Flowers for borders. Border flowers: choosing a border for the flower bed and garden paths. Stone and tile curb

When decorating a suburban area, the main attention is paid to filling flower beds, the design of paths, the arrangement of bushes and trees. Of course, flowers and other vegetation are immediately striking, however, borders for flower beds and paths are also important elements of landscape design. They can be purchased ready-made or made by hand from various materials at hand.

Garden curbs are used to frame flower beds, lawns, paths and paths. They are designed to restrict plant growth outside a defined area, prevent washout, protect the edges of paths from overgrowing with grass, prevent paved paths from spreading, etc. They should also have an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Borders for flower beds, lawns and paths logically complete the composition. At the same time, it is important that they ideally fit into the overall design of the site, harmoniously combined with the surrounding vegetation, decor garden paths and finishing of buildings. It should also be noted that some borders are hidden elements. On initial stage it is necessary to decide on the areas that need to be fenced, and on the amount of money that is planned to be spent for this. Then you can start choosing a specific fence option from a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors and materials. Each of them has its own advantages and functional limitations, therefore, one must be guided by their future purpose.

A ready-made plastic border will perfectly protect flowers in flower beds, vegetation of beds or a lawn from damage. It is quite strong and durable, but almost invisible and has no decorative properties. Also, such edging is combined with any version of the tracks on the site. A fence in the form of a metal tape has similar properties.

Wooden fences have a beautiful decorative look. However, they do not differ in durability. On issued in english style or a country suburban area, brick curbs will look spectacular. For lovers of the natural landscape, a natural stone fence will be an excellent choice. Almost any owner can install curbs on their own suburban area... Moreover, in addition to ready-made structures, it is quite possible to make them from scrap materials with your own hands. Such fences will add completeness and a well-groomed look to the surrounding landscape.

Video "Demonstration video with examples"

Video selection with examples of borders.

Execution options

Ready-made plastic curbs are some of the easiest to install and affordable. They are able to harmoniously fit into any style landscape design plot. They can be used for fencing paths and paths of the most bizarre winding shape, used for framing beds and bordering flowers in multi-tiered flower beds.

Plastic curbs are sold in the form of a tape wound on a roll or broken into fragments. Installation does not require digging a trench and equipping drainage. Such a tape is fixed in the ground using special anchor pins. The texture of the type of natural stone, garden board, etc., as well as the variety of colors allows you to choose ribbons for any situation.

A metal border is also used to preserve the shape of the paths, to prevent leaching of soil from flower beds and beds. Like plastic, it is an element of protection, not decoration. Such a fence is made in the form of a flexible tape from inexpensive alloys of copper, aluminum or steel. To install it, a narrow trench is dug about 10 centimeters deep, into which the tape is placed and covered with the extracted soil. In this case, a part of the tape with a height of about 1.5–2 cm should protrude above the surface of the earth. Such a border is reliable and rather durable.

You can make the design of the site original using scrap materials. The most popular for making borders with your own hands is the use of plastic or glass bottles. Plastic does not rot, moisture or frost, so a fence made of such bottles will be durable. The border from such bottles is set up very simply and quickly. It is necessary to cut off the neck of each of them and stick it upside down into the ground. A railing with bottles of the same height will have a particularly attractive look. Also, to increase the aesthetic perception, it is possible to use bottles of different colors.

In addition to plastic, glass bottles can be used for fencing. They also dig into the ground with the bottom up, but in this case, be careful not to accidentally break the glass. Bottled borders are a cheap way to decorate your property and protect your flowerbeds and garden beds.

It is also easy to make concrete curbs with your own hands. For this, special plastic stencil forms are used, which are filled with a mixture of cement, sand and fine crushed stone. After drying, the resulting curbstone is placed in a pre-dug trench, at the bottom of which there is drainage from layers of rubble and sand. The addition of special plasticizers and dyes allows for beautiful and durable concrete garden curbs.

Of stone

The fence of a flower garden or path from natural stone will always have a decorative look and will serve as a worthy decoration of a suburban area.

For its arrangement, beautifully shaped gravel, fragments of shell rock, sandstone, limestone, granite or marble are used. Despite the considerable cost of materials, investments in a stone border will pay off in full. To equip the fence with your own hands, you should dig a trench, on the bottom of which drainage and a layer of agrofibre should be laid, which prevents the germination of weeds. Then the elements of the fence are laid. The masonry can be either "dry" or with the use of cement mortar poured into the trench.

Wicker

An elegant option would be to surround a flower bed, garden bed or lawn with a wicker fence. It will not only protect flowers, grass and other vegetation, but also give the landscape home warmth and coziness. Such a border is not difficult to make with your own hands. To do this, you will need a set of such improvised materials as blocks, sticks and willow rods of the same length. Blocklets are dug in along the entire perimeter of the fence at a distance of the length of the rods. Sticks are placed between them every 5–10 cm. The rods are cleaned of bark, treated with a protective antiseptic and woven between sticks and chunks.

Made of wood

Eco-friendly and elegant is a wood border. For its manufacture, you can use boards or bars. Such a fence is perfectly decorated with paint, firing or carving. It is installed in a previously dug trench with a drainage layer of rubble at the bottom. The bars are placed back to back and, as a rule, at the same height. But sometimes the fence is made of different levels. To increase the service life, the tree is treated with a special antiseptic.

Brick

A brick fence can successfully protect flowers in a flower bed, vegetation of beds or paths on a site. This type of border is traditional and quite popular. For its arrangement, a trench is dug, the bottom of which is filled with a cement-sand mixture, after which brick is laid upright, flat or at an angle. Then, to increase the decorative effect, the fence can be painted with a special paint.

Mosaic

Border mosaic will become an original option for framing flower beds. It is made by hand from such improvised materials as glass shards, pebbles, pebbles, pieces ceramic tiles etc. The mosaic is fixed on fresh cement mortar applied along the perimeter of the flower bed. It is also possible when the base is made of boards on which the elements are glued. Such a border not only protects flowers, but is also a unique decoration of the site.

Trench curb

The simplest and not requiring any material costs will be a fence in the form of a U-shaped trench dug along the perimeter of a flower garden, beds or lawn. Its depth is determined by the type of soil and plant root system. The bottom of the trench is cleaned of the remnants of roots and stones and mulched with wood chips or peat.

Video "Original ideas for a summer cottage"

Demonstration video with original ideas.

An increasing number of owners of suburban real estate today prefer to equip beautiful fragrant flower beds on their plots, rather than ordinary garden beds. With the right approach to the design of the flower bed, it can become a bright pictorial element in the garden, pleasing the eyes of not only all household members and their guests, but also people who are just passing by. At the same time, it is absolutely not necessary to involve landscape designer, it is quite easy to do it yourself. Besides the right choice flowers for planting, it is important to create a beautiful border for the flower bed. It can be made from different materials... And natural stone is one of the most successful options.

Which stone to choose to create a flower bed?

Flower beds or borders made of natural stones, for almost any landscape design suburban areas look very attractive. This material has always had a lot of fans.

The most popular types of stones used to create flower beds include the following:

• basalt - has excellent decorative view, resistant to environmental influences;
• slate - flat stone plates are blue, greenish, purple in color;
• limestone - with a porous surface, it is mainly white, gray, cream shades;
• sandstone - although it is not durable, it has an enviable color palette and conducts air well.

A flower bed can be made from any stone

They are used to create flower beds and tuff, related to varieties of limestone, rounded pebbles, dolomite, quartz of various colors, granite, which has high strength, as well as other types of stones.

Attention! The use of granite in the arrangement of flower beds should be moderate, because this stone has the property of soil oxidation, which adversely affects the development of plants.

Types of stone beds

The simplest type can be called the usual laying out of stones around the flower garden, along its entire perimeter of the correct or intricate shape. For the construction of a flower bed, a little more is required, namely, the device of a drainage layer in the space intended for planting flowers. To do this, the soil is removed by 50-60 cm and a drainage layer of sand, gravel and crushed stone is poured down, which ensures the air permeability of the soil and avoids stagnation of water in it. Then fertile soil is placed on top of the drainage layer, ready for planting.

The beds themselves can be made in different ways. They are:

• located flush with the ground;
• raised above the ground level of the site.

The flower bed can be made in any shape

Arrangement of a flower bed located at the same level with the ground requires minimum investment... It is enough to dig stones about half of their size into the ground around its perimeter. To create a flower bed raised above the ground, it is necessary to make masonry, which can be done in one of two ways:

• dry method with filling the gaps between stones with soil;
• in conjunction with cement mortar, which is more reliable and durable.

Council. The dry method is used mainly when creating a fairly low flower bed border. In addition, the soil that fills the voids between the stones will become overgrown with weeds, which in this case will be very difficult to weed.

DIY stone flower beds: sequence of actions

A spectacular stone flower bed is easy to make yourself. To do this, it is enough to have minimal experience in such work. It is important to make thorough preparation and follow a certain sequence of actions.

Doing all the work on creating a flower bed with your own hands is quite easy. The finished flower garden can become a real decoration of the site. But you will also need, of course, to choose the right plants for it.

Flower beds made of stone: video

Flower beds made of stone: photo

can decorate any site. A variety of colors, smells, shapes - a real holiday of great mood.

And for the composition to look complete, you need to equip the border. Which material is better to choose and what shape to give the fence is up to you.

But for this you need to know a little about the existing design options.

Flowers in themselves are a wonderful decoration, and if you approach the matter with imagination, you and your neighbors will not be able to take your eyes off the site.

A flowerbed on a private territory looks great, which is important for you to feel comfortable in your own home. The curb can only enhance this feeling: add contrast, style and novelty.

Curb functions

A fence for a flower garden will help to visually distinguish the composition from the general background of the site, emphasize its importance and add contrast to the landscape.

In addition, the border performs several more functions:

• does not allow lush plants to grow on the lawn;
• does not let weeds inside;
• props up a flower bed so that the earth does not "run";
• prevents rain from washing away dirt onto your lawn.

It is widely used in the design of summer cottages, breeding methods and other information in our article.

Almost every summer resident tries to make flower beds with his own hands from improvised means, but not everyone succeeds. Meanwhile, this.

Types of fences

The borders for flower beds have a different appearance, functions and implementation approach:

1. The first variety is dug curb... It is popular in England. What it is? This is one of the simplest fences: a ditch dug around the perimeter of the flower garden. Its depth directly depends on the type of lawn root system. It is quite simple to make it. The soil is cleaned of branches and stones, a V-shaped groove is dug and sprinkled with sawdust or peat.
2. Curb mosaic - colorful view of the fence. It can be made from glass shards. For example, if you have the opportunity to go to the sea, pick up there medium-sized cut glass and stones. It will look beautiful and unusual. Broken dishes, remains of tiles, bright plastic are also suitable. In the manufacture of such a border is simple: just fence the border cement mixture and on the still wet surface, lay the selected decorative material in an arbitrary or premeditated order.
3. Brick border Is a fairly common phenomenon. It is better to take a facing material because of its resistance to weather conditions. Paving slabs - concrete, clinker, paving stones - will become perfect replacement fragile brick.
4. looks even more original than brick. You can take small and large stones in random order. Lay vertically, horizontally, even diagonally - it all depends on your imagination.

Often they use:

• limestone;
• shell rock;
• granite;
• marble;
• sandstone.

By the way, with this choice, you can not limit yourself to dry masonry, but come up with something original by adding a solution. Of course, you have to suffer with styling, but it's worth it. After all, such a structure will last a long time, will not miss a single weed and will simply please the eye.

Less often, but also used for fences:

1. – original decoration flower beds. It can be made from willow branches and, despite the difficulties of the process, it will look warm and home-like.
2. Metal fencing can be a wonderful and rather graceful way to highlight the border of a flower garden and at the same time protect it from weeds.
3. Hedge from low-growing perennial plants - a solution for those who do not want to spoil the view with any artificial materials. It can be supplemented by sprinkling the ground with fine gravel in a contrasting color to the path. A very pacifying sight.

As a living fence, they often use:

• lavender;
• spurge;
• alissium;
• sage;
• boxwood;
• badan.

The main rule is a harmonious combination of plants inside and on the border of the flower bed.

The flower garden is entirely your creativity, but a few tips can still be followed:

• bright does not mean bad;
• variety of forms is welcome;
• the material of the fence can be used the same as in the decoration of the site, house, fence, gazebo.

How to make a border for a flower bed with your own hands

Several options for the fence are easy to do with your own hands.

You can see the borders for flower beds, created by hand, in the photo gallery.

A mosaic border is pretty easy to make.

You can take one material - glass, stones, beads - or several and combine them. The main thing is to maintain harmony.

Sort material by color and size and set aside.

Then get to work:

Wooden fence

Wood flower bed borders are also easy to make with your own hands.

But here the situation varies depending on the complexity of the design. Here the plan will come in handy almost more than in the case of the mosaic. Draw the shape, think over the material, shade, breed. Remember that color depends on the type of wood.

Have you chosen? You can start.

Let's consider the simplest scheme:

1. Preparation of the selected site: marking, excavation of the ditch. The recess is dug in accordance with the width of the peg.
2. The pegs are set in the ground by 1/3, return the ground to its place and tamp. Level the height with a rubber mallet.
3. Varnish the curb if you don't want to change anything else. You can burn the pattern, cut or paint something on top.

Stone is the most affordable option

Stone curbs are especially popular due to the variety of shapes and material availability. They can be made from unpolished stone, pebbles, bricks - whatever your heart desires. Low or Raised?

The complexity of execution depends on this:

1. Low is laid without foundation into the dug groove, literally in a couple of layers.
2. Tall ones are put only on the foundation... To do this, they dig a trench twice as wide as a stone with a depth of about 15 cm, put a formwork and fill it with a solution of 1: 2: 3 (cement, sand, crushed stone). Lay the stone from the chosen corner. Watch the slope. There are two options: evenly or slightly inside the flower bed. Each row is covered with a solution, and a new one is placed on top. after finishing the installation, coat the seams with a solution with a brush.

A fence made of stone and mesh is made quite easily: a form is created, buried in the ground and a small stone for flower beds is poured inside.

For those who love change

The mobile fence is suitable for those who love annual plants. You will have to change the composition often, so why not make the structure moveable?

This does not require any special skills and materials. you can buy plastic flower bed, or you can just as well find an old umbrella, patch the hole and fill it with earth.

A tire, a trough, a boot, a large children's toy, or even a TV will do. And how original it can look!

It is quite easy to make a border for a flower bed. Think about what you want.

Do not be afraid to make bold decisions, because you yourself may be surprised at how successful they will be. Any material suitable for planting flowers of the form can become a flower bed, and any stone - a border. Just close your eyes, tell yourself, "I want to do this," and go!

To make garden paths and flower beds look brighter, undersized plants are chosen for decoration, which have a rich and varied palette during flowering. It is better to give preference to perennials: in this case, you can admire the beauty of your flower beds every year and not waste time planting new varieties.

The roots of suitable perennials can withstand the cold in the soil, and the vegetative part awakens in the spring seasons.

Basically, border flowers are plants that are resistant to trampling and soil compaction. For breeding on summer cottage perennials are preferable, since they do not require mandatory planting in early spring, when the summer resident already has enough trouble.

There are quite a few plants with such features: let's look at some of the names and photos of perennial low-growing border flowers.

Border flowers, photo

Varieties of vegetation for curbs

Thinking over the appearance of the curb zone, immediately foresee the possibility of dividing it into several decorative sections with their own characteristics. Between these areas it will be possible to lay paths or frames, as well as form ridges that look like a narrow strip of flower beds.

Low grasses and shrubs, which are perennials, are best suited for such purposes. They can be classified into groundcover or creeping, which will form a living carpet in the garden area, dwarf plants and undersized crops.

Traditionally, the dividing strip is organized so that its width does not exceed fifty centimeters, and its height is forty.

Advice: choose low-growing border perennials for landscaping that bloom all summer long so that throughout the hot season, flower beds and gardens look bright and colorful.

Often, garden paths decorated with borders are decorated with mixborders. They look like combinations of several varieties of vegetation at once, from grasses and small bushes to bulbous varieties.

An important criterion for the formation of such zones is the height of the plants. It will be better if the height of the flowers does not exceed twenty-five centimeters. Below we will tell you about which varieties and crops are suitable for these parameters.

But in the center of the flower bed it will be possible to plant flowers higher. They will become the main focus of the green zone and will attract maximum attention. Try to pick flowers that bloom at about the same time to garden plot looked harmonious, and at certain times there were no empty zones on it, spoiling the whole pattern.

Suitable plant varieties

Now let's take a look at the low-growing perennial border flowers that will become a worthy decoration of your site. These plants allow the herbal part to die during the frost period, but retain the root system, which falls asleep until the end of the cold season. In early spring, such flowers wake up, new shoots and flowering appear.

One example of a plant with these properties is chives or skoroda. This flower belongs to bulbous plants... During the flowering period (late spring - early summer), a lush inflorescence of a delicate pink or purple hue appears at its top.

The next suitable variety is Arabis. This flower is melliferous and blooms in the form of snow-white, red, pink, lilac flowers during the flowering period (depending on the selected variety). They can be seen from May to June.

You can choose border flowers such as gravilat. Besides beautiful floweringcoming in late spring, it is also characterized by medicinal properties... Gravilata flowers look like small open buds of orange, yellow, red or pink color.

Stonecrops are popular in flower beds and gardens. These plants love light and are able to maintain their appearance and health only with a little shade.

But in the shade, the plant quickly fades and deteriorates, and can also change shape. Most varieties of this plant bloom in July and have the appearance of pinkish or yellow flowers.

The unpretentious border perennials include tenaciousness. It covers the soil with a kind of carpet, is resistant to temperature, moisture and light. This plant can change its color depending on the season and climate.

The vertical blue inflorescences of the tenacious can be seen in May or summer.

And if you like chamomile, then you will surely appreciate maiden feverfew, as it has a similar bloom in summer period... Refers to unpretentious and cold-resistant varieties.

We also recommend paying attention to perennial border shrubs, for example, Alpine aster, which can grow up to thirty centimeters. The flowers of this aster variety have a yellow core and pinkish or blue tint... It prefers light areas or partial shade and blooms during June and July.

In winter, it is not necessary to cover such flowers, since they calmly endure the cold.

A long-term host is also suitable for decorating border zones. This plant is generally quite popular in landscape design, because even when not blooming, it attracts attention with its wide leaves dark and light green shades. And some host species have bright foliage.

During the flowering period (from mid to late summer), inflorescences appear on the hosts in the form of brushes of snow-white, purple and bright pink shades. The stems are about thirty centimeters high.

Hosta has excellent frost resistance, but requires constant watering during high temperatures.

The border chrysanthemum has a small height (up to thirty centimeters). The flowers of this plant have different shades and bloom by mid-summer. You will be able to enjoy the bright bloom of chrysanthemums before the frost arrives. This variety manifests itself best when planted in the sun.

If you love roses, you can choose a small variety "Debut" up to 38 centimeters high for your plot. These roses are dark red in color and bloom from June to September. In the winter season, young bushes should be covered with spruce branches or foil.

And here are some more suitable undersized perennial border flowers:

• bulbous varieties - galanthus, tulip, pushkinia, muscari;
• ground cover plants - periwinkle, phlox;
• undersized herbaceous - badan, serrated lavender, primrose;
• undersized shrubs - lingonberry, dwarf barberry and others.

If you need to fill an area in the shade with flowering vegetation, choose astilbe, irises, brunner, hellebore and other plants adapted to the lack of sunlight.

Features of the formation of flowering borders

Now let's figure out how best to plant perennial border flowers. We have already said that the first layer should be the lowest. You can plant small-bulb and bulbous varieties closer to the side of the road as they will bloom the fastest in spring. Also, the outer perimeter of such a site can be filled with low-growing crops and ground cover varieties.

Advice: garnish the path with spicy and aromatic varieties such as basil, mint, or thyme.

Low-growing perennials will also be located at the middle level of the border area. Here you can place plants with decorative foliage. But it is better to form the background of the border from higher plants, for example, undersized shrubs blooming in a bright palette. Their height should be up to 0.4 meters.

Please note that the flowering vegetation that will decorate the border should have a harmonious color range... It is better to stick to one or two bright colors or contrasting shades.

Plant flowers closer to each other so as not to interrupt the color design.

Also, pay attention to some rules for decorating the border with flowers. For example, one should take into account not only the color scheme of plants, but also the palette of the border itself: these colors should not contradict each other.

When planting certain varieties, consider how much they will grow in the future. They may need more space to prevent the roots from damaging a nearby plant. Therefore, it will be better if you arrange the same type of flowers in a couple of rows.

Standard curbs are 0.5 meters wide and 0.4 meters high. But that doesn't mean you should go for a low floral frame. Focus on the place where it will be applied.

Some shrubs can be trimmed and shaped to create a harmonious and neat look for the curb. And in order for the formed design to last as long as possible, give preference to vegetation with a slow growth rate.

Since the appearance of some varieties can be affected by weather changes, it is better to give preference to plants that are unpretentious to wind and precipitation. Then you can be sure that the border area will look attractive in any weather.

When planning the device of a green hedge on the site, try to use it behind a shrub, the features of cuttings and the formation of a hedge shape by pruning are described in the article at the link.

Read about the main popular types of dwarf decorative treesused in garden decoration,.

How to care for stunted perennials

It is not enough to choose beautiful perennial border plants and think over landscape design. In order for your efforts to be noticeable, you will have to provide the plants with proper care, namely:

• water the flowers constantly;
• provide the plants with the necessary feeding;
• to carry out processing from pests and diseases;
• carry out mulching and loosening of the soil;
• trim the bushes;
• cover young varieties in the winter season.

By the way, uniform watering of border flower beds can be ensured by organizing a drip irrigation system. Also, in a timely manner, plant flowers that have grown, dig up bulbs and cut off branches that are sick or dry. And then the perennial border flowers for the dacha will always look great.