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Evergreen vs perennials in flower beds

#1 · 20th February 2023, 4:27 pm

Hi there,

I started gardening June 2020 and now feeling a bit lost.

I have 3 triangular shaped beds at the start of the garden. Pre june 2020 they were structured, low maintenance eg) cordalines, grasses, topiary, small confiners, ferns etc no flowers , it looked good 99% of the time.

<span;>When I started gardening in June2020 I changed it to be more bee friendly and took everything out and replaced with perennials like Foxgloves, lupins, corepsis. Snapdragon. Aqualegias, echinacea etc all grown from seed

My main issue is it looks messy a lot of the time when in bloom and then dead the rest of the time.

<span;>Looking for more balance, I did some research and have now bought some Camelias and hebes and will remove / reposition some of the perennials

<span;>So my question is...

would you plant things symmetrical or in groups with the beds being triangle shapes? And How to balance the evergreens and perennials?

(Hope this doesn't count as redesign advice, if so please delete, best wishes ) one pic june 2020 showing the shape of the beds, And june 2022 showing some blooms

Thanks so much

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#2 · 20th February 2023, 10:22 pm

Hi @weedy

First off those beds look amazing when in full flight so please don’t be disheartened. The issue you’re having from reading your comment is two fold.

Firstly you’re wanting year round interest which is where succession planting comes from.

Secondly you’re not blending enough evergreen to herbaceous or deciduous either meaning there’s blobs of green but not much else or a riot of colour midsummer and then not much in the winter.

You’ve got a few choices. Either mix in some smaller evergreens such as Hebes to bring a bit of winter structure or add a few grasses to your herbaceous flowering mix. Then leave the grasses throughout the winter for structure.

As for planting I rarely advocate formal symmetrical layouts. They rarely work unless immaculate.

Follow my guide below or read my flower bed guide here for a more natural layout.

Last tip. I’d plant your evergreens in the back beds and use the front for a more seasonal display of summer and spring flowering plants. That way the main structure is good year round and you can switch that up as you please. Also don’t be too quick to have a perfect and neat border. Wildlife will love the border you already have and it’s far more ecological to plant like that than a year round boring set of symmetrical low fuss shrubs. So don’t be so hard on yourself for perfection. Looks pretty lovely to me!

Happy gardening.

Lee

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