|
Home / Home / Gardening
The Herbaceous Or Perennial Border, Plant Selection And Planting Tips
By:James Kilkelly
So, your perennial border is prepared with the requisite quantities of plant food soil and drainage grit if required. What’s next?
* Plant Selection
Once you have gotten this far in the process, it is time to think about actually selecting the plants that will populate the bed or border itself.
My first piece of advice to gardeners selecting perennial plants is to let your mind “drift”. Groupings of plants that weave and interlock with other groupings of plants within the same bed are known as “drifts”. One cluster of plants begins where another cluster ends and the groups have a flowing effect as they grow to bloom. The shapes that these drifts create should be irregular, weaving through your perennial border and wrapping around other plants. Planting in drifts creates a sense of movement, which in turn will make your garden look alive, full and lush.
Select plants with interesting and contrasting textures. Plant fine leaved perennials with bold leaved specimens. Also, select different flower forms and shapes, select from tubular, loose, flat, round, pendulous spiked etc. Do not be afraid to include some non-perennials as well. Plants like Phormium, Cordyline, ornamental conifers and grasses all add structure and body to the perennial border.
When selecting colours be guided by the following…
Drifts of light or pastel coloured flowers tend to fade into the background, so the quantities of these colours should be larger than the drifts of vivid colours. If you find yourself having colour clashes (red / pink), try creating buffers between these colours with massed plantings of ornamental grasses or plain green leaved plants.
* Planting Rules
To ensure rapid establishment and growth of a perennial or herbaceous border it is important to follow a few simple planting rules.
Water your perennial even before planting. Immerse the pots in water-filled containers for about 10 minutes before planting is the best method, after this time remove them and allow the surplus water to drain away. Remove the pot and if the plant roots are wrapped tightly you should gently tease some free. This will cause new roots to branch out into new soil instead of continually encircling themselves.
When creating a planting hole, the ideal situation would be to make it twice as wide and deep as the pot, don’t forget to break up the soil as you dig. The planting depth can be just as important with some perennials, with certain varieties refusing to bloom or thrive if planted at an incorrect depth. A good rule of thumb to follow is to never plant any higher or deeper than the compost level on the pot. Position the plants in the prepared holes and firm the soil around the roots.
Water thoroughly and deeply afterwards; continue doing this twice weekly for a few months to aid establishment. Certain perennials are quite tall upon purchase, I would advise you to reduce these in height to prevent plant failure due to wind rock. Although bark mulch is not a traditional material used on herbaceous borders, the addition of it to soil around your plants will save weeding and retain valuable moisture.
A 5 to 8cm (2 - 3in) layer of bark is sufficient for this purpose.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: perennials, borders, herbaceous, lawn, planting, selection, plant, watering
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
James Kilkelly is a freelance horticulturalist and garden writer for four Irish regional newspapers. His forum, www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/ offers you free access to an incredible wealth of horticultural information specific to Ireland. He also regularly posts his expert advice to a gardening community at www.gardenstew.com/
|
|
| Top Gardening Articles |
- 1). Mulching Benefits / Organic And Inorganic Mulch Types By : Francis Kilkelly
Mulching is the practice of placing a loose surface onto the surface of soil in your flower or vegetable garden in order to protect, insulate and beautify the area. This loose covering is called a mulch and it can be either of an organic or inorganic variety. Examples of mulches include compost, stone and grass clippings. Every gardener should understand the many benefits of mulching the soil in their garden.
|
- 2). Beautiful Calla Lilies By : William Berg
The Calla Lilies are plants belonging to the Zantedeschia genus in the Araceae family. The genus contains seven plant species and they are all commonly referred to as Calla Lillies. Some of them have other common names as well. Zantedeschia aethiopica is also known as giant white arum lily and common arum lily. Zantedeschia albomaculata is sometimes sold as spotted arum lily, and Zantedeschia rehmannii is known as the pink arum lily.
|
|
|
|
|
- 5). Problem Free Patios, Paving And Paths By : James Kilkelly
If you are thinking of creating a patio, courtyard or path within your garden, then I have some helpful information for you.
Where to place a path
Have a good look at your garden, even if you are just viewing from the comfort of your kitchen, this may give you an idea of where paths should be placed. Viewing a curved pathway, particularly one that wraps behind a border will entice the viewer to exit the house and follow the path to discover what lies at its end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 9). Getting to the top with flagpoles By : Tom
Are you in search of the most up-to-date help regarding flagpoles. When you are looking for excellent information about flagpoles, it will be eas
|
|
|
| New Gardening Articles |
|
|
|
|
- 3). Making Your First Garden By : Joe Bella
The first thing in garden making is the selection of a spot. Without a choice, it means simply doing the best one can with conditions. With space limited it resolves itself into no garden, or a box garden. Surely a box garden is better than nothing at all.
|
|
|
- 5). Dream Home Gardening By : Anna Woodward
Home gardening is tricky business. Do you ever wonder how you can get your garden to look like those in popular home-and-garden magazines?
|
- 6). How To Make Sure Your Wildflowers Survive In Your Home Garden By : Gregg Hall
If you have ever taken a walk in the woods you may have seen all the beautiful flowers that can be found right in nature. Did you think to yourself, I wonder what these would look like in my yard? If you have wondered this same thing, here are a few tips for you to make sure your flowers will survive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
