In this patriotic border, the red color is achieved with geraniums, the white with annual alyssum, and the blue with blue ageratum, but one could just as easily use:
Red salvia (red) Shasta daisy (white) Victoria Blue salvia (blue)
In this garden, the Autumn Joy sedum is complemented by ‘Silver Dust’ dusty miller, among other plants. Dusty miller is a common choice when silver foliage is desired. The brightness of its frosty, white fronds softens the design that is otherwise dominated by the dusky-pink tones of the Autumn Joy sedum.
Annual plants Pachysandra Evergreen shrubs Yard art Cobblestone edging A wood fence
The annuals (marigolds) brighten the composition and provide long-lasting color for little money. The Pachysandra groundcover furnishes a nice, solid-green background and keeps the flower garden border from looking too busy. Meanwhile, the evergreen shrubs provide a different plant form (they’re globe-shaped) from the rest of the vegetation. The softscape only begins to tell the story of this flower garden border as the hardscape nicely complements the plantings. The yard art serves as a focal point, while the fence breaks up the planting into more easily digestible segments. Finally, notice the effect of the cobblestone driveway pavers lined up along the edge. One of the functions of garden edging or lawn edging is to frame a display area. The cobblestone achieves that and more. Its appearance is rustic enough to retain an informality akin to its flower garden border.
Elevate the viewer’s focusFurnish variation in plant formsAdd motion and sound when blown by a breeze
Ornamental grasses that are tall to intermediate in height work well in flower beds as they don’t overwhelm the other plants. Maiden grass, zebra grass, and purple fountain grass are popular options. To the right of the love-lies-bleeding and the red coleus, the plants with the airy foliage are cosmos. Their feathery leaves contrast nicely with the rest of the flower border. This type of castor bean plant has such dark leaves that it can be categorized as one of the so-called “black plants.” As such, it’s wonderful for color contrasts with brighter plants. However, castor bean plants are toxic, so they may not be the best plant to have growing in your yard if children will be playing there. The same principle works the other way around. Aesthetically speaking, smaller trees for one-story homes are generally the most appropriate choice. From a practical standpoint, layering ensures that the shortest plants are not deprived of sufficient sunlight. You may also layer for aesthetic reasons, so that plants are arranged in the most pleasing composition, especially from the primary viewing angle.
The plants at ground level are growing in containers, although the containers are so well hidden that, at first glance, you might think they’re growing right in the ground.Varying the color of the petunias (there are three colors) provides more interest than using one solid color.The ground display is supplemented by window boxes.
