Designing a new border - top tips from garden experts
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- čas přidán 12. 08. 2024
- Does your flower border need a complete revamp? Or are you starting from scratch with a new border? At the Middlesized Garden, we're renovating our main herbaceous border, so we'll take you through how to do it, step by step.
00:00 The best time of year to revamp a flower bed
00:21 Tom Brown of West Dean Gardens www.westdean.org.uk/gardens
00:25 Steve Edney and Lou Dowle, The No Name Nursery Kent / stevenedney4
00:29 Posy Gentles garden designer: www.posygentles.co.uk/
00:32 Jane Beedle, former garden designer and cookery influencer: / janebbakes
01:33 Which plants to plant in autumn and which in spring: • The very BEST time to ...
01:48 15 really resilient, drought tolerant plants (which can also cope with rain!): • 12 drought tolerant pl...
01:58 When revamping a border or starting from scratch, dig all plants up
02:30 To design a low maintenance garden: • 10 low maintenance pla...
02:36 Pick through the soil thoroughly to get out roots of perennial weeds
03:05 Cover the whole border with 3"-4" garden compost, well rotted manure or other soil improver
04:24 Measure the garden and think of a theme or colour before choosing plants
04:35 How to create a stunning perennial border video: • Create an outstanding ...
04:56 How to create cottage garden style: • What is cottage garden...
05:02 Naturalistic Planting - how to get it right in your garden video: • Naturalistic planting ...
05:08 Research plants and make a plant list before you go shopping
06:08 Decide if your border is sunny, shaded or part-shaded and choose appropriate plants
06:48 The Middlesized Garden Beautiful Borders Planning Checklist: www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.u...
07:09 How to Create Stunning Garden Borders: • How to create stunning...
07:16 Buy fewer varieties of plant and more plants of each variety
08:20 How far apart to plant plants?
09:18 Beautiful Borders playlist: • Beautiful borders - tr...
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A great video as always! A tip for those doing things on a budget and redesigning - the advantage of many perennials is that they are very easy to multiply if as you say you spend the time in the planning stages! Divide the pot into multiple small clumps and they will soon plump up. One pot may hold 20-50 divisions depending on how finely you want to cut it. If the pot is say $15, that is a lot cheaper than say if I needed 50 pots of it and spent $750. The bit of time is worth the difference for those of us on shoestring budgets! Irish cuttings/heel cuttings will likewise soon give you many more of the single plant. Many perennials strike from cuttings very easily and you can quickly fill a border with salvia and so on that way. I often buy a single pot one year and trial it in my conditions - full blast direct 40C sun in summer, deluge in winter, heavy 35-40kph winds frequently. I can gauge how it looks at different times of the year and how it meshes in situ. If I like it, it gets retained and multiplied. If not... I've not wasted money on a dozen pots for a revamp! ;)
Really good point! Thank you.
Hi thank you that is fantastic advice, I will definitely be copying. Take care Natalie 😄
Awesome advice, thank you!
Thanks so much. I'm a professional gardener and studying garden design, I find your videos to be invaluable and ones I come back to time and again!
Thank you so much, I particularly appreciate hearing that from a gardening professional.
The Live Chat disappeared from my screen when the video Premiere ended, and I think there were still some questions - do ask them here, and I'll get back to you. If you'd like the free Beautiful Borders Planning Checklist, you can access it here: www.themiddlesizedgarden.co.uk/the-middlesized-garden-beautiful-borders-planning-checklist/
So very helpful Alexandra. Thank you!
Excellent video. I wish the internet & your blog/videos had been around 30 years ago! Having done garden renovation in a haphazard way years ago I certainly see the wisdom in this tutorial. A lot of work, but worth it when renovating a garden. Such good experts that you know & who share their experience. Always a pleasure to see a new video pop up. I also review older vids to refresh my knowledge.
Thank you so much.
Great tips! I gave up trusting the labels and just do my research online and get information from different sources. A couple of years ago my mum bought a Lisianthus which the label said to be a perennial, indoor plant, that needs little light and lots of moisture. Of course it didn't make it and died quickly, turned out it's an annual that of grows of course outdoors, loves the sun and can deal with some drought. So that's precisely when I stopped trusting labels 😂
Ha, ha, yes. I've had a surprising number of labels with the wrong plant name entirely!
Great advice, and I appreciate the way you circle back and give credit to the gardeners who gave the original advice. I also appreciated the pictures before and after working on it. It really does take a lot of work and I dislike videos that skip the stages of transformation. Looking forward to watching the progress on your border!
Thank you! It's turning out to be a much bigger job than I imagined!
Thank you so much for this, another great and informative video. Every week I look forward with anticipation to what you will share with us next and am always thrilled when I see that you have posted something to inspire us. I will download your Beautiful Borders Planning Checklist, it looks brilliant. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Thank you Alexandria! Looking forward to seeing your border in spring and summer.
Thank you, I'm excited although somewhat nervous...
I've been taking great advantage of the nursery's 50% - 70% off sales the past few weekend the bounty is real! And there are few people in the nursery, which I quite enjoy. At the rate my plants died this season, it makes sense to me not to spend too much. Now to plant them all!
Ha, ha, yes. I went to the nursery yesterday and was the only one there. Great service!
Very informative, as always…thank you. My borders are
Thank you so much and it's great to hear that you used How to Make a Flower Border Look Amazing.
What an undertaking you're doing with your border, really look forward to seeing that come together. Your check list is a great idea, thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much! 😊
Very good tips, I have only a backyard and in it are a lot of shrubs and even 3 established trees (Walnut, Amelanchier and Beech).
In the tiny space what is left I put my perennial and grasses tight together with no space at all. There are plants that can have it and flower year after year. Bye from Holland 🍁
Thank you!
Good to have previous videos consolidated so as to remind what is most important. Repetitive planting, seasonal interest, shapes, size, water needs etc. I've also been nervous to move plants especially when to do so. I'm going to be more confident and just go for it.
You and me both! It makes me very nervous, but I don't think I can improve my border unless I take risks.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden the risk ... but nothing ventured nothing gained comes to mind.
Great, informative video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Looking forward to seeing your revamp progress from planning to planting
Thank you!
I love your work. You are so relatable and yes, funny. I’m so glad you have a channel and are so faithful to your fans. Personally, your thugs are my favorite. I have watched episode after episode to catch the names like acanthus (bear britches in USA) poppies and anenome’s because I wanted to put them in mine. Thank you again, your contribution to gardening is visible in gardens across the globe-and it’s impact is everywhere in my garden. God bless you.
I look forward to seeing your border evolve. I just planted bulbs for daffodils and hyacinths., for extra spring interest in my borders. I’ve started incorporating shrubs, especially ones that may make multi stem trees. Dividing perennials is actually very hard, if you’re getting older and have to watch your back. I could barely get some out of the ground this year.
I agree about the perennials, and I've never managed to get that 2 forks back to back tip to work for me.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Same for me! I am not coordinated enough. It's easier to just cut down into the soil with a sharp knife and cut away a division of the plant rather than feeling like you have to lift the whole thing out of the ground to divide it.
Excellent content, you definitely read my mind, you are very conscientious about researching important and accurated topics. Bravo Alexandra.👍
Thank you!
Love this lady very special 🙏❤️😇❤️🙏
Thankyou. I’m just in the process off digging my borders to make my garden easier to look after. I’m planning to put in plenty of easy care plants. I enjoy your channel as I’m not a ‘gardener’ and I find your tips very helpful.
Thank you so much!
Very helpful advice as always, I really need to do this Alexandra. I am very guilty of dotting plants here and there! Looking forward to seeing your new border completed.
Thank you!
I love your straightforward instructional videos. They're very helpful. I'm loving your colour choice--because it's the same colour theme I've got in my garden, so I'll be sure to get some great plant recommendations as you reveal more of your revamp. I look forward to further episodes.
Thank you. I find the main challenge at the moment is to make sure I'm thinking of early summer colour just as much as late season colour.
So right about a border being a very competitive place. I've been taking note of plants which can compete and those that can't... This is guiding me toward a more refined list of favourites.
Thank you!
Thank you for another terrific video Alexandra. Highly informative and inspiring - as usual.
Thank you!
Fantastic video! You are always so helpful and I appreciate your extensive knowledge and resources! Thank you!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that.
I recently discovered your channel, and I can’t stop watching! The videos are so informative and comprehensive.
Glad you like them!
Your videos are so informative, especially giving the names and origins of plants. I try to have a different cool colour scheme for the shadier part of the garden and near my favourite haunt, the patio, reds, oranges and yellows. Best of both worlds.
That's a great way of planning it.
Great video! When you live in a very cold area, you go to the Nursery in Spring and everything is Spring flowering, then by mid summer everything is just a sea of mid green. So I have to work hard on Summer interest. I am guilty of tucking things in until it all looks like an Eton mess, but the two really important take aways from your video is limit the plant choice and repetition. Limiting the plant choice can be sooooooo hard when you go to the nursery and get the latest "must haves"
I find it so hard too! It's also quite difficult to buy 5 or 7 or 9 of something, it seems like such a big commitment compared to one or two plants. But I am working on it.
yes! I have to trial them first! So expensive. Then when you want 7-9 you can't get them anymore. 🤣
I have 12 basic plants in my boarders, both in front & back garden. Grass is minimal, used as pathways and an outdoor seating area. Perennials are 90% of plants. Repeating clumps of flowers that bloom from Spring to Fall is so essential. I wanted an English Country/Cottage style that was always in bloom somewhere. It’s fun to see the gardens come alive with colors all year. I’ve learned so much here Alexandra, many thanks to you!
Rick, hi, can I ask you, do you use an annuals?
Thank you - and your garden sounds beautiful!
@@nspector yes, I buy French Marigolds in the Spring from the Nursery. I buy seed packets as well, and free cast them in places that are a bit bare. I’m a very relaxed gardener, so whatever grows is welcome. I’m in the USA in Cleveland OH zone 6. I used Gloriosa daisies as a perennial filler plant, native and blooms summer-fall. But for extra color, Cosmos, zinnias and cornflowers are great.
Thanks for another helpful video. I'm excited to see the transformation of your borders come Spring.
Thank you, I'm excited too, although somewhat unnerved as clearing almost the whole border is requiring some nerve.
Thank you for another great video! So helpful!!!!
I'm looking forward to seeing your progress!
Good morning Alexander, a gardeners work is never done. These is always something that needs attention, I have made it a habit when walking and I see a weed, I stop and pluck it out, in this manner I have better control of those horrible invaders, unwanted at that!! Some plants just look amazing in another neighbours garden or at the nursery but it just does not work with you, the best thing is to cut your losses and turn to something else. Borders sometimes look to me like a vase of flowers, depending when you have picked to place in the vase is quite a show. If you have roses mixed with some lilies it makes a grand show, sometimes you need to buy extra to make up the bouquet, the same with the border once it is established you might feel the need to add a slender growing plant to just complete the look. Thank goodness for change of seasons, autumn is a good time to sort out and change, yes even rip out what is not complimentary, fill the gap with good compost and just leave it alone. Don't forget about the space as you will have to fill it in during the spring season. At least nothing is a disaster in the garden, plants can be moved around if need be. Thank you for the informative garden chat, we learn so much from each other. Keep nice and snug, the winter season has started in the Northern Hemisphere, do take care. Kind regards.
Your approach to weeds is definitely the best, I found myself simply staring at half a dozen weeds with this morning's tea and somehow my brain just didn't connect as far as 'pull them out now.'
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Yes, sometimes things just pass right over our heads :) just enjoy your tea forget the weeds :) be happy
This is another terrific video, but I have to say, that although I've gotten much better at juggling all the variables you want to keep in mind with planting a mixed border, it's still so much! Your ideas of the grids and checklists are great, though I'm probably not likely to do that. 😳 I have drawn up plans, however, for new areas, where I do endlessly take into account the variables. But, wow, it's not the way my mind naturally works. So, the beginning of "flow" in the garden that I'm finally starting to have, has come from many many little shifts over the years, and especially being able to be more in tune only over the last 4, 5 years, more able to think broadly.
I think that's a good approach - it's all much harder than I originally thought. Great respect for garden designers!
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Yes. Most people have no idea how tricky and complex gardening is, at least here in the US they don't. But not EVERYONE in Britain is a gardener, so I imagine it's not really that different there.
Very helpful. I am in need of advice for a sunny border that is not visible from the house. I want it to be low maintenance, blues, purples and whites in the main but with evergreen plants and fairly densely packed to avoid weeds and of course wildlife friendly. I shall be using your spreadsheet. At the moment I have Narcissi Winston Churchill waiting to go in for Spring interest but need to plant the shrubs and perennials first. How about Sarcococca for Winter interest?
Sarcococca is great for winter interest, good suggestion, and I'm also considering Hamamelis (witch hazel).
Looking forward to seeing the process of renovation and how it turns out. I started a couple projects 4 years ago, but because of my inexperience, I’m not entirely satisfied with the results. But that’s the fun of gardening, there’s always something more to experiment with and new things to try.
Absolutely and I think even the real experts think that too.
Thank you. Going to make a border and can't decide what to plant yet but will buy more of each type of plant. Great tip.
Thank you!
Hello Gorgeous! I just love your channel. You share so many great tips and offer links to all your resources. I'm starting with a bare plot of land 60 x34 ft. I want to use part of it for veg and the other part as a flower garden. I so appreciate the time and effort you take in sharing this information with your viewers. Thank you!
Thank you, and good luck with your garden. It's so exciting to start with a bare plot, if daunting.
Very timely video for me as I'm planning to revamp my gardens beginning next spring. I currently have approximately 90% perennial flowers to 10% shrubs/trees. As I age I'm preparing to reduce the maintenance dramatically by changing from mostly perennials to mostly shrubbery. My property is small and, though it's all gardens and no lawn, I must be very careful to keep tree sizes quite small and shrub size small, relative to the size of the trees. Add that to the changing climate of my USA zone 5b New England and I've got a bit of a challenge with significantly more drought but still relatively high humidity with dramatic swings in temperature.
I also need to add more winter interest and reduce the number of different plants. I'll also be adding several espaliered fruit trees along one side of my property. It's all a bit daunting, but exciting at the same time.
Side note: I love echinops but I've heard they don't transplant well so the 3 I have in my largest garden (my entire front yard) will probably stay where they are.
Hard freeze for the last few nights and I've had to say goodbye to my dahlias. :-(
BTW, to overwinter any unplanted perennials, I heel them directly into the soil while still in their pots.
Thank you for your wonderful videos!
Thank you, it really is quite a juggle, just as soon as I think I've worked out the perfect plant combination, another factor crops up. My echinops are lovely and so far they have simply refused to be dug up, I've already tried several times and they just come back in their original place.
Great advice as always
Glad it was helpful!
What an exceptionally helpful video. Thank you so much. I volunteer and have just taken over 2 x 40metres borders at a vintage railway 👀😱.
That sounds a wonderful project.
I love your channel. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and knowledge sharing :)
Thank you!
My husband and I are attempting this, and it has stalled out. I've never liked the yellow David Austin Pilgrim roses we have in this border. They seem a bit spindly/weedy, and have been "nursed" along for far too long, IMO. Tim was not keen to rip them out so we are at an impasse. I imagine if I was to look back on this comment in a year, we will still have the roses....lol. The rest of the bed is ripped out, and the only plants I've kept are Siberian iris, Moly Allium, Dafs, and Liatris. Honestly at a loss what else to plant. I might just fill the rest of the space with annuals. The bed needs summer color. I live in the Pacific Northwest and the work horses in our garden are Azaleas, Rhododendrons and roses so we never plant more shrubs :) I will be looking forward to seeing how your bed progresses.
Good luck - I hope you find your perfect plants! Luckily my husband has no view on the matter whatsoever, although he doesn't like plants that flop onto the grass.
Hi Leesa, I'm no expert on the subject but I've been working on learning a lot recently and am a MG; I'm in Z7 WNC, similar climate to you, we get a lot of rain, normally and the 'workhorses' you mentioned are very familiar to me. One thing caught my attention: it sounds like there is a mix of shade and sun plants here which makes me wonder if your rose is just but in the right place to thrive. Maybe not enuf sun?
When it comes to designing the rest of the bed, take your time & if you need to just put in annuals for a year while you figure it out, that's fine. If you haven't already, start by gathering pictures of gardens that speak to you so you can narrow down a style, pick a theme & colour scheme (fun). Then get technical: measure, draw a plan, make a sun chart, do your soil test (meh). And set a budget (no fun.. tbh, I give my husband a number and then ignore it 😉). THEN.. look for resources that will help you find plants with the attributes you are looking for. NC State has something called a 'Plant Toolbox' that is a great way to select plants by zone, type, color, size etc. Your Extension Office may know of something similar designed specifically for PNW.
Have fun!
Fabulous videos as ever Alexandra - I recently created a whole new border this summer and I loved the whole process. My main goal was to plan for ages and plant once, previously I've been terribly hasty and planted things far too close together and had to move things by mid summer. I planned the colour scheme first (pink, white and blue) and have planted lots. It's a fairly small, south facing border (half of it in shade from a tree) so it didn't take too long but literally each meter had different shade levels. Planning all-year-round interest is hard - last month I planted the spring bulbs and its finally complete. hopefully the plants will like it and as it used to be a chicken run the soil is extremely fertile.
Really good point about the shade levels - I'm sure that applies to lots of borders. Very envious of the chicken run base!
Would placing a layer of cardboard between the ground and the compost kill most or all of the perennial weeds? I think this method is very popular with no-dig enthusiasts.
Thank you once again, Alexandra, for a very interesting and informative video. You have given us much to anticipate as we await posts of the evolution of your new border. 🌷🌱🌸🏵️🌼🌳
It would definitely kill some, although bindweed takes a couple of years to kill by smothering. I think, in the end, that we will all always have weeds, so it's a question of what you can tolerate.
This is good. I'm planning on starting over a narrow strip of west-facing garden since the removal of a mature maple changed lighting conditions and some thugs have taken over.
Too late to shop plants as we're winding down for the season here in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I'll have a long winter to plan my new plantings.
I can amend the soil now, though. TY.
Thank you!
Great advice. Can I ask what is the Dahlia behind you in the video?
It's called Babylon Bronze and I should have given it a bit more support. But it has been a star in the late season garden, as most of the other dahlias were badly affected by the hot, dry weather.
It is beautiful! The bronzy orange of the dahlia, the dark red of the rose hips and the saffron of your sweater all made for a gorgeous autumn combination.
Wow, I understand the idea, of course, of digging everything up, but I hope I'm not alone in doing it more piecemeal. Maybe next time? But right now, digging everything up is just too overwhelming.
I completely agree - it's been incredibly hard to get my mind around it, but I've done too much piecemeal and need to force myself to revamp completely. Just hoping it won't turn out to be a terrible mistake!
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Oh, I don't think it will be a terrible mistake! Just a LOT of work. But I can't imagine that it won't pay off. Not easy, though, I imagine, even with the "blank slate." Looking forward to seeing it next year. 💗
Hi, Alexandra We are gardening in Bruce Mines, Northern Ontario and love your videos. We found you from the Horti-Culturalists. Would you do a practical video on staking? What are the best types for what types of plants? And how to make your own stakes? Stephen once mentioned growing bamboo to use as stakes. Here we have a heavy snow load each year. This is good as it allows us to grow many of the same plants you grow but bad as staking must be completely removed each fall.
Thank you, and yes, I think that is a good idea, I had thought of doing staking earlier this spring, and then forgot about it but I do know someone who does good staking and I will follow her up.
I really would like to revamp my cottage style border but I have a hard time finding plants here in fall also it’s already November so my window is closing for planting here in the Midwest USA . I was wondering if early spring could be an option as well ? Thank you for these very helpful tips !
Spring is also an excellent time for planting.
Great advise and video. I would love to put Nerine in my garden I'm not sure if thats the correct spelling its a pink flower blooms this time of the year, but I heard its toxic to cats just wondering if that's right as I have 3 cats
Lilies are toxic to cats, but nerines aren't lilies, 'Guernsey lily' is just its common name, so I think there may be some confusion because of that. According to BBC Gardeners World, there's no toxicity in nerines for any animal: www.gardenersworld.com/plants/nerine-bowdenii/ Vets Now doesn't list Nerines in their list of plants that are toxic to pets, only real lilies: www.vets-now.com/2017/03/spring-plants-warnings-cat-owners/ The RHS also has a list of potentially harmful garden plants and Nerine bowdenii doesn't appear on it: www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-protection/potentially-harmful-garden-plants Hope that helps!
Thank you so much
Oh thank you again for excellent information and inspiration. I notice you have Acanthus Mollis in your garden … is it easy to keep from taking over in the garden. I am thinking about planting it in my garden, but not sure if I am going to regret it. Or is there a version that is more sterile 🤔
The version I have is not the usual one, but a pure white one called 'Rue Ledan' and it has been in my garden for about nine years without spreading any further than you see it at the moment. It's not very easy to find, but it isn't invasive.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden oh thank you so much. I do like the plant alot. I will see if I can get a sterile one here in NZ. 😊
Personally I search plants by colour and all of the things you suggested from bloom time to colour and then because we have horrible infestations of Japanese beetles I search that too. Can't grow roses or climbing hydrangea or many vines because they just decimate them. I won't use pesticides because they are unsafe for me and my pets. So my garden has become narrowed down over the years. No more fruit trees either. Sadly in my area they have been here for many years and it has changed the way I garden now :(
What is the name of that gorgeous dahlia you are sitting in front of. Just watched this again as son id re doing his garden border and knows nothing about plants,. Great tips.
I think it may be 'Bronze Babylon'
Thank you so much. Tell me do you have any tips against neighbours cats? I mean to avoid cats toilet in my garden 😁
This is a really difficult issue, and I don't think there's a hard and fast answer. You could try just shooing the cats away but cats are notoriously reluctant to follow orders. One person I know has ringed their garden with chicken wire above the level of the fence to stop their cat climbing up and escaping but that's quite an extreme measure.
Good tips than you
Thank you!