Planting for Seasonal Interest – Planting Plans
Most gardens will clearly look their best in the summer months with the return of colour through flowering herbaceous perennials when there is a huge variety of options available to create the style and colour palette you are looking for.
However, that should not mean you have to accept a garden with no interest in the beds and borders through the remainder of the year. You can extend that season of interest and through each month present a professional garden design look.
Achieving a Luxury Garden Design look all-year round
Fundamental to achieving this year-round interest is a strong framework of evergreen shrubs and trees, maybe incorporating some deciduous shrubs with winter and other colour themes in the garden such as Cornus Alba with its beautiful red or yellow stems for structural interest. In addition to evergreen varieties, shrubs which might provide colourful autumn foliage or spring blossom will provide interest bookmarking either side of summer. They will also help maintain height in the garden when a number of perennials have been cut back for winter dormancy.
Amongst these evergreens you can combine different textures and colours to achieve a fantastic permanent framework. These might include Choisya Sundance, Photinia Red Robin or Carex Evergold for example. These will shine out against a darker backdrop of Yew hedging, Thuja Brabant or other topiary options.
When you select your herbaceous plants for summer colour, plan beds with space dedicated to different periods. The herbaceous plants can cover late May through to late September and early October starting with early colour with species such as Aquilegia & Geraniums, through to late colour provided by Anemone, Asters and Salvias. You should still plant for full impact in the 4-5 weeks of the main summer period with lots of repetition and swathes of colour with a palette that combines well – colour palette is a blog for another day.
There are a number of perennials that you select for summer colour and impact that can also provide excellent shapes and interest in the autumn and winter months if left alone and not cut back until Spring because of their seed head flower structures.
This is something that Piet Oudolf encourages in his fantastic naturalistic garden designs. They are often great sources of food for insects and birds in the winter as well. Great plants to help achieve this are Sedum telephium, Achillea (or Yarrow), Astilbes, Echinacea, and different varieties of Eryngium. Then before you know it you are into winter snowdrops and spring bulbs such as Daffodils, Tulips, and Forget-me-nots as the garden properly starts to re-awaken.
Hopefully this gives an insight into the possibilities for creating year-round interest in the garden.
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