contrast of forms creates a subtle variety.
Beware: Distinct opposites will scream for attention – good if you want to create a focal point but uncomfortable if this is repeated throughout the entire border.
Rule 8. Focal Points
All gardens need focal points. These can be:
Plants,
Sculpture,
Furniture or
Views
Smaller gardens need at least one major focal point whilst larger gardens need more.
If you choose plants as focal points they need to have a strong visual energy, for example a distinctive shape.
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary focal points
Primary or larger focal points, like a tree, draw the eye from a distance and tempt you to explore the space around them. Up close the tree becomes a backdrop so you will need have a set of secondary focal point to draw they eye once you are there. Also include plenty of smaller scale accents or tertiary focal points in the border to add interest when you are looking at the planting up close.
Rule 9. Balance
This is the state or equilibrium between elements in the garden
A counter example may illustrate this best.
The planting of large evergreens on one side of a path and nothing on the other looks odd and badly balanced.
Central axis planting is the easiest way to achieve balance, one side of a path can balance the other. This can be done by creating a mirror image on either side of the central axis or by adjusting the planting into an asymmetrical balance.
Volume balancing is another method. One large shrub can be balanced by a group of 5 smaller shrubs.
It is a bit of an intuitive thing. If it feels right, it probably is.
Step 10. Plant Research
All the above tips and rules will not work unless you know the details of the plants and trees you hope to add to your garden. Do your research look for the type of plants that you want to use and check if they will work in your garden.
There are a number of online resources that I like to use myself for plant research these being:
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