How to Spice up Your Summer Borders

Do you have a garden that is wonderfully colourful in spring … but then by mid-June is a desert of green leaved shrubs?

Don’t worry! I have some tips and ideas to help you spice up your summer borders.

First, let’s look at what your problem is and then find some solutions.

Scenario 1

In spring your borders are filled with flowering bulbs, Primroses, Primula and more. But these have all finished flowering by mid-May and you’re left with yellowing foliage, small clumps of leaves and dead flowers.

Scenario 2

In summer your patio always has lots of pots filled with colourful bedding, but the rest of the garden is green shrubs, bare earth (and lawn). And if anything. It looks worse because of the contrast.

Scenario 3

This is your first summer in this garden and you want to see what – if anything – comes up. Which means no permanent planting can be put in, yet you don’t want to be faced with just weeds or soil.

Scenario 4

You’ve just agreed to host the garden party for a special birthday or anniversary and lots of family and friends coming… no pressure then.

Don’t panic! There’s still time to give your borders a boost. Whether its last minute planting tips or clever ideas to suit a tight budget beginning in May we can do this.

echinacea, rudbeckia, Summer Flower Border

How to Spice up Your Summer Borders – Planning

This section is important!

“Fail to plan and you plan to fail” may be an annoying phrase on occasion, but it’s true nonetheless.

To help you to focus and get stuff done rather than panic, answering these questions will get you started: –

How big are the borders / area that needs summer colour?
What is your budget? (we can come back to this)
Is it sunny, shady or a mix?
Do you have the room and / or time to sow seeds?
Do you have the room and / or time to grow on small plants?
Are you happy to compost most of the flowers and foliage come autumn?
Or would you like some permanent plants?
Do you have a favourite colour or colours?
How important is scent?
Do you have children and pets (live with you / regular visitors)?
Is the border empty or are there spring bulbs?
What pots do you have?
Does the garden need to look stunning for a special event?
Or would you like the garden to look good from mid-June to mid-September?

Helianthus lemon queen, herbaceous perennial, pollinating insect on yellow flower, wildlife friendly summer gardens, cottage garden. prairie planting

Now, the four crucial questions to answer in order to spice up your summer borders are –

size of area to fill
budget available
single event
or summer long colour

How big?

If you don’t know the size of your border or borders, go get a tape measure and find out. Also, check whether the they get morning, afternoon or day-long sun. Take a couple of photos to show any existing shrubs or fence as these will be the backdrop. It helps to make a rough sketch to show size of the space and where shrubs are.

Budget

With a minimal budget and a large area to fill you will need to be inventive, but there’s help here and in other Plews blogs (see suggested ones at the end).

With a larger budget, it’s still important to spend wisely. For example, a large focal plant or three is a good buy. And you’ll be able to purchase larger plants that are ready to burst into flower as soon as they’re planted.

Single event

There are the practical issues – such as how many guests, access to the garden, will there be a marquee. As well as the creative elements, ie making it all look good. Finding a theme and using that to create a stunning garden works best. For example, a 50th Wedding Anniversary is the Golden one, so think rich yellow flowers and foliage.

Summer long colour

Unless you have a large budget and plenty of helpers, this will require a bit of effort from you – but nothing too strenuous. Decide how long your display needs to last, ie is summer going to be until mid-September? That helps work out what you’ll need.

Instant fixes to Spice up Your Summer Borders

Go shopping!

But with a list and a budget …

Try local gardening club plant sales and gardens open for charity for bargains that will grow well in your area.
Buy an obelisk and a pot of sweet peas. You gain instant height and interest with a decorative structure and the plants will climb up it giving you colour and scent in a couple of weeks.
Treat yourself to some new pots. Group them together in threes or fives. Add some bedding plants for instant colour around the edges and an ornamental grass in the centre for height.
Roses! Nothing says a British summer garden so well. Choose a bush with lots of flower buds and remember to keep deadheading.

Big Plans, Small Budget?

Three smaller pots of the same plant will fill up more space in a border than one larger one, as they spread out. Plant them in a group, spacing them to allow for them to grow. This will be at least twice the current diameter of the plant or pot (whichever is the wider).

1 large plant with 3 small plants comparison showing space taken

Do you already have spring flowering perennials such as Pulmonaria in the borders? Now they’ve finished flowering, lift and divide them, into three if you can. Then replant as above. As Pulmonaria often have decorative foliage, they’ll provide interesting ground cover in between your colourful flowers.

Buy a later flowering perennial such as Rudbeckia having checked for lots of new growth at the base. When you get home, divide and plant as above.

Sow some seeds! Fill in the gaps between the plants you’ve bought or divided with quick growing annual flowers. For example, Marigolds and Nigella.

Spice up Your Summer Borders for a Garden Party

With just a few clever planting tricks, you can transform tired or empty borders into vibrant displays almost overnight. And these gardening hacks will work even if you’re not planning a summer garden party!

Did you have spring flowering bulbs growing in the borders? The foliage will now be dying if not dead and not attractive. Try this hack – place pots in these spaces along the border. Fill the pots with bedding plants, herbaceous perennials, small summer flowering shrubs.

plant spacing with even numbers, same colour = same plant, gives variation oand cohesion to a planting design

The real trick is to have a theme for the planting and for the pots. For example, the pots should all be either the same size, colour or shape. If they are different then aim to lay out as per planting scheme and have the same type of plant in each even if the flower colour is different. This makes the finished border look designed not bitty.

Grow annual climbers – sweet peas, black eyed Susan – through evergreen shrubs. You could even grow runner beans – the flowers are decorative as they come in red, white, even peach – and you get to eat the pods too!

String fairy lights through spring flowering shrubs.

Is it an evening do? Have pots of night scented stock and Nicotiana where people will be sitting.

Need something a bit different?

Why not plant up a pizza garden? Give this a centre stage placement and it will certainly get friends, family and guests talking! You can create this by using large plants for instant impact or start now with smaller ones. See the blog post, free planting plans and Gardening Workshop (links below)

Pizza shaped Pizza Garden, planting plan #1, grow your own pizza garden, marie shallcross, plews gatrden design

And finally…

Whatever you do with your summer flower borders, have fun, enjoy your garden and if Plews can help you with anything, please do get in touch. For example –

Our Garden Consultancy & Advice Visits may help with some of your issues. Or does your planting need a rethink? Do you have a birthday coming up? Plews bespoke Gardening Lessons, where your classroom is actually your own garden make a wonderful and practical gift. You could learn how to grow an orchard of citrus fruits in your conservatory! We help you with both gardening basics and more ‘expert tasks’, depending on what you need. Have a read through this pdf download for info.

For further gardening advice and inspiration, check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, including the selection below. You could come and find us on Instagram Pinterest and Facebook too.

Feeling nosey? You can have a peek at the progress of my garden renovation, Spitfires and Slow Worms, on Instagram and Facebook

You’ll get to see it in person if you come to the Plews Gardening Workshops Although later dates and topics still need to be finalised, there are current ones on Eventbrite for you to book into. Follow for updates on topics and dates on Instagram, Eventbrite, Facebook

Plus get your local garden club, allotment, WI, U3A or other group to ask me along to give a talk (and bring plants 😉)

Gardening Tips

10 Tips for Buying Garden Plants

Tips for Summer Gardening

Planting ideas for Summer Bedding

Planting Ideas

Grow your Own Pizza Garden – blog, plans are below

Scented Roses, rose bushes, climbers, fragrant flowers

Midsummer Gardens

Flowering Shrubs for Late Summer Colour

Five Yellow Flowers for Late Summer and Early Autumn Gardens

Plants for Special Occasions