Laying out the flowerbed correctly - ideas, tips and instructions for beginners

Laying out the flowerbed correctly - ideas, tips and instructions for beginners

the essentials in brief

  • It is visually attractive to combine tall leading perennials (10-15%) with lower accompanying perennials (30-40%) and full perennials (50-60%)
  • Weed growth can be prevented or reduced with weed fleece and also mulch (213.00 € at Amazon *)
  • A flowerbed can be square, round or curved
  • If you want to enjoy the flowerbed all year round, you can plant one or two types of plants for each season, all of which should be hardy

Creating a flower bed - ideas for the planting plan

The flower bed becomes a jewel in the garden if you record the local framework conditions at the location in advance in a plan. Make a note of the light conditions and the nature of the soil, because the right choice of plants depends largely on this. So that the finished flowerbed is perfectly embedded in the overall picture of the garden, determine the shape. The pictures below demonstrate various options for beautiful lines. The next step is to devote yourself to the planting plan. Let yourself be guided by the following ideas and basic criteria, so that you can create the dream flowerbed correctly:

  • Leading perennials as a framework : as a backdrop and center, tall perennials such as hollyhock, delphinium , flame flower, peony
  • Accompanying perennials : half-height flowers, such as cockade, coneflower, lupine, scabies, bulb flowers
  • Perennials : low gap fillers, such as cranesbill , lavender, girl's eye, annual flowers (snapdragons, mallow, zinnia)
  • Distribution : 10-15% leading perennials, 30-40% accompanying plants, 50-60% filling perennials

also read

  • How to design a modern flower bed - tips and ideas
  • Design the flowerbed appropriately - tips and ideas
  • Create a new flower bed - step by step

Majestic leading perennials impressively stand out as solitaires. Accompanying and filling perennials come into their own as a small group. The larger the bed area, the more numerous a type of flower may be represented as tuff. The border is reserved for low, compact perennials that reveal the imposing main characters in the background or center. Prime examples are long-blooming cushion flowers such as blue pillows, cushion phlox or the picturesque candytuft.

Possible bed forms

Creating a flower bed - planting plan for beginners

The following planting plan promises the garden novice love at first sight. The focus is on a plant community that grows easily in a sunny location. The shopping list and arrangement are coordinated with a round flowerbed with an area of ​​5 m² and a circumference of around 10 m. With stones as a border, the flower arrangement is perfect for a place in the lawn. A special advantage for beginners: all plants are hardy and appear again after winter as if by magic:

Shopping List:

  • 2 pieces of torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria) in orange-red
  • 1 piece of mountain Illex (Illex crenata)
  • 7 pieces of cockade flower (Gaillardia grandiflora)
  • 9 pieces garden sun hats (Echinacea purpurea 'Cheyenne Spirit)
  • 47 pieces of houseleek red (Sempervivum hybrid)
  • 16 pieces of blood-red cranesbills (Geranium sanguineum)

Instructions for plant arrangement

The two torch lilies function as guiding shrubs that take a position in the background to the right and left. Evergreen Berg-Illex takes a seat in the middle of the bed. Cockade flowers and false sun hats are intended as accompanying perennials, which makes spatial proximity to the torch lilies useful. At the edge of the bed, houseleeks stand out in a blaze of dark red colors. Where there are still gaps, the planting plan provides for blood-red cranesbills, ideally in small groups.

Youtube

Create a flower bed without weeds - this is how it works

Freshly planted flowers lose their courage to face life under the weight of rampant weeds. It doesn't have to come to that when you create a flower bed without weeds. If you integrate effective weed protection in the planting plan, you will be spared annoying weeding, which more than halves the maintenance effort. The following guide explains step by step how to do it right:

  1. Thoroughly rake and weed the bed area and clean roots and stones
  2. Spread compost soil and dig it under the garden soil
  3. Smooth the earth with the rake
  4. Lay weed fleece (€ 28.90 at Amazon *) and protect against slipping with ground anchors
  5. Place plants on the fleece according to the planting plan
  6. cut the fleece cross-shaped for each plant with a knife
  7. Soak the potted plant in water, pot, place in the soil and water
  8. Place the fleece corners as close as possible to the root neck

Finally, take the weed control out of sight. You can do this cheaply and decoratively with gravel, chopped wood (€ 8.90 at Amazon *) or bark mulch. If you use fleece with a thickness of more than 90 g / m², weeds have no chance of breaking through.

Digression

Create a flowerbed without digging

You don't have to dig up a sweat when you're starting a new flower bed. Draw a fence around the intended area with stones, small wooden palisades or slats. Then lay out the area with unprinted cardboard without staples. Please make sure that the edges overlap at least 10 centimeters. Now fill up 10 to 15 centimeters of sifted garden soil on the cardboard surface and let everything sink for a week. In the final step, you apply a 10 to 15 centimeter high layer of compost soil. It's that easy to create a flower bed without digging.

Flower collection - inspiration for every location

Create flower beds

Floral bedding compositions are always a successful project when flowers, shrubs and grasses are given the right location. Please always take the local light conditions into account when choosing plants when creating a flower bed. This premise in no way limits the options. As the following flower collection shows, you can draw on the abundance of splendidly blooming types of flowers for all locations:

Sunny south sideHeydayPenumbraHeydayShadow north sideHeyday
Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)August to OctoberFoxglove (digitalis)June to AugustElven flower (Epimedium diphyllum)April and May
Cranesbill (geranium)June to OctoberColumbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)April to JulyHepatica (Hepatica nobilis)February to April
Lavender (Lavendula)June to SeptemberSplendid spar (astilbe)August to OctoberHostaJune to September
Maiden's Eye (Coreopsis grandiflora)June to AugustHigh flame flower (Phlox paniculata)July to SeptemberSt. John's wort (Hypericum androsaemum)July to October
Cockade flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora)July to SeptemberBleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)May to JulyNettle King (Lamium orvala)May to July
Delphinium (delphinium)June to OctoberFuchsia (Fuchsia)July to OctoberWood anemone (anemone)March to May
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)July to SeptemberPurple bells (Heuchera)June to SeptemberFern Larkspur (Corydalis cheilanthifolia)April to June
Magnificent candle (Gaura lindheimerii)May until OctoberBlue of the valley (Mertensia virginica)April and MayMountain forest cranesbill (Geranium nodosum)August to November
Sun bride (Helenium x cultorum)June to AugustEarly summer phlox (Phlox idahonis)May to JulyCommemorative (Omphalodes)March to May
Flame Flower (Phlox)June to AugustRose primrose (Primula rosea)March to MayDog rose (Rosa canina)June to October
Roses (pink)June to NovemberHydrangeas (Hydrangea)June to SeptemberChristmas rose (Helleborus)November to February

The multi-faceted collection is rounded off with onion flowers for a colorful start to blossom in early spring. Snowdrops, march breakers and crocuses act as a neat vanguard before the big flower spectacle takes off in mid-May.

Flower bed for bees - simple flowers take precedence

Please give preference to flowers with simple blossoms if you are creating a flower bed for bees with children. They are unfilled flower bowls that create a stage in the bed for the big humming and humming. Lush, double flowers, on the other hand, are a disappointing sham for bees, bumblebees and butterflies.

Bed design with flowers and grasses - planting plan

Create flower beds

Flowers like to have a decorative dialogue with filigree grasses. In the middle of the lawn or along the house wall, the dream team of flowers and ornamental grasses transforms mundane green spaces and house walls into poetic eye-catchers. The following planting plan would like to inspire your imagination for a successful bed design with perennials and grasses. The plan is suitable for sun and partial shade as well as a bed area of ​​8.5 m² with white marble gravel as a floor covering. The focus is on easy-care and hardy plants.

Shopping List

  • 2 pieces of thimble (Digitalis purpurrea)
  • 2 pieces of Chinese reed 'Hermann Müssel' (Miscanthus sinensis)
  • 6 garden sedge 'Everlime' (Carex oshimensis)
  • 6 pieces of purple bells white (Heuchera hybrid)
  • 34 bags of marble gravel 'Carrara' white, 40-60 mm grain size, 15 kg per bag

Note for families: If you are creating the flower bed with children, please replace the poisonous thimble. Safe alternatives are hollyhocks, sun bride or sunflower.

Instructions for plant arrangement

An aura of subtle elegance is created in the flowerbed with grasses if you do not place the plants too close together. Foxglove or a non-toxic alternative dominates in the background on the right and left. Chinese reed keeps sufficient distance from the flowering main shrubs so that garden sedges can settle in the spaces between them as companion plants. Three small tuffs, each with two purple bells, ensure loosening up. Impressive contrasts are created if you choose white marble gravel as the flooring.

Prove your creative courage for the morbid beauty of fed ornamental grasses. In autumn, tie the dead clumps together with colorful jute ribbons. When winter frost makes grasses and ears of wheat glitter in the sun or a snow cap perched on seed heads, the lack of flowers is easy to get over.

Flower beds are poems that gardeners write on the garden floor.

Ideas for a perennial flowerbed

Create flower beds

A flower bed in Sunday clothes all year round is a long-cherished wish for many hobby gardeners. In order for the plan to succeed, it depends on a winter-hardy combination of plants that does not reveal everything at once. For each season of the year, choose one or two blooming main characters who will delight you with their pretty leaves for the rest of the year. This collection of ideas may serve as an example and guide for a perennial flowerbed:

  • Spring flower bulbs open the flowering round: snowdrops, daffodils, spring breakers and tulips
  • Summer leading perennials with a long flowering period: phlox, sunbeam, rose mallow, scabiosa, steppe sage
  • Autumn blossoms until the first frost: winter aster, flame flower, goldenrod, autumn monkshood, roses
  • Winter ornamental foliage plants and winter bloomers: Funkia, snow rose, purple bells

In the perennial flowerbed, compact flowering bushes take on the function of scaffolding. The selected trees should not steal the show from the flowers, but complement them harmoniously. Snow forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) and dwarf almonds (Prunus tenella) are the starting points in spring. Buddleia (Buddleja davidii) and weigelia (Weigelia) adorn the flowerbed in summer and pass the floral scepter on to opulent hydrangeas in autumn. In winter, winter snowball (viburnum) sets picturesque accents.

Tips

If there is a liaison of flowers and vegetables in the planting plan, give your flowerbed a cottage garden flair. Climbing peas boast purple butterfly flowers. The historic field bean variety 'Crimson Flowered' impresses with its ruby-red blooms. Parsley and carrots are decorated with distinctive umbels.

Designing a Mediterranean flower bed - tips for the planting plan

Create flower beds

A flowerbed shines in the Mediterranean when you note southern flowers, shrubs, herbs and woody plants in the planting plan. Authentic plants from the Mediterranean thrive as sun worshipers and want predominantly dry and nutrient-poor soil. Under these conditions, the following plants are perfect for a Mediterranean flower bed in the sunny rock garden on the south side:

  • Real lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
  • Sun rose (Helianthemum)
  • Fuchsia (Fuchsia papagena)
  • Ornamental basket (Cosmos bipinnatus)
  • Sage (Salvia nemorosa)
  • Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
  • Mediterranean snowball (Viburnum tinus)
  • Red Robin (Photinia fraseri)

Add the finishing touches to a Mediterranean flower bed with matching accessories. If you create the bed in front of a house wall, wall fountains and colorful terracotta mosaics create a Mediterranean ambience. Plant some flowers and herbs in hand-painted terracotta pots, which you set up in the middle of the flowerbed as stylish accessories.

Flower bed on the balcony - ideas for balcony boxes

Create flower beds

The flower box on the balcony is the territory of annual splendid flowers. The exposed position encourages a planting plan that draws on the full. On the south side hanging petunias 'New Celebration' and tricolor winds 'Ensign Mixture' transform the balcony with casually dangling flower cascades into a summer fairy tale. Standing and in the spaces in between, colorful dwarf snapdragons or bright blue men faithfully rise up.

In the balcony box on the north side, those who abstain from the sun stage themselves with a floral presence. Noble lizards, begonias, colored nettles and hostas transform the light-poor location into an enchanted flower bed. Ornamental grasses that are compatible with shade round off the planting plan imaginatively, such as white grove or easy-care shade sedges.

When is the best season?

The time window opens twice a year to create a flower bed in the garden. In spring, the planting season begins in mid-May, when the worst risk of ground frost has survived after the ice saints. Autumn is the ideal time for shrubs and trees to put down roots in the garden soil.

Balcony gardeners plant a flower bed in a box preferably in spring from late April / early May. By the time the beautiful season is in full swing, flowers, shrubs and blooming vegetables have unfolded their full splendor.

frequently asked Questions

We plan to create a flowerbed on a hillside. What should you pay particular attention to?

The most important measure is stable slope protection. The degree of the gradient determines the choice of means. A dry stone wall made of natural stone is recommended. In order to make the flowerbed on the slope modern, gabions with stone filling come into focus. Wooden palisades or old railway sleepers exude historical cottage garden flair. For the planting plan, please note primarily deep-rooted plants that additionally stabilize the soil. Flower roses, bergenias and grasses are good choices on the southern slope.

What stylistic means can I use to create a modern flower bed?

High priests of modern garden design advocate clear lines, geometric shapes, natural materials and tasteful accessories to create a contemporary flower bed. A narrow, rectangular or round border made of natural stone marks the starting point. Gravel or bark mulch cover the ground. Solar balls and spotlights set modern accents. Trendy flowers and trees are the main characters, such as ballhortenisen 'Annabelle' or bearskin fescue 'Pic Carlit'.

We are planning to re-create a colorfully mixed flowerbed in the garden. Which soil should we use?

The best substrate for flowers, shrubs and trees is loose, permeable, rich in humus and nutrients. Most plants welcome a mix of compost and sand in a ratio of 3: 1. If it is a Mediterranean flower bed with lavender, blossom sage and other sun worshipers, increase the proportion of sand. If the flower bed decorates the rock garden, mix small-grain gravel under the soil to optimize permeability and reduce the nutrient content.

Tips

The online bed planner from Obi provides excellent support for the creative planting plan. You choose your favorites from a wide range of imaginative design options. Upon request, Obi will send you the planting plan, shopping list with costs and instructions for planting free of charge by email. As a beginner, you can easily and easily create your own flowerbed yourself.