Beautiful plants that please the eye are always a source of good mood and peace of mind. Creating landscape highlights in the form of flower beds will add nobility to your site, bring a variety of colors and shapes.
Flower at their summer cottage
Free country space is currently customary to cover the lawn on the model of landscape design in foreign countries. The beds with potatoes and other vegetables have long been in the past. Now the garden plots have completely different plants - flowers and ornamental shrubs.
Places for planting vegetation for decoration are called flowerbeds. The design of flower beds in the country can be decorated in completely different ways, it all depends on your imagination and wishes. The most daring ideas can be realized even by a person who encounters a landing for the first time. All you need is to get the necessary information and follow the instructions.
How to create a flower bed
To create a flower bed design, you first need to decide on the location of the future flower garden. Choose a suitable plot of land, markflower bed perimeter. Prepare the necessary tools:
- shovel;
- rake;
- gardening gloves;
- chopper;
- garden shovel.
Dig a hole 60 cm deep. We fill the bottom with drainage, it can be crushed stone of the middle fraction. The rest of the space is filled with fertile soil. The soil must contain fertilizers necessary for plant growth.
The design of the flower bed looks complete if it has clear fences. There are a lot of design options for the appearance of the flower bed. Let's take a look at some of them.
Decoration of flowerbed design
What should she be like? Photos of the design of flower beds in the country are presented in this article.
In order to decide which option is right for you, you should walk around the site and carefully study its specifics. In order for all elements of landscape design to be combined with each other, it is necessary to design in the same style. Many gardeners take photos of flower beds and flowerbed designs. If you cannot come up with an interesting option on your own, you can turn to the experience of knowledgeable people and try to recreate their idea on your site.
If the buildings on the site are made of wood, then wood should be chosen for the design of the flower beds in front of the house. It can be saw cuts of thin trees, which are hardly arranged, imitating a fence. It is possible to use boards, just remember that in this case they need additional treatment with antiseptics.
Brick massive buildings or houses fromgas and foam concrete involve the design of the site using stone, bricks and concrete. Fences for flower beds made of monolithic concrete mass, which can be made with imitation of stone or tiles, will look great.
At night, a flower bed will look much more spectacular if you hold the backlight. The LED strip is perfect, it consumes little energy and emits a sufficient amount of light. For outdoor curb lighting, choose a tape with a waterproof silicone coating.
Decoration materials
Below in the article in the photo is the design of a flower bed in the form of a teapot. You can pick up other interesting options.
The main thing is that for the design of flower beds it is not necessary to take specially purchased expensive materials. Some of the old and useless things will do just fine.
Old rubber tires can be treated with acrylic facade paint and used to create a flower bed. If you arrange them in the form of a multi-story structure, then layering will appear in your flower bed. If you cut the tires in a certain way, you can make funny animals and add them to your flower bed.
Plastic bottles are made into works of art. The perimeter of the flower bed can be overlaid with plastic bottles, half buried in the ground and painted on the outside. This is the easiest design option.
If there is a large rotten stump on the site, you can use it. To do this, you need to clean the insides to create a container for the soil. Outside, the stump is treated with stain or varnish to give freshness.
Which plants to choose
The color scheme of plants in a flower bed should look harmonious. Usually they choose several bright matching shades and dilute the main composition with neutral white colors.
If you want your flower bed to always look lush and bright, then you need to choose plants wisely. A well-lit area requires flowers that love to grow in the sun. Shade-tolerant species will die here. One flower bed should be planted with plants whose watering and feeding needs are the same or similar.
When making a flower bed, you need to know that perennial plants that have massive flowers and stems are planted from the edge if the flower bed is wall-mounted. In round flower beds, their place is in the center. The most common perennials for flower beds:
- gelenium;
- geranium;
- cuff;
- rudbeckia;
- sage;
- astilba.
Your flowerbed should have at least three types of plants blooming at the same time. According to this principle, you need to pick up all the plants, then bright buds will delight the eye from early summer to late autumn.
How to care for a flowerbed
The first thing to look out for is the weeds. The flower bed should look tidy and clean, free of unsightly extraneous plants. Even though the plants are outdoors, they will need additional watering. Make sure that the earth is not overdried, this is especially true during the period of active spring growth and in hot weather.summer days.
Flowers, like all other plants, need to be fed. Organic and mineral fertilizers are very important for perennial plants, as the soil is greatly depleted in a few years. It is most convenient to use top dressing in the form of granular mixtures. It is enough just to sprinkle the base of the plant with granules, and the substances will penetrate the soil along with water.
To reduce the number of weeds growing between flowers, some gardeners resort to little tricks. The most common method is to lay a woven geotextile over areas of exposed soil. It does not let in light and moisture, but looks very aesthetically pleasing. On land covered with geotextiles, weeds have no chance to germinate.
Feeding for plants in the flower bed
If you notice that your flower bed has ceased to shine with lush flowers, and the leaves look sickly, then the plants do not have enough nutrients for normal development. The roots, along with moisture, take the necessary minerals from the soil layer, and over time, the earth is depleted. To enrich the soil with useful substances, fertilizers must be applied.
Fertilizers for plants are of two types: organic and mineral. Organic fertilizers consist of natural ingredients: humus, bird droppings, peat. Manure is the most popular fertilizer for plants. It can only be used when overripe. Fresh manure can spoil or kill the plant, as it emits a corrosive gas and contains strong bonds of nitrogen and phosphorus. This type of fertilizer is applied every 2-3 years.
Mineral fertilizers -these are granules containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. There are complex fertilizers containing the entire set of substances necessary for plant growth. When applying such fertilizers, dosages must be observed so as not to harm the plants. Application frequency - once a year.
The layering of plants in the flowerbed
Do-it-yourself flowerbed design photos are presented in this material in large numbers.
Each flower bed contains plants of different sizes. In order for the composition to look harmonious, it is necessary to observe tiering. Some flowerbeds are designed as steps, each of which is planted with different types of flowers. Not only does this look pretty, but it also keeps larger plants from blocking light for smaller species.
Multi-tiered design for a flower bed solves several problems at once:
- every plant gets its fair share of light;
- saving space on the plot;
- multi-storey flowerbed looks original.
To create a do-it-yourself flowerbed design in the form of tiers, use improvised materials. Wooden boxes or just boards will do. Excellent flower beds of several floors are obtained from car tires. It will take a lot of time and money to erect a concrete structure, but such a flower bed of several floors will look very professional. For harmony in appearance, concrete flower beds should be in the same style as the paths and stairs on the site.
Hedge
If you decide to fence off areas on the site, the best way would be to plant plants that, due to the dense arrangement of branches and a large number of leaves, form a continuous shape. For this reason, such plantings are called hedges. Depending on the type of planted plants, such a hedge can take the form of low borders, medium height fences and high fences. Very often you can find photos of the design of flower beds, which depict houses in the style of minimalism with low bushes of the correct geometric shape located on the site. This is one type of hedge.
For organizing low living borders, plants such as:
- garden jasmine;
- western thuja;
- holly magnolia;
- juniper.
If you plan a hedge up to 1-1.5 meters high, then you should take a closer look at the following plants:
- irga low;
- mock orange;
- beautiful quince;
- Forsythia ovoid.
Tall and dense fences can be obtained from plants in this group:
- lilac;
- yew berry;
- common bird cherry;
- Canadian shadberry.
Hedge care
A neat, symmetrical hedge is the result of constant pruning procedures. If you do not provide proper care for the plants in the hedge, then the surface will be heterogeneous, chaotic. In the photo of the flowerbed design in the form of a hedge, small depressions and empty spaces are visible, they are formed as a result of the appearance of wilted plants. If suchhappened, it is necessary to uproot the diseased plant and plant a he althy one in its place.
During the period of active flowering, a haircut cannot be carried out. Usually pruning is carried out in early spring or late autumn with a frequency of one year. To give the plant the desired shape, use a secateurs. If the plant is young, then garden shears will do. The cut point should be above the mature kidney and have a beveled appearance.
The beauty and benefits of hedges
If you choose the right hedge plant, then you can solve several problems at once. Some gardeners use raspberry and blackberry bushes as a living fence. Plant it in several rows to achieve a dense and dense thicket. The thorny branches of these plants will not allow climbing inside the fence and above it. Such a fence will protect against the penetration of unwanted guests, and juicy berries will delight you with a rich harvest.
Seedlings are planted in the spring, the distance between the bushes should be 1-1.5 m. Over time, the bushes will grow strongly, and the gap will be filled. Blackberries can reach a height of three meters. To prevent the branches from falling to the ground and starting to take root where you do not need it, be sure to install supports and stretch the rope or wire between them. You can even tie the branches themselves to them for secure fixation. To grow bushes and stimulate the development of lateral shoots in August, we pinch the tops of the shoots. The design of a flower bed in the form of a hedge of berry bushes will bring you a considerable harvest, if you follow all the rules of timely care.
Work onEnnobling a hedge of blackberries and raspberries is not the easiest. Safety precautions must be observed, otherwise exposed parts of the body may be injured. You can not run shrubs, these species can grow very quickly.
Flower beds on a multi-tiered plot
If you are the owner of a site on a slope, do not rush to get upset. The world of landscape design offers many ways to play the situation to your advantage. Differences in height can be arranged in the form of platforms, and ladders and paths connecting different levels will transform your site and create a mysterious fairy-tale atmosphere.
Think about a drainage system, this is important for a site with a slope, as water will accumulate at the lowest point of the site. You can organize a small pond under the slope, which will act as a drainage ditch.
Flower beds in the landscape design of a site with a slope can be located along the edge of each level, small bushes fit perfectly along the stairs. At the lowest level, only moisture-loving plants should be planted. If there is a pond, then the plants surrounding it should carry out the function of water purification. If you want clear water in your pond, then you need to plant a swamp, elodea and hornwort along its edge.
The coastal area can be decorated with flower beds with moisture-loving plants. If there is a terrace next to the pond, flower beds with the following plants can decorate it:
- meadowsweet;
- marsh rose;
- marigold.
Conclusion
Designing a summer cottage is a very interesting and exciting process. For professional gardeners, ennobling the site with flowering flower beds will not cause serious problems. If you are a beginner, then before taking action, you should stock up on the necessary information. Otherwise, the constructed flower beds will not please you for long with their blooming freshness.
