Creating a long-lasting flower bed is a matter of common sense. Once the basic parameters are respected, you will enjoy its beauty for a long time with limited maintenance. Instructions for use...
The parameters to respect
For your bed to last a long time, several factors must be taken into account:
- its location and exposure ;
- the nature of the soil and its preparation;
- the judicious choice of plants.
The success of your scene and its longevity over time depend on the consideration of these three essential elements.
1. Location and exposure of the future bed
You must choose the location of your future bed according to its exposure and situation in order to select plants that will grow perfectly in predefined conditions of full sun or shade. The slope is also important: if it is significant, create contours to retain water so that it can benefit the plants.
2. The nature of the soil
Analyzing your soil or observing the surrounding vegetation to determine its nature is very important and will save you a lot of trouble. If the soil is neutral, you can install most of the plants, whereas if it is acidic, you will prefer to choose heathland plants and their friends. In the case of a limestone soil, be sure to find out about it because some plants cannot stand it.
In each specific case, you will bring the necessary elements to correct the PH and to enrich the soil, the only guarantors, with an adequate watering, of the opulence of the blooms. A good addition of compost in the fall and spring and a few additions of organic fertilizer during the growing season should be sufficient for most plants. The humidity level of the soil is also important because some plants tolerate fresh soil perfectly while others prefer a well drained soil that does not retain water, take this into account when creating your bed.
3. The choice of plants
To create a long-lasting bed that will bloom for many months, choose plants that are adapted to the climate of your region and avoid rare plants and highly worked horticultural varieties that are less robust and require constant attention.
Think of shrubs in the background that will form the base of the scene around which the other elements will be articulated. Vary the species to stagger the blooms: viburnum for winter, forsythia and laburnum for early spring, buddleia, ceanothea, deutzia, or spirea that will bloom throughout the season and shrubs with colored foliage or bark such as sumac, small maples or dogwood for fall. Birds and pollinating insects will appreciate this welcome food source!
Next, always respecting the parameters mentioned above, you will install hardy perennials in small groups of the same species by arranging them in a natural way. These plants will last in the garden and develop into impressive clumps over the years. Among them, grasses that require no maintenance and bring lightness to the scene: miscanthus in the background, pennisetum, sedges, fetuques in the center will give movement to the whole. For long-lasting blooms, rudbeckias, coreopsis, auberets, sage or alysses will work wonders. A few bulbs of daffodils, hemerocallis and muscari will stay in place and soon form large flowering clumps. You will only have to complete the picture with a few annual plants if you feel like it!
