If you don't have a lot of time for gardening right now or are just beginning to garden, you may want to start with a more manageable size and add to the garden later as your enthusiasm grows.  Eight feet across by fifteen feet long seems to be a very manageable size for most gardeners.  At eight feet, you can easily reach inward to care for all your plants.  If you would like a wider bed, you can also incorporate pathways or stepping-stones into your design.

            Once you have made all these decisions (location, shape, size, etc.) and you are completely satisfied, sift white flour alongside the hose to mark the outline and transfer the shape to graph paper.

            Now come the real choices.  Which plants will you use to fill in your carefully drawn outline?  If you plan your garden wisely, you will have something blooming spring through fall.  Since most perennials flower for a limited time, the trick is to fill the bed with plants that have different bloom periods. 

There are a few long-blooming perennials such as Siberian Catmint (Nepeta sibirica, see the photo on the right)  or the daylily 'Stella de Oro' that blooms for four months or more, however, most perennials will only bloom for three to four weeks. For that reason, it is wise to include some plants just for their attractive or colorful foliage. Two of my favorite foliage plants are the ornamental grass, little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) with its steel-blue spiky leaves and Heuchera 'Chocolate Ruffles' that has lovely deep-burgundy foliage. Other perennials that sport attractive foliage all season long are hosta, alchemilla (lady's mantle), astilbe, baptisia, pulmonaria, peonies, bergenia, and Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

I have put together a plant guide that should help you get started.  Another good resource to use when you are choosing the perennials for your new bed is the book "Growing Perennials in Cold Climates," by Mike Heger and John Whitman, which has cultural information for over fifty-five commonly grown hardy perennials.  (See below for more book suggestions.)

            When you are satisfied with your plant selections, add them to the garden outline you have already drawn on your sketch.  The basic rule for plant placement is to start with short edging plants and work up to the tallest perennials in the back.  If you stick religiously to this formula, however, you'll end up with an unnatural, "contrived" look, so don't be afraid to put a few mid-sized plants--especially those with delicate foliage--among the low plants in front. 

When deciding on spacing, be generous. I know it is tempting to try to cram too many plants into the drawing, but you will be surprised at how fast they will fill in.  The axiom for perennials is the first year they sleep, second they creep, and the third they leap.  (If you are determined to have a fuller look for the first few years, you can always plant annuals in the bare areas until your perennials take off.)

            Now find a box of color pencils and using the color guide at the end of the article, color in all the "splotches" you've used to represent your plants.  In this way, you will be able to get some idea how your color choices will work together in your new garden. 

            Unfortunately, since the perennials are blooming at different times, this is seldom a realistic representation. If you really want to do this right, make several copies of your garden outline and using one copy for each blooming season (early spring, mid-summer, etc.), draw in only the plants that have the same bloom period.  Now when you fill in the colors, you can better appreciate how your garden changes with the season, which pairings work, and which may need a little reworking.  

            I can't guarantee that if you follow these instructions step-by-step you won't ever want to change anything in your perennial bed--of course you will.  I don't know what I would do if one year all my gardens miraculously appeared exactly as I had always envisioned.  What would I have to look forward to next season?  

Garden Design Video
A huge photo collection of beautiful landscapes and gardens that epitomize superior perennial garden design.