When planning new border schemes, consider adding plants for year-round interest that will feed and shelter garden wildlife. You’ll enjoy the aesthetic of abundance and animation that ensues for years to come
Summer is here and with it an opportunity to add plants to improve your borders – although do remember to keep watering any new additions, particularly if the weather is hot and dry. One of the joys of gardening is this process of constant review as we strive to make our planting better. Now is the time to make tweaks, fill gaps and refine the overall picture by repositioning certain plants.
The other great joy of gardening is the fact that almost everything we do to make our borders look more appealing to us will also benefit wildlife and increase our garden’s appeal to the insects, bees and birds we share it with. The two aren’t mutually exclusive: borders can be made better from a gardener’s aesthetic point of view by boosting their attractiveness to wildlife.
The holy grail is to have a border with year-round interest. It’s one of the things most gardeners strive to achieve and, happily, it’s also the key to attracting the most wildlife. “Having year-round interest in a border – from bulbs in spring to herbaceous perennials, summer bulbs and autumn berries – is so important. The more diverse and packed with different types of plants, the better,” says Kirsty Wilson, head of gardens at Balmoral Castle and Estate, presenter of The Beechgrove Garden and author of Planting with Nature: A Guide to Sustainable Gardening, published last year. “A mixed border with climbers, shrubs and herbaceous perennials will be much better than an old-fashioned, purely herbaceous border,” she adds.
Done well, a mixed border perfectly combines flowers that provide nectar for insects, bushy shelter so birds can perch and nest, food for them later in the year and habitats for invertebrates to overwinter, ticking all the wildlife boxes. “Put in shrubs as a hedge-like backdrop,” advises Kirsty, “or if the border is backed by a fence, add climbers.” In her book, Kirsty recommends bushy evergreen Hebe salicifolia for its ability to attract butterflies – with a neater habit, it might be easier to integrate into a border than a large, rangy buddleja. Species and single-flowered roses are good for ladybirds. Try Rosa glauca, whose blue
