Free Garden Design for Small Perennial Gardens
by Leo Blanchette
Over the past few years, I have designed hundreds of perennial borders and have given a number of lectures on the subject. This year, I will again be offering a free design service to homeowners for perennial borders. This will be done only on Sunday’s at the nursery and will consist of a sketch with the names and numbers of the plants needed. An appointment must be made in advance, either in person at the nursery or by calling 978 369 2962. You can not just show up. Last year I did over 50 sketches. You can save hundreds of dollars in design fees, but you must provide me with a few things. You must bring a scale drawing (1” = 4’), this should be done on a piece of graph paper. It is almost impossible to work with anything that is not to scale. (Plot plans of properties have too small a scale to work.) A few pictures of the site will also be very helpful. You need to check how many hours of sun the garden gets as well as being able to identify any surrounding plants (if you can). I will do a maximum of 450 square feet per appointment (roughly 15’ X 30’ Garden). If larger you can sign up for more than one appointment. Last year available slots filled quickly, sign up early so as not to be disappointed . I will do the sketch while you wait (usually takes more than one hour) so I can ask questions about the site. No shows without proper advance notice will not be allowed to reschedule. (Professionals can schedule, but there will be a charge.)
Ideas For A Beautiful Perennial Border
by Leo Blanchette
Some perennials have flowers that burst into colorful bloom early in the season, others later, but most fade away after only a few weeks. Leaves are the real stars of these borders, remaining faithful from spring to fall and defining the form and texture of a garden. Foliage makes a garden interesting and pleasant to view even when nothing is blooming.
When designing a border with perennials, think of the leaves as the mainstays of the garden and flowers as a bonus, complementing the already-attractive foliage. Arrange the plants so that when the flowers are in bloom, the color flows back and forth and up and down the border.
Too often gardeners think only of how plants appear in bloom, forgetting about their habit. Plants should remain upright, they should not flop. They don't look good if they have browning or diseased leaves. In the past, some of the most popular perennials were those that needed staking or spraying with pesticides or fungicides to look their best. Rather than choosing plants that need this extra attention (not to mention the harm done to the environment), select from a multitude of newer disease-resistant perennials that don't need staking. If we further reduce this list to low-maintenance plants suited to your location with nice foliage and interesting flowers, there are still many fine varieties that will grow in your climate. Make these the backbone of your garden.
When plants are massed into drifts they are most appealing. Planting fewer varieties but more of each, is more pleasing to the eye than many different individuals thrown together. Repetition is also a key ingredient in the border as it carries the eye from place to place and makes the garden flow. Hostas have large, bold leaves and look better when placed in the same shade border with plants with similar foliage, such as, ligularia, kirengeshoma, rodgersia, astilbiodes or other different hosta. All these plants have large leaves and repetition occurs if they are spaced throughout the garden. However, having only one leaf form is monotonous, small delicate leaves from plants like ferns, astilbe, epimedium, dicentra, cimicifuga should also be added to contrast the big bold perennials.
Repetition of other plant characteristics should also be done. For example, astilbes, with their feathery flowers, should be massed in a few locations within view of each other. It doesn't matter whether they have the same color; they have the same form and the eye will move from one to the other. Also repeat different perennials that grow into low mounds, have large round masses, vertical spikes, the same colored foliage or the same colored flowers.
What we focus on is not all that we see; we also see much out of the corner of our eyes. Little things make a big difference in how plants complement each other. Foliage should set up the flowers, making some of their subtle characteristics more evident. In light shade, Geranium macrorrhizum 'Bevan's Variety' has soft, fragrant green leaves and a plum flower. It looks great next to a mass of dark reddish foliage. The Astilbe 'Red Sentinel' has this leaf color and it makes the plum color of the geranium flowers stand out. When the geranium seedpods follow with their soft pink color, another nice complement is achieved. To take this idea one step further, plant another red foliage plant like Heuchera americana 'Plum Pudding' nearby to echo the color of the astilbe. It's not the variety of plant that is important; rather the combination of foliage and flower.
The use of white brightens a shady spot. This can be in the form of white variegation on the foliage or white flowers or better yet both. Let the white variegation echo the white flowers.
These are just a few samples, there are hundreds of exciting combinations possible and a vast array of wonderful textures, colors, forms and fragrances to use in your garden. The well-designed perennial border, using colors, combinations and contrasts will welcome visitors, inviting them to glance from place to place and guide them on every step down the garden path.
