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Flowering plants to make a 'garden flow'
Les Marshall2
Posts: 2
in Plants
I enter the Leeds in Bloom garden competition, I have been fortunate to win some gold awards, however this year I was awarded a silver. The judges’ comments included: - ‘The annuals that are there are too ‘placed’, as opposed to swathes of colour which would make the garden flow’.
I know that three or more flowering plants should be grown in groups. I would like your advice on the following please: - Can I get perennials to ‘form’ these groups of flowers, how many in a group, how far apart should the groups be, and which flowers would you recommend?
I would appreciate and advice that you can give me.
0
Posts
You just need to plant in swathes and drifts, rather than what (in the judge's comments) sounds like regimented blocks. Think of large irregular groupings that interlock like the fingers of your hands. You can blur the boundaries of these groups where they meet, mixing one plant with another. Annuals can be used as well as perennials but go for more open, natural looking varieties rather than the short dumpy types used for bedding schemes.
Avoid planting on a regular grid, staggering any rows if possible. Planting distance will vary according to the plant but aim to have them cover any bare soil.
Adding 'spot plants' which appear throughout the planting, can help tie the various plant groups together. Light and airy things like grasses and Verbena bonariensis work well for this! The effect of 'looking through' things like Verbena and ornamental grasses is lovely so do not be afraid of planting them towards the front of the border, despite their height.