3 plans for colorful, easy-care spring borders

Pearl · Post by **Pearl** » Sep 24, 2009 Views: 22350

[center]3 plans for colorful, easy-care spring borders[/center]

Three great borders

Each of these three borders will thrive in full sun (only the abutilon and hydrangea require afternoon shade).

Border 1: cool perennials

A new twist on the pink theme, a border that pairs pink-flowered plants with subtle splashes of gray, green, and maroon foliage is more sophisticated than sweet.

This triangular planting (12 feet long at the front) is a lively focal point of a backyard garden in San Francisco; it was designed for viewing from picture windows at the back of the house as well as from a raised deck at the rear of the garden.

Heuchera, ornamental grass, and silvery artemisia mingle with abutilon, airy clusters of pink gaura, coneflower, and hydrangea to soften and hide the base of the deck.

Bark mulch covers the soil between plants; Trex benderboard finishes the front edge.

Plant cuphea, salvia, and verbena for color among mixed basils, eggplant, and pepper.

Cool perennial plan

A. Purple coneflower ( Echinacea purpurea; 4 inch)
B. False heather ( Cuphea hyssopifolia; 1 gal.)
C. Gaura lindheimeri 'Passionate Blush' (1 gal.)
D. Salvia 'Waverley' (1 gal.)
E. Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple' (1 gal.)
F. Purple fountain grass (1 gal.)
G. Artemisia pycnocephala 'David's Choice' (1 gal.)
H. Dwarf purple fountain grass ( Pennisetum setaceum 'Eaton Canyon'; 1 gal.)
I. Flowering maple ( Abutilon hybrid 'Mobile Pink'; 1 gal.)
J.Hydrangea macrophylla (existing)

Pearl · Post by **Pearl** » Sep 24, 2009

Border 2: flowers and edibles

Many herbs and vegetables have especially colorful foliage that look great with flowers and ornamental grasses. In this 8-foot-wide planting, lime green and purple basils determine the color scheme.

We added red-flowered cuphea, blue-flowered salvias, a lime green ornamental grass, a bright red edible pepper, a purple eggplant, and an ornamental pepper with purplish black foliage and berries that change from deep purple to red.

Use flowers of yellow, orange, and red to play off bold foliage in shades of green

Flowers and edibles plan

A. Ornamental pepper ( Capsicum annuum 'Black Pearl'; 4 inch)
B. 'Mrs. Burns' lemon basil (4 inch)
C. 'Dark Opal' basil (4 inch)
D. Salvia ( S. longispicata x farinacea 'Mystic Spires Blue'; 4 inch)
E. Green sedge ( Carex dipsacea; 4 inch)
F. 'Siam Queen' Thai basil (4 inch)
G. 'Genovese' basil (4 inch)
H.Cuphea llavea 'Flamenco Rumba' (4 inch)
I. Red verbena (4 inch)
J. 'Cayenne' pepper (4 inch)
K. 'Listada de Gandia' Italian eggplant (4 inch)
L. Rose (existing)

Pearl · Post by **Pearl** » Sep 24, 2009

Border 3: tropical jewels

You don't have to visit the tropics to enjoy jungly foliage and flowers. Just choose the right plants to create a tropical border anywhere in the West.

For this 9- by 5Â½-foot planting, landscape designer Karen Donnelly combined coral, fiery orange, red, and yellow flowers with lime green and deep green tropical foliage.

A pot filled with elephant's ear and potato vine adds height and structure to the planting. In cold-winter areas, build the border for just a season, then start over next year. Or move the most valuable plants indoors for winter. You can also substitute hardy look-alikes, such as Japanese banana and honey bush, for true tropicals.

Tropical jewels plan

A. New Zealand flax ( Phormium tenax; existing)
B. Blood flower ( Asclepias curassavica 'Silky Deep Red'; 4 inch)
C. Lily turf ( Liriope muscari 'Majestic'; 1 gal.)
D. Celosia mix (sixpack)
E. 'Frau Louise Mayer' dahlia (1 gal.)
F. 'Park Record' semicactus dahlia (1 gal.)
G. Red and yellow cannas (existing)
H. 'Kelvin Floodlight' dahlia (1 gal.)
I. Mondo grass ( Ophiopogon japonicus; 4 inch)
J. 'Profusion Apricot' zinnia (sixpack)
K. Giant bird of paradise ( Strelitzia nicolai; 5 gal.)
L. 'Brilliant' hibiscus ( Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Brilliant'; 5 gal.)
M. Sweet potato vine ( Ipomoea batatas 'Marguerite'; 4 inch; in pot)
N. Ruffled taro ( Colocasia esculenta 'Ruffles'; 1 gal.; in pot)
O. 'Kanga Red' kangaroo paw (1 gal.)

Post by **Sawera** » Sep 25, 2009

excellent pearl

umair16 · Post by **umair16** » Sep 25, 2009

NICE SHARING PEARL.............

Post by **admin** » Sep 25, 2009

great post

Post by **ujala** » Sep 26, 2009

superb cool post pearl dear

Pearl · Post by **Pearl** » Sep 27, 2009

Sawera wrote:excellent pearl

thanks for excellent comments sawera

Pearl · Post by **Pearl** » Sep 27, 2009

umair16 wrote:NICE SHARING PEARL.............

Thanks umair

Pearl · Post by **Pearl** » Sep 27, 2009

admin wrote:great post

Thanks Admin