How to Design a Mixed Border

Mixed borders (or mixed planting beds) are those that combine shrubs & perennials. They have outpaced perennial beds to become the most common type of planting in Seattle. There is good reason for this. Mixed borders are more visually appealing, more varied, more interesting & less work than perennial gardens. Cottage gardens usually refer to perennial beds, but the cottage garden style is frequently applied to mixed plantings. Perennials & shrubs are most often informally intermixed.

1 Find a sunny site. This technique can work in shade. But it is easier in sun.

2 Choose a theme. You might choose plants from a certain region.  But it is probably easiest to work with color. You might decide to use a variety of different colors, a dominant single color, or a pair of contrasting colors. Don’t make it too complex. Try to take it easy.

3 Choose your favorite shrubs from lists of plants that match your theme. Shrubs will take up the most space. Decide where to place them 1st. Realize that they will cast shade as they grow. Learn their ultimate size in order to leave enough space between them for perennials. Consider repeating certain shrubs. Keep it simple.

4 Choose your favorite perennials from lists of plants that match your theme. Here you will be thinking more of flowers. But foliage is still important. Don’t use too many spiky-leaved perennials. This is easy to do. It looks boring. Think of grasses, bulbs & groundcovers as perennials. Be sure to repeat certain perennials. 1 of everything is just a big chaotic mess.

5 Buy lots of compost. You can order it by the truckload from Cedar Grove, or buy it in bags. Cover the garden site 2 feet deep. Plant in the compost.

6 Buy the plants. No single nursery will have all of the plants you want & need. Call around. Look in the phone book under Nurseries. Visit ALL of the nurseries near you. Order plants by mail, if they are unavailable locally.

7 Set the plants out on the compost. Shrubs should be near the center of the bed to give them room to spread. (This is particularly important if you are planting along a wall.) Place shorter perennials in front of shrubs & underneath them. Place taller perennials between shrubs. Place the tallest perennials at the back between shrubs, if you are planting along a wall. If you intend to walk around the planting bed, place the tallest perennials in the center between shrubs.

8 Move the plants while still in their pots. Shift them to allow the appropriate space between them. Be sure you know how big these plants will get. Buy a book which describes the growth habit & ultimate size of a variety of plants. The Sunset Western Garden Book is excellent for this purpose.

Design for a Mixed Border

ARM = Armeria maritima

AST = Aster

EUP = Euphorbia myrsinites

HEM = Hemerocallis

J1 = Juniperus communis 'Adpressa'

J2 = Juniperus communis 'Hibernica'

MAH = Mahonia aquifolium

NAR = Narcissus

PAE = Paeonia suffruticosa

ROS = Rosa glauca

STA = Stachys byzantina

THY = Thymus 'Pink Chintz'

How to Design a Privacy Screen

A privacy screen is used when you don't want to see what is beyond your property line, which might be the street, or the sidewalk, or in the case of 1 of my clients: a gas station.  It gives a sense of enclosure to your garden.  It creates a pleasing backdrop to your other plantings.  It can become part of a mixed border.  It is probably better to use a fence, if your space is tight.  But a privacy screen can grow much taller than a fence is permitted.  It is often less expensive.  Of course, it takes time to grow.  I don't recommend clipped hedges, which are high-maintenance & have a rigid, sometimes tortured appearance. Privacy screens can be pruned to limit spread & height, yet maintain a natural appearance. 

1 Choose the site. It will most likely lie along your property line. Allow plenty of room: a strip from 5 to 10 feet wide.

2 Choose 3 to 7 shrubs, depending on the length of the strip. Is the site mostly shady or sunny? If it has shade in part & sun in part, choose 3 to 5 shrubs for each part. Do not plant only 1 kind of shrub. That is called a hedge. Hedges are boring.

3 Buy lots of compost. You can order it by the truckload from Cedar Grove, or buy it in bags, Cover the garden site 2 feet deep. Plant in the compost.

4 Buy the plants. No single nursery will have all of the plants you want & need. Call around. Look in the phone book under Nurseries.

5 Space the plants at appropriate distances. Find out how big these plants will get. Give them enough room. If you don’t, you will have to remove them later.

6 Plant shady groundcovers under shrubs.

7 Cover open ground with mulch. Buy shredded bark. Put mulch from your compost pile or worm bin over open spaces in the garden. Always mulch around new plantings. Keep mulch under 2 inches deep.

8 Patrol the strip regularly: become territorial. Pull up weeds. Water regularly during summer. Replace dead shrubs. As the shrubs grow, notice the privacy they provide.

9 Buy pruning tools. You need pruners, loppers & a folding pruning saw. Go to a big hardware store. Cut off dead & broken branches. Do not shear the shrubs like a hedge. Learn about pruning. Buy a book which illustrates pruning & other gardening techniques. The Sunset Western Garden Book is good to start.

10 (Optional) If you have prepared a 10 foot strip, plant evergreen & deciduous shrubs in front of the spaces between evergreens. This will increase privacy & create more interest in fall & winter. Consider shrubs with fruits & berries, as well as shrubs with colorful fall foliage. A mixed border can also be used.

Evergreen Shrubs for Privacy Screens

Abelia x grandiflora: sun or part shade
Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ (Campact Strawberry Tree): sun or shade
Berberis darwinii (Darwin's Barberry): sun

Callistemon rigidus (Bottlebrush): sun
Calycanthus floridus (Carolina Allspice) Calycanthus occidentalis (Spice Bush): shade

Camellia japonica: shade

Ceanothus ‘Victoria’ (California Lilac): sun, fast growth, but short-lived

Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Fastigiata’ (Plum Yew): sun or shade

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Blue Surprise', Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Ellwoodii' (Dwarf Port Orford Cedar) Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’ (Dwarf Hinoki Cypress): sun or part shade

Choisya ternata (Mexican Orange): sun  or part shade

Elaeagnus x ebbingei, Elaeagnus pungens (Silverberry): sun 

Erica arborea, Erica australis (Tree Heath): sun

Escallonia 'Apple Blossom', Escallonia rubra: sun

Gaultheria shallon: sun or shade

Hypericum ‘Hidcote’ (St John’s Wort): sun

Ilex crenata (Japanese Holly): sun or shade
Itea ilicifolia: sun or shade

Juniperus chinensis ‘Blue Point’ (Chinese Juniper) Juniperus communis 'Hibernica' (Irish Juniper): sun
Ligustrum japonicum (Japanese Privet): sun or shade

Nandina domestica (Heavenly Bamboo): shade

Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon Grape): sun or shade Mahonia bealei (Japanese Mahonia): shade
Myrica californica (California Wax Myrtle): sun or shade

Osmanthus x burkwoodii, Osmanthus heterophyllus: sun or shade
Picea glauca var. albertiana 'Conica' (Dwarf Alberta Spruce): sun

Pieris japonica (Lily of the Valley Shrub): shade

Rhododendron: shade
Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata' (Irish Yew): sun of part shade

Thuja occidentalis (Arborvitae): sun or part shade

Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen Huckleberry): sun or shade
Viburnum tinus: sun or shade

 Design for a Privacy Screen

A = Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ (Compact Strawberry Tree)

C = Callistemon rigidus (Bottlebrush)

E = Erica arborea (Tree Heath)

S = Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' (Korean Lilac)

How to Design a Bosque

A bosque is a grove of trees. Some mimic the forest, while others are more formal. Trees are spaced regularly, or more randomly. Bosques are evergreen, deciduous, or both. Larger bosques often have more kinds of trees. Trees planted in a grid may be underplanted randomly with shrubs & perennials. This technique was used to good effect at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle, also at Schloss Nymphenburg in Munich. Large bosques grace many European palace gardens. Smaller bosques are lovely in all (except the smallest) gardens.

1 Choose the site. It will most likely lie in a corner of your property line. Allow plenty of room. The area should be at least 15 feet wide on 2 sides.

2 Choose at least 5 trees: all the same, or 2 different kinds. Also choose any number of shrubs, perennials & groundcovers for the shaded ground beneath the trees.

3 Buy lots of compost. You can order it by the truckload from Cedar Grove, or buy it in bags, Cover the garden site 2 feet deep. Plant in the compost.

4 Buy the plants. No single nursery will have all of the plants you want & need. Call around. Look in the phone book under Nurseries.

5 Space the plants at appropriate distances. Find out how big these plants will get. Give them enough room. If you don’t, you will have to remove them later. Plant trees 5 to 10 feet apart, depending on their ultimate size.

7 Cover open ground with mulch. Buy shredded bark, put mulch from your compost pile or worm bin over open spaces in the garden. Always mulch around new plantings. Keep mulch under 2 inches deep.

8 Patrol the strip regularly: become territorial. Pull up weeds. Water regularly during summer. Replace dead plants. As the trees grow, enjoy the shade they provide.

9 Buy pruning tools. You need pruners, loppers & a folding pruning saw. Go to a big hardware store. Cut off dead & broken branches. Learn about pruning. Buy a book which illustrates pruning & other gardening techniques. The Sunset Western Garden Book is good to start.

Trees for Bosques

Acer circinatum (Vine Maple)

Acer griseum (Paperbark Maple)

Aesculus californica (California Buckeye)

Araucaria araucana (Monkeypuzzle)

Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’ (Hornbeam)

Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ (Eastern Redbud)

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Gracilis’ (Hinoki Cypress)

Ginkgo biloba

Liriodendron tulipifera (Tulip Tree)

Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum)

Nothofagus antarctica (Southern Beech)

Pinus densiflora (Japanese Red Pine)

Quercus suber (Cork Oak)

Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood)

Sorbus alnifolia (Mountain Ash)

Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar)

 Design for a Small Bosque

A = Acer circinatum (Vine Maple)

C = Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Gracilis’ (Slender Hinoki Cypress)