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Perennial border advice

esd123esd123 Posts: 21
in Garden design
Hi!

I'm a complete novice to gardening.

I really want to create a colourful border of flowers along the front of my house.

I'd prefer to use perennials. Because I'm just learning, this seems like it would be simplest solution and the least work?

I live in Shetland so the weather is unpredictable with long harsh winters so need to consider this too. 

It is the sunniest spot in my garden and is also probably the best draining area.

So my question is, how do I create this without it looking terrible for most of the year? Are evergreens the answer or will that not really work with my local climate either? I don't want it to look like a dead mess of weeds or a filthy bog when not flowering! Is this what will happen? 

Any advice welcome! Thanks. :smile:

Posts

  • zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
    A mix of shrubs and perennials works well for year round interest, best place to start is what the soil, aspect etc is like, then how big the border is going to be, then you can start planning the plants :) 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Include some early flowering bulbs to start the colour off sooner. There will always be a time in winter when it looks a bit of a mess. I leave my perennials to die down for food and shelter for wildlife in winter. All flower borders will grow some weeds  you just need to keep on top of them.

    You will have to do a bit off research online to find out about the plants, how hardy, how long flowering, when do they flower, what sort of soil, do they like damp etc.

    You could include some small evergreens for winter interest but flowering perennials are much more colourful in summer.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've never been to Shetland but I guess it has a much shorter growing season than most of us have, as well as the weather. You'll probably need to take into account wind as well as cold/wet and perhaps provide some extra shelter to filter it. It would be a good idea to have a look around at what other people locally are growing.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    There’s some recommendations here worth considering:

     https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/shetland-blog/gardening-in-shetland-jubilee-flower-park/
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You need a reliable base of evergreens and woody shrubs. Then add a few perennials and bulbs in between so that the shrubs support them. Perennials are far more work than shrubs and if you just have perennials, you'll spend forever staking and supporting them and it'll look dreadful for most of the year. Our season here is much shorter than the south, so yours will be shorter again.
    Anything tall will get hammered by wind unless you can create enough shelter, and it'll also depend on the size of the area you have and where it's sited. If it's exposed, then you need to create a shelter belt before you do anything else. 

    I'd do as @JennyJ says and look at what plants are thriving in other gardens near you, assuming you're in an inhabited area. If you aren't, then it's much harder altogether. 
    Lots of perennials which thrive in most of the UK won't survive there, and if they do, they won't grow as well in height/width due to the conditions. Once you find plants that are happy, repeat them. That's standard in design terms anyway, but is even more important in more difficult sites  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I've a vague recollection of Beechgrove doing a visit to Shetland. It might be worth seeing if that episode is available online to watch.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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