Coniferous compositions planting schemes. A flowerbed of conifers or how to make the garden green throughout the year? Flowerbed of coniferous plants and flowers

Modern landscape design is rich in variety of species coniferous plants. The aroma of country air, saturated with pine needles, is a pleasant and healthy frame for relaxation in the countryside and in the garden. Plants are used in the landscape to create beautiful compositions, flower beds, rockeries and topiary, as well as in the form of fences. Coniferous tree species in landscape design They get along well with deciduous trees and look great on lawns framed by stones and flowers. Plants come in a variety of species different shades, shape and size, plus - unique decor all year round.

Options for using conifers in the landscape.

Decorative types of conifers are popular in design solutions landscape due to its unique properties:

Coniferous trees and shrubs are frost-resistant, easily survive severe cold, adding decor to the winter landscape;
thanks to their powerful roots, coniferous plants provide themselves with moisture even in dry summers, and therefore do not require frequent watering;
conifers develop well in low light conditions and grow in shade and partial shade;
trees are attractive at any stage of their life. As they grow, the beauty and density of their crown only intensifies;
The diversity of conifer species implies the presence of compact forms that do not require special care.

Coniferous plant cultures can be used when planning landscape compositions in any style. Miniature trees are appropriate in green fences, flower beds and rockeries.

Coniferous rock garden design

An ornamental garden on a gentle slope with scattered stones, a variety of unpretentious flowers, shrubs and miniature conifers is a rockery. When creating a semi-wild coniferous landscape, you need to follow some principles:

dwarf representatives are chosen as the basis for compositional vegetation coniferous species;
when choosing types of coniferous plants, their unpretentiousness is taken into account;
when forming a rock garden there should be no pronounced differences in terrain;
the plot pattern is created by a combination of large stone and gravel backfill.

Before purchasing seedlings for a rock garden, you need to think through the composition of your landscape design; miniature conifers are not cheap. You can achieve the best effect in the compositional design of the landscape by choosing a vertical coniferous dwarf for the dominant plant, with a crown in the form of a cone or oval. The dominant plant is planted at the beginning or middle of the composition; small seedlings with a spherical crown are placed around it. Planting creeping ground cover conifers will serve as a background.

An alpine slide differs from a rock garden in requiring more sunlight. A gently sloping garden of conifers is unpretentious in this regard and looks wonderful in a landscape design under the windows of the estate, in the shade of a gazebo, on the shore of an artificial pond.

When creating a rock garden, you should not overload it with variety coniferous species, you can lose the beauty and uniqueness of everyone. When composing groups, it is better to use contrasts in the shape and color of trees or apply the aesthetics of a smooth transition.

Wild stones, as elements of landscape design, should be organically included in the composition and not hidden in coniferous thickets, but harmoniously placed among dwarfs of spruce, pine, thuja and juniper. The result should be a complete illusion of a natural landscape in miniature. The slow growth of conifers (up to 3 cm per year) will allow you to preserve the composition for a long time.

Design of flower beds from conifers

In the landscape design of a summer cottage, coniferous species look great in flower beds. Their sizes and design depend on the size personal plot and gardening talent.

There are several main types:

Attention! When designing a flower bed, the amount of free space for the growth and development of green perennials is taken into account.

Arranging a coniferous flower bed is not particularly difficult. At correct selection species range of evergreens and their proper placement will result in a beautiful view of the local area with minimal waste of time and effort.

Coniferous fencing

Conifers in the landscape design of a summer cottage add a certain majesty to the landscape composition, especially evergreen plantings in hedges. Fence made of coniferous trees can be of different heights and has strict beauty and harmony. In addition to decoration, a plant fence also provides useful functionality:

It is better to buy the types of trees and shrubs for living fencing in a special nursery, but can be found in an ordinary flower shop. Some coniferous species are suitable for propagation by cuttings or seeds.

Mastery of complex design

Conifers in landscape design open up space for the flight of imagination. The art of topiary can give a plant any fantasy shape. The main way to obtain a shaped variety of plants is pruning; types of yew, spruce and juniper are used. When creating simple shapes - cylindrical, spherical, cone-shaped, it is better to choose those types of conifers whose crown will suffer minimal damage.

Experienced gardeners trim trees by eye; for beginners, there are stencils and various devices in the form of driven pegs and stretched ropes. A novice amateur gardener can give the crown of an ephedra a beautiful, spiral shape. Using a wide ribbon you need to wrap young tree with a conical crown and cut off all branches from free areas. After a year, the clipped areas are already clearly visible, you can correct them a little and the end result is a beautiful sea shell.

Choosing a garden plot design

The high decorative value of conifers opens up a wide range of applications in landscape design. It is necessary to preserve the beauty and uniqueness of each coniferous tree, so there is no need to plant an entire forest.

Before planting plants, be sure to consider:

climatic conditions;
terrain;
dimensions of the plot and yard buildings;
the presence of ponds and bridges.

All this must be linked with each other and coniferous perennials. You need to carefully consider the compositional design solution country garden, when replanting grown trees, the root system can be damaged.

Combination of plants in a coniferous garden

When developing garden landscape design Special attention is paid to the compatibility of plant crops:

Fir and spruce are not planted near cedar and pine;
spruce and thuja are unwanted neighbors;
larch needs to be planted separately; the presence of any conifers is intolerable for it;
the location of birch and bird cherry trees next to coniferous plants negatively affects the latter due to the lack of nutrients in the soil absorbed by deciduous plants;
bushes blooming roses are spectacular with a background of fir and spruce trees, but this neighborhood is dangerous for delicate flowers due to soil acidification by conifers.

Coniferous plants are good neighbors to deciduous shrubs, cereals, and flower perennials (especially lilies). Shrub species conifers look colorful in the company of weeping willows near a pond. Thujas with bright greenery and bluish tinted needles will be an excellent background for junipers.

For a spectacular and harmonious appearance of a coniferous composition in the landscape, you need to follow some rules:

conifers look perfect against the backdrop of a smooth and well-groomed lawn;
for the most advantageous view, the composition of coniferous plants should be removed from the main viewing location by a length of 2 - 3 times its height;
the compositional solution should be oriented towards the eastern or western direction;
a contrasting combination of height and color of coniferous species is selected, for example, low, spherical types of thuja against the background of pyramidal conifers. By playing with the height of the trees, you can achieve a visual effect - a medium-sized thuja or fir next to a low-growing mountain pine will look very significant.

Many owners of suburban areas are interested in landscape design. As a result of their efforts, the space surrounding not only expensive cottages, but also simple private houses has noticeably transformed. Today, vegetable gardens and even orchards are gradually losing ground and giving way to lawns, flower beds, flower beds and unusual plant compositions that are pleasing to the eye. However, flower beds have always attracted the attention of gardeners, and ornamental shrubs quite often decorated areas, but conifers in landscape design, if used, were not so often. Today they are becoming more and more popular.

There are rules for planting coniferous plants that are well known to landscape designers. But since not every site owner has the financial ability to hire such a specialist, it is better to know these rules yourself in order to independently try to implement them on the site:

A tree and shrub composition will only look holistic when the distance from the point from which it will most often be viewed is at least twice its height.
Having a lawn as a background for coniferous plants is most preferable.
Often coniferous plants are planted near ponds so that, in combination with weeping plants, foliage plants, they formed a single original composition.
It is most impressive, according to experts, when coniferous compositions in the garden landscape design are oriented to the west or east.

Coniferous plants go well with cereals, leafy plants and flowers, including lilies. This composition on the shore of a pond looks natural and magnificent

The combination of roses and conifers looks great, but the problem is that thujas and other coniferous plants, as a result of their vital activity, oxidize the soil, and roses acidic soils they treat you badly

Coniferous plants can vary significantly in color. If you are going to assemble plants into a composition, you need to pay attention to the color of the needles so that a unique range is formed:

If a composition includes three components, then only two colors can be present in it.
A five-element composition should consist of no more than three different colors.
If there are 25 or even more elements in the composition, they must be combined into groups of three, and plants in one group should be selected according to a single color characteristic.

Only in this case will coniferous plants form an ensemble in which they will look harmonious, without violating the integrity of the picture.

Material on the rules for designing group and solitary plantings of decorative conifers will also be useful:

Numerous colors and shades of pine needles can create harmonious combinations if you take care in advance of their compatibility with each other

Crown height and shape

When creating ensembles, it is necessary to take into account not only the color of the plant, but also its height in adulthood, as well as the shape of its crown. To forecast appearance compositions for the future, you should, armed with knowledge, select in advance from those plants that the modern market or nurseries can offer.

Of course, both the height of an adult plant and the shape of its crown must be taken into account so that after some time the composition does not lose its original attractiveness and does not turn into thickets

Tall species of conifers

Some fairly tall plants include the following species:

Western thuja. The plant reaches a height of 5 m, prefers shaded areas, and can be trimmed. Often used as a hedge.
Juniper Skyrocket. A pleasant conical shaped plant with soft blue needles. Grows up to 3m high.
Very popular variety, which can grow up to 15m. It has dense needles of silver-blue color. The plant is resistant to negative natural factors.
Scots pine Watereri. Its homeland is the Mediterranean, so we can say that it is especially adapted to the southern climate. It has a twisted spherical shape and grows to a height of up to 4 m.
Pincus sylvestris pine. A real coniferous giant, growing up to 40m in height. It has a straight trunk and columnar structure. In demand due to its absolute unpretentiousness.

If rapid upward growth is undesirable, you can regulate the size of the plants by constantly pinching its shoots, but this must be done regularly: every year. Otherwise, you can get a freak plant.

Who would have thought that such a compact plant could eventually turn into a 15-meter giant. But this circumstance must be taken into account when landing

Medium-sized plants for coniferous compositions

Very tall plants Rarely does anyone decide to use it in an internal composition. Rather, they form a hedge, zoning the area or enclosing it. But medium-sized conifers enjoy deserved popularity among landscape designers:

. This branchy and very showy evergreen tree is in demand because it grows slowly and looks attractive.
Berry yew. A compact shrub with dense needles looks great on the lawn and is popular due to its combination of lush greenery and bright red berries.
Western thuja. A very beautiful and compact ball, the branches of which grow densely in a vertical direction in relation to the trunk.
Golden yew. It can grow in partial shade and feels great next to tall and short plants. It has a bowl shape and yellowish-green or golden needles.

As a rule, it is these plants that form the basis of the compositions. Successfully complemented by low-growing conifers, they look great at any end of the garden.

It is medium-sized plants that often form the basis of all kinds of compositions. Look at this tree that just begs to be added to the garden. Japanese style

Green thuja with bright red berries brings back memories of wonderful New Year's holidays When does this color combination become most popular?

Low-growing and creeping conifers

When growing such a plant, you need to provide sufficient space for its development. After all, such conifers do not grow upward, but in width, taking over space and forming a kind of prickly lawn.

Spruce Lumbers. Despite this name, this spruce looks quite unusual. This is a low-growing plant with dense emerald-colored needles.
Western thuja Tiny Tim. This plant loves light, but does not require abundant watering. It looks like a ball that has rolled out onto the track.
Hampi mountain pine. The plant serves as decoration for rock gardens. It grows to the sides. Her kidneys are negative temperatures acquire a decorative reddish-brown tint.
Mountain Pine Mini Pug. It grows in the form of a fluffy pillow. Effective and pleasant to look at.

Low-growing conifers in garden design can be especially attractive if they are properly cared for. It is they, in combination with medium-sized ones, that are able to create an indescribable atmosphere Japanese garden, its color.

Although this spruce is called an ordinary spruce, in appearance it looks more like spruce branches that cover the surface that the designer set aside for it

The mountain pine Mini Pug is striking in its miniature size and adaptability to the most extreme growing conditions. Of course, she deserves to become a garden decoration

We make compositions from conifers

Coniferous plants combine well not only with each other, but also with deciduous shrubs and trees, creating interesting compositions. For the combination of plants, there are rules that you should know when creating the design of the site.

Mixborders from conifers

The mixborder can be placed where, in accordance with your vision, it will be especially appropriate. It is important not to be afraid to do what you want. The landscape only benefits from the manifestation of the designer’s individuality.

For the largest plants, prepare a place at the edge of the composition; then the seedlings are arranged in descending order of size, so the shortest specimens are planted at the foot of the mixborder. You should not try to maintain the geometric accuracy of the landings. Curvature will only emphasize the pristine beauty of the composition.

This attractive composition preserves all the rules that should not be broken when creating a harmonious ensemble of coniferous plants in the garden

The natural harmony of the mixborder must be respected: the width of the area for tall and large plants must exceed the space allocated for small-growing plantings. The seedlings may contain plants that differ in the color of their needles and the shape of their crown. Sometimes on sites you can see exceptionally beautiful and diverse collections of coniferous plants.

prickly hedge

Sharing suburban area for zones, many designers also use coniferous plants. With their help, you can create a functional fence around the perimeter of the site. To do this, plants are planted in two or even three rows, placed in a checkerboard pattern. An ordinary spruce can make a completely impenetrable fence.

Barriers can also be beautiful, but this does not make them less inaccessible. It will take time for such a fence to appear on the site, but the result is worth it

They look good against the background of Christmas trees or thujas. Creating different combinations plants, you don’t have to worry about artificial decorations of the site: it will be beautiful and evergreen at any time of the year.

Rules for planting coniferous plants

Careful preparation of the place where the plant will be planted is very important. Its health, and, therefore, the beauty of the site depends on this. If water stagnates in any part of the site, plants should not be placed there. Each variety has its own requirements for soil composition. This point should be clarified and taken into account when you are just starting to choose varieties for planting.

As you can see, a coniferous plant seedling does not need to be deepened very much. It is enough that in the hole prepared for it there is that part that we call the root

The most suitable period for planting is from the end of April to the beginning of May. At this time, the seedling has not yet entered the active period of growth, which means that it will more easily tolerate transplantation and will feel good in the new place.

You need to place fertile soil in the hole under the seedling, then compact it well and place the plant in it up to the root, not deeper. After planting, the conifer needs watering. Care must be taken to ensure that the soil does not dry out.

Not all coniferous plants exhibit frost resistance. There are also real sissies who are accustomed to the humid and warm Mediterranean climate. In winter they need to be protected.

Conifers are not picky plants, but they also require care. In hot summers they need to be protected from sunburn, and in cold winter those specimens that are not frost-resistant should be covered.

Seedlings can have a closed root system or an open one. If planting in spring and the roots are open, pay attention to the presence of white, fresh shoots. This plant is ready for planting.

Whatever the size of the plot, there will always be coniferous plants for it, without which no garden can be considered complete. Today's abundance of varieties and species allows you to experiment and create new coniferous compositions in the landscape design of small and large gardens.

Coniferous plants, with their diversity, confuse the gardener when choosing candidates for creating landscape forms. Getting your knowledge of evergreens in order is the first step in planning a beautiful garden.

The whole diversity of conifers is better represented if they are divided into groups:

Full-grown, whose annual growth is 30 cm or more per year;
Medium-sized and semi-dwarf individuals grow no more than 30 cm per year;
Dwarf forms with an annual growth of about 8 cm;
Miniature, which add 3-5 cm per year;
Microscopic with an increase of no more than 1 cm per year.

Based on these characteristics, the gardener determines the place that conifers will occupy in the landscape design of the site.

The first group of plants reaches a height of 3 meters or more at the age of ten. For example, the common spruce (Picea abies) at the 12th year of life is a beauty 4 meters high, and its crown in the lower part reaches a diameter of about 3 meters.

Norway spruce

Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) from this group also belongs to the category of giants. At the age of 10 years it can reach a height of 5 meters. In adulthood, and conifers grow for a very long time, it will be a 25-meter giant, presenting a delightful sight.

Cedar of Lebanon

Semi-dwarf forms of coniferous plants are by far the most attractive for garden or park compositions due to their versatility. They don’t need a lot of space, but even from a distance of 10 meters, a group of such plants looks quite presentable.

Dwarf and miniature forms are suitable for small gardens, where plants are given a small area and the picture needs to be observed from a distance of no more than 5 meters in order to appreciate the beauty of each participant and the entire composition as a whole.

Semi-dwarf spruce
Dwarf larch
Miniature cedar

Microscopic evergreens are grown by lovers of Japanese-style indoor gardens. An ensemble of such plants can be placed on a pedestal in a small courtyard.

Evergreens must also be divided into groups:

trees;
bushes.

Shrubs are common and dwarf. Cossack juniper (Juniperus sabina tamariscifolia) is a common resident of parks and gardens due to its unpretentiousness and vitality. It does not reach a height of more than one meter, but in width, if it is released and does not form a crown, it can occupy an area of about five or more meters in diameter.

On the contrary, horizontal juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) in the landscape design of the site plays the role of a prickly blanket that spreads along the ground and reaches a height of no more than 15 cm. It grows quite slowly.

Juniper horizontal

Pros and cons

The merits of coniferous plants include:

ease of care;
decorating the garden at any time of the year;
absence of fallen leaves;
lack of inflorescences that need to be trimmed;
abundance of shapes, sizes and colors;
the ability to form any shape using trimming;
improvement of ambient air;
durability.

In some sources, the disadvantages of coniferous crops include the unpredictability of their growth and appearance in adulthood. The right approach when growing coniferous plants, it eliminates all the disadvantages of their maintenance. If the planting site and type of plant are chosen taking into account its needs, size and climate, then the gardener can only timely treat diseases and pests and feed his coniferous pets a couple of times a season with tasty fertilizer for health and a fluffy appearance.

Willow Hakuro Nishiki Willow is a plant familiar to almost everyone; it is often used for landscaping. But the copies...

There is a plan!

With the help of coniferous plants, the garden can be completely different shapes. Fast-growing coniferous trees for landscape design of the site will be appreciated by those who like quick results.

A well-planned project is half the success.

The entrance area of the site can be decorated in a ceremonial style: clear forms of trimmed thujas of spherical and conical shapes greet guests and owners near the entrance to the house. They are surrounded by a well-groomed lawn or colored shredded bark in discreet shades.

In order for thujas to please the eye with fresh greenery, they need proper care and attentive attention. A fairly common situation is when the plant dries out and looks unkempt (do not confuse these cases with the golden varieties of this plant).

A living fence made from clipped thuja will help divide the garden into several different zones. Behind a two-meter thuja wall, the continuation of the site will not be visible, and winding path It will hide mysteriously and beckon you further into the garden.

Quite a frequent and popular guest. They are well suited for growing in urban environments, as they can withstand increased air pollution.

Such large-scale structures and large trees will be appropriate if there is sufficient space.

Conifers in garden landscape design should not look alien and unnecessary. Having assessed the space allocated for conifers, a good gardener will first examine the varieties that will be suitable for specific purposes.

In a small garden, groups of medium-sized and semi-dwarf plants look good against the backdrop of a lawn or gravel. Due to lack of space, a mixborder of coniferous plants is created along the fence. In the background you can place several balls of western thuja (Thuja ossidentalis), between them a creeping semi-dwarf juniper (Juniperus horizontalis “Glauca”), and in the foreground there will be a neat “Conica” spruce (Picea glauca albertiana “Conica”) with its small size and bright green needles. It goes well with the golden ball of Japanese spirea “Golden Princess” (Spiraea japonica). For color harmony, you can add dwarf oriental thuja with golden foliage (Thuja orientalis “Aurea Nana”). At the beginning of summer, all this splendor is decorated pink flowers spirea

Coniferous mixborder
Semi-dwarf juniper
Eastern dwarf thuja

Creation of a coniferous paradise

When incorporating coniferous plants into landscape design, you must follow some rules:

the tallest specimens are planted in the background;
coniferous composition from different plants should not combine more than three forms of crowns;
symmetry and precise geometric shapes are inappropriate when creating an evergreen open-plan group;
the ground floor strict composition must be strictly symmetrical and requires constant care and haircuts;
an ensemble of coniferous plants does not need variegation;
accents are required;
the viewing area should be at a distance equal to twice the length of the composition;
the wrong green neighbors can nullify the gardener's efforts.

Some of these rules require a detailed approach and specifics. If the first postulate is simple and understandable, then the question of forms can be explained by the structure of the human eye. The abundance of shapes, as well as colors, creates a feeling of unease. A composition of three colors or two or three contrasting shapes looks much more pleasant and holistic. Pyramid thuja Brabant in the landscape design of the group is best placed in the background. Their severity is emphasized by the spherical forms of the cypress tree, and in the foreground the entire ensemble is calmed by creeping juniper or ground cover deciduous plants. Even if the territory allocated for conifers is quite extensive, the rhythmic alternation of the same plants is better perceived, rather than a set of various varieties and colors.

To prevent the gaze from wandering around the composition, the beginning of contemplation should begin with an accent that can be created by a tree or shrub unusual shape or a color slightly different from everyone else. The starting point for the view is a small heather garden, which combines beautifully with conifers. A boulder of an unusual shape, buried in the arms of a juniper, or interesting solution garden lanterns also attract the eye and help to perceive the entire composition and each plant separately.

The combination of sizes of coniferous plants in a group should be harmonious. Tall spruce is perceived as long distance, while the small spherical thuja is interesting up close.

For the decent development of coniferous plants, it is necessary to take into account the influence that plants have on each other. The proximity of spruce and thuja will depress both plants. A beautiful specimen of larch will not tolerate anyone near it. This individualist loves to grow alone, just like the birch tree.

Larch

The combination of conifers and roses looks very beautiful. But this neighborhood may not be very comfortable for the rose.

Conifers in different roles

Many gardeners give preference to conifers when decorating a site, because these plants can play a variety of roles:

Hedge;
Solo part;
Mixborder;
Alpine slide or rock garden;
Ensemble;
Container garden.

A hedge of evergreens can be functional or aesthetic. If you need to separate a resting place from prying eyes, columnar junipers or thujas will cope with this role very well. Planted tightly to each other, they will create a beautiful and impenetrable wall that will look organic in the green mass of the site.

From dwarf juniper or cypress will make an excellent fence for fencing a playground or flower bed, which will not block the view, but will create a beautiful frame.

As a solo performer, coniferous trees or shrubs with an interesting crown shape, needle color or exotic look fruits A better combination all at once for the decorative effect of the soloist throughout the year. The background for the artist can be a lawn, gravel or decorative wood chips.

A composition, that is, a “mix,” of plants along a path or fence forms a kind of border, and all together this is called a mixborder. This garden element is very popular among gardeners. It can be decorated with conifers or a combination of conifers with flowers and ground cover plants. It is better to decorate the mixborder near the path with dwarf and semi-dwarf forms, so that the eye covers the entire group of plants at once.

Alpine slides or rock gardens in the recent past were a favorite decoration of garden plots. In any, even very small, piece of the garden, amateurs tried to create something similar to the Alps with the obligatory assortment of ground cover and coniferous plants. Creating a rock garden that would naturally fit into the landscape of the site is not an easy task, but it is quite feasible. It can be much simpler - a combination of plants and stones. For this element of the landscape, you do not need to build mountains, just a beautiful boulder and evergreen plants, correctly selected for it. Dwarf mountain pine will feel at home in landscape design if it is surrounded by several stones of interesting shapes or colors. Ground cover flowers or creeping junipers are planted between stones and conifers. In this case, plants and stones located on pebbles look more natural.

Compositions from coniferous plants are the simplest and most nice solution to revitalize your lawn or patio.

Conifers can be combined with deciduous plants suitable for growing conditions. The unpretentious and beautiful staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina), with its feather-like leaves, will look great in the summer against the backdrop of austere spruce trees, and in the fall its scarlet colors against a calm green background will attract the eye of even an experienced gardener.

In group compositions, contrasts of form and play of color play a major role. Columnar thujas with bright green needles combine perfectly with golden thuja balls, and creeping juniper of deep green color completes this composition spread out on the lawn.

There are coniferous plants that a gardener would really like to see in his green kingdom. But not all conifers tolerate frosts and low temperatures. In this case, container forms of conifers come to the rescue. You can decorate your patio with them or add them to an already finished composition in the garden. The container form of plants allows you to combine the incongruous. In this form, the dream of a duet of roses and spruce is quite feasible.

Present the finished result and go! You will succeed!

The name "mixborder" comes from English words“mix” (mixing) and “border” (border, border) and fully reflects the meaning of the purpose of this flower garden, which is planted either along the border of a plot or house, or on a small limited space of the lawn.

Mixborder - the most important thing

An example of a typical mixborder English garden plants.

mixed flower garden, usually longitudinal in shape, consisting of different varieties of plants. It is most often used in its composition; in some places it is supplemented with annuals. The size of the mixborder depends on the area of the site and climate and can consist of trees, small shrubs and climbing bushes.

For proper care such a flower garden requires knowledge biological features plants and phytodesign. plant suitable plants necessary in accordance with their height, size, different flowering periods, and then the beauty and picturesqueness of the landscape will delight the owner of the site throughout warm period of the year.

For harmonious landscape design, the following types of mixborders are used:

Coniferous-heather perennials- form a composition that is often framed on the façade of a building or used as, on a low elevation or to border a terrace.
a flower garden in which wild or perennial perennials are planted garden species flora - usually placed parallel to the paths to the house or against the backdrop of a grassy lawn. The option of fencing the area when planting along the border of the site is considered very successful.
If the site area is large enough, it is possible to use combined mixborder, consisting of coniferous trees and various shrubs, but it is desirable that the selected area is illuminated by the sun with varying intensities.
If located near the house, the best option would be row ornamental shrubs , blooming at different times of the year.
After finishing planning the landscape of the site, you can make additional planting flowers growing in the shade.

Mixborder of low-growing flowers.

How to fit a mixborder into the landscape

To begin with, a place is selected to place the mixborder in the landscape of the site. This is especially important when planting. Optimal place at the same time there is a space that during the day can be illuminated by the sun's rays, but then gives way to shadow.

The most commonly used locations are:

along the edge;
along the perimeter of the building facade;
on a slope with a slight inclination;
along the border of the site as a natural fence.

The length of such a flower bed can be any and is limited only by the size of the allocated area.

Ready-made mixborders, which can be seen in the colorful pictures above, are the result of an exciting and very labor-intensive project, which includes all the knowledge about the correct selection of plants (about their mutual influence on each other, the characteristics of growth and flowering).

Schemes and photos

There are 2 types of mixborders:

The flower garden is visible only from one side- in this case, the plants are planted in rows, with low-growing species in the foreground (40 cm tall), medium-sized ones in the second (60 cm), and the highest ones in the background (a meter or more).
Flower garden with all-round view- plants are planted so that the tall ones are in the center of the composition, and the rest are planted, selected according to the gradual decrease in their growth.

Let's look at the ready-made schemes:

Before buying seeds or plant seedlings, be sure to make a plan. When designing it, you need to consider:

composition and type of soil;
air humidity;
lighting (sunny or shaded);
Is the area protected from the wind?

It is also necessary to take into account what root system in plants so that creeping rhizomes do not spread over the surrounding area. After all, then other plantings will suffer, and the harmony of the flowerbed will be disrupted.

Important! Plants that are selected for a mixborder should have similar needs in terms of moisture consumption, type of soil and amount of sun exposure.

Here are some more landing rules:

You cannot plant tall plants near the viewing point that will block the view of the flower garden;
the continuity of flowering of such plantings can be ensured by planting annual plants that bloom for a long time;
The background for a flower garden must be green leaves, which, with their splendor during the period between the flowering of different plants, do not allow it to lose its decorative effect (for example, and);
if at a certain moment the flowerbed has not acquired a presentable appearance, then you can get out of the difficulty with the help of flower pots, arranging them for a while.

Mixborders made from coniferous plants

Coniferous plants are used as “skeletal” plants, i.e. those who in the future will set the height of the border and fill it. They are planted on different distances, leaving free space for planting annual or other perennial plants.

Using coniferous plantings, you can come up with many options for combining crown shapes, different sizes and create an original composition. The most commonly used dwarf conifers are:

Spruce (different types have different colors);
Korean fir (green needles shimmer with silver, unusual purple cones);
Lawson's cypress,
Bergmann or mountain pine (curly or pyramidal);
Thuja folded (with a voluminous crown descending to the ground);
Juniper (low, creeping branches);
Yew (branches fan out, looks original with red berries);
Weeping larch.

Dwarf and larger shrubs are planted permanently to subsequently determine the planting structure. Often boxwood or other evergreen shrubs are used for the base. Such plants correct pruning grow for several years, requiring almost no care (, magnolia, etc.).

Shrubs that are distinguished by colorful flowering look good: cinquefoil, different varieties,.

Scheme using conifers:

Here is an example of a mixed mixborder from different types of plants:

It includes: 1- Dwarf spruce (1), 2 - Tulips and Asters, blooming in spring(60 pcs.), 3 - Chist with fluffy leaves (7 pcs.), 4 - Phlox, bloom all season (10), 5 - (8); 6 - Sedum prominent (6); 7 - a (10), 8 -, blooming in June (3), 9 -, which in the future will become a compositional center (7), 10 - Rhododendron, blooming in May and August (3); 11 - Thuja with crown diameter up to 1 m (1).

In the first years, such a mixborder should be supplemented with annuals; the following are suitable for this purpose:

cold-resistant - poppy, petunia, calendula, begonia, etc.;
plants that bloom throughout the summer - asters, lavatera, sweet peas, cornflowers, violets, etc.;
plants that bloom towards the end of the season - carnations, dahlias, sunflowers, etc.

A couple more schemes:

Attention! When selecting plants, you need to focus on the volume of the already grown plant and its expected height.

There is no need to try to get the most lush decorative misborder in the very first year of its creation, because with thick planting, poor growth and even death of the plant is possible. The area allocated to each perennial must be calculated in advance:

large plants usually occupy 1 m 2 of land;
average - about 0.5-0.7 m2;
- 0.2 m 2.

Flowerbeds in the shade:

Along the path

Very often, flower beds are located along the borders of a summer cottage or along paths. In such a situation, the circuit flower arrangement must be highlighted using track tiles or other suitable material. You can use tree stumps, chocks and cobblestones.

Small flower beds are always decorated with long-growing plants (polygonum, echinacea). An excellent addition to the composition will be decorative foliage plants (cineraria, wormwood), shimmering with silvery light.

Scheme of the flower bed along the path:

Mixborder located along the house (in the photo below we use: actinidia kolomikta varieties Male, hydrangea Quick Fire, Little Rocket, and two types of hosta: Patriot and Sagae):

Along the stairs:

Corner flower beds

On every site there is a not very attractive corner in the corner of the fence or near the compost heap, which I would like to make more attractive and pleasing to the eye. As a solution to this problem, corner mixborders are suitable, which will add originality to the design of the area and cover problem areas.

Schemes of a corner flower bed:

Designations for the last diagram: 1 - Woolly chistets; 2 - Ashy fescue; 3 - Veronica Kolosovaya; 4 - Golden cinquefoil; 5 - Red geranium; 6 - Lobelia perennial; 7 - Red Quinoa; 8 - Molinia; 9 - Switchgrass; 10 - Asters; 11 - Tithonia roundifolia; 12 - Peach bell; 13 - Phlox paniculata; 14 - Coreopsis large.

Example of a corner composition:

How to make it yourself

You can create a mixborder yourself, without counting on the help of designers.

Having selected a ready-made diagram or drawn your own, a lover of landscape design will try to do everything with his own hands.

First you need to prepare the ground:

The boundaries of the flower bed are outlined with a shovel.
The top layer of grass and soil 5 cm deep is removed.
Fertilizer application per 1 m2: two buckets of humus, half a bucket of vermicompost, complex mineral fertilizers and 60 g of phosphorus-potassium.

On the diagram and in reality Plants should not be placed strictly in rows or at right angles, you should use a slightly chaotic layout with smooth outlines.

Care must be taken to color selection plants.

contrasting type looks very impressive and is noticeable from a great distance. Most often used a combination of red on a green background or yellow with purple colors . But too much a large number of It is not recommended to add flowers so that the flowerbed does not look untidy.

Creating mixborders yourself is a fascinating activity, although difficult. Optimal choice and proper planting of various plants, caring for the entire composition will make the territory of a summer cottage or other area incredibly attractive and unique.

Video consultation

Instructions for creating a mixborder with your own hands - in the video from the channel “Dacha Troubles”

IN last years, coniferous plants are becoming increasingly popular in landscape design. They are often used to create beautiful compositions and are reliable for various areas. This is due to the wonderful combination of conifers with deciduous plants, stones, herbs, flowers, plus a variety of species, differences in shades, shapes and sizes, as well as a unique healing aroma that fills the air, and year-round decorativeness.

Compact coniferous composition in front of the house

Features of creating a rock garden from conifers in front of the house

A rockery is a gently sloping garden, the design of which uses stones, flowers, shrubs and, in some cases, dwarf trees. Basic principles for creating a rock garden in front of the house:

lack of clearly defined tiers;
to create a plot pattern, a combination of large stones with gravel is used;
the basis of the plant composition is conifers, or rather them;
When choosing plants, preference should be given to the most unpretentious representatives of coniferous species.

A simple composition of unpretentious conifers

It is customary to distinguish 3 main types of rockeries, depending on the flora characteristic of certain natural areas: European, English Japanese. The first one is usually decorated with plants that grow in the middle zone. When creating an English rockery, the main emphasis is on the restraint of the composition; the main plants here are cereals, wormwood and some types of coniferous shrubs d. is predominance of stones, with a minimum amount of vegetation.

English

The landscape is complemented by steppe grasses

European

Composition of conifers in front of the house in the shade of a deciduous tree

Japanese

In this photo, conifers replace mosses, framing the path imitating a river, but it is not difficult to imagine spherical thujas in place of the mossy islands.

There are other types, but these are the most common, so to speak, classic. If you want to be original, for example, you can create a mobile rock garden, which will represent a fragment of a gently sloping garden placed in some kind of container. It could be something like a hollowed out tree or its imitation.

How to choose a place for a rockery with conifers

One of the distinguishing features of a sloping garden from an alpine hill is that the former does not require abundant lighting. Therefore, when choosing a place for a rock garden, there should not be any particular difficulties. It will look harmonious near the gazebo or in front of the windows of the house, near a decorative pond.

It is important that the site is level, even if it is on a slope; there should not be pronounced differences in levels.

Composition of conifers on a slope.

Level differences, natural or artificial, make it possible to create a waterfall.

On a flat area.

Compositions on level ground are relatively simple and can be done by beginners.

Coniferous compositions in landscape design

After the location has been chosen, you should decide on the plot of the composition and first create a project on paper. There are also subtleties and nuances here.

Firstly, when drawing up a composition on paper, it is necessary to take into account sizes of stones and plants.

Secondly, choose the right color palette of stones, here designers recommend giving preference to yellow, brown and beige shades.

Gray stones dilute the bright coniferous greenery, adding a watercolor feel to the composition.

Thirdly, most importantly - achieve a natural imitation of the natural location rocky outcroppings on the surface of the earth.

Conifers can also act as an accentuating background for a composition of other plants.

Fencing made of Vergina juniper.

The advice is not to allow one color to predominate.

Conifers can vary quite a bit in color. When creating a composition, the correct formation of the color scheme is important. There are also rules developed over the years:

For a 3-component composition, there must be 2 colors.
5-component - 3 colors.
A multi-component composition is created from plants that are grouped according to color characteristics.

Three active colors in the composition.

A mistake was made in this composition - the predominance of one shade of green, although shrubs with bright flowers slightly smooth out the impression of monotony.

The organic and carefully thought out color scheme, as well as the arrangement of shapes, make this composition almost perfect.

When creating compositions of coniferous trees and shrubs, it is necessary to take into account the distance from the place from which it will most often be viewed. It should be equal to or greater than two heights of the entire composition. For coniferous plants, many designers consider the best background. It is preferable to place the compositions on the eastern or western side of the site.

A thoughtful coniferous composition and a well-groomed lawn are made for each other.

The compatibility of different plants plays an important role. Conifers visually combine well with roses. But it should be taken into account that the former oxidize the soil, and for the latter this is undesirable. Therefore, additional costs will be required to maintain the soil in proper condition.

So that over time the composition does not lose its attractiveness and does not look like wild thickets, when selecting plants, you should take into account their height when they grow, as well as the shape and size of the crown.

Among the most popular and sought-after coniferous plants are:

Tall:
- (up to 5 m);
- El Khupsi (up to 15 m);
- Skyrocket - juniper (up to 3 m);
- Watereri - Scots pine;
- Pincus Sylvestris - pine (up to 40 m).
Medium height- are especially loved by landscape designers:
- yew berry;
- Konika - spruce;
- golden yew.
Creeping and short ones:
- Tiny Tim - western thuja;
- Mini Pug and Hampi - mountain pine trees;
- Lombers - common spruce.

If the area of the plot allows, then it can be divided into separate zones, which can not only decorate the garden, but also its fencing. True, to form the latter you will have to wait a certain time.

Design of a recreation area.

Coniferous compositions at the dacha

You can create compositions from coniferous plants on small summer cottages. Here it is necessary to take into account the general landscape of the area and its area. As practice shows, the most optimal for them will be small rock gardens with an area of 3.5 m2 or more or mobile compositions.

Conifers as a border near the house.

On a small dacha plot

A dramatic composition with conifers in the backyard, compact, but quite difficult to implement.

Composition only from conifers

When creating them, it is very important proper preparation soil for planting and strengthening the site from subsidence under the weight of stones and gravel. This is done in several stages. At the first stage, markings are made, then a layer of soil is removed and a small pit is dug. Usually the depth does not exceed 30 cm.

In the process of preparing a place for a coniferous composition.

At the second stage, the selected soil is thoroughly cleaned of roots and weeds, the soil is strengthened with geotextiles and the soil is returned to its place. If you plan to use it, then in these places drainage is made from a compacted mixture of fine sand and gravel or expanded clay.

Large stones are buried approximately half or one third into the ground; for stability, you can place smaller stones under them or add gravel. Designers recommend that the direction of the entire composition be oriented in one direction. The final stage is abundant watering. At this stage, it is advisable to prevent soil erosion.

To make it convenient to care for the composition, it is necessary to provide convenient and functional paths. Alternatively, they can be made from wood cuts or flat stones. Such a path will also become an additional decoration of the garden.

Coniferous compositions along the path.

Caring for coniferous compositions is not special labor, but requires knowledge of some rules and strict adherence to them.

Regular weed removal.
Periodic pinching and pruning.
Regular application of fertilizers, starting from the 3-4th year.
Moderate loosening of the soil.
Sheltering plants for the winter with spruce branches.
In extreme summer heat, it is advisable to protect conifers from direct sunlight by installing awnings.