Practical Herbaceous Border Design and Development - Part 1

This article is in two parts and describes in detail, the design, construction and subsequent development of a classic English Mixed Herbaceous Border. The first part focuses upon  initial clearance and plant acquisition. The second part develops the design of the mixed herbaceous border by removing the traditional straight path. The English Mixed Herbaceous Border is at once the most difficult to get right and, in my experience, the most satisfying . A good border design takes a lot of plants to look lush and exotic but once 'there', they can look absolutely fabulous for months! Herbaceous borders do take a lot of work, that's the reason they were most common and at their beautiful best when landowners could afford upwards of 20 gardeners.

Picture above: Work begins on the Mixed Herbaceous Border in the West Garden at Winsford Walled Garden during August 1999. Notice the WWII Nissen hut right.

The mixed herbaceous border was located adjacent to the dividing wall between the gardens. The wall faces west. There were practical reasons for this. The main one being that the West Gardens were so badly overgrown that we did not want to enter too far too early! As you can appreciate from the photo above, we just wanted to scratch the surface so-to-speak.

The large JCB excavator made short work of the initial clearance and we began planting 'anything herbaceous we could find' on the eastern side of the border against the wall. Running right through was a concrete road left over from WWII.

Picture Left: A mini digger at work on the proposed western side of the herbaceous border during May of 2000. You can just see the eastern side in the bottom right. Aileen has given up clearing up after me!

We were opening for the very first time under the National Garden Scheme in July (maybe August), 2000!

(The BBC should have filmed this! But, despite many requests, they were having insurmountable problems getting out of London - and still do!)

Picture Left: By July, 2000 the herbaceous border was a tremendous improvement on what had gone before. This was how the  west side of the herbaceous border looked around the time the gardens first opened under the NGS. The first bamboo introductions can be seen in the background.

On the face of it, little could be seen. And for this reason we prepared a photographic exhibition to explain more clearly our achievement (which still runs). The first three photographs clearly show the work on the herbaceous border and the West Garden during our first year. What they do not show is the first completed greenhouse restoration, nor the work in the East Garden which included the construction of a large and innovatively designed pergola and circular brick patio.

By the summer of 2001, the eastern side (left) of the herbaceous border was filling nicely. Much of our effort during that summer was spent on restoring the second greenhouse and keeping the weeds at bay!

Picture left: The herbaceous border during the summer of 2001. Note the second (left) greenhouse during restoration.

In addition to new imports, each autumn, as plants established in the East Garden and on the eastern side of the border increased and we were able to divide them up, the herbaceous border progressed in leaps and bounds.

November is without doubt, the busiest month in the herbaceous garden. It's also the most fun!

As the larger stock is divided for propagation and mature stock is also divided to 'renew' it and thereby maintain better flowering.

Picture left: November is the busiest time for herbaceous gardeners.

But the best part of the herbaceous border for me is that November is the time to 'rearrange your planting'!

During the summer you notice plants which are 'not performing as intended'. In July you might notice that a particular colour or leaf combination can be improved upon. According to some labels your latest acquisitions only grow to 2ft. But by the time you know different and can see nothing else behind them, it's often too late. Unfortunately, the converse is often true. (Too many gardening authors seem to have a flat in London with a window box! And if I had a pound for every garden centre plant that 'grows to 4-5ft'- and doesn't . . . . . . )  November is the time to make your changes.

Picture left: The herbaceous border looking north. By the summer of 2001 both sides of the herbaceous border were doing very well.

By 2001 the herbaceous border  was doing very nicely. The planting was still looking a bit 'thinner' than I would have liked, and that straight concrete path was an eyesore!

Picture left: The herbaceous border looking south.

The mixed herbaceous border is a  practical 20th century derivative which came about as a result of householders not wishing to see empty bare earth throughout the winter in their gardens.

The mixed herbaceous border consists of shrubbery and trees, both evergreen and deciduous, which can add 'bulk' and structure to any herbaceous design.

Such mixed plantings can most easily be seen in winter, when the herbaceous content is invisible.

 
Picture left: A snow-covered young herbaceous border with the proportion of mixed content visible.

Initially, shrubs were simply planted 'at the back', because we knew that so long as that abominable straight path remained any layout was a temporary one, necessary while our stock was steadily increasing.

To my mind, the length of any herbaceous border is not as important as its depth. Simply put, depth = lushness.

Today, the narrowest herbaceous border is thirty feet wide!

Practical Herbaceous Border Design and Development - Part Two.