Anyone who visits a landscape garden can form an opinion about what they like or dislike about it. This eBook will teach you concepts and terminology so you can describe WHY you find a garden or grouping of plants either pleasing or not so pleasing. That way, you can reproduce the “good” and avoid the “bad” in your own beds and borders.

Whether you decide to design your own landscape or have someone else do it for you, a thorough grounding in a few basic concepts will put you well ahead of the general gardening public. Plus, it will help you to have some fun along the way.

This guide will describe a “typical” design process that might be followed while developing home landscape beds and borders. Obviously, each project will present unique situations and challenges, but there are several basic steps that are common to all projects.

Learn How to Develop a Baseline Map and Landscape Inventory as Part of Your Design

We have divided these steps into the following chapters:

Introduction to Beds and Borders
Chapter 1 – Early Planning Decisions
Chapter 2 – Preparing a Baseline Map
Chapter 3 – Making a Landscape Inventory
Chapter 4 – The Functions of Plants in the Landscape
Chapter 5 – Choosing a Garden Style
Chapter 6 – The Art and Science of Garden Design
Chapter 7 – Design Criteria
Chapter 8 – Color Combinations for Beds and Borders
Chapter 9 – Unifying the Landscape Design
Chapter 10 – Beds and Borders as Theater

The “A Rookie’s Guide to…” eBook series is designed to provide the hobbyist gardener with helpful, practical tips for success in the home landscape. Each one will concentrate on the major issues, gardening techniques and horticultural knowledge needed to help you avoid common pitfalls. Every eBook is filled with illustrations, pictures and hyperlinks to our PlantsGalore.Com and HostHelper.Com websites to help you expand your knowledge on the topic.

The information provided is based on university generated research and over 40 years of practical gardening experience by the author, Ralph Heiden aka Mr PGC. He has an MS degree in ornamental horticulture and has taught horticulture and gardening classes and seminars to thousands of homeowners, hobbyists, hostaphiles and Master Gardeners over the past 3 decades. He is also an avid photographer with a very large collection of plant and garden images from the U.S., Canada, Western Europe and Great Britain.

Landscape design is both an “Art” and a “Science”. The Art part deals with factors that influence how the human eye will perceive the elements in your garden. It is the subjective side of the design process based on how “most people” will respond to the way you arrange the softscape (living things, primarily plants) and hardscape (non-living elements) in your beds and borders. This process was discussed in detail in the first eBook in this series, “A Rookie’s Guide to Designing Beds and Borders“

For purposes of this eBook we will assume that you have gone through a planning process and have either designed or have had someone else design your new beds and borders. You should have either meticulous drawings or at least a rough sketch of your new landscape on hand. This should, of course, include a detailed list of plants and hardscape features that will be included in your new or revised landscape.

This eBook deals primarily with the “Science” part of landscape design. It will address the objective fact that we are dealing with plants that we must keep alive in order to achieve and maintain our subjective design intent. To assure success, we need to analyze the growing environment, select our plants properly, install them with care and give them proper maintenance over the long run.

This guide includes a “typical” process that you might follow while installing landscape beds and borders. Obviously, each project will present unique situations and challenges, but there are several basic steps that are common to all projects. We have divided these into the following chapters:

Chapter 1 – Dealing with Existing Landscape Features
Chapter 2 – Your Landscape Inventory
Chapter 3 – Problem Plant Species
Chapter 4 – Managing Project Costs
Chapter 5 – Pre-Construction Activities
Chapter 6 – Beginning Construction
Chapter 7 – Installing Hardscape Feature
Chapter 8 – Preparing the Soil
Chapter 9 – Selecting and Purchasing the Plants
Chapter 10 – Installing the Plants
Chapter 11 – Post-Planting Care

The “A Rookie’s Guide to…” eBook series is designed to provide the hobbyist gardener with helpful, practical tips for success in the home landscape. Each one will concentrate on the major issues, gardening techniques and horticultural knowledge needed to help you avoid common pitfalls. Every eBook is filled with illustrations, pictures and hyperlinks to our PlantsGalore.Com and HostHelper.Com websites to help you expand your knowledge on the topic.

The information provided is based on university generated research and over 40 years of practical gardening experience by the author, Ralph Heiden aka Mr PGC. He has an MS degree in ornamental horticulture and has taught horticulture and gardening classes and seminars to thousands of homeowners, hobbyists, hostaphiles and Master Gardeners over the past 3 decades. He is also an avid photographer with a very large collection of plant and garden images from the U.S., Canada, Western Europe and Great Britain.

The “A Rookie’s Guide to…” eBook series is designed to provide the hobbyist gardener with helpful, practical tips for success in the home landscape. Each one will concentrate on the major issues, gardening techniques and horticultural knowledge needed to help you avoid common pitfalls. Every eBook is filled with illustrations, pictures and hyperlinks to our PlantsGalore.Com and HostHelper.Com websites to help you expand your knowledge on the topic.

Hostas are often called “shade loving” plants. For the average gardening public, this helps them to understand that these plants are adapted to growing in the shade. However, for more advanced hobbyists or professionals, this is a misnomer.

All vascular plants live by a process called photosynthesis. They capture the energy from the sun and, unlike animals, they make their own food. For photosynthesis to work, a plant must have five things including light, water, nutrients from the soil and the air, chlorophyll and suitable temperature. The minimum levels of each of these factors required may vary from species to species but they all must be present in certain amounts for photosynthesis to take place in that plant.

For a plant to be truly a “shade lover” would imply that it could complete photosynthesis in a dark closet. That is clearly not the case here, so hostas are actually “shade tolerant” plants which can survive and often thrive at low (but not zero) light levels. In fact, most of them will do best in more sun but, to keep them aesthetically pleasing, we sometimes have to make concessions.

When people classify themselves as either a “shade” or a “sun” gardener, they often act as if we should all understand exactly what they mean. Here again, those terms can bring to mind a wide range of light conditions.  We will define garden light levels as follows:

_       1. Full Sun – Plants that are designated as full sun plants are usually those that are native to open, prairie or swampy type environments that support few or no trees. They are conditioned to having sunshine hit their leaves from sunup in the morning until sundown in the evening. That is the accurate definition of FULL SUN!

However, over the years, gardeners and horticulturists have come to understand that these plants can still perform adequately while being exposed to less than total sunlight all day long. The common rule of thumb is that you need a MINIMUM of around 6 hours of direct sunlight per day for these plants to thrive. Full sun plants that get less than that amount will develop stems that are overly long and weak i.e. etiolated, which tend to fall over. Such plants will not flower well and will not be as vigorous as those getting more sunlight. Just remember that those 6 hours are a minimum and more would be better.

_       2. Shade – So, if 6 hours is needed for full sun, it would be a simple conclusion to assume that shade plants can live and even thrive in less than 6 hours. Again, although we talk about shade as if it were a single unit, the reality is that there are generally considered to be 3 categories of shade in the home landscape.

_          a. Light Shade a.k.a. Dappled Shade or Partial Shade – This is the situation where you have just a few trees in the landscape or when you have trees with small leaves such as honeylocust. As the sun passes over the horizon, the plants in the shaded areas may receive a total of up to 5 or 6 hours of direct sunlight. The key is that they will get it a few hours here, an hour there and another hour later. It will not be 5 or 6 hours in a row. This will be a great growing environment for our shade tolerant plants.

_          b. Medium Shade a.k.a. Open Shade or High Shade – This is the situation when you have many large deciduous trees such as oaks where the bottom branches may be 20 or 30 feet off the ground. As the sun passes over head, the plants beneath may only receive direct sunlight for a couple of hours total during the day but the environment is generally “bright”. In this landscape, a person could take a seat under the trees and easily read a book but rarely have direct sunlight penetrate onto the paper. This is also a very good environment for shade tolerant plants.

_          c. Deep Shade a.k.a. Dark Shade or Dense Shade – Deep shade will occur beneath evergreen trees such as pines or spruce or deciduous trees with large leaves such as Norway maples. This will also be the case close to the north side of buildings. Under these conditions, as the sun moves across the horizon during the day, no direct rays will strike the plant. The only light will be that which is reflected back into the dark from the surroundings.

This is a very difficult environment for growing shade tolerant plants. Hostas and others will usually survive these conditions but they will not thrive. For instance, hostas growing under the first two levels (a & b) of shade will add new divisions to the clump at a rate consistent with that expected of a particular cultivar. Those same hostas grown in the deep shade will multiply at a much, much slower rate, if at all. They will also develop thinner and, often, fewer leaves than would the same cultivar planted in shade levels a and b.

Design criteria such as plant form, texture and height are important considerations for any landscape. The ideal situation is to have a nice balance of such traits so the garden does not become monotonous. Too often, perennial gardens are dominated by rounded or mounded forms and daisy-like flowers. Here are a few tall, upright perennials that will provide contrast and variation in form, texture and height to the other plants in a bed or border.

Delphiniums

Delphinium – This majestic beauty is most associated with the magnificent gardens of England or the Pacific Northwest. They will grow in more temperate areas too but they may require a little extra care. Plant them in a site protected from the wind for best results. They emerge early in the spring, so be prepared to cover them if frost threatens. During the growing season, the very tall types such as the Pacific Giant hybrids may need staking and a shot of extra fertilizer if their leaves begin to turn yellow during the growing season. Finally, individual plants tend to be short lived and may need to be replaced after four or five years.

Foxglove (Digitalis)

Foxglove – Although there are perennial foxgloves, the most commonly grown ones are biennial i.e. Digitalis purpurea. The first year from seed, they form a rosette of low growing leaves only. The second year, they flower, go to seed and die. Self-seeding keeps new plants coming for future years. Fortunately, most biennial foxglove will “bolt” meaning that they will bloom the first year from seed. Colors of perennial and biennial types of Digitalis range from dark pink to yellow. The trumpet flowers are attractive to hummingbirds too.

Bugbane (Actea racemosa)

Bugbane – Actea racemosa (formerly Cimicifuga racemosa) is a woodland plant that bears tall, white spires of flowers in late summer. The foliage grows to about two to three feet in height and the flowers may stand up to 6 feet tall. They prefer a moist, shady location and may be grown as companions to hostas since their fine textured foliage and upright form contrast well with the generally more rounded and low growing hostas.

Hardy Lilies – Daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.) have grass-like foliage and survive the winter as a storage root or crown. Each flower lasts only one day. Hardy lilies (Lillium sp.) such as the Easter lily, are bulb plants. They have a single, long stem ranging from 18 inches to over 6 feet in height which bear several flowers that each last for weeks. There are many types and colors of flowers with some being extremely fragrant. Most lilies prefer sunny, well drained sites although the martagon lily will do fine in the shade.

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal Flower – Lobelia cardinalis may have either green or bronze foliage. Brilliant red flowers emerge in summer from a stem that may reach 4 or 5 feet in height. Cardinal flower enjoys sun or some shade and a rich, moist soil.

In my garden, I have trouble growing cardinal flowers. It seems that chipmunks like to climb up the plant and strip off the “skin” of the stem. Perhaps they like to lick the sweet sap since they do not appear to eat what they have pulled off.

Gooseneck Loosestrife – Perhaps not as commonly grown as the other plants, Lysimachia clethroides would make a handsome addition to any garden. The white flower spikes arch gracefully from the top of 24 to 36 inch stems. It prefers full sun and a moist soil for best flowering but will do quite well in partial shade. Allow room for expansion since this plant will “move” a little by rhizomes beneath the ground but it is not overly invasive.

Although the name is similar, this plant is no relation to the pink flowered “loosestrife” which is clogging many lakes and wetlands. That one is in a different genus named Lythrum.

Dwarf Astilbe (Astilbe chinensis)

Astilbe – There are many varieties of astilbe ranging in height from 12 inches to 4 feet. Astilbe taquetti, the fall astilbe, produces a beautiful 3 to 4 foot tall lilac spike. It is good for the back of the flower bed and, like most astilbes, will do well in either sun or shade. They are also well adapted to wet sites such as next to a pond or stream.

Dwarf astilbe (Astilbe chinensis) makes a great companion for hostas.

Iris ‘Fiesta Time’

Iris - The tall, bearded iris provide a nice upright form and beautiful flowers in early summer. Remember that they need excellent drainage and should not be planted too deep. The rhizome should be just at the surface of the soil.

Siberian iris (Iris siberica) are a good alternative for the wet site. In fact, they may be grown right in the water of a backyard pond.

Gayfeather - The species Liatris provides several plants that display a tall, usually purple, spike during the summer. Most varieties are 3 to 4 feet tall although the cultivar ‘Kobold’ seldom exceeds 30 inches. Unlike most other spiked plants, the flowers of Liatris open from the top of the inflorescence downward.

In 2013, I (or we) resolve:

- To always remember that gardening is supposed to be fun. When it becomes a chore, I will figure out why and make a change in the way I do things. I will slow down this year and take it easy in my garden for once. I spend too much time working in it and not enough time just enjoying it.

- To learn to be more tolerant of the bugs and diseases in my garden. They have to make a living too. I will use biological or cultural controls rather than synthetic chemicals as much as possible. I will also consider whether I need to do anything at all or if I can just “live with it” and let nature take its course.

- To make out my list of needed (and desired) plants and seeds before I start browsing the catalogs or visiting the nursery. I will try to have a plan for my landscape and stick to it as much as possible rather than buying a plant and then wondering where to put it. That usually leads to a chaotic look in the garden. Of course, if you subscribe to the chaos theory…it might all work out in the end.

- To forgive the neighborhood dogs for dropping unordered fertilizer in my lawn. (I will continue to work on forgiveness for the owners who allow them to do it.)

- To remember that mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow. One of the most common problems in the home landscape is that people plant these little seedling trees and forget that they will eventually grow into large specimens. I will pledge to avoid planting that cute little two foot tall blue spruce only three feet from the corner of the house.

- To properly identify the insect or disease problem before I do anything. Proper use of any pesticide always starts with the correct identification of the problem. I promise not to be a person who sees spots on my leaves and reaches for an insecticide when the problem is caused by a fungus and it is already too late to apply it anyway. I will be sure to use only the right product for the right pest at the right time.

-  To read all pesticide container labels carefully before I use them. I will not use 2 ounces when the label calls for one.

‑ To start and use a compost pile for clippings, leaves and other plant materials. I will take full advantage of the benefits of this “brown gold” and not fill up local landfills needlessly. In my case, I promise to clean up my pile and make it neater. Since it is hidden behind some shrubs, it is not always tops on my list of things to do.

- To protect my spouse’s blood pressure by NOT telling him/her how much I spent on those new plants. Just kidding…I think.

- To visit one beautiful garden each month of next summer. Often there are wonderful public or private gardens on display throughout the summer. Take advantage of local garden tours and open houses to get ideas that might be useful in your garden…or see things you want to avoid at all costs.

- To share more of my plants with fellow gardeners. What better way to show that you care for a friend and to get more beauty or homegrown food into the world? However, be sure that your plants are free of pests and diseases, especially virus or foliar nematodes, so you don’t pass these on.

- To attend the 2013 The American Hosta Society national meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June 13-15. Or, the American Hemerocallis Society national meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 24-27. Or, the American Iris Society national meeting in Dallas, Texas, April 15-20. Or the national or local meeting of a plant society or gardening group of your choice.

- To work on controlling my urge to run my hands through a pile of rich, dark, wonderful, fantastic compost whenever one is near to me! (People who have taken my composting programs know about this one.)

- To keep studying, photographing and enjoying beautiful landscapes and landscape plants. It is never too late to learn…at least as long as we are still alive.