Perennial flower beds

Flowerbeds of perennials serve as decoration for any area. Their main advantage is the opportunity to get a functional flower garden for the next few years. When creating a composition, you need to take into account its location, shape, types of plants and other nuances.

Basic Rules

Before creating a flowerbed with your own hands, you need to choose its location, type, color palette of plants, and also think through many other nuances.

The following tips will tell you how to design a flower bed of perennials:

Tall plants are placed in the center of the composition, while shorter ones are planted along the edges;
Another option for placing tall perennials is places near houses and fences;
if flowers of different shades are selected, then tall representatives should remain brighter, while pale, low plants will become a good background for them;
ground cover perennials used for edging and filling free space.

To know how to make a beautiful flower bed, you need to consider a number of parameters:

area of the plot for improvement (usually up to 15% of the total area of the land plot is allocated for the flower garden);
flower bed shape (square, rectangular, round, complex, etc.);
plant layout;
color spectrum.

A drawing of the future flower garden is first drawn up. The plan schematically indicates its shape and arrangement of colors. When the sketch is ready, you need to transfer it to the site. You can mark the boundaries using lime or improvised means.

Types of flower beds

The shape and size of a DIY flowerbed is selected depending on the area of the site and the location of the buildings. If the house is located deep in the yard, then a round, rectangular or complex-shaped flower garden will look good. If there are long paths, the flower garden is arranged along them.

carpet flower bed

A carpet-type composition allows you to create a floral carpet on your site with your own hands. This is a flower bed of low-growing perennials, consisting of plants of one species or variety. Due to this arrangement, individual areas are not distinguished by height.

Important! A carpet flowerbed requires dense planting.

The simplest is the flower-shaped pattern. This is a round flowerbed in which perennials are planted in such a way as to create the outline of a flower.

You can place a yellow aquilegia in the center of the flower garden, and plant pink phlox around it in a circle. The role of the petals will be played by purple phloxes. The rest of the space will be filled with white phlox.

Figured flowerbed

Figured-type flower beds are created from low or medium-sized perennials. If you use tall specimens, they will obscure the outlines of the flower bed.The design is made in the shape of a heart or hexagon.

Island flower bed

The composition in the form of an island does not require precise execution, and the flowerbed layout is distinguished by smooth lines. Its filling can be monochromatic or combining several types of perennials.

An island composition can include plants of different heights. The tallest representatives of perennials are usually planted in the center. If the composition is adjacent to a fence or building, then it is better to plant tall flowers closer to them.

Border flower bed

You can decorate paths and fences with flower borders. A living fence can be formed by combining lilac aquilegias with phloxes. The flowerbed with roses, complemented by Carpathian bells, looks original.

Advice! A composition consisting of even rows of perennials makes a good impression.

Yarrow can be planted along the edges of the garden bed, while daylilies fill the central part.

A type of border design is a mixborder. It is made in the form of a strip along the house, fence or path. There are no requirements for its width and configuration. The result is a mixed-type flower garden.

Modular flower beds

Modular flower beds are obtained by repeating one element having a certain geometric shape. It is best to fill a modular flower bed with flowers of the same type. If several perennials are combined, their number usually does not exceed six.

A modular flower bed of perennials is made according to the scheme. To create a design, free space is divided into several sectors. A border up to 5 cm high will help to delimit the sectors.

Advice! Stones, tiles, vases and other decorative elements will help to dilute the flower arrangement.

Solitaire flower beds

Plants of the same group can be combined within one composition. Then you will get a solitaire flower bed, consisting of plants of the same height, color, shape of inflorescences, etc.

Advice! Tapeworms planted at a distance from each other look impressive.

Choice of colors

There are a huge variety of perennial flowers. The selection of specific representatives for your composition is carried out taking into account the weather conditions of the region and the design of the site.

Therefore, in one flowerbed you need to plant flowers that require similar care. Before planting, you need to learn how to properly care for plants. You can choose perennials for your flower garden based on the description and photo.

Unpretentious plants

To decorate flower beds with perennials, unpretentious plants are most often chosen. This includes flowers that do not require special conditions. They are resistant to frost, drought, high humidity, diseases and pests. Therefore, such plants are able to grow in one place for several years.

Advice! To care for unpretentious flowers, it is enough to water periodically in the spring. remove dry leaves and stems.

A wide group of plants is considered unpretentious:

aconite;
gentian;
goldenrod;
physiostegia;
helenium.

Moderately labor intensive flowers

Plants in this category do not need daily care, however, they are demanding of external conditions. It is recommended to replant them every three years to prolong their flowering period.

The following flowers need some care:

aquilegia;
arabis;
cornflower;
carnation;
iris;
clematis;
phlox;
sage.

Flowers that are difficult to care for

Certain perennials require complex care, certain soil quality and external factors. They are susceptible to diseases, sensitive to cold and pests.

Difficulties arise when planting any bulbous plants, as well as the following flowers:

lilies;
roses;
gladioli;
dahlias;
begonia;
chrysanthemum.

Examples of perennial flower beds

You can create a flower garden using ready-made planting schemes or by developing your own flower beds. As an example, you can use ready-made solutions, supplement them or make your own adjustments.

Long flowering flower bed

Beginner gardeners are better off using unpretentious perennials for their flower beds. The next option includes plants that do not require special care. Their use allows you to obtain a composition of continuous flowering.

Day-lily. Planting in the ground is done in the spring after applying fertilizers. The flowering of one bush lasts for three or more weeks.
Yarrow. Blooms at the end of May, prefers places well lit by the sun.
Iris. Begins to bloom in June, prefers sunny or partial shade.
Sunflower. The first inflorescences appear in May, while the flowering process lasts up to four months.
Clean. Blooms in July and retains inflorescences until September.
Thyme. The main flowering period covers the period from July to August.

Another example of a continuous flowering flower garden is shown in the photo.

Flowerbed for flowering in the first year

Many perennials begin flowering in the second year after planting. To get a flowering flowerbed in the first year after its arrangement, you need to carefully select plants for it:

hollyhock - a huge mallow, which is used next to fences or in the center of a flower bed;
rudbeckia - to create bright accents;
penstemon - prefers sunny places, then produces flowers in the form of bells;
fragrant tobacco - a plant with large flowers and a pronounced aroma;
coreopsis - a low-growing flower with yellow inflorescences;
bell - an unpretentious plant with bright flowers;
gatsaniya - a short-growing representative of the aster family.

"Sky in the Clouds"

A beautiful flower bed with such a romantic name is formed from three types of perennials. The first row consists of gentian and Transcarpathian bellflower. The second row is formed from white phlox.

Gentian has a distinct blue color that stands out against a snow-white background. Due to this combination, the beautiful flowerbed of perennials got its name.

Flowerbed in the shape of a heart

A heart-shaped flowerbed is made of low perennials. To make a flower bed, peonies are planted along its edges. The combination of burgundy and pink peonies looks original.

Roses become the central part of the composition. Flowers of pink and red shades are selected for decoration.

Flowerbed in pink tones

A bright accent in landscape design will be a composition decorated in pink and purple shades.

The following perennials are suitable for its formation:

knotweed - a large shrub with bluish leaves, blooming in a huge cloud;
monarda - blooms large flowers with a pleasant aroma;
astrantia - stands out for its numerous inflorescences in the form of umbrellas of rich red color;
saxifrage - produces paniculate inflorescences on long stems;
phlox is a herbaceous perennial with abundant inflorescences;
geranium - to add red tones to the flower garden;
bell - has purple inflorescences with a delicate aroma.

Autumn flower bed

To ensure that the landscape design of the site pleases the eye until late autumn, plants that bloom until late autumn are chosen for it.

The following plants are suitable for a DIY autumn flower bed:

phlox paniculata (late varieties);
goldenrod;
rudbeckia;
helenium.

Bergenia, which can create dense thickets, will help add a composition of greenery. It is planted along the edges of a flower bed of perennials.

Tall asters can bloom until November. They can withstand light frosts, and their bright flowers last until the first snow.

Soil preparation

After choosing the location and shape of the future flower bed, you need to prepare the soil for planting. You need to remove it first weeds, leaves, stones and debris. Then the soil is dug up to a depth of 0.5 m.

You can improve soil quality by adding special components:

For clay soil you will need humus, peat, organic fertilizers, and sand. Additionally, you need to create a drainage layer 15 cm high from gravel and sand.
Sandy soil requires a layer 10 cm high, consisting of manure, humus, peat and organic matter.

Advice! Before planting, mineral and organic fertilizers are always applied to the soil.

The height of the flower bed for perennials is up to 15 cm above ground level. Perennials grow well in sandy loam soils and light loam. The top layer is periodically loosened to improve the air and water permeability of the soil.

Conclusion

A flower bed of perennials is selected based on the available space and the design of the site. For its arrangement, plants are used that can grow in one place for several seasons.You can decorate the composition with any perennials, if you combine them correctly in height, color and growth conditions. It can be adjacent to the house and fence or remain an independent part of the decor.