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Advice re planting
Mary370
Posts: 2,003
As a novice but avid gardener, could someone please explain to me how to have year round colour. I know the plants I want to use, Aquilegia and miniature roses. I assume I can plant them all within approx. 6 - 8" distance apart, alternating the plants? Where then do i plant any spring bulbs? Are they just buried deeper under the plants or in the spaces between? What then do I use or plant for winter interest? or will there be no room for growing anything further? Thanks.
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For most, the garden tend to evolve. You may have inherited a structured garden and want to slightly change it or you may want an entire revamp. A garden with general year-round appeal would unsually require trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs.
What soil type is it. What is the border size or garden size. What's the orientation. What area is it in. With these questons answered, it will help more to get a plant list in place.
Plant spacings will depend on your soil type and what look you are trying to achieve. You mentioned miniature roses. After checking the label for eventual height and spread, you may need to start thinking about your border size, the scale in ratio to the rest of your garden.
There is no fast answer to spacings as it's more to do with how you want the garden to look and how soon you want the look to happen. Repeated plants throughout the border might require repeated spacings if it is symmetry and a themed border. You mentioned Aquilegas. This plant can self seed quite reguarly. Are you happy to be pulling out plants that have seeded over the years?
I've gotten rid of my lawn this year and I want to plant flower beds. I have borders around the garden which have shrubs and perennials. I had intended to try to grow a full thyme lawn but on reconsideration we don't get the weather, and approx. one third of the garden is quite shaded.
I already have aquilegias, but am diligent about dead-heading them and cutting the greenery back to the ground when finished flowering. I intend growing a mixture of various varieties of them for the bed.
I have large gaps in my borders though, as I am only just reading up about ground covers, and fillers such as geraniums.
Thanks for you interest and advise Borderline.
Borderline has given good advice there.
You will need to create a mixture of plants that flower at different times. For example, I have a semi-shaded area with spring bulbs which finish flowering just before the Aquilegias come out and then hardy geraniums and Astilbes cover most of this ground by Summer. If you want classic flower beds - you could use annuals and seed or plant up each year, finding plants that will stagger the flowering. These could easily be nestled between the roses or some perennials. You could also consider some Wildflowers areas or have some vegetables planted within the flower borders.
I'm sure you will receive some great ideas on here - and don't forget to visit gardens, garden centres and browse internet for more inspiration.
Mary370 - your post is a bit confusing. Your first post made me think you only wanted to grow aquilegias and roses for year round colour but then you say you have borders with shrubs and perennials.
You will need a more varied selection of plants than the 2 you have mentioned if you want year round colour. Aquilegias only flower for a couple of weeks in late spring and then they are gone never to be seen again until the following year. Your roses, depending on variety may flower continuously from June to October if you are lucky. Or they may only have one flowering a year which will only last a couple of weeks.
You need to research what plants you like. A good idea is to visit your local garden centre once every month of the year and get some idea of what is in bloom each month.
If you have a collection of Aguilegas and intend to build on it, that sounds like a start. You have expressed interest with Geraniums. There are many varieties, some flowering in early summer and some flowering later. After checking you will find many to suit your surroundings. In terms of spacings, miniature roses can cope with numerous perennials growing around them, and Geraniums are the classic combination.
These are my recommendations, but I'm sure others will have plenty more advice and other plants to recommend.
For the early part of the year, why not try growing some Muscari bulbs and Iris Reticulata. Both low growing but has impact in colour. Particually with the Iris, there are some very interesting varieties. They are low growing and will be the earliest to grow after the winter months around February time. Bergenia or common name elephant's ears because of the huge glossy leaves resembling the ears of an elephant. A garden worthy plant that is evergreen, thrives in all sorts of situations and in spring to late spring, deep pink flowers shoot up from the clump of leaves. These leaves tinge red in the winter months, so can act as ground cover and keep the borders looking filled up.
Going into the late spring time, Astilbes are my recommendation for the leaves alone. Above the leaves will be feathery plumes of their flowerheads. You can even cut them and turn them upside-down to dry as a permanent flower arrangement for indoors.
A polyantha rose called The Fairy comes highly recommended. It's a really reliable rose and just keeps on giving right up to December sometimes. Small button sized roses spraw on top of equally healthy green glossy leaves.
Japanese Anemones although slow to establish, but once settled in they will take over the autumn borders. Very suited to semi-shaded woodland settings, it will brighten dark corners with large cupped flowers. You can plant in Clyclamens in these areas.
In the more sunnier borders, I recommend Schizostylis Coccinea Major, the Kaffir Lily. It's worth trying this plant if you can have a sheltered spot as it will flower right up to almost the end of November starting around September time. Then Hellebores for winter time. For gaps in the borders, sow hard annuals. Plenty to choose from so I will not even list...
Thanks everyone for the advice and ideas.
Hogweed, sorry if my post was confusing, I sometimes have difficulty explaining what's in my head!
My garden has a 6' border, around 3 sides, which I've been been planting for the last 4 years, there is a path dividing the border from the lawn.
I decided to put in a patio area last year on the right side of the lawn, above the patio area, I have a small bed, separated from the border by a path, below the patio area, there are 2 seperate small beds. This year I planted one with dahlias, one with stock, to be replaced by wallflowers, the third one with carnations. All grown from seed.
That then halved the lawn. Which this year I covered and mulched, as I don't want grass in the back garden.
One third of the now mulched lawn, nearest the house, only gets early morning sun, it is in shade most of the day, so in Winter it is quite cold and damp, I will need to research further about what plants would grow there successfully.
I want to attempt to plant a thyme lawn in middle third of the 'lawn'........the final third, the top section, I want to plant with miniature roses, 'The Fairy' as mentioned by Borderline above, but I would like to plant something else with them, perhaps the best thing to do is plant spring bulbs as mentioned above.
I have planted in the 6' border a large range of plants; bear's breeches, broom, hydrangea, lupins, aquilegia, hardy geranium, lavender, catmint, bergenia, astible, astrantia, poppies, gladioli, lucifer, euphorbia, piritis, hellebores, a few hostas as I divided the clump this spring, black elder, diablo ninebark, bleeding heart, several clematis, roses, an acer and an unknown tree, which I must post a pic of to find out what it is. Gosh, reading that it sounds like a lot, but there are still lots of gaps for my annuals. As you may have gathered, I have no theme, I love a garden with lots of colour and flowers, particularly scented ones.