Please tell me how to arrange my border!

[MrsJoanDanvers]

We had our small SE facing garden landscaped last year and had a border dug in about 5m by 2m. We put some plants in last year but the lavenders have died, a shrubby salvia split and this is what’s left. There are some Salvia Caradonna dotted about that should come up and a couple of tiny nepeta near the front which should come up too. But it all looks very bare and a bit random. The large shrub was already there but everything else is new. Can I put plants under the Amelanchiers? Or will they take away the nutrients?

Any advice gratefully received-we are novices and just want a nice looking mixed border. I’m a bit lost with all the plants when I go to the garden centre. And how should I plant things-it all looks a bit random so far? We are in the NW-the garden is SE facing but the border faces NW-but does get some sun.

Sorry didn’t post pictures.

Rake the soil, put a good coat of compost, then pick which flowers you want.
Instant colour get some geraniums or begonias, beautiful pinks, purples, reds, whites...and they flower all summer long.

Go to a local garden centre and look at the perennials that are in stock now....always check the height they grow, tall at the back, small at the front.
And if you pick Lavender, choose the English variety, it does a lot better in the UK than the more commonly sold French Lavender.

Garden centres often have a plant of the month/season, so if you want year-round interest, go every month or so and buy something that you like.

Don't buy one of each item - buy three and have some repeat planting. Or five. Or seven! Plant it up and then mulch the soil in between, this gives a finished look whilst the plants get bigger. Is it sunny or shady? If shady ferns are always a good bet. I think better to over plant than under plant, you can always take some stuff out if necessary.

Sorry I see you answered the sun/shade question, should have read more carefully. I like ferns, heucharas for lovely foliage, go for things with pretty leaves and definitely not just one of each item as this doesn't look nice in the end.

Thank you-will have a look at the garden centre. It gets a fair bit of sun in the afternoon. With repeat planting, I bought a couple of grasses and some geums but they look a bit lonely-should I clump them together? I was considering buying border on a roll when we started planting but it seemed so expensive-but may have brought some organisation to it. I can look at a room and plan it very well but have t a clue when I look at a rectangle of bare earth!

There’s a really good plant nursery near Warrington called Bluebell Garden nursery. If you’re anywhere near that go there. The staff are very knowledgable and helpful and should be able to help you pick out some plants. The garden is lovely to walk around and they have good cake.

Yes I would clump the grasses together in a loose kind of triangle and then repeat it further along but a bit offset.

I just asked grok to give me a planting scheme with some repeat planting with your border specs - I asked for grasses, ferns and heuchera and it did a great plan with clear visual and good plant suggestions.

Sorry, I am a late convert to the AI business and I can't quite get over it! It won't let me attach but you could do your own with different plants?

@HumphreyCobblers wow I had no idea I could use AI😂. Thank you for the tip.

Thanks for the Bluebell recommendation @Fibrous . My dc lives near Warrington so could visit!

You've got to bear in mind that the perennials you have will grow hugely in the next few weeks. Hopefully your salvia will come up shortly and even if not massive this year they will grow even more next. You could rake the soil a little and sow an annual mix in between - cosmos are brilliant for adding height and colour and easy to grow from seed. Alchemilla is a great filler plant and is reliably hardy (as is nepeta). I think you're being a bit impatient - my borders look very empty right now but I know in a few weeks I'll struggle to find space to plant the seedlings I've planted. Don't worry too much, get some seeds and wait and see what happens is my advice.

Amelanchier needs lots of water so you can put plants under them. I never feed mine as I don’t thinkt you need to worry about nutrients. I would put in lots of spring bulbs for when the tree is dormant. Also winter and summer heathers are easy for year round cover. Alternatively you could spread lots of wild flower seeds.

Structural plants are good to set off the flowers and for interest all year. Euphorbias and cornus alba have lively green foliage that would be a good contrast to salvia and would fill up the gaps

I agree with adding structural plants and adding foliage at the back to give height and hide the fence.

Sambucus nigra grows quickly, can be cut back hard and looks lovely with lacy black foliage. Fatsias are very affordable, can be pruned as a shrub or you can cut back the lower stems so they have more of a tree shape, and are evergreen. Cotinus (burning bush) has great purple foliage and can also be pruned hard. Nandinas are good little shrubs and are evergreen. Having a variety of leaf colour and shape will give a good background to your flowers.

Try and also add tall flowering perennials, like verbena bonariensis, roses or cannas, so you have interest at eye level. Climbing plants like clematis and passion flower are also good.

It’s almost impossible for a perennial border to be done in a year and to look good year round. Plants need time to grow; your best bet once your perennials are in place, is to plug gaps with annuals in spring and/or bulbs in the autumn. Personally I don’t like having lots of bulbs in my borders, as they get in the way of my spring planting, but it’s a matter of preference.

Gardening means living in hope. When I look at my borders, I don’t see them as they are but as what they will become in a few weeks, few months or a few years’ time. Gardener’s rose-tinted goggles ☺️

Gardening means living in hope. When I look at my borders, I don’t see them as they are but as what they will become in a few weeks, few months or a few years’ time. Gardener’s rose-tinted goggles ☺️

@Koulibiak thank you for your advice and what a lovely sentiment!

I love hydrangeas because they fill space by growing big and bushy and they have big flowes that last from early summer through to late autumn. They always survive the winter. I also like rose bushes. In late spring I fill the empty spaces with bedding plants for lots of colour. The ones that aren't affected by slugs abd flower for months are geraniums, begonias, snap dragons, nemesia

UPDATE-Thank you to everyone who contributed to my dilemma! I moved some things about, and bought some heucheras and a couple more salvias. I thought the cat had destroyed the catmint but it’s come back and I’ve grouped it together. We also bought a climber and dh put wires in. We put a couple of geraniums in last week. I hope I’ve not done too much. A big difference was putting a mulch on-thank you for that advice-even bare patches look good now. Here are a couple of pictures. The first one shows the choisya on bloom which is lovely.

And the second most recent one

That's lovely.

What a transformation, op.
Lovely