Perfect the art of the garden border
With spring fast approaching, we look at the winning formula for introducing colour, texture and interest to an outdoor space using border plants, whilst keeping to your client brief.
Consider your aspect and light levels
Clients may have a vision for their outside space but it’s always worth paying heed to Beth Chatto’s wise words of finding the “right plant for the right place“ when you select the planting scheme for any border. South-facing borders need plants that love full sun, from alliums to succulents, whilst shadier spots in north-facing borders can be pepped up with dramatic foliage and pale flowers to create a tranquil ambience.
They key to success is longevity, siting plants where they will thrive, and creating something that is realistic for your client to maintain. With climate change wreaking havoc on our seasons and predictable rainfall levels, it is also worth considering drought-tolerant varieties, hardy plants that can tolerate temperature fluctuations or native species that can help develop biodiversity in the space.
Be repetitive
Repetition is a very powerful tool in garden design, helping to create pleasing patterns that draw the eye around the entire border. This can be done effectively using colour, texture, statement plants, or even height. Make your scheme more cohesive by repeating at least one or two main colours throughout, whether by contrasting colours, or toning various shades from eth same palette.
Meanwhile, an array of exciting textures, from smooth, glossy leaves to delicate fern fronds, adds spectacular interest and is particularly effective in a foliage border, where the colour palette is often mostly shades of green. Repetition – whether in an ordered or more random pattern – is key to the success of this type of border to pull the look together.
Playing with height in your border can have real impact. Taller things tend to catch the eye first before drawing the eye down to the planting below. Try interspersing your planting scheme with a repeating pattern of taller plants, such as small trees, tall shrubs or tall perennials, such as lupins or agapanthus, underplanted by a covering of low-growing perennials like hardy geraniums, heuchera or even creeping herbs for great ground cover.
Maintain an edge
You’ll always have your traditionalists but, for some clients, it pays dividends to keep ahead of the curve and tap into the latest gardening trends. Experts suggest that bedding plants are falling out of favour, with gardeners opting for more sustainable seasonal options, like hardy annuals or long-lasting, robust perennials that require less watering. Salvias, heather, echinacea, and dahlias are great options, providing seasonal colour and attractive blooms for pollinators.
Take note of garden colour trends for the year ahead, helping you create something up-to-the minute. As with interior trends, the palette for garden plants is bold in 2025, from earthy reds, to deep purples, and Cottagecore pastels.
Teal is also predicted to be a big influence in the garden this year – a colour that can be perfectly worked into borders using ornamental grasses, such as blue fescue, eucalyptus trees, glacier blue euphorbia, or varieties of hostas with striking blue leaves.
Modern gardeners are increasingly turned off by the thought of using too many chemicals, so keep abreast of pest and disease-resistant varieties that will still give you the look you want but negate the need for chemicals control. For example, box plants – a once-popular choice for borders and hedges – have been plagued by Asian box tree moths, as the invasive species takes hold in the UK. Fortunately, the ornamental Bloombux boasts all the benefits of the Buxus but is completely pest free, with immunity to the box tree moth, and resistance to other pests like boxwood psyllid, boxwood gall midge, spider mites, and scale insects.
Think about the year ahead
The main focus with any border is to look its best and offer a stunning show during spring and summer but don’t discount the rest of the year. Take the autumn and winter months into consideration when planning your planting and be sure to include evergreens or shrubs that produce colourful autumn leaves. The increasing trend for a less manicured, laid-back gardening style, comes with an appreciation of plants as they go through the cycle of seasonal changes. This means you can consider plants that bear attractive seed heads and spent flowers in the autumn, cultivating an architectural elegance and adding interest even when the headiness of summer has died down.
INKARHO’s ornamental Bloombux – a species of rhododendron – produces spectacular bee-friendly pink and magenta blooms during its peak season of May to June, accompanied by a neat, dense foliage. Once the flowers have faded its emerald-green evergreen foliage will stay looking good throughout the autumn and winter, long after other plants have shed their leaves.
Suitable for planting in containers, as well as in garden beds, Bloombux’s flowers can reach up to eight centimetres in diameter. Not only is it pest free and resistant to disease, Bloombux can also withstand temperatures as low as -24°C. This is another advantage over boxwood plants, which are far less tolerant of extremes of cold or heat. With its relatively low height of up to 70 centimetres, Bloombux is easy to care for and won’t run out of control, making it a great choice for professional landscapers and amateur gardeners alike. The best time for pruning is after flowering, to ensure that the new flower buds for the next year are not cut off.
The INKARHO breeding also makes Bloombux tolerant to lime, allowing it to thrive on nearly any well-draining garden soil.
Bloombux plants are widely available in the UK and can be purchased from garden retailers nationwide, including The RHS, Crocus, Primrose, Grasslands Nursery and Cowell’s Garden Centre.