Mixborders as original garden delimiters (22 photos)

Mixborder - an exquisite accent in landscape design in the form of a complex flower garden, where a charming composition is created from plants of various species. Perennial garden plantings and annuals, decorative deciduous shrubs and conifers, wildflowers and mosses, even potted crops are relevant here. The competent creation of a mixborder is an art that is subject to every connoisseur of beauty in his own garden, you only need to arm yourself with patience and the desire to reach the top of flower growing. To create a beautiful mixed flower garden with your own hands, you only need to understand the basic principles of work and the rules for combining components.

Mixborder Features

The picturesque nature of the mixed flower garden is determined by the abundance of plantings of different species with different flowering intervals. Such a plant composition in the country house will delight you with a magnificent view from early spring to frost, if the key components and annual components are correctly selected. Experienced gardeners include conifers in the mixborder design to enjoy the beauty of the composition year-round.

Mixed borders are organized in various areas: along the fence or garden path, near buildings, in the center of the country house. The main principles of compositional solutions:

• plants are planted in groups so that the overview of the undersized flowers is not obscured by the tall stands next to them;
• for planting, choose flower crops with a different flowering period so that the composition looks attractive throughout the entire warm season;
• so that the flower garden harmoniously fits into the natural concept of the garden, the perimeter is designed in smooth lines without strict angles.

With the help of a beautiful composition of dwarf trees and ornamental bushes, it is easy to create a fence that will hide the nondescript appearance of the fence or outbuildings. A similar mixborder device with a one-sided view in the background includes branched shrubs, lianas on trellises, and in the front row there are medium-sized and low-growing perennials with the addition of annual plants and bulbs. In the design of an island-shaped flower garden, the center of the composition is occupied by higher types of garden plantations, in front there is medium-sized vegetation, and the edges are framed by creeping annuals.

Types of Mixborders

There are several types of mixed flower beds:

• mixborders from perennials look spectacularly both flowering plants and species with beautiful shapes and color of leaves: hosts, buzulniki, ferns with delicate leaves, brunner with touching inflorescences, cuff with a cloud of tiny flowers and round fleecy foliage, rogers and others;
• coniferous mixborder - the composition is good at any time of the year. All types of dwarf conifers are relevant, also boxwood, Japanese tuyevik, juniper, fir, cedar dwarf. The coniferous mixborder is not demanding in care, harmoniously combined with perennials, which in the warm season adorn the background with bright accents.Particularly popular in the design of coniferous compositions are daffodils, daylily, geyhera and irises;
• shrub mixborder - its spectacular picture is made up of flowering and decorative leaf shrubs. In this case, compact beautiful-flowering species with a long flowering period are most often used: hydrangea, spirea, rhododendron, tree peony, barberry. Among decorative leaves, those that are prone to shearing and crown formation are especially relevant.

Shrub mixborder includes boxwood, mahonia, and Iberis, and as a seasonal addition, it is formed by ground cover vegetation in the form of carpet phlox, stonecrops and other creeping.

Free spaces between shrubs are allocated for perennials, dwarf hosts, daisies, primroses, armeria and other species are appropriate here.

Flower Mixborder

When arranging a flower garden from mixed plant groups, it is necessary to take into account the correspondence not only in height, but also in the level of root system occurrence. Successfully adjacent species with small roots and bulbous, for example, tulips and dwarf phloxes. Also successful are the joint plantings of spring bulbs and large perennials with a loose root system, such as peonies.

How to make a mixborder with your own hands?

First of all, determine the place for the future flower garden. Further, depending on the characteristics of the selected area, the composition is designed by choosing suitable plant varieties. If the terrain is sunny, then it is easy to combine different flowers and green crops, and for organizing a mixed border in a shady area, it is worth choosing more carefully among the actual types of garden plantings. In addition, the characteristics of the soil composition and moisture are taken into account, since a favorable environment is necessary for full vegetation and flowering of each agricultural crop.

When developing a mixborder project, choose plants that do not grow rapidly. Crops with creeping rhizomes are also inappropriate here. Plant varieties that require separate care are not suitable for a combined flower garden, since difficulties with agricultural technology arise when placed tightly.

Allow each perennial and shrub sufficient area for vegetation. In the first year of designing the flower garden, more annuals are planted to fill the voids between key plants. As perennials grow, they reduce the number of annual plantings, creating with the help of the latter small impregnations in the garden composition.

Types of mixborders by color scheme

The philosophy of a mixed flower garden eliminates the dissonance between plants, they are called to coexist in harmony. The chaotic color combination is also perniciously reflected in the concept of the garden, so it is worthwhile to choose the cultures for the mixborder composition extremely strictly. The following types of combined flower garden are distinguished:

• monochrome;
• contrasting;
• tinted;
• motley;
• harmoniously calm.

For a beginner grower, it is better to use shades of 1-2 colors for designing a mixed border, easily combining with each other.

Monochrome combination

The monochrome mixborder, which consists of flowers of a single hue, looks stylish and harmonious. Here it is easy to notice the variety of shapes and textures, it is pleasant to admire the combination of colorful leaves among the monochrome combination of inflorescences. Elegant mixborder with peonies, hydrangea, chrysanthemum and asters of the same palette beautifully combines tulips, chamomile and poppy.

Contrast Mixborder

The vivid combination of colors in a small garden composition is impressive from afar. The most spectacular are the combinations of yellow and purple; a mixborder with roses of white and red flowers looks favorable. It is successful to combine small bushes with large flowers or small-flowered plants planted in compact groups.Stylists of the garden exterior recommend a small contrast flower garden in the front area. In this case, proportions should be observed so that the composition does not look defiant.

Correctly designing the foreground: plants for mixborders and other components

When arranging the front of the flower garden, the following aspects are taken into account:

• the extreme line is formed by plants that maintain decorativeness for a long period. It is desirable to plant undersized evergreen crops or winter-green species: creeping conifers, hellebore, frankincense, medunas and short daylilies, cinquefoils or annuals of small stature;
• you need to create a clear line between the lawn and the flower arrangement. Often use large stones, spread around the perimeter of the log blocks. It’s easy to design an English mixborder with a small groove of black earth surrounding the flower garden. The easiest way to fix the perimeter is with a narrow border of brick or tile. As a result, the composition acquires clear boundaries, looks well-groomed.

The classic mixborder design includes not only various types of garden vegetation; garden sculptures, flowerpots and bowls with perennial and annual crops, and topiary from evergreen shrubs are relevant in the design.

Today, a mixborder of shrubs and perennials is actively used in the arrangement of suburban estates. To properly organize the flower garden, make a planting diagram using a computer program or manually using a pencil and notebook. Look at virtual examples of mixborders and based on them plan your own sample, taking into account the features and weaknesses of the site.