Learn the secrets to an Abundant Border
Rethinking the BORDER -- Break free of the traditional way of layering plants by relying on this relaxed approach
Fine Gardening
Jan-Feb 2008
)
Allan Mandell
Debra's cover story on Learning the Secrets to an Abundant Border, appears in the Jan-Feb 2008 issue of Fine Gardening magazine.
By Debra Prinzing
Whether you’ve been lucky enough to visit the great estates of England or have gazed longingly at images in British gardening magazines, chances are you’ve lusted for their over-the-top mixed perennial borders. Densely-planted displays of delphiniums and daylilies are indeed the gold standard of a traditional English border.
The conventionally layered planting plans inspired by these overpopulated English borders bring to mind an orderly, stair-step installation, with taller specimens at the back of the border, medium-size plants in front of them, and ground covers or small perennials as the lowest layer in front. This method often reads as linear or two-dimensional. I call it the “church choir motif” because it does not allow anything in the front rows to block our view of what is in the back rows.
Can you improve upon the traditional layered scheme and build a better border? It’s a worthy challenge. To do it, you must rethink the conventional border-design tenets and look at it with a new perspective that allows you to infuse the border with interest and excitement.
, goldenrod (<i>Solidago rugosa </i>\'Fireworks\'), and oxeye daisies (<i>Heliopsis helianthoides </i>var. <i>scabra </i>\'Summer Sun\').'))
Barbara J. Denk
The rounded flower heads and mounded habit of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' reinforce the fluid lines of the curved border in Nick and Marj Masla's Bainbridge Island garden. Providing explosions of vertical interest are plantings of feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'), goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks'), and oxeye daisies (Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Summer Sun').
Four design techniques that provide a fresh approach to the layered border are using bold forms to distinguish individual layers, adding see-through plants that create mystery and depth, providing tall accents to expand dimensions vertically, and interweaving groups that blur the edges between layers.
Strong forms differentiate layers
Plants with strong forms or habits can take center stage and give the border a confident point of view. These peak performers add drama and break up the soft look of an otherwise structureless planting plan.
When I design a border I place these structural plants first, then determine how each best fulfills its role with the layers: in a group, as a focal point, or with a repeated visual rhythm. Once they are installed, I fill out the layers with a cast of companion plants which provide contrast through color or form, and fill in the gaps with seasonal interest when the star is dormant.
Architectural plants, such as those bearing globe, button, or umbel-shaped blooms, or oversized, palmate foliage are accomplished border divas. Fountain-shaped plants, such as phormiums (Phormium spp. and cvs., USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11), have eye-catching forms. Ornamental grasses such as ‘Cabaret’ miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Cabaret’, Zones 4-9), excite with striking habits, and dwarf ornamental shrubs are also worthy stars.
Open-branched plants in front add depth
When planting at the front of a border, open-form branch structures of see-through plants break the rigid geometry of a stair-step border, creating a veil that invites you to peer through to the plants behind them.
 hover amid spikes of \'Blue Spire\' Russian sage (<i>Perovskia </i>\'Blue Spire\', Zones 6-8) and \'Karl Foerster\' feather grass (<i>Calamagrostis x acutiflora </i>\'Karl Foerster\', Zones 5-9) to provide a vertical exclamation. (Alan Clasens and Jimene Smith garden, Bainbridge Island, Washington).'))
Barbara J. Denk
Upright plants add a new dimension: Seed heads of ornamental onion (Allium giganteum, Zones 6-10) hover amid spikes of 'Blue Spire' Russian sage (Perovskia 'Blue Spire', Zones 6-8) and 'Karl Foerster' feather grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', Zones 5-9) to provide a vertical exclamation. (Alan Clasens and Jimene Smith garden, Bainbridge Island, Washington).
Adapt this technique to fit your garden’s style. If you prefer a formal look, edge the border with a row of see-through plants, such as agapanthus (Agapanthus spp. and cvs., Zones 6-11). Their sequin-like sprays of deep purple flowers perched above tall, fleshy stems will float harmoniously in front of a bed of short, vibrant plants like bee balm (Monarda spp. and cvs., Zones 4-9), annual poppies (Papaver somniferum cvs., Zones 3-8), and crocosmia (Crocosmia spp. and cvs., Zones 6-9).
For an informal look, stagger veil plants in casually arranged, asymmetrical groups. Border-worthy choices include torch flowers (Kniphofia spp. and cvs., Zones 5-9) and tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis, Zones 7-11). A contorted conifer such as ‘Diana’ Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi ‘Diana’, Zones 5-7) -- which grows just twenty feet tall -- is a great see-through tree, with graceful, open branching that allows second- and third-row plants to be seen.
Behind these veil plants I place strong forms sure to be seen through the laced branches and stems in front of them. Distinct, geometrical forms -- such as mounded, arching, or conical-shaped perennials, ornamental grasses, and small shrubs -- are preferred.
Tall plants create a vertical explosion
Tall plants shouldn’t be relegated to the back row. Staggering tall plants throughout the width of your border creates depth and develops rhythm, increasing the overall look of abundance.
, \'Autumn Joy\' sedum, and black-eyed Susan blur the boundaries among individual plants and among the layers of the border. (Clasens-Smith garden)'))
Barbara J. Denk
Blend groups for a seamless look: Masses of 'Firetail' persicaria, blue fescue (Festuca glauca, Zones 4-8), 'Autumn Joy' sedum, and black-eyed Susan blur the boundaries among individual plants and among the layers of the border. (Clasens-Smith garden)
I love how the spires, spears, and spikes of tall plants shoot up out of a border like exclamation points among an otherwise orderly paragraph of plants. Showy, long-stemmed varieties placed for effect where their flowers and forms can’t be missed will create an extra layer of abundance.
Depending upon the style of your border, add delphiniums (Delphinium spp. and cvs., Zones 3-7), or foxgloves (Digitalis spp. and cvs, Zones 3-9) for a vertical punch. Columnar evergreens like ‘Sky Pencil’ Japanese holly (Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’, Zones 5-7), and ‘Hibernica’ juniper (Juniperus communis ‘Hibernica’, Zones 2-6), and tall varieties of cactus, like Mexican fencepost (Pachycereus marginatus, not hardy below Zone 11) also punctuate borders with verticality.
Masses and drifts blur the boundaries
The sheer volume of massed plants helps create a feeling of abundance, but irregular groups of perennials like ‘Firetail’ persicaria (Persicaria amplexicaulis, ‘Firetail’, Zones 3-8) or black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida, Zones 4-9) obscure the edges of individual plants to break up linear rows and move the eye comfortably through the border). Build the border as a set of puzzle pieces, allowing leaves, stems, and flowers to intertwine and create dynamic compositions.
I often use variegated plants in masses because they complement everything. Variegated cultivars of wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei cvs., Zones 5-9), ‘Jack Frost’ brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, Zones 3-7) variegated liriope (Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’, Zones 6-10) and striped sedges (Carex spp. and cvs., Zones 3-9) all deliver dramatic foliage that stands strong in a colorful border.
Toss out the stair-step notion of a layered border, and view the garden from many points of view: above, below, diagonally, up close, or from a distance. With a bit of experimentation, you can achieve abundant, multilayered borders in any hardiness zone or garden style.
