TIPS ON HOW TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL GARDEN BORDERS
A well-designed and constructed garden border can bring that extra touch of beauty and charm to any garden landscape and allows endless room for creativity. They are the perfect way to frame and decorate the perimeter of a garden, as well as act as dividers for larger areas.
Here are ten top tips from gardening expert Harry Bodell at PriceYourJob.co.uk on creating the stunning borders your garden deserves!
Plan Your Design
The key to creating a stunning garden border is to carefully plan it out before you begin planting, dividing, and decorating. The first thing to consider in your design is what size the border will be, and this will depend on the type of garden you have and the effect that you are looking to achieve.
In a smaller garden, you may opt for a curved border, which makes the space appear larger, whereas a long garden can be divided with borders to create more interest as you walk through it. Once you have decided on a shape and size, mark out the area to make sure that it looks right before digging.
Choose Your Planting Style and Colour Scheme
When selecting plants for your border, keep in mind any particular styles or colour schemes that you wish to incorporate. This will avoid the risk of buying plants that look mismatched and somewhat messy when placed together in the area.
Keeping to a set colour scheme can improve the look of your display, and the palette you choose depends on the impact you want to create. Choose bold colours for a bright, exotic-looking border or softer pastels for a subtle look reminiscent of a country cottage.
Position Plants Carefully
Once you have selected your plants, it is time to decide how you are going to arrange them. It is a good idea to place your plants in place first, without actually planting them, to see how they will work alongside each other.
Don’t forget to consider the size that the plant will be when it reaches maturity when considering your placement. Taller plants may look best towards the back to cover boundaries and serve as a backdrop for the smaller, more colourful plants towards the front.
Fill with Bulbs
Planting spring bulbs can be one of the easiest and cheapest ways to fill your garden border if you know how to plant them correctly. Warm, bright coloured flowers can bring an uplifting, spring-like feel to any border and help to fill any gaps and dull spaces within the area.
Spring bulbs such as daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths are perennial, meaning that they will bloom each spring again if properly cared for. This makes them a low-maintenance solution as opposed to having to replant each year.
Define with Edging
Garden edging is a great way to separate sections of your garden, as well as create a beautiful border. Popular choices for edging materials include wood, stone, brick, and tile. Adding clear edging to a border will add shape, form and foundation to draw attention to the area and create a defined divide.
Not only does edging add charm and character to your garden landscape, but it is also extremely practical in separating weeds from flower beds, mulch from lawns, etc. It will provide a clean line for mowing and trimming, making gardening a much simpler and more efficient task.
Cover All Seasons
Planting season-specific bloomers is a great way to ensure that your garden borders remain aesthetically pleasing throughout the year, even during the colder months. Autumn and winter flowering shrubs can provide a splash of joy and colour when many other plants have died down.
When planning out flower beds for your border, ensure that you are doing so with every season in mind. Filling the area entirely with spring and summer flowering bulbs will add beauty and depth for these seasons, but leave it looking lacklustre during the cold season.
Add Volume with Shrubs
Earlier in this piece, we discussed placing plants of varying heights at different levels to add more dimension to your border. Low-growing evergreen shrubs and hedges can give your border structure whilst displaying beautiful foliage, flowers, or berries.
It is key to consider the type, size and maturity of your shrubs when planting, as many are fast-growers and can quickly become large, overwhelming the space. Evergreen shrubs with shapely leaves are great for borders and work beautifully alongside other foliage in smaller spaces.
Go Wild
If a perfectly pristine and orderly border isn’t your thing and you want to opt for more of the countryside fairytale aesthetic, wildflowers are an excellent choice. These versatile plants add charm to any garden whilst also being low-maintenance and great for attracting bees and other pollinators.
Autumn is the best season for creating a wildflower meadow, as they are usually perennials which will die back in winter and regrow each year. Limiting your wildflower area to borders will allow you to bring in this stunning rustic feel without entirely overwhelming your garden space.
Illuminate Your Border
Adding lights in and around your border can draw attention to it, creating a beautiful ambience and allowing it to shine even in the darkest hours. Subtle ground lighting, such as solar lights on stakes, will provide gentle illumination and highlight the structure and form of your border.
For a more dramatic look, consider placing lights underneath trees for an enchanting illumination or strings of outdoor fairy lights along nearby fences and walls. Ornate lanterns dotted amongst flowers and shrubs can also really enhance the magical feel of your nighttime garden.
Make Use of Walls and Fences
Whilst borders can be utilised to divide the space in a larger garden, you do not need a great deal of space to implement an effective border design. In smaller spaces, borders work great around the edges of your garden, either to enhance a stylish fence or help to cover up unsightly boundaries.
If your border is placed alongside a wall or fence, it is important to embrace and utilise every inch of this extra space to showcase your beautiful foliage. Consider adding a trellis adorned with climbing plants such as honeysuckle or clematis to bring stunning greenery and flowers, intertwined with the aforementioned string lights.
Final Thoughts
Creating a beautiful planting scheme for your border is simple and effective if you follow some of the key principles discussed in this piece. Considering factors such as the shape and size of your garden, which colours you wish to incorporate and the effect that you want your border to have on the space will leave you set to unleash your creativity in no time!
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR… HARRY BODELL: Harry Bodell is a UK-based landscaper with over 10 years of experience in the industry. As a gardening expert for PriceYourJob, Harry offers his expert advice to tradespeople and homeowners around the world. He has also been featured as a gardening expert in a wide range of reputable publications.
