Content
To beautifully decorate a personal plot, desire is not enough. It’s also good to have basic knowledge of landscape design. One of the options often used for landscape design is a ridge.
What is this
A rabatka is a flower garden, most often rectangular in shape, narrow and long. Width and length have a ratio of 1:3. So, if the width of the flower bed is 4 m, then the length will be, accordingly, 12 m. Placed along garden paths, fences, and the foundation of the house. The function of the ridge is to decorate or divide the area into zones. Such flower beds are actively used in the landscape design of our cities. Alleys are often separated by decorative plants, decorated in a discount pattern.
Once upon a time, a long time ago in Germany, banal beds were called rabatka. And, accordingly, vegetables grew on them. Now the filling of the discount has changed to floral. Although you can also plant herbs. It will be both beautiful and useful.
Kinds
There are several criteria by which a flower garden is classified.
By location of the discount:
- Symmetrical - in the middle of some space. For example, a lawn.
- Asymmetrical - along a fence or foundation.
By plant type:
- Annual flowers are created from plants that grow for one season, delighting with bright colors.
- Perennials are planted with representatives of the flora, which grow for 2-3 seasons without requiring replanting. Discounts from perennials along the path they will delight you with their beauty for several years.
According to the method of planting plants of different heights:
- In a single-tier flower garden, plants of the same height are used for planting.
- In a two-tiered arrangement, the flowers form two parts in height: high and low.
- A multi-tiered flower garden consists of plantings of different heights.
By form:
- One-sided ridge - tall plants are planted in the background along a fence or wall, then medium-height ones, and low-growing or groundcover plants in the foreground. If you need to hide something, for example, the foundation of a house, then use plantings of the same color scheme. Or, on the contrary, plant flowering greenery with a very bright color, then the flower garden will distract attention from construction errors.
- Double-sided flowerbed - the middle part of the flower garden is occupied by tall plants, and the sides are occupied by low ones. Such a flower garden should be open to view from all sides. Its best location is in the middle of the site. The function of the ridge is to divide the site into zones.
- Intermittent ridge - a long flower garden is divided for convenience with a decorative stone, a path or low-growing plants, or a large single plant (rose, dahlia, peony). It is not at all necessary that the shape of the ridge be rectangular; it can be very different: teardrop-shaped and wavy.
By color:
- Monochrome - using plants that bloom in the same color scheme to decorate the garden.
- Contrasting discount - the use of two or more colors.
Do-it-yourself discount
Most citizens cannot boast of large areas of their plots.Therefore, choose the appropriate size of the discount; it is better if its width is 0.5 meters.
Sketch
The step-by-step action plan for creating a discount is as follows.
First: plan. Start with a piece of paper. Draw what you want your discount to look like. First of all, decide on the form. Whether it's straight rows or fancy patterns, it's up to you to decide. Next, decide what color scheme your flowerbed will be in. You will combine plants of the same type, but of different colors. Or you will go the complex route of combining annuals and perennials, or you will use flowers and plants with unusual shapes and colors of leaves. This is a good move, since flowering plants usually lack greenery.
Below is a possible arrangement of perennials:
Place for a flower garden
Next step. You need to navigate the area. Determine the location where the flower garden will be and what the conditions are there. Conditions are important for your pets. Will there be shade or bright sun, high humidity? Consider the type of soil so that the plants grow well and delight you with lush flowering. If you want to decorate your area with tiered plantings, then listen to the advice from landscape designers: for 1 sq. m of flower garden should be placed 4 tall plants, 5 medium and 9 small.
Plant species
When choosing flowers, remember the timing of flowering. Everyone wants the rabatka to delight with the process of continuous flowering from early spring to late autumn.
Early flowering plants: daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, crocuses. Unfortunately, this beauty is short-lived.
After the bulbous ones, you can plant annuals in the vacant space: ageratum, calendula, petunia, marigold, lobelia, pansy.
You can add decorative annuals to the flowering ones: cineraria seaside, chlorophytum crested, hybrid coleus. It is also possible to use vegetable crops in the garden: carrots and beets, parsley and zucchini.
Perennials make life easier for gardeners. Irises, phlox, lilies, lupins, hostas, peonies, bergenia, and ferns look good in the garden. The use of low-growing coniferous plants: spruce, juniper is not prohibited. And herbs: lemon balm, sage, thyme, mint, rosemary, which contain essential oils, will fill the garden with indescribable aromas, and will also bring you considerable benefits. Use herbs as spices or make tea.
Landing
From theory we move on to step-by-step actions. We prepare gardening tools. You will need:
- shovel;
- rake;
- pegs with ropes;
- watering can;
- decorative stone, tile - what you will use to decorate the edges of the ridge;
- You may need a supply of fertile soil and fertilizer.
First, we make markings using pegs and rope where the flower garden will be located. We dig up the soil and apply fertilizer. If the earth has never been dug up in this area before, then it is necessary to remove the top layer of turf to a depth of 10 - 15 cm, taking into account the shape of the ridge. Then fill this hole with gravel for drainage, then soil mixed with fertilizers. Next, armed with our sketch, we begin to plant the plants. Start from the center, gradually move towards the edges. It is more comfortable. Otherwise, the plantings will be trampled and damaged.
When the plants are planted, they need to be watered. If you plan to decorate the edge of the flower bed with a decorative element, do this before watering.
It will take some time for the plants to take root and adapt. Very soon the look of the discount will change for the better.
Care
Blooming healthy plants are the dream and pride of any gardener. Don't forget that your flower garden will require attention. It is important to water on time. Consider weather conditions. Do not forget to loosen the soil and remove weeds. Then the landing will look neat. If the flower died for some reason, it should be replaced with a healthy one. Fertilize the plants, then there will be no losses due to lack of nutrients.
In autumn, perennial plants are freed from dried greenery and covered. You can place pegs with inscriptions to know for sure what is wintering where. Be sure to inspect the plants, remove dead ones and replant overgrown ones.
Annual plants must be removed in the fall to prevent rotting and the spread of disease.
Conclusion
Creating a discount is an exciting creative activity, during which dreams and aesthetic preferences will come true. Every day you will receive satisfaction and true pleasure from the work done. And on long winter evenings you will look at photographs of the past gardening season and make new plans. You can stock up on new ideas by watching the video:
