Do you have a small patch of bare soil that you are thinking about planting with perennials? Or perhaps, a large border to lay out, but don’t know where to begin? Here are some tried-and-tested perennial groupings to get you started that will each fit in a space of just 10 square feet (1mĀ²).
Choosing perennials for a new planting scheme, small or large, can be difficult at the best of times. A visit to the garden centre might give us inspiration, but simply looking good on one day isn’t enough to ensure plants will grow well together in the long-term. When choosing perennials to plant together, we want to select ones that:
- Thrive in the same soil and under the same light conditions.
- Provide variation of height, foliage and texture.
- Produce a succession of harmonious colours.
- Play well together, so that one does not swamp another.
- Will look good together in and out of flowering.
- Will remain attractive for several years without too much intervention.
Getting this right is not easy, and every gardener has made mistakes and wasted time and money along the way. Searching online, you can often find information and images of individual plants, but it is much harder to find examples of groups of three or four species growing happily together. That’s where this article comes in: providing you with several plant combinations that have stood the test of time in my own garden. You can simply copy these plantings into your own space, or use them as a starting point for a bigger design.
perfect for…
Narrow beds
Along paths and drives
Filling gaps in borders
Corner plantings
Edges of larger beds
Raised beds
Mini-gardens
Large planters & troughs
10 sq ft = 1mĀ²
3ft x 3Ā½ft (1m x 1m)
4ft x 2Ā½ft (1.2m x 75cm)
5ft x 2ft (1.5m x 60cm)
6ft x 1Ā½ft (1.8m x 45cm)
“Designing the garden is like learning to speak. You begin with odd words learning the individual plants. Then you create a simple phrase, finding two or three plants that look well together, next comes a sentence and finally the complete story.“
ā Beth Chatto
Why I like narrow beds + Location of the planting plans
ā³ Plan of my gardens, showing many narrow planting areas. The planting plans in this article are numbered 1-5.
[Side-scroll image to see it all on smaller screens]
Narrow beds present a particular challenge for garden design. They can be hard to plant without ending up with a series of plants in a row. This is a difficulty I’ve had to overcome, as about 70% of the planting in my garden consists of beds between 18in and 4ft deep (45-120cm).
About half of these narrow beds are thin strips of planting between paths and fences. As I like to grow climbers and wall-shrubs (espalier trees for exampls) on every available vertical surface, I need paths nearby so I can easily set up a step ladder to maintain these vertical plants. At the base of these fences and walls, therefore, I often have beds between 1Ā½ft and 3ft (45-90cm) deep. Being so shallow, these are tricky to plant, but easy to maintain.
In my Pond Garden (formerly my Vegetable Garden) and my Woodland garden, I have a lot of raised beds which are 4ft (1.2m) deep and surrounded by brick paths on all sides. The logic here is that I should be able to weed the centre of these beds without having to walk on the soil. It works.
With so many narrow beds in different parts of my garden, I’ve had to come up with plant groupings that suit the light and soil conditions in each area. After many years of trial and error, I can now see which combinations have worked the best. Five of these form the basis of this article. Each has stood the test of time, both in terms of aesthetics and plant compatibility.
So, below, I’ll share planting plans from 5 different areas of my garden. These mini-schemes can be used as stand-alone plantings to fill gaps in your garden, or as a starting point for a larger design.
There should be something here for everyone: from shady to sunny aspects, dry to retentive, fertile to poor soils. Likewise, something to suit every taste: from modern minimalism to cottage garden.
#1
Summer Popsicle
for Free-draining soil in full sun
This vibrant summer display manages to be colourful and classy without tipping into garish. The blue and pink colours form a calm harmony, while the soft yellow-green pokers produce a beautiful colour contrast. Hardy to -10C when given a sunny, well-drained site, these perennials should go on for many years.
Space required: 1m x 1m (3’6″ square)
1
Kniphofia āPoco Citronā
This compact red-hot poker is the star of the show, and small enough to be used at the front of the border. It’s grassy upright foliage is a fresh bright green with reliable olive-yellow flowers.
Jun-Sep; H45x40cm
2
Lavandula ‘Hidcote’
This English lavender is a bushy dwarf evergreen shrub with narrow, silvery-grey leaves and small deep purple-blue flowers in dense, aromatic spikes.
Jun-Aug; H60x60 cm
3
Salvia ‘Sensation Compact Bright Rose’
A neat herbaceous sage that produces tall spires of bright pink flowers against dark burgundy calyxes.
May-Aug, H40x35
#2
Cottage Garden Charm
for Average Soil with Some Sun
Narrow beds at the foot of fences and walls can be hard to plant. One trick is to grow climbers or train espalier trees up the vertical surfaces, but how to plant the base? Here is my solution for a south-east facing fence. This combination has thrived for many years although I’m sure it would work just as well in a more open position. Space required: 1.5×0.6m (5x2ft)
1
Rosa āSweet Wonderā
Classed as a patio rose, Sweet Wonder only grows to 2ft (60cm) in the open. Flowers are held in trusses with a dozen buds, each one opening to 2in (5cm) across, salmon pink fading to cream over an exceptionally long season. Needs spraying for black-spot.
May-Nov; H60x50cm
2
Salvia ‘May Night’
One of the older varieties of Balkan sages, but a star performer in my garden for over a decade.
Jun-Aug; H45x45 cm
3
Alchemilla mollis
The chartreuse flowers of Lady’s mantle harmonise with the other colours in the scheme.
Jun-Sep; H40x55 cm
4
Allium christophii
May-Jul; H45x15 cm
5
Geranium nodosum
May-Sep; H40x40 cm
- Low maintenance
- Long flowering season
- Cottage garden charm
#3
Calm Green ā
for Part Shade
Another narrow bed at the base of a wall. This time facing North-West, so it only gets sun in late afternoon. This combo has been stable in my garden for over a decade.
Space required: 1.5×0.6m (5x2ft)
1
Korean Rock Fern
A small fern which when happy produces a beautiful show of fine foliage. Part-shade and not-too dry.
H35x40cm
2
Box ball
Nothing clips quite so perfectly as box. But blight and caterpillars now make it difficult to recommend. Try Ligustrum, Dwarf Azalea or Japanese holly instead.
H40x40 cm
3
Helleborus
‘Double Ellen White Spotted’
A double-white Hellebore with red spots in the throat. Many other white varieties are available.
Feb-May
H35x40 cm
4
Small Hostas
4a) H. ‘Stiletto’ ā narrow variagated leaves 6in (13cm) long. Easy to grow at front of border. Slug resistant. H15 S35cm
4b) H. ‘Heather Hill’ ā More robust with wider leaves. H25x35cm
5 European Ginger
(Asarum european) ā This UK native, forms a mat of glossy round evergreen leaves (5-8cm / 2-3in across) which spreads slowly by rhizomes, gradually colonising the space between taller plants.
H10x50cm
6
Polystichum setiferum āCongestumā
A compact shuttlecock shaped fern, with stiff upright fronds. Easy and trouble-free.
H35x35cm
More Ideas for Calm Green
Ideal as ground-cover under an small tree:
7Disporopsis sp. A dwarf form of evergreen Solomon’s Seal. H15x30cm
8Epimedium rubrum. Shield-shaped leaves. H30x30cm
9 Hakonechloa macra. Forest grass – elegant, soft clump with good autumn colour. H45x50cm
#4
Elegant Whites
for Rich soil in full sun
One of the best ways to show off white flowers is to surround them with deep greens. In my garden, I have achieved this in a long border next to my greenhouse by creating three planting areas separated by clipped evergreens (buxus and Myrtus tarrentina) that is terminated with a hedge of lonicera nitida.
Each bays is approximately 10sq ft (1.2 x 0.8m), and is planted with a variety of white bulbs, perennials and roses to provide a succession of flowers so that there is almost never a month without something looking good. Being along side a path, these white plants are mostly viewed obliquely, rather than straight on. This allows the base of old plants and bulbs to die back relatively out of sight, keeping the focus on the specimens that are currently flowering.
Below, you will find 3 planting plans, any one of which could be used on its own, or with a bit of care you can mix-and-match to create something that will work well in your own garden.
Space required: 1.2m x 0.8m (4ft x 2.5ft) per bay
“It is extremely interesting to work out gardens in which some special colouring predominates, it opens out a whole
new range of garden delights.”
ā Gertude Jekyll
Planting Plans
KEY
1 Tulip ‘Purissima’ (bulb)
2 White Foxglove
3 White sea thrift
4 Summer hyacinth (bulbs)
5 White river lily
1 Tulip ‘Purissima’ (bulb)
6 Rosa ‘Iceberg’
7 Echinacea ‘White Swan’
8 White annuals
9 White starflower (Ipheion)
9 White starflower (Ipheion)
10 Rose ‘Susan Williams Ellis’
11 Iris ‘White Swirl’
“A border may be brilliant with bright-coloured flowers alone, but if it is to be a picture, it wants some of its brightness to be relieved by something quiet, in good harmony, but comparatively neutral.”
ā Gertude Jekyll
1
Tulip ‘Purissima’
AKA ‘White Emperor’; A beautiful creamy-white tulip. If planted deep (20cm / 8in) it can be left in the ground for several years.
Jun-Aug; H45x15cm
2
Digitalis ‘albiflora’
Statuesque biennial with all the charm of the native foxglove. Self seeds, staying white, if away from other foxgloves. Jun-Jul; H150 S40cm
3
White Thrift
(Armeria maritima alba) creates a grassy mound at the front of the border, with tiny white pom-pom flowers hovering above it.
Apr-Jun; H25x50+cm
4
Summer hyacinth
(Galtonia candicans)
ā
ā
Summer hyacinth
Galtonia candicans is a wonderful South African bulb, emerging in late spring, with 30cm/1ft long grey-green, strap-like leaves. Each bulb produces a single stem 1.2m (4ft) tall, from which hang dozens of large, scented, waxy, white bell flowers, loved by bees. Plant bulbs in March, 6in deep. Hardy to -5C.
Jul-Sep; H120x30cm
5
Hesperantha coccinea ‘Alba’
Valuable for its autumn flowers. Grassy foliage. Long lax stems.
Sep-Nov; H60x80cm
6
Rosa ‘Iceberg’
A beautiful and easy shrub rose that is almost never out of flower. Disease resistant. Light fragrance.
May-Nov; H1.2×0.9m
7 Echinacea
‘White Swan’
A pure white daisy with orange central boss ā frequented by bees in late summer. Does best in good soil, without crowding.
Jun-Sep; H70x50cm
8 Annuals
Fill gaps (after the tulips are over) with summer bedding:
White Candytuft
White Violas
White Snapdragons
9 Ipheion
‘Alberto Castillo’
Pure white starflower, perfect at the front of the border. Neat grassy leaves emerge in autumn, die down by summer. Flowers profusely for weeks. Feb-Apr; H20x30cm
10
Rose ‘Susan Williams-Ellis’
Highly disease resistant, healthy foliage and a succession of 8cm (3in) flowers all summer.
May-Oct; H120x90cm
Iris sibirica ‘White Swirl’
Siberian irises are tough and reliable, thriving in sun or part shade, in retentive soil. Beautiful, elegant and all-too fleeting in May or early June. Divide clumps every 5 years.
May/Jun; H70x40cm
11
Not happy with just white? Want more colour? Try these…
‘Black’ & white Theme
Coloured flowers can seriously detract from the power of a white theme, so are generally best avoided. I find even creme-whites are too yellow. The only option is to go for contrast, which would meanā¦ black flowers?
Now, there are very few actually black flowers, but those that are very dark purple or blue work well. I tend to grow these in pots and place them near my white border plants to create contrast.
Tulip ‘Queen of Night’
May; 40x15cm
Agapanthus ‘Alan Street’
July; 70x50cm
#5
Early Summer Pastels
Poor stony soil, in sun
At the front of my house I have a narrow bed (2ft 6in (75cm) deep by about 8ft (2.4m) wide, under a south facing window. For many years I have had a mixture of short lived perennials and bulbs in various shades of pink, mauve and soft yellow. They have worked well, but the dwarf box hedge that fronts this bed, along with the climbing rose ‘The Pilgrim’ that I grow on the wall behind, have gradually squeezed them. This isn’t ideal, and the perennials are now struggling, so in the planting plan below I’ll assume you are excluding the box hedge and the rose on the wall, in which case, they’ll do so much better. This is a great planting combination, particularly if you have poor soil. These plants will thrive on low-fertility, unimproved stony soil along a drive, at the foot of a wall, or in a coastal gravel garden. It needs several hours of direct sunshine per day. Drought tolerant once established, although the Sisyrinchium and Alliums need moisture in spring.
This isn’t ideal, and the perennials are now struggling, so in the planting plan below I’ll assume you are excluding the box hedge and the rose on the wall, in which case, they’ll do so much better. This is a great planting combination, particularly if you have poor soil. These plants will thrive on low-fertility, unimproved stony soil along a drive, at the foot of a wall, or in a coastal gravel garden. It needs several hours of direct sunshine per day. Drought tolerant once established, although the Sisyrinchium and Alliums need moisture in spring.Space required: 1.2 – 2.4m x 0.75m (4-8 ft x 2ft6in)
1
Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’
A fast growing shrubby, evergreen perennial, with grey-green foliage will form a large dome when given space. From this a continual stream of small mauve flowers appear on stems that grow continuously through the season. Cut back straggly flowering stems in late summer. Replace every few years. Does best and lives longest on poor soil.
Feb-Aug; H70x60cm
2
Sisyrinchium ‘Aunt May’
A bold perennial forming clumps of upright, semi-evergreen fans of sword-shaped, blue-green leaves. In summer, tall zig-zag spires of biscuit-yellow, starry flowers open over many weeks. It sometimes flowers again in late summer.
Jun-Jul, H60x50cm
3
Allium ‘Purple Sensation’
A realtively perennial ornamental onion, with tennis-ball sized heads of deep pink-purple in late spring. (Plant 3 at each station in planting plan.) Needs sun at base in early spring. Foliage dies away naturally soon after flowering.
Apr-May; H60x15cm
4
Centranthus ruber
A woody based perennial forming clumps of arching upward stems with grey-green foliage. These stems carry branching heads of tiny red-pink flowers all summer. Flowers are followed by fluffy wind-born seeds. Remove to prevent self-seeding.
Jun-Jul, H60x50cm
5
Thymus serpyllum
Creeping thyme is a reliable mat-forming thyme that grows outwards covering bare soil and paving. Good at the front of a sunny border where it can spill over a low wall or onto paving.
Needs full sun without being covered by adjacent plants. Trim over after flowering to keep compact.
June; H10x40cm
Other recommended plants that fit with this theme…
Coreopsis verticillata ‘Buttermilk’
A tough perennial with masses of fine upright stems with tiny green leaves, covered with pretty cream-yellow disies all summer. Full sun. Jun-Oct; 45x45cm
Erigeron glaucus ‘Sea Breeze’
Another tough perennial, salt tolerant, forming a dense spreading mat of grey-green foliage above which soft violet and yellow daisies are produced Jun-Oct; 30x50cm
I am really happy to receive one of your precious blogs, again.
Your photos and the texts are excellent, and I am deeply grateful
Warmest thanks from your German admirer – Monika
Thank you so much. I put a lot into this one, with the special coding and styling. A lot of fun, but it takes quite a bit of time! Iām so glad you appreciated it.
Really enjoyed reading your article and loved the pictures and ideas. Unfortunately I live in Gilroy, CA. Gets very hot here..
Pleased you liked it. I think #1 and #5 might have a chance of working in California. What do you think?