Mixborder of conifers and shrubs: how to choose plants, planting and care. Restrained diversity or how to arrange a flower bed from coniferous plants Flower beds from coniferous plants with the name of plants
Before grabbing a shovel and developing a new garden bed, let's deal with the definition of what a mixborder is - this is an indispensable element of European landscape design and relatively the new kind complex flower garden of continuous flowering. If you choose the right plants and properly care for them, beautiful mixborders remain so throughout the year. You can improve the art of creating a mixborder flower garden indefinitely, but it’s better to start with the simplest and most affordable schemes.
Mixborder - do-it-yourself flower garden
Almost everyone can learn the art of combining plants. For example, after reading this article, every second reader will be able to create with their own hands (without the help of landscape designers) such complex element garden design like a mixborder.
Let's say right away that caring for such a flower garden, which is most often decorated with perennial and annual plants, cereals and potted flowers, ornamental shrubs and even small coniferous trees, it is extremely difficult. To provide different types plants the most correct care, systematic supervision is necessary:
- timely transplant;
- cultivation;
- watering;
- pruning;
- fertilizer and disease prevention.
And if you are not afraid of the upcoming difficulties, and you dream of making your garden or cottage even more picturesque through mixborders, then it's time to get acquainted with the most important rules for creating continuous flowering mixborders.
Creating a mixborder - where to start?
A mixborder in a garden differs from a border and a border in that the flowers in it are placed in free dense groups that smoothly flow into each other. At the same time, in any mixborder there should be plants that will create a “winter effect”, set the height and shape of the fragrant island. IN landscape design they are called "skeletal" or main islands of the composition.
Having prepared the soil and dividing the site into three unequal parts, first (in the background of the frontal mixborder) voluminous plants with leaves of interesting shapes are planted. The next row is reserved for tall flowers with straight stems. Then medium-sized plants without lush foliage are placed. Next, low ones are planted, ground cover plants, and already behind them - annuals.
Such a tiered placement is done in order to "mask" the elongated stems of flowers of the middle plan.
Choosing a place for a mixborder
Free-shape flower beds (this is what gardeners also call mixborders) are located in open sunny areas or (if these are “woody mixborders”) in slightly shaded places.
Coniferous-heather perennial compositions made up of a mixture various plants: heather, eric, rhododendron and dwarf varieties conifers, look especially impressive along a hedge, a small hill, the facade of a house or on the edge of a terrace.
The "English mixborder", which is based on garden and wild perennials, is most often placed against the background of the lawn, parallel to the paths leading to the buildings, along the walls of the house. A mixborder along a fence or fence will emphasize and complete the composition of the landscape design of the site.
Prefabricated compositions or "combined mixborders" are divided into large areas. The length of such an elongated flower garden is practically unlimited - it can occupy the entire perimeter of the site or only its inner part. At the same time, part of the flower garden is in the open sun, part in partial shade and part in the shade.
organic next to country house or with a luxurious cottage look "shrub mixborders" - compositions collected from flowering and decorative deciduous shrubs.
And if the “shrub mixborder” is a relatively new element, then the “seasonal” is a long-proven option for a garden still under construction, where planting perennials irrational.
You can beautifully complement the composition of a shady garden with a decorative leafy flower strip formed from shade-tolerant shrubs and flowers.
Regardless of location, mixborders must be planted in rows. At the same time, low participants in the plant composition (up to 40 cm) are planted in the foreground, medium (up to 60 cm) and high (100 cm or more) - in the back.
Plants for the mixborder
The words that came to us from foggy Albion "mix" (from English mix) and "border" (from English border, border) have become an integral part of gardens in any style. And at the same time, only at first glance it seems that the plants on the mixborder are planted randomly. Of course it isn't. But many novice amateur gardeners, knowing little about the compatibility of plants and their exactingness, are planted next to everyone. As a result, instead of a picturesque strip, something neglected and sloppy appears.
For example, you should not plant in a mixed mixborder with a very high planting density fast-growing perennial plants with creeping rhizomes (for example, Ludovik's wormwood). Yes, they really suppress the growth of annoying weeds, but the growth of some capricious plants, such as lily of the valley and other bulbs, is extremely negatively affected.
That is, ready-made mixborders, which we most often see in colorful pictures, are both an exciting and incredibly difficult project, the success of which entirely depends on the right choice of plants.
Do-it-yourself step-by-step design of mixborders from perennials, conifers and shrubs
A mixborder flower garden in a country house garden will attract attention from early spring until October-November, if the plants are selected so that one, blooming, replaces the other. At the same time, green foliage will play an important role in the design of this kind of flower garden, which, during the flowering period of certain species, will not allow the mixborder to lose its splendor and decorativeness.
Mixborder scheme 1 - perennial flower garden
In this mixborder example, the bottom row contains:
No. 5 "Potentilla shrub". Potentilla blooms from July to August. In autumn, the plant is dressed in a bewitching golden "dress". And in winter, its reddish branches stand out noticeably against the white snow.
No. 4 "Coreopsis whorled".Short plant blooms for a long time and abundantly. From the end of June until the very frosts, coreopsis pleases with yellow flowers with different shade: lilac, pink or brown.
No. 3 "Geranium majestic". Bush blooms in July 30-40 days. Brick-red or yellow-orange geranium acquires in autumn.
No. 2 "Cuff soft". This perennial herb blooms in small yellow flowers, similar to clouds, from June to July. But gardeners plant the cuff in a perennial mixborder not because of its cute inflorescences, but for its luxurious leaves with a wavy edge.
№1 "Geranium Endressa". Blooms profusely all summer. In late autumn and winter, it decorates the flower garden with dark green, palmate leaves. The frost-resistant spherical bush is not afraid of the temperature even at -40C.
The middle row contains the following flowers for the mixborder:
No. 5 "Potentilla shrub"(in this mixborder scheme, it is located on the right in the bottom row and on the left in the middle row).
No. 6 "Yarrow ptarmic". The flowering of this perennial plant occurs in July and lasts until the end of summer.
No. 7 "Decorative bow". A plant of wondrous beauty is often included by landscape designers in perennial mixborders. And that's why. The fact is that a decorative bow brings a certain charm to any flower combination of a mixborder. Even fading on the first day of summer (the main flowering occurs in May-June), dried balls of inflorescences delight the garden until late autumn.
No. 8 "Multi-grate fennel". A plant with a corolla color of lilac to dark purple reaches a height of 1 m. Blooms from July to August.
No. 9 "Verbena Bonarskaya". Elegant vervain, studded with small purple stars, easily fits into any flower garden, even in such difficult to arrange as a mixborder with roses. The resistant plant blooms from June until hard frosts.
No. 10 "Boxwood". This slow growing shrub is not particularly difficult to care for. It is valued not for its small bloom, which is rare, but it happens. in early spring, but for a spectacular evergreen crown.
No. 11 " decorative wormwood» . The filigree, lacy leaves of this leafy plant make it unlike any other garden culture. Against its background, the most common wild flower seems mysterious.
In the background of the described mixborder scheme, they land:
Note that this mixborder is best placed along the fence or wall of the house.
No. 12 Lofant. The versatility of this plant lies in the ability to bloom from July until late autumn. The bush grows quickly and looks incredibly impressive in the background of the mixborder.
No. 13 "Echinacea purpurea". Beautiful flower with bright petals has a completely unattractive foliage. Therefore, echinacea is always placed between other plants to create the illusion of a lush flowering shrub.
No. 14 "Hatma". The shrub, which sometimes reaches two meters in height, blooms profusely from July until the first frost.
No. 15 Clematis. Velvet delicate flowers of white, pink, blue and red colors delight the eye from early spring to late autumn. Their amazing flowering can only be interrupted by persistent frosts.
Enhance decorative effect a tiered flower garden is possible if perennial plants are planted in groups, as in the detailed mixborder diagram below:
It is very important that the group of plants with which you are going to decorate the mixborder have similar needs: requirements for soil acidity and its fertility, moisture supply and light level. So, all the flowers in the scheme presented above grow well on full sun, and in rare shade. They are not too capricious in care, which means that they can be fed and watered in a complex.
Mixborder design in the garden - all shades of mood
Even the most beautiful flowers, which are dissonant in color, can create chaos in flower arrangement and completely destroy it. A color scheme, carefully and well thought out, is important for any flower garden, and especially for a complex mixborder.
An indelible impression is made by a flower garden built on contrasts. It seems incredibly bright and sets the rhythm for the entire backyard. For example, combinations of purple and canary yellow, rich green and red, sky blue and orange create impressive contrasts. At the same time, planting plants of contrasting shades is not randomly worth it. Visually, the colors will blend and become muddy. The best option- as accent choose plants with big flowers and already among them to plant small-flowered individuals of a different color in small spots.
The monochrome mixborder looks elegant and deep (the photo of which is presented below). It relaxes and adds neatness to the whole garden. The ideal monochrome in a flower garden is three colors, with smooth transitions from one color range to another. For revitalization, plants with white flowers are often included in a monochrome composition.
The material was prepared for the site www.site
Decoration of a monochrome blue-blue flower garden
No. 1 "Small stamen geranium". large bushes this catchy and very bright plant, flower beds are decorated most often. And that's why. Geranium can grow without a transplant for more than 10 years. Blooms from mid-June to August.
No. 2 Anhuza Dropmore. beautiful plant with blue and sky-blue flowers blooms in May and adorns the mixborder through July-August.
No. 3 "Lupin multi-leaved". A completely trouble free plant. The first time blooms in May, followed by the second and third wave of flowering.
№4 "Delphinium "Blue Bird". This charming perennial is easy to grow even for a beginner gardener. Large semi-double flowers first appear at the beginning of summer, the second - at the end.
№5 "Hibiscus Syrian". He does not like the shade and pleases with lush flowering from June to October only with a sufficient amount of ultraviolet light.
No. 6 "Katovnik". Lush blue brushes of catnip adorn the garden all summer.
No. 7 "Mordovnik". The flowering period of blue-blue flowers falls on June, July. He loves the sun, but is also cold-resistant to frost.
№8 "Delphinium "Blue Lace". Magnificent flowers raise their inflorescences high (up to 2 m), charming everyone around.
No. 9 "Veronica long-leaved". Small, blue flowers with white spots appear on the plant in July, and adorn the mixborder until the first frost.
No. 10 "Veronica". fragile and delicate flower seems only at first glance. In fact, he easily tolerates the sun, and drought, and shade. Blooms from May to late summer.
No. 11 "Iris". An unusually beautiful flower is simply created for garden accents. Flowering lasts about a month in June-July.
No. 12 "Linen". Blooming flax looks like a sky blue carpet. New buds of a sky blue plant appear for three months - from June to September.
Mixborder of conifers and shrubs - additional elements
Including additional decorative elements in the design of the mixborder, which itself is incredibly bright and self-sufficient, you need to be especially careful. The lack of a sense of taste and proportion can lead to the fact that a beautiful mixborder turns into a ridiculous exhibition of mushrooms and gnomes.
To prevent this from happening, landscape designers recommend adding large stones to a large mixborder with conifers and shrubs, as if by chance. Cobblestones do not need to be laid out in a straight line. It is better if the boulders randomly peek out from under the plants.
If it is planned to design a double-sided wide mixborder at the dacha, then inside it you can think of slightly noticeable paths from large flat stones or tiles.
Shrub mixborder - ready-made schemes
Large and dwarf shrubs in a mixborder they provide consistency and determine the structure of the flower garden. With proper pruning, shrub plants can grow for years without requiring special attention to yourself.
So the most popular shrubs that bloom at different times of the year include: forzatia, mountain ash, viburnum, canadian irga, rhododendron, camellia, magnolia, hydrangea, barberry, red-root, chaenomeles and others. It pleases with beautiful leaves: holly, narrow-leaved sucker, noble laurel, boxwood, holly, pieris, mahonia and many others.
By adding conifers and a few lush, large perennials to the shrubs, we get a mixed mixborder.
No. 1 "Spruce dwarf cushion". The decorativeness of the needles and the compact size of this coniferous shrub make it an incredibly popular element in garden landscaping. (1 PC.)
№2 "Asters and Tulips". By picking up plants from different classes and groups, you can get colorful compositions that bloom from mid-spring to summer. (60 pcs.)
No. 3 "Byzantine Cleaner". An unpretentious and charming plant with fluffy leaves blooms all summer and often becomes an adornment of mixed plantings. (7 pcs.)
No. 4 "Phloxes". perennial flower striking in its diversity. In this mixborder scheme with shrubs and conifers, it is recommended to use pink or purple phloxes that do not lose their decorative relevance from spring to autumn. (10 pieces.)
No. 5 "Oak sage". Spikelets of sage bloom from June to September, reaching a height of 30-70 cm. (8 pcs.)
No. 6 "Sedum prominent". The finest hour of a beautiful bush with large, oval bluish-green leaves comes in August and lasts until the first frost. During this period, the plant blooms beautiful pink-lilac flowers. (6 pcs)
No. 7 Astilba. Delicate inflorescences of this perennial appear in July and do not lose their charm for a whole month. (10 pieces.)
No. 8 "Peonies". In terms of decorative foliage and beauty of flowers, peonies rightfully belong to one of the first places among garden plants for mixborders and other flower beds. Very early groups of shrubs with a luxurious aroma begin their flowering in early June, the latest - at the end. Peonies retain their bright beauty until autumn. (3 pcs.)
No. 9 "Delphinium". When a delphinium blooms in the garden as a bright spot, it instantly becomes the center of the mixborder composition, because. on one thin trunk of this wonderful plant there are 80 large flowers at once. (7 pcs.)
№10 "Rhododendron". The cushion-shaped crown of this evergreen shrub is decorated with flowers from May to June, then at the very end of summer. (3 pcs.)
No. 11 "Thuya western Danica» . The maximum crown diameter of this spherical coniferous plant does not exceed 1 meter. (1 PC.)
In the first years, until the plants have gained full strength, gaps and voids in a coniferous or shrub mixborder must be filled with annual plants - flowers that live only one year.
The most beautiful annuals for mixborders:
- cold-resistant annual plants : poppy sleeping pills, black damask, petunia, borage officinalis, pelargonium, Douglas limnantes, calendula officinalis, begonia, etc.;
- annuals, blooming all summer: aster, Snapdragon, lavatera, marigolds, sweet peas, cornflowers, iberis, violet, blue nemophila, dwarf viola, ageratum and others;
- annuals that bloom in late summer: carnation, dahlias, asters, chrysanthemums, sunflowers, white iberis and many others.
Mixborder scheme in which plants bloom incessantly from early spring to late autumn:
No. 1 "Delphinium". Perhaps the most popular flower in mixborders. (perennial)
No. 2 "Cosmos double-feathered". Tall openwork plant is different abundant flowering, but, according to some gardeners, it does not look very sophisticated. (annual)
No. 3 "Tagetes erect". Powerful plants, reaching 50-100 cm in height, have amazingly beautiful semi-double inflorescences of orange, light yellow or bright yellow color. (annual)
No. 4 Houston Ageratum. Violet-pink, white and bright blue baskets of inflorescences-baskets of this plant deserve to grow in the most prominent place of the mixborder. (annual)
№5 "Everblooming Begonia". In a flower mixborder, this semi-shrub is good for its large, smooth, wide leaves, and loose inflorescences of the most tempting flowers. (annual)
No. 6 "Verbena". For all its unpretentiousness, verbena is able to delight with elegant inflorescences from summer to September. (annual)
No. 7 "Petunia". In the photo of mixborders, you can often see flowers of all shades of the rainbow - petunias. Fragrant cascades of delicate flowers adorn the plant from June until the first frost. (an annual, which, if desired, can always become an annual)
No. 8 "Tobacco Sander". Large, odorless flowers remain open only during the day. (one-year-olds)
No. 9 "Dahlia". A majestic flower with terry petals looks great both from afar and close. Blooms profusely in full sun with sufficient moisture.
A gardener who designs a mixborder is akin to an artist painting a picture. Using varieties different plants and flowers, he creates a solemnly bright or, on the contrary, a pacifying and calm flower garden, which, with the end of summer, does not lose its colors, but simply acquires new ones.
Coniferous mixborder - scheme
Spectacular horizontals and verticals from coniferous trees and shrubs, the cutting of which further emphasizes and enhances the contrast of plants in shape, help the coniferous mixborder to maintain its decorative effect 365 days a year.
Tall spruces and pines are hardly suitable for planting in mixborders. But small specimens of conifers, such as dwarf varieties of spruces, firs, pines, as well as compact arborvitae and junipers, will be very useful.
To give a large composition of conifers and shrubs rhythm, its elements must be repeated 3-5 times.
Coniferous mixborder in the garden or on suburban area It will not be boring and ascetic if you complement its design with beautiful heather and flowering perennials.
The device of a tiered flower garden of continuous flowering
No. 1 Pine "Fastigiata". When a narrow vertical needs to be added to a landscape design project, blue pines of various sizes are chosen. (3 pcs.)
No. 2 "Rhododendron". This mixborder scheme uses evergreen shrubs with yellow flowers. Rhododendrons bloom in late summer or early June. Not long, but incredibly beautiful. (3 pcs.)
No. 3 Pine "Pumilo". This sprawling coniferous shrub always has a place in the garden landscape. (4 things.)
No. 4 Deren "Elegatissima". Flowers on the crown of this deciduous shrub appear in May. The remaining days of the year, the derens are decorated with dark green leaves with a whitish border. (1 PC.)
No. 5 Pine "Mugus". An alpine tree-shrub does not need to be cut to be restrained in growth. But be sure to plant in a sunny place - in the shade the plant will quickly die. (3 pcs.)
№6 Barberry Ottawa "Superba". lovely shrub with dark purple leaves, it blooms in May, and with the advent of autumn, it changes its “dress” to a “coat” of lingonberry-purple tones. (1 PC)
No. 7 "Cotoneaster horizontal". This creeping shrub is good for decorating walls, garden elements and spaces between large plants. (5 pieces.)
No. 8 Deren "Sibirika Variegata". The rounded crown of an ornamental shrub with a rich red color of the bark goes well with coniferous and woody plants. (1 PC.)
When composing mixborder compositions on your own, you need to understand that there are slow-growing and fast-growing plants. If you are not ready to wait for the plants (in our case, shrubs) to grow, you will have to immediately purchase large specimens.
Mixborders - photos of the most beautiful flower beds
Do you still doubt that mixborders in the garden are the most popular and spectacular landscaping technique? Then check out the blooming arrangements that look great on both sides.
Coniferous flower bed
The main conifers in the compositions of the garden are not tall conifers (pines, spruces, firs), but their compact and undersized forms. Coniferous compositions are perfectly combined with shrubs (rhododendrons, erics, heathers, barberries, spireas, evergreen boxwoods), herbaceous perennials (hostas, ferns, cereals). When creating a flower bed, it is necessary to plant ground cover plants in the foreground (creeping tenacious, styloid phlox, sedum, thyme, bryozoan, etc.). Spring bright colors will bring bulbous (crocuses, muscari, undersized tulips). It is very important to think over the layout of plants. Groups must be created according to the principle of contrast of form and color. For example, columnar forms are well emphasized by spherical, densely bushy and creeping forms, with different type, texture and color of needles. The needle needles of junipers, firs and pines go well with the scaly needles of thuja. When selecting plants, their maximum height should be clarified. Coniferous compositions can only be composed of slow-growing and dwarf varietal forms.
12 options for coniferous flower beds
1. Thuja western "Holmstrup"
2. Juniper average "Old Gold"
3. Pine mountain "Mops"
4. Coastal Juniper "Schlager"
2.
2. Juniper rock "Skyrocket" molded
3. Juniper scaly "Meyeri" molded
4. Pine mountain "Mops"
5. Juniper horizontal "Blue Chip"
6. Lying juniper "Nana"
3.
1. Dense-flowered pine "Umbraculiefera"
2. Pine mountain "Mops"
3. Juniper horizontal "Green Carpet"
4. ground cover perennials"Bryozoan or stonecrop"
4.
1. Common juniper "Suecica"
2. Common juniper "Horstman"
3. Thuja western "Rheingold"
4. Mountain pine "Mops" on trunk
5. Juniper "Mint Julep"
6. Juniper scaly "Blue Star"
7. Thuja western "Danica"
8. Horizontal juniper "Wiltonii"
5.
1. Virginian juniper "Grey Owl" molded
2. Juniper horizontal "Andorra Compact"
3. Juniper horizontal "Prince of Wales"
6.
1. Juniper rock "Skyrocket"
2. Norway spruce "Inversa"
3. Lilac "Meyeri" on the trunk
5. Canadian spruce "Echiniformis"
6. Pine mountain "Mops"
7. Thunberg barberry "Bonanza Gold"
7.
1. Thuja western "Holmstrup"
3. Pine mountain "Mops"
4. Juniper average "Old Gold"
5. Juniper Cossack "Tamariscifolia"
6. Ground cover perennials "Bryozoan or stonecrop"
8.
1. Thuja western "Smaragd"
2. Japanese larch "Stiff Weeper"
3. Barberry thunberg "Red Chief"
4. Thuja orientalis "Aurea Nana"
5. Pine mountain "Mops"
6. Juniper average "Old Gold"
7. Juniper Cossack "Blaue Donau"
8. Juniper horizontal "Prince of Wales"
9. Juniper horizontal "Blue Chip"
9.
1. Rocky juniper "Blue Arrow"
2. Thuja western "Holmstrup"
3. Thuja western "Europe Gold"
4. Barberry thunberg "Red Chief"
5. Thuja western "Globosa"
6. Juniper average "Gold Star"
7. Japanese spirea "Little Princess"
8. Juniper horizontal "Blue Chip"
9. Juniper horizontal "Prince of Wales"
10. Morrow's sedge (or similar grasses)
10.
1. Prickly spruce "Hoopsii"
2. Juniper Chinese "Blaauw"
3. Thuja orientalis "Aurea Nana"
4. Juniperus average "Pfitzeriana"
5. Coastal juniper "Schlager"
6. Norway spruce "Little Gem"
11.
1. Canadian spruce "Conica"
2. Juniper horizontal "Blue Chip"
3. Lying juniper "Nana"
12.
1. Thuja western "Holmstrup"
2. Barberry thunberg "Red Chief"
3. Miscanthus Chinese "Zebrinus"
4. Pine mountain "Mops"
5. Juniper average "Old Gold"
6. Juniper Cossack "Tamariscifolia"
7. Morrow's sedge (or similar grasses)
8. Ground cover perennials "Bryozoan or stonecrop"
decor element
In nature, adult conifers cast a large shadow. Therefore, for ornamental gardening, undersized varieties were specially bred, only 3-4 meters high. They fit well into the landscape of the site. The background is the lawn and alpine slide. If the size of your site allows you to plant large-sized trees, remember: cedar and pine should not be planted next to firs and Christmas trees. Larch generally does not like either one or the other. Thuja does not grow well next to spruce. Coniferous trees should be planted either in alleys, or in small homogeneous groups, or in the form of a hedge. An excellent addition to the composition of coniferous plants are stones - both large boulders and stones of a small fraction (marble chips, pebbles). They diversify color scheme, will help change the proportions of the composition. An excellent material for decoration is the bark of conifers. In addition, the bark is an excellent mulching material that protects the soil from moisture loss, improves its structure and prevents the growth of weeds.
There is nothing difficult in creating such a flower bed. It is important to know exactly the stages of work, as well as study the recommendations experienced gardeners on the choice and care of plants in the future.
Making a flower bed with your own hands:
- Soil preparation. Although evergreen conifers can grow in almost any soil, it is best to mix turf or leafy soil with peat and sand. Don't forget to add special formulations for these types of trees, which can be purchased at a regular gardening store.
- After that, we proceed to landing. It is best to plant tall species in the center of the flower bed. For example, you can choose junipers, which we install at a distance of about a meter from each other. The depth of the dug holes should be approximately 50-70 cm, lay out on the bottom soil mixtures. You can not do without drainage, which can be sand or pebbles. Around in the same way we plant lower plants.
- We tamp, mulch and decorate the flower bed. After planting the plants, the soil must be carefully watered, compacted, adding a layer of earth if necessary. Next, we carry out mulching with peat or pine chips, while the layer should be at least 10 cm. Pebbles or marble chips are suitable for decoration.
- We are beautifying the area. Undoubtedly, not only landing is important, but also the creation of a decent entourage. We need to dig a moat around our evergreen flower bed, where we will plant more low flowers and plants. The soil should be neutral, "flavored" with mineral fertilizers - this will allow you to grow lush and healthy shrubs. When choosing plants, keep an eye on their flowering period and select according to the same principle - this will allow you to get beautiful flower beds from conifers.
A flowerbed of conifers - ensuring proper care
With a small example, we will show how best to arrange an evergreen flower bed. Before starting a task, determine future view compositions, taking into account the size, style, relative position, then, based on these factors, select plants. The main thing is that they look and can be side by side. The easiest option is to create a flower bed with a symmetrical arrangement of shrubs and trees. As the main (central) element, a pyramidal, “funnel-shaped” plant should be taken. For example, it can be a Chinese juniper - the tree grows up to 2.5 m. After that, we plant shrubs of the “second order” symmetrically. These include mountain pine, western thuja, european spruce- those types of evergreens that reach 1.5 m in height.
Ephedra are quite often used in landscape design to decorate flower beds. And this is not surprising, because conifers have many advantages over ordinary flowers: they retain their attractiveness regardless of the season, are not demanding on conditions, and they do not need to be planted annually. In addition, creating a flower bed from conifers on a site with your own hands is no more difficult than arranging any flower garden - you just need to choose a place and plant variety, draw up a planting plan, and plant several species in a flower bed decorative conifers.
A flower bed consisting of several types of coniferous crops is considered complex landscape composition, so create it with your own hands in an arbitrary style without pre-training and the plan is quite difficult. You need to start creating a flower bed with conifers by drawing up a diagram on which the location of each plant is applied in detail. A properly designed flower bed layout should take into account the following points:
- the territory on which the flowerbed with conifers will be located should be in an open sunny place;
- to coniferous composition did not merge, the plants should be contrasting in color, shape and size;
- priority in the flower bed should be given to compact and undersized varieties- against their background, single coniferous trees look more advantageous;
- at the planning stage, it is necessary to decide on finishing materials used for framing and decorating flower beds - conifers look more spectacular framed in stone;
- in the plan, all conifers, stones, additional decorative elements should be displayed as accurately as possible, and the sequence of their planting is indicated by numbers.
When creating a composition with do-it-yourself conifers, the question often arises: what other plants can be planted so that they are combined with coniferous plantations? The most popular coniferous species are: spruce, undersized mountain pine, fir, thuja, junipers of various varieties. In addition, the coniferous composition can be supplemented with any flowering perennials.
Of the many plants, roses are most effectively combined with coniferous crops, because it is precisely green color creates bright contrast and favorably sets off roses. The coniferous composition, in which roses are present, is distinguished by its special sophistication and sophistication. Roses in a mixborder can be planted in various varieties, while it is better to plant undersized and ground cover roses, and in the center, against the background tall trees(thuy, firs) - bush, standard roses. White lilies and blue irises also go well with greenery, but still bright multi-colored roses in combination with conifers create a special emphasis on such a flower bed.
Video "All about coniferous compositions in the garden"
Step by step instructions for creating
The arrangement of any flower bed with your own hands begins with the preparation of the soil. And in the case of conifers, the soil must be prepared especially carefully, since they are planted once for many years. First you need to dig deep into the area, since the roots of most conifers are quite long. The soil for conifers should be loose, with good drainage properties, preferably sandy loam with neutral acidity. 
After digging, all lumps, roots, weeds must be removed from the soil, mineral fertilizers suitable for a particular type of conifers that will be planted in a flower bed. Peat and sand should be added to clay heavy soil, a little to sandy soil. sod land. If the flower bed is small, you can buy soil for it at a flower shop - they sell ready-made soil mixtures for each separate species coniferous trees and shrubs.
After the soil in the flower bed is prepared, you can proceed to the design of the composition of the conifers. Here it is important to transfer the schematic plan of the flower bed as accurately as possible to a real piece of land.
This process is as follows:
After the coniferous composition is planted, the soil should be mulched in the flower bed. When choosing a material, it is desirable to take into account not only decorative properties material, but its practical use for plants is organic mulch: fine gravel, granite chips, wood chips and sawdust, in addition to the mulching function, also improve the properties of the soil.
How to care
In general, conifers are unpretentious, but this is true only for rooted and adult conifers. After planting in a flower bed, young seedlings can begin to wither rapidly, and most often this is due to a change in soil - in a store, a temporary substrate is placed in pots with coniferous seedlings containing special additives. And after planting, the plants enter a completely different environment, and this is a real stress for them. If the seedlings of young conifers begin to die, it is necessary to add special dressing to the soil, or add soil brought from the forest.
IN further care for coniferous crops consists of a considerable list of activities, however, they must be carried out only as necessary:
- Watering. In the first year of planting, young conifers are watered at intervals of 1 time per week. Most adult coniferous plants do not need watering at all, with the exception of abnormal heat or prolonged drought.
- Sprinkling. This procedure is only performed when prolonged absence rain. However, if desired, crown irrigation can be carried out more often - this will only make coniferous plantations more attractive.
- Weeding. The flower bed needs to remove weeds, as a rule, in the first years, when the coniferous composition has not grown enough. In the future, plantings will create a shadow, and weeds will stop growing. If the flower bed consists of undersized compact shrubs or dwarf varieties of conifers, weeding is carried out more often, since weeds create a shadow over them and prevent growth.
- Mulching. Shelter made of organic material can be made as in trunk circles, and over the entire surface in the flower bed. Mulch has many useful functions for plants: it prevents the growth of weeds, retains moisture, and reduces soil freezing. On a flowerbed of conifers, it will be more than appropriate to look at the mulch from the remnants of needles - needles, cones, coniferous bark, sawdust.
- Loosening. In the first 3 years, soil loosening between coniferous plantations should be carried out regularly to a depth of 7-10 cm after each watering. Then the soil is simply mulched.
- Top dressing. Coniferous crops do not need frequent feeding. Mineral mixtures with humates, specially designed for conifers, are applied once in spring or early summer.
- Pruning. Planned pruning of coniferous crops is carried out at the end of August - September in order to give the composition a decorative form.
- Fight against drying out of needles. From intense heat and lack of moisture, conifers can turn yellow and crumble. In this case, you need medical measures with spraying the crown with special solutions: Gimisol, Immunocytovit.
