Cottage is not only a place that allows people to get a crop. Here you can enjoy the surrounding nature and fresh air. To make it more pleasant to do, the owners of the plots try to ennoble them, creating compositions in gardens and flower beds. Often near the houses and along the paths you can see undersized flowers that create a cozy atmosphere with their presence. These are border flowers. From this article you will find out what varieties of these plants exist, what are their features.
What to be guided by when choosing?
The main rule of the design of the border is to make it beautiful, unusual and necessarily practical. Therefore, you need to wisely approach the choice of those plants that will form the basis of the composition. What conditions should be taken into account?
- Curb flowers complete the look of your site. Therefore, it is necessary that they be contrasted with other plants and objects located in the country. It is imperative to ensure that the color scheme of the edging does not merge with the color of the rest of the space. According to reviews, contrasting compositions look best.
- Choose flowers that can withstand any weather conditions. Unpretentious plants will decorate your site at any time of the day, without suffering from severe cold, excessive humidity or exhausting heat.
- In this case, give preference to colors that do not fall apart in different directions, otherwise you will have to tie them up. In this regard, low-growing shrubs are best for creating compositions.
Annuals
Since there are a large number of varieties of border flowers, they are conventionally divided into two groups: annual and perennial. Those varieties that belong to the first group live for a short time, but each of them is very colorful. Since they still have to be planted every year, you can experiment and not be afraid that something will go wrong. You can create original compositions by playing with the shapes, colors and varieties of plants.
In order for the annual border flowers to decorate the site, it is necessary to do a huge job of planting them. The disadvantage of these varieties is that they wither in the fall, and the next year they have to start growing them again. Even if you get ready seedlings, you will need to spend energy on putting it in the ground. According to gardeners, this is the only drawback of these flowers.
Growing annuals from seedlings
With all its advantages, annual flowers have a big drawback: the process of planting them is very time-consuming. This is done using seedlings. Their cultivation takes place in several stages:
- Germinating seeds are purchased at the end of March.
- The preparation of the substrate for their sowing. To verify its quality, you can plant a test batch of flowers some time before sowing.
- Seed preparation. To do this, they are immersed in warm water before the sowing procedure and wait for them to swell. The waiting time depends on the variety.
- Sowing seeds.
- Seedling care.
The border flowers that are most popular are the dwarf aster Crimson, marigolds, ageratum, nasturtium and verbena.
Marigold
There are a large number of flowering perennial border flowers, however annuals are not inferior to them in their beauty. The most popular in their group are marigolds, which can be purchased literally everywhere. The flower gained great fame due to its unpretentiousness and decorativeness. It became the basis for many color variations. Compositions are made depending on what is the height and diameter of the bud.
Marigolds have a branched stem and dissected leaves. Their flowers can be both terry and semi-double. The color of flowers of any variety is warm, but it depends heavily on the variety of the plant. Marigolds can be either low or tall. The diameter of the bud is directly proportional to the height of the plant, it varies from 3 to 12 centimeters.
Undersized dahlias
Like marigolds, dahlias can be single and perennial. However, more often gardeners give preference to annual varieties that are grown only to create borders. Their height is maximum 50 centimeters, but may be less. Flowering lasts all summer. According to reviews, unlike annuals, perennials may not bloom at all in the first year after planting. Baskets made up of colorful petals are lush and large. Dahlias are unpretentious and resistant to pest attacks and various diseases.
Interestingly, dahlias have been known to mankind for several millennia. However, they got their present name only in 1803, when the German botanist named them in honor of the Russian scientist Johann Georgi.
Antirrinum, or Snapdragon
Gardeners often grow flowering border flowers, combining them with herbaceous plants. Blooming is snapdragon, known to science as antirrinum. Its bushes have a pyramidal shape. On a high straight stalk there are long brushes with lush flowers resembling the shape of a lion's mouth. For this plant and got its name.
Flowers can be painted in different shades, starting with white and ending with yellow. In addition, some varieties have a two-tone color. By its nature, snapdragon is a perennial plant, but it is grown exclusively as an annual. According to gardeners, the bright color of the flower allows you to grow it without using other types of plants in the composition of the border.
Perennials
There are perennial border flowers, which are not only beautiful, but for the most part unpretentious. They give gardeners much less trouble, since the compositions of them do not need to be restored from scratch every year. In winter, they simply discard the aboveground parts: the stem, leaves, buds and petals. After this, the rhizome “as if hibernates”, which lasts during the cold season. Already with the first heat they awaken, and their life cycle begins anew.
Depending on whether the plant is light or shade-loving, the flowers are divided into two groups. However, this does not affect their beauty. The names of the border flowers that love the shadow are: dicenter, blue hosta and astilbe. Light is preferred by arabis, chives and gravilat. According to gardeners, perennials are mostly unpretentious. Caring for them does not require much effort, but the result is excellent: for a long time, the cottage area is decorated with colorful flowers that create coziness.
Tenacious
So, what are the curb flowers? Perennials include survivability. According to gardeners and summer residents, it is unpretentious and hardy, while it is pleasant in appearance: a whole carpet is formed from dark green or purple leaves. The plant is photophilous, it propagates in the fall by division. You can plant it in any soil, it quickly grows even between stones or on slopes and goes well with any flowers.
Dicenter
This plant is known to the world under the more romantic name “broken heart”. Most often, gardeners give preference to a magnificent center, since it does not require special care. However, it is necessary to regularly trim the shoots and peduncles. The plant takes root on any soil, it transfers both shadow and light. Dicenter is a medium-sized lush bush that can live in one place for up to eight years. The flowers are long oblate flowers in the shape of hearts with a diameter of 2 centimeters. According to reviews, the plant pleases the eye throughout May.
Agapanthus
This plant also belongs to the curb. Often it is used to green the area. Its flowering period falls on three months (July - September), so the plant has been pleasing to the eye for a rather long time, like many other undersized border flowers. Names in the people are given to them for beauty and tenderness, therefore agapanthus is often called the "flower of love." That is how this word is translated from Greek. Multi-colored umbrellas are most often painted in white, blue or blue-violet.
However, agapanthus is a rather whimsical plant. Caring for it must necessarily include a procedure such as watering. According to reviews, with insufficient moisture, the flower of love begins to turn yellow, and then dies. It is also necessary to take care of the soil. The best soil for the African lily (as agapanthus is called in South Africa) will be a mixture of turf and leafy land, humus and sand.
Balsam
Roly wet, or balsam, refers to flowering undersized border flowers. Gardeners characterize it as an unpretentious plant that does not need special care, which is why it is very popular and is often used to decorate borders. The most important thing is to protect it from the effects of strong winds and low temperatures, to ensure the entry of sunlight and not to overdo it with top dressing.
Stems and foliage grow slowly, and flowers form quickly. They may have a different color, but the most common plants are purple and pink. On a 50-centimeter bush there are a large number of medium-sized delicate flowers and leaves in the form of drops.
Bell
What else are flowering undersized perennial border flowers? The bell belongs to this group. This common plant is often grown in summer cottages. This flower is beautiful and gentle, yet simple. Its shape is a brush and a whisk. Inflorescences are painted in blue, purple, pink, blue or white.
The bell prefers to grow in sunny areas. Gardeners note that excess moisture can lead to the death of a flower. Planting can be done in loamy light soil. First, it needs to be fertilized, and only after that make a landing. It is necessary to regularly loosen the soil, as well as to give weeds so that the bell pleases the eye for a long time.
Lily of the valley
According to gardeners, lily of the valley is a plant that has a huge number of advantages. These white border flowers are very delicate and picturesque, not one culture can be compared with their beauty. There is only one drawback with lilies of the valley - they are poisonous, so work on their cultivation must be carried out with protective gloves. Be sure to keep the berries out of the mouth of children and pets.
Lilies of the valley are hardy: they can grow in the shade, resistant to prolonged drought. However, in order to get many flowers of relatively large size, you should plant them where the lily of the valley will not need sunlight. Landing is made in the fall in any soil. Since the flowers grow quickly, they need to be thinned out every 2-3 years, since too thick greens can inhibit the formation of new bells.
Mordovia
This plant is unusual. It is painted in blue or white-blue hue. Flowering begins in May and lasts until August. Inflorescences have the shape of a ball, their diameter reaches 5 centimeters. There are many varieties of mordovia. If you opted for this plant, then you should know: it is best accompanied by jasmine, lilac and rhododendron.
The flower is planted either in autumn or in spring. Excessive watering is dangerous for him, since the plant quickly dies with an excess of moisture. As for light and shadow, the muzzle is unpretentious in this matter. However, he suffers from a fungus, so it needs to be treated every summer with special solutions.
Chrysanthemum
This flower pleases the eye of gardeners from mid-summer to its end. In height they are divided into three groups. Border flowers rise above the ground by only 30 centimeters. Chrysanthemums are photophilous, they do not tolerate excess moisture. To make them beautiful and lush, you need to regularly feed them. Gardeners note that the main disadvantage of these flowers is the pest instability. To fight slugs or snails, it is necessary to spray the plant and get rid of the affected parts of the flower in time. Chrysanthemums have a wide range of colors, ranging from white to shades of green.
Border ribbon for flowers
To create compositions of flowers, decoration of beds, a border tape is used, which is a plastic belt made in different colors. With their help, they most often distinguish between landing zones or draw up paths and lawns. Moreover, they allow you to create a raised flowerbed. Particularly beautiful in such compositions look undersized perennial border flowers of different shades. By installing a similar tape in your garden, you can not worry that next year you will have to form the flower beds again. The fact is that it is not necessary to remove the border strips for the winter, because they are resistant to various weather conditions.
Placement Tips
So, when you decide on the type and variety of flowers that will decorate your site, the time will come to decide on their placement. To create a truly beautiful composition, follow a few simple rules:
- Leave a small “margin” of space for perennial varieties. The fact is that flowers grow not only in height, but also in width, which means that in a year or two they will need more space.
- Annual border flowers should be planted as close to each other as possible to get a lush edging of the site or path.