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suz9601

Need help with designing a bed!

suz9601
9 years ago

Hello. This spring I am putting in a couple of flower beds. I have the beds ready, just not sure what to put in them. I want a mix of shrubs, perennials, grasses, etc. Here are some pics of the beds
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The first one gets full sun all day long. It is about 32ft long and ranges from 4ft to 8 ft deep. This one is next to a patio. The old black edging will be removed.

The second one will only get morning sun about 4-5 hours because the fence will shade most of it. I'm in Missouri and have clay soil. It is 21 feet long and ranges from 3-6 ft deep. This bed is at the back of the yard along the fence.

Comments (8)

  • suz9601
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here is the second bed along the fence.

  • catkim
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You might be better off asking in a regional forum where people are familiar with your climate and growing conditions.

    Do you have an idea of size, height, textures? Are you a dedicated gardener, or looking for low maintenance? Flowers are typically more work than evergreen or foliage plants. Do you want four full seasons of a great looking bed, or will you tolerate sticks and bare earth in winter? Planning for the transitions from season to season is a bit of an art.

  • maryb116
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What state and zone are you located?

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your curves are too abrupt in some places, will therefore be harder to mow around and harder on the eyes than if you had bolder, more flowing curves. Other than that go to independent garden centers and gather together some plants that look good to you personally, getting cultural requirements from grower's cards on the plants, nursery signs, your handheld or sales clerks. Put flowers where the lawn curves into the beds and shrubs and trees where the bed curves into the lawn. Put vines behind the flowers, against the wall or fence. Locate the tallest plants where the beds are the widest and the shortest where they are the narrowest. Aim for a general pattern of each kind being about 1 1/2 times as high as the bed is wide at the point it is planted. Use individual specimens only of any trees you might be including but groupings (interlocking drifts of varying sizes) of at least several of each kind should be planned for the shrubs and perennials etc..

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ditto what bboy said, especially about the sharpness of the curves.

  • PRO
    Yardvaark
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Agree with the curvature comments. The bed shapes are not realistic. Too narrow in some spots. The curves are distracting. The bed does not seem to acknowledge features of the house. It makes more sense that a small tree (taking more room) would go against blank wall and low plants below windows.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't know much about Missouri weather, but in my area I need to leave room behind my garden to access the side of the house for maintenance and to allow snow to slide off the roof without doing too much damage to the plants below. If you have rain dripping off the side of the house, that will effect plants below as well. So my beds mostly start about 2 feet out from the house with mulch or groundcovers behind the gardens, and since I like layers of plants between the front and back of the bed so that there is always something blooming, my beds range from 6' deep (4' of planting depth) to 12' or so (10' of planting depth). That is why some folks have commented on the narrowness of the bed. Similarly, the fence will want some room for air movement between it and the plants so that it has a chance to dry and mildew and other fungus are less likely to grow, though it doesn't need to have as much distance as the house beds.

    As others have noted some of the curves are rather tight for mowing; take your mower and run it along the curves. Mowing is much easier if you can run the mower along without having to back and forth to get into the curves. Several of your indentations would have to be wider and/or shallower in order to easily mow. Also, in my beds, they tend to be wider where there are larger plants, such as a large shrub with some smaller plants under or in front of it. Even if it's just the large shrub its size may make the wider depth needed. From your first photo, the wide areas are in front of the windows - are you planning shrubs to provide privacy for the windows? Or will all your plants be shorter? or should there be wide areas not in front of windows to accommodate larger plants? Shrub widths are usually given for 10 years, not the ultimate size, so you may want to give a bit of extra width so you don't have to spend time pruning shrubs for size.

    As far as specific plants, my growing conditions are nothing like yours, so I will just make general recommendations. Since there area in front of the fence is open to the sky, even though it doesn't get direct sun, it should be OK with some part sun plants since it is bright shade. I often suggest folks start by looking for things that appeal to them. Find neighborhoods with gardens you like and take photos of plants and designs that appeal to you. If you are anywhere near St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden is world class and may give you ideas on what plants you like (an advantage of a botanical garden is that the plants are labeled) and will have designed beds that may spark ideas for general appearance as well as specific plants. Even if you aren't nearby, they have a good website linked below that will give you lots of information on how various plants do in the St. Louis area.

    Think about your goals for these gardens. Do you want to just look at them or be able to cut flowers to bring inside? Do you want to spend a lot of time puttering in your gardens or do you want to plant lower maintenance plants? Do you want to have a nice view in the winter? If so plan on choosing at least some plants that bloom in winter or have evergreen foliage or colorful twigs or interesting bark or a beautiful winter silhouette. Are there pests you need to worry about such as deer, squirrels or rabbits? Do you have dogs that might disrupt the garden? Think about foliage shape, size and color as well as flowers as you plan. Perennial plants don't for the most part bloom all summer, so there will be times that there is as much foliage as bloom. If all the foliage is the same size, color and shape, it gets boring.

    Here's a list of all the regional gardening forums, and while there isn't a Missouri forum, you may find another one close enough by to have information you will find useful.
    http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/regional/

    Your public library probably has books on landscape and garden design as well, and looking at lots of photos will help you decide what style and specific plants appeal as well.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden

  • suz9601
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you all for your suggestions, I really appreciate it.

    To answer some questions, I am in Kansas city. I am wanting the beds to be shrubs, grasses, flowers,etc. I already have several beds in for the butterflies/birds.

    As far as the curves, my husband uses the weed eater around them, so they are not a problem as far as that. I guess I could soften them some more so they look more appealing though.

    My yard is not too big, so I don't want to add more trees into it. I already have several and that is probably even too many.

    The back bed I am going to put Hydrangeas and am looking for companion plants that can take sun until about noon when the fence will shade the area.

    As for by the house, I am not sure yet. I was thinking of putting a knockout by the window on the right and some salvia or something in front of it around the corner. As for in between the windows, I wanted some vines, clematis or climbing roses, but am not sure how to make that work without it being too much.

    These are my ideas so far. I have been doing this a few years, so I am not a beginner, but still have a lot to learn. I do appreciate everyone taking the time to help.