Don't Forget the Trim

An essential part of the perennial border often not given the deserved attention is the front...the extreme front.  Often we jump into plants that are 18" to 24" tall in this location, but what makes this part of the border special is the beautiful trim of really short plants...those 12" or less.  I've been experimenting with this living trim for a few years and have discovered a few beauties.  One of them is Veronica x 'Waterperry Blue'. This plant only grows 4-6" tall and has an amazing blue flower in the spring.  The foliage also has a slight burgundy tinge making it extra nice throughout the growing season.

Geums are Jems

I discovered this flower only a couple of years ago and now cannot imagine living without it.  In early spring it pops out like orange polka-dots all over my zone 5 sunny perennial border.  The foliage is wide and round giving much needed coarse texture to the garden.  The flowers balance above about 12-18". There are many different cultivars, so I may be creating my own sweet little geum collection soon.

A Gingham Garden

Something I love to do is picking a fun image, color scheme or object to inspire me in designing a garden. It's a great way to generate ideas, yet help narrow down your plant choices.

I found this gingham image above several months ago and have been aching to design a perennial bed based on it. This is a simple border that you can place along a sunny wall or fence. The peak bloom time is June to July.  I'm in zone 4 so have planned it accordingly, but you can take the same principles and design something with plants in your area. Oh, and I chose all my perennials through a fabulous plant database found on the Midwest Groundcovers website.

I know it's getting a little cold to plant now, but it's never too early to plan for spring!

My Experiment

For the past two years I've been experimenting with a sunny perennial border.  The kicker...I only allow plants that are less than 24" tall.  Why?  Because the boxwood hedge behind it will only be three feet, so I'd like to see some differentiation between the two eventually.  Hopefully the hedge will reach that height in a couple of years.

My focus in this border is texture and form.  It's very successful in some areas, while in others it's still a flop.  I constantly move things around, try new plants, and even pull out some ugly ducklings once in awhile.

I'm sure the neighbors think I'm crazy.  I often pace up and down the front walk taking mental notes of what to change and add next.  I don't think this experiment will ever end.