We spend a lot of time talking about flower beds, but what if you actually planted up a border as you would a real bed?? After all, there are plenty of different styles and shapes of plants. You can lay down a mattress, plump up the pillows, even add a frilly valance, and you’ll be able to grow the fullest flower bed yet!
So, let me introduce you to the concepts I’ll be using:
Mattress – we all need a good firm mattress, and it’s what your whole bed experience is based around. The plants chosen here are dense and ground-hugging, blocking out weeds and giving the other plants a great base to emerge from!
Sheets and Blankets – we all prefer good coverage when it comes to bedsheets and snuggly blankets, so these plants are light and fluffy, yet dense and ground covering.
Pillows – whether you prefer big chunky pillows or scatter cushions, these plants can add some punctuation to any flower bed. They’re full-shaped and luxurious, yet well-shaped, as all good pillows should be!
Curtains – those who are boujee enough to have a four-poster bed (or to at least have stayed in a fancy hotel room) will know the luxury of curtains for that extra bit of softness and privacy! They’re the perfect representation of climbing plants, which can be used to add cover to walls and trellises, as well as creating partitions and privacy in different areas of the garden.
Vallance – whatever you call this where you’re from, it‘s the frilly sheet that goes around the base of the bed. It’s like the finishing touch, and the plants that represent it are breezy and billowing. These are plants that will tumble over pathways, and soften any hard edges!
All the plants used in my ultimate FLOWER BED have been selected from Plantipp, a company that represents many different shrubs and perennials, and certainly have their finger on the pulse when it comes to new plants!
Mattress – ground-huggers, stop weeds before they even get a chance to grow!
Tipped to be one of the next top plants, Ajuga has been relatively unknown for years. “Princess Nadia” is named after the breeder’s daughter, and is just so beautiful! The mixed paintbox of colours is offset in spectacular fashion by the blue summer flowers! Buy now.
Flowers: April-May, and August
Height: 15cm
Spread: 30cm
Soil: Moist, well-drained
Position: Part shade
“Cutie Pie” is a dense low Rose, a completely new category. The dinky little blooms are produced in their hundreds. Sensational! Buy now.
Flowers: May-August
Height: 40cm
Spread: 20cm
Soil: Fertile, well-drained
Position: Sun
Another old-fashioned plant, completely remixed for 2021! The “Chick Charms” are incredibly easy to grow, very drought tolerant. The tight rosettes make excellent ground covering, or are totally at home in rockeries. Buy now.
Flowers: July-August
Height: 15cm
Spread: 30cm
Soil: Dry and well-drained
Position: Sun
Sedum ‘Sunsparkler Lime Twister’
Tough, resilient, and remarkably drought tolerant. Sedum are basically outdoor succulents, the fleshy leaves store a lot of water, so that means that their watering requirements are almost zero! There’s tonnes of exciting varieties too, which can all add a psychedelic edge to your border. Buy now.
Flowers: August-November
Height: 25cm
Spread: 25cm
Soil: Fertile, well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
I just love this plant! Dense mats of fleshy leaves cover the ground, and is very useful for dry sunny banks. There is a bonus though, during the summer, they throw up loads of bright daisy blooms, in a range of disco colours! Buy now.
Flowers: June-October
Height: 15cm
Spread: 30cm
Soil: Well-drained
Position: Sun
Pillows – the plants that are light and fluffy, but with tonnes of impact. Each one is perfectly shaped!
Shrubs are my top recommendation for borders, because they last for years, and many, such as “Little Angel”, are also evergreen! Or perhaps we should say “ever-red”, as this variety sure is! Buy now.
Flowers: July-August
Height: 90cm
Spread: 90cm
Soil: Fertile and rich
Position: Sun/Part Shade
Yeah, they’re not technically pillows, because you certainly wouldn’t want to rest your head on one, but Mangave have the typical rounded shapes of “pillow plants”. A brand-new type of plant, it’s drought tolerant, super colourful, and (unfortunately for my wallet!) very collectable! Buy now.
Flowers: July-August
Height: 20-60cm depending on variety
Spread: 45cm
Soil: Well-drained, poor soils okay too
Position: Sun
A miniaturised version of an often big and cumbersome shrub, this Weigela is excellent for the border, but also pots and containers too. Flowers long, and stays in shape with minimum of effort. Buy now.
Flowers: May-October
Height: 40cm
Spread: 60cm
Soil: Fertile, well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
Growing good plants isn’t just about filling your borders for summer, you need to think about the winter months too. This Skimmia will look good all year round; plants are glossy, and the frothy flowers are just so cool. And the shape is pillow-tastic too! Buy now.
Flowers: April-May
Height: 90cm
Spread: 90cm
Soil: Well-drained, slightly acidic
Position: Part Shade
Another shrub that you often need to commit to, this Hydrangea variety is actually perfect for smaller gardens. The shape is so neat and round, and of course those creamy flowers are decidedly pillow-like! Buy now.
Flowers: July-October
Height: 50cm
Spread: 40cm
Soil: Moist, but well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
Curtains – plant upwards to add vertical coverage and privacy to your garden!
Lonicera ‘Celestial’
Named as such because this plant is out of this world, this variety of Lonicera (or Honeysuckle) brings fun and elegance to containers, trellises and more with its healthy, green foliage and striking flowers.
Campsis Golden Trumpet
This variety brings instant happiness to any area with bright yellow flowers that feature subtle red stripes on closer inspection. This cheerful plant flowers early compared to other varieties in its genus, meaning bright ‘curtains’ for your garden before everyone else!
Clematis ‘Kokonoe’
Sumptuous and warmly coloured, this Clematis is so dreamy, all you’ll want to do is watch it as it elegantly creeps up its supports. This plant is definitely a grower – reaching up to 2.5m in height!
Valance – the skirt of your border, the frill, whatever you call it, these are the plants that will act in an informal manner, softening any edges!
Ooh, this looks gooood! Salvia used to be looked down on, and people didn’t really grow them, but that’s all changed! People have realised that they are incredibly long flowering, and will grow in most conditions, plant a few at the edge of the pathway, and let them run! Buy now.
Flowers: June-August, and October
Height: 45cm
Spread: 25cm
Soil: Any well-drained
Position: Sun
You don’t always need to have your Dahlia at the back of the border, you could easily have them by the pathway, and then you can enjoy them up close. The “Mystic Series” has super decorative foliage too, which looks great against a green lawn, or concrete pathway. Buy now.
Flowers: June-October
Height: 70cm
Spread: 30cm
Soil: Rich, well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
One of my favourite billowing plants, I think Hardy Geraniums look great when spilling out onto pathways, with their palmate foliage and sexy colourful blooms. They’ll grow in any type of soil, varieties flower for months and months and months, and plants also last for many years. Buy now.
Flowers: June-October
Height: 40cm
Spread: 40cm
Soil: Fertile, well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
Gaura ‘Baby Butterfly Dark Pink’
Gaura is another great spiller, and the butterflies will love it too. I love how the plants are wonderfully informal, and the delicate flowers create a haze of pink through the summer! Buy now.
Flowers: June-October
Height: 60cm
Spread: 60cm
Soil: Any well-drained
Position: Sun
If there is one ornamental grass that looks good as a spiller, then it has to be this! The arching, striped foliage looks absolutely stunning however you use “Sunflare”, spilling over a pathway or the edge of a container. Buy now.
Flowers: August-September
Height: 45cm
Spread: 45cm
Soil: Moist, rich, but well-drained
Position: Part Shade
Blanket – these are the mid height plants, with good spread and branching habit. They will create excellent groundcover quickly and easily.
Specially selected for its strong growth, and notable fragrance. Plants are well shaped, don’t get “woody” too quickly, and flower for a long period. The ideal blanket plant. Buy now.
Flowers: June-September
Height: 60cm
Spread: 45cm
Soil: Fertile, well-drained
Position: Sun
Variety selected in the UK, Heuchera were already a popular choice for groundcover, but “Frilly” changes everything. Dense, spreading plants, with the most gorgeous foliage. The perfect foil for growing other plants through! Buy now.
Flowers: July-August
Height: 30cm
Spread: 30cm
Soil: Rich, well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
An excellent mid height blanketing plant, this sparkling Veronica offers a fantastic clear colouring not seen in many other border plants. Buy now.
Flowers: June-August
Height: 20cm
Spread: 30cm
Soil: Any well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
These are gorgeous, ethereal and create the perfect ‘wabi sabi’ look for your garden! Every colour of the rainbow, the blanketing plants will also attract wildlife to the garden! Buy now.
Flowers: July-October
Height: 40cm
Spread: 20cm
Soil: Fertile, well-drained
Position: Sun/Part Shade
Not all blanketing plants are for summer, the Sarcococca is evergreen, and has fragrant winter blooms. Plants offer great groundcover in partly shaded corners too! Buy now.
Flowers: January-March
Height: 50cm
Spread: 50cm
Soil: Rich, well-drained
Position: Part Shade
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook. You can also listen to The Plant Based Podcast with Michael and co-host Ellen-Mary on iTunes, Spotify and Google.
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