In this guide we look at how to introduce style and structure into your garden by planning and designing beds and borders.
Plan For All-Year-Round Rewards
Planning your planting can give all-year-round rewards and introducing at least a basic structure can keep your garden looking interesting in the winter months. Making beds and borders using bricks, clay tiles, paving slabs, or a low hedge can help define the structure and space, bringing a more ordered appearance and making garden maintenance easier.
Evergreen Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials
Evergreen trees and shrubs provide structure to the garden in Winter and mixed with perennials, this retains attractive seedheads. These can create the kinds of attractive shapes that add to the appeal of your garden space and improve the appearance of your garden borders. Grasses can also add interest in autumn and winter.
Planting Styles For Your Garden Borders
Planting styles for your garden borders can include:
Traditional herbaceous borders. Populated with herbaceous perennials, these can perform from early spring into autumn.
Mixed beds and borders. These should include different types of plants, such as perennials, shrubs and roses, and annual flowers. Mixed beds and borders offer the benefits of both summer flowers, and structure in the winter. If the border is backed by a fence, climbers can be used to add height, texture, and interest. With shrubs, it may be best to choose compact ones with smaller root systems.
Annual plantings. Although these provide a great show of summer colour, they can be labour intensive. Also, although they may flower over a longer period, providing more of a show than herbaceous borders, they can look empty in the autumn. Annual plantings also require the ground to be dug and prepared each spring before seeds are sown.
Styles of Bed for Your Garden
Beds can be formal i.e., more geometric with neat edges, or informal with curved outlines and less defined edges.
For formal beds, neatness and symmetry are important. Keep planting to its allotted space. Use closely cropped box hedging, timber strips, steel bands, clay tiles, and even glass bottle bottoms.
For informal beds – use softer outlines and position them to lead the eye to a focal point.