DESIGN solutions
Discover how designers ace ALWAYS -BRIGHT BORDERS with clever plant choices and pairings’
Heuchera ‘Wildberry
Want to know why designer gardens always seem to be full of colour and interest? The secret lies with some clever plant combinations. While the idea of successive planting might sound daunting, it’s really straightforward once you know a few key tricks. And the good news is that they’re all simple to try, and you can easily use them to upgrade your existing borders from occasionally lacklustre to forever lovely. From smart underplanting with groundcover gems or bulbs to clever plant pairings and – yes, we’ll admit it! – blatant cheating, there are plenty of different methods to try. To demystify the art, and help you inject some designer magic into your plot, here are the best ideas to try…
PROLONG FLOWER POWER WITH TONING FOLIAGE
Here’s a little secret garden designers would rather we didn’t share! It’s possible to extend the impact of colourful blooms long after they’ve faded by surrounding them with toning foliage and materials. As shown in this dreamy Escaping Seasons of the Mind Garden, by Lilidh Matthews (@Lilidh Matthews) and John Tallis (outdoorlivinggardens.co.uk) at BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2023, the orange, bronze and purple flowers are cleverly echoed in the use of heucheras, the feather-like foliage of black elder (Sambucus nigra), copper beech hedging (fagus ‘Atropurpurea’) and the laser-cut Corten-steel supports. As a result, the whole garden embodies the warmth and richness created by the flowers, giving the illusion of yet more blooms.
Heuchera ‘Forever Red’
Get set, grow! SPECIAL
KEEP GAPS FILLED WITH SELF-SEEDERS
A super-easy way to keep border gaps filled is to include some self-seeding plants in your plot, and it can look pretty swish, as this gravel garden created by Fenton Roberts Garden Design (fentonrobertsgardendesign.co.uk) proves. Many annuals (plants that flower once then die) and perennials (those garden superstars that return year after year) spread their seeds to create new plants without any help from you, and the genius thing is that they’ll grow best wherever there are gaps of bare soil. You’ll need to learn what the seedlings look like so you can tell what’s not a weed, but that’s easy to do by sowing a few seeds in a labelled pot. The self-seeders most prized by designers include nigella, Verbena bonariensis, santolina and Californian poppy. Start now with the Self-seeding Cut Flower Collection, £3.50/2 packets of seeds sarahraven.com
SYNCHRONISE REPEAT PLANTING
Repeat planting is a phrase often bandied about by designers, but growing several of the same plant in your garden won’t provide a st
