Plant a spring border

2023-04-20 -

Nature always does a pretty good job of putting on a good show in your garden each spring. Although the whole garden bristles with sap and colour, you still might want to take a hand controlling events and plan a specific spring border.

When you plan any planting, think about plant form and foliage colour first. It’s easy to get diverted by flower colour, but for good seasonal effects look at how, when and where plants deliver colour and interest.

Think about plants in terms of their height - aim for interest at each level - tall, middle, low and ground. Even in small gardens, make more impact with seasonal planting by grouping it in borders or areas, rather than having it dotted around your garden. If you’re planting in spring, the only problem is you’ll have to wait a year to appreciate your efforts!

You will need space in your garden or in a border, spring interest plants of all types, a spade, a fork, a trowel. Optional - bark or gravel to mulch the area.

STEP 1

Prepare the area. You may want to regroup some existing plants. Move the plants out that produce effects in later seasons. Make a sketch of the effect you are trying to create with your plants. If you need to, move the remaining plants to the new position. Plan your planting.

STEP 2

Start at the back of the border or area and move forward. Plant any climbers, trees and large shrubs first. This will establish a backbone for your new spring border. Water each individual plant as you plant it.

Then move on to filling the spaces with medium size and lower growing plants. Underplant low growing herbaceous plants with groups of spring flowering bulbs. Remember to label these so that you can remember what’s where.

STEP 3

When you have finished, water the whole border well. Then add a 5cm layer of decorative bark mulch or gravel to the area. This will really help to show off your spring interest plants to good effect, and suppress annual weeds, which are always springing into life and next year the results will hopefully be spectacular.

Plant a spring border

Nature always does a pretty good job of putting on a good show in your garden each spring. Although the whole garden bristles with sap and colour, you still might want to take a hand controlling events and plan a specific spring border.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

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Plant a spring border

Nature always does a pretty good job of putting on a good show in your garden each spring. Although the whole garden bristles with sap and colour, you still might want to take a hand controllin­g events and plan a specific spring border.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Ireland

Nature always does a pretty good job of putting on a good show in your garden each spring. Although the whole garden bristles with sap and colour, you still might want to take a hand controlling events and plan a specific spring border.