Perennial border

From Gardening Wiki

1 The Perennial Border
2 Choosing Perennials for the Border
3 Dividing Border Perennials
4 Cultivating the Perennial Border
5 Related Perennial Articles

The Perennial Border

The great attraction which the perennial border has for the average amateur gardener is surely that when once it has been well and truly planted that is to say, when a suitable soil medium has been provided, and due attention has been paid to the re- quirements of the plants in regard to disposition and situation it demands comparatively little attention, save for an occasional loosening of the surface soil with fork or hoe, and an annual top-dressing of littery manure. The plants take care of themselves. iThey thrust their fresh green spikes through the soil with the advent of sunny days in February, they attain the zenith of their beauty in summer and early autumn, and then die down to be stirred into activity again and again as season follows season.

First of all, in planting a perennial border and, indeed, in every other branch of gardening comes the preparation of the soil. In the well-ordered garden this should have been accomplished before Christmas ; but where the opportunity for this has not been forthcoming the work of digging and planting may be carried on in suitable weather with perfectly satisfactory results until the middle of April. To delay until the autumn would be to waste precious months of bloom ; indeed, I am not sure that it is not better in the long run to plant the perennial border after the sun has had time to warm the ground in March and April and to dispel the chill damp of winter rains and snows. The small pieces of root and the young plants that are purchased from the florist will at least have a chance, in consequence of the delay, to get hold immediately and grow away without any serious check.

The chief point to remember in preparing the soil for perennials is that the border is to be the home of your plants for three or four years at least. The less you disturb them the better they will grow. Therefore dig deep and dig thoroughly. If you find that the good soil is two feet deep you may rest satisfied that you have it at sufficient depth.

It is possible, however, that you will have to contend with a mass of heavy clay or a layer of light sandy soil, and that the drainage of the subsoil may be imperfect. In that case the hints given in the chapter on " Soils and How to Cultivate Them " will be found useful. The great object to be aimed at is to give your perennial plants a sufficiently deep root-run. Where the top layers of soil are defective they should be treated so that, it they are too light, moisture-retaining substances are incorporated, and if too heavy, the lighter qualities of sand and road grit may be introduced so as to bring about a better condition of porosity.

The building up of a border with entirely new material will be found to be a somewhat expensive undertaking, but where it is possible the results can be nothing but satisfactory if the following method be adopted : The old soil should be taken out to a depth I of two or three feet, the subsoil loosened for purposes of drainage, and the vacant space filled in with layers of well-rotted manure I towards the bottom, old pieces of turf, road grit, and loamy soil.

The surface should be raised and rounded to allow for the inevitable shrinkage which will follow as the soil settles down.

And here let me emphasise the desirability of generosity in regard to the width of the border. If the plants are not to be cramped for room ; if they are to be allowed to flourish, and to attain the breadth and height that are natural to them, then be assured that they will only reach the standard of perfection of which they are capable if they be accorded spacious treatment. By this I mean a border not less than four feet wide, and if possible six. Its length will, of course, depend upon the dimensions of the garden the larger it is the better chance will it give of effective grouping and the adoption of suitable colour schemes. But whatever its length it must have breadth if it is to be an artistic success.

Choosing Perennials for the Border

What to plant is a question that may next be considered. I have drawn up a list of hardy perennials and biennials which may prove useful to the beginner, and I have arranged them in three sections, so that he may have some guide by which to judge the natural height of the plants when he sets out his border. The biennials will need renewing after two years, either from seed or young plants.

A selection of the plants that are intended to furnish the border having been made, the next essentials are firm planting and discrimination in the choice of positions, so that the effective groupings and colour schemes can be arranged. Even the beginner in gardening will be familiar with the good old rule that tall-growing subjects should be placed at the back of the border and low-growing plants in the front. But he will be wise not to observe it too closely. Its adoption will inevitably result in a dreary and monotonous uniformity, which it should be his object, in this as in all gardening operations, to avoid. By all means let him place his hollyhocks and his rudbeckias towards-the back, but do not let him hide his early flowering chrysanthemums, his tritomas, his irises, his coreopsis, or his choicest Michaelmas daisies in such a manner that their full beauty is obscured. Let him break up his border by judicious planting. A well-arranged border is like a shifting kaleidoscope, but to realise this constant variety the colour, height, and habit of each individual plant need to be studied.

Dividing Border Perennials

As time goes on the clumps of phlox, rudbeckia, campanula, Michaelmas daisy and many other occupants of the perennial border will expand and swell until they swallow up every available inch of soil, and, indeed, overlap each other in their eager hunt for refreshment and sustenance. This may be expected to occur in a well-stocked border in the course of three or four years, and then the necessity presents itself for a vigorous thinning out and a judicious rearrangement of the plants. Neglect to meet the requirements of the occupants of the border by attention to these operations will inevitably result in a serious impoverishment of the soil, and a distressing deterioration of the plants.

While one is about it, it is well to do the thing thoroughly. In the case of a comparatively new border it may, of course, be found sufficient to thin out only a few of the more vigorous occupants, but where the border has been allowed to remain undisturbed for several years complete renewal and redistribution are essential ; and in order to accomplish the operation satisfactorily it is advisable to divide the border into sections, say, six yards in length, so that the varied tasks of lifting, dividing, digging, manuring, and replanting can be accomplished, so far as one section at least is concerned, in one day. The adoption of this plan obviates the possibility of damage to the plants by frost, if, as might be necessary where a longer stretch of border came under review, they had to be left out of the ground for several days at a stretch.

Let us suppose that it has been decided to take such a section in hand : What should be the method of procedure ?

First the old clumps must be lifted, and this, in the case of well-seasoned old roots of perennial aster, phlox, or sunflower, will not be too easy a task, especially if by neglect, the soil has been allowed to become solidified. In such a case it is best to thrust a sharp spade round the extremities of the clump, and then to lift it bodily, if possible, out of the ground with the aid of a strong fork. The roots thus removed may be placed on one side to await division.

Here it is necessary to offer a word of warning. Some discrimination must be observed in arriving at a decision in regard to the subjects which will bear disturbance and those which will not. Exceptions to the general rule of wholesale lifting must be made in the cases of paeonies and alstrosmerias. These resent all interference. To disturb them once they have become established means another long interval before they will reward the cultivator with gorgeous displays of blooms.

Cultivating the Perennial Border

In digging the border it is necessary to penetrate deeply enough to ensure a thorough breaking up of the subsoil. The advantages to be derived from this will be apparent both in the manner in which the occupants of the soil will thrive and in the comparatively little need there will be for the use of the watering-can, save in periods of excessive heat in summer.

The efficient manuring of the border while the digging is in progress requires some care. The kind of manure to be used depends largely upon the nature of the ground. If it is light and inclined to be sandy, and therefore unable to retain moisture in times of drought, it will be found advisable to place a good layer of cow manure two, and, if possible, three feet below the surface. Where clayey soil predominates, every effort should be made to lighten it by the use of decayed vegetable matter and turves, littery manure, and gritty road sweepings.

When the soil has been thus treated, deeply dug, well manured, and thoroughly pulverised on the surface, and sloped gently from the back to the front of the border, it will be ready for replanting. The clumps previously lifted should then be divided. The old roots may be sundered by the use of a sharp spade. In selecting the pieces suitable for replanting, it is well to take them not from the centre of the o'd clump but from the extremities. These are the newer parts of the plant, and therefore the more vigorous.

Firm planting is a cardinal principle to be observed. It is not enough to make a hole with spade or trowel, thrust in the roots, and fill in with soil. The new plant must rest securely on the bottom of the hole, be packed round tightly with soil, and then, to make assurance doubly sure, it is a good plan to tread carefully all round its crown so as to keep it in position.

In replanting, as in the making of a new border, it will be advisable to keep an eye on colour schemes, on the necessity for grouping, and on the danger of overcrowding. As the work proceeds retain clearly in the mind the deficiencies presented by the border in previous years, and remedy them by attention to the rules here set forth. In a large border single specimens are lost ; effective grouping alone can provide a satisfactory result.