by Sammy Stein

Created on: August 29, 2010

Any garden, no matter how big, small, landscaped or simply left to nature, will be enhanced by flower beds.

The hard landscape of your garden will dictate the theme and style - be this formal, informal, messy, neat, strong or loose but it is the plants and flowers which dress the landscape and add dimension, changes, colors and life to the landscape. The choice of plants will enhance a theme, whether this is Eastern, modern, Victorian, Edwardian, minimalist or symmetrical.

Before you decide on the flower beds, have a look at the dominant shapes and themes in your garden. Is there a color palette or if not, is there a range of colours you would particularly like to use? Is there repetition which you could reflect in your plantings or is there symmetry? 

Can you use the plants to hide ugly corners or bring dull areas to life? Can you clothe a wall or two with flowers, using them at the back of a bed or can you bring into view a previously hidden area by introducing flower beds with lots of color for impact and focus?

Whatever your reason for using flower beds, think about the shapes of them. Enhance a formal garden with shapes which reflect the shapes of the landsacaping. LInk beds to each other by using similar colors or even varieties of plants repeated. A clever trick is to use the same species but different varieties so you link the beds but still have changes ,making each bed distinctive and characteristic.

Flower beds can be used to enhance any part of the garden. They can be used in the traditional way around the borders, with tall plants and climbers at the back and smaller flowers towards the front of the bed or they can be created as island beds, viewed from all angles and this time having tall plants towards the centre.

Another variation is to have flower beds which create movement by having flowers that bloom in succession. You can use color blocks in the samepalette range so that as each flower group fades, the next is coming into bloom. This takes careful checking in directories and experience but it really works. You can use the colors to create great effects.

You can use flower beds to create illusions too. Strong colors like the fire colors of red, yellow and orange will bring borders apparently closer and foreshorten long tapering areas whilst palettes of pale colours like pastels, blues and pinks will create the illusion of the bed going away from you and suggest more space. Using different colors in blocks can create the illusion of waves by using strong colors alternately with pastels. It has to do with how our eyes receive colors and how our brains react to them but it does work.

Flower beds enhance any theme. For example, if you enjoy wildlife visiting your garden,use a flower bed to bring animals in by having grasses for shelter, nectar producing flowers for birds, butterflies and bees and ones which produce rich seed heads such as Echinops ritro and Alliums for birds to feed on towards autumn. Not only will the flower bed bring animals into the garden but many of them help controlpests too soit is win-win for you and the wild life.

Flower beds can be used to make strong statements by using them to reflect shapes from your property, creating definite links between the home and garden, or they can be used to create a relaxed, eclectic mix of shapes and form. Choose your plants for the beds carefully, thinking of their size, shape and form as well as planning their flowering time and you will find flower beds enhance any garden no matter what its size or shape.

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