Pakistan Gardening Forum

Attached are some images of colour combinations for borders. Plants suitable for our climates can easily be substituted for those unfit for our zone.

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Nice shares. Insha Allah i will be trying some mix borders this fall

Good Share.If some one could identify the border and larger varities locally planted,it would be of great help.

To succeed in creating plant combinations takes time and experience. For a plant combination to work, the arrangement of the colors, shapes, sizes, and textures must add up to a complete and satisfying unit. As with all good design, it’s a matter of blending similarities and differences in pleasing proportion to one another.

In human affairs as well as in art, harmony is the product of likeness—of shared qualities and mutual accord. Contrast, on the other hand, depends for its effect on differences, which produce drama and, if those differences are extreme, conflict. The secret of combining disparate ingredients is to preserve the peace but not at the cost of excitement.

In terms of colors, an inexpensive color wheel can guide you in choosing combinations that sing by virtue of their differences or that soothe with calming likeness. Pairing opposites always works, hence the success of combinations like blue and orange, yellow and violet, or red and green. Another safe bet is to group colors that share a common pigment and a strong kinship, like violet, red-violet, and blue-violet. These principles also relate to plant shapes, sizes, and textures
A good way to learn is to start off with small groups of plants that work well together and build them up until you have filled your border with several combinations.

Planting Plan
By using your final garden layout as an underlay, trace the areas to be planted and work on the plan to scale (1:50).

Use plant dictionaries and catalogues to establish the eventual sizes of trees and shrubs to help you ascertain planting distances. Buying mature trees and shrubs, while costly, will make this job easier.

Young trees and shrubs need space to grow. Don't be tempted to crowd them together - moving a shrub later may not always be successful.

It’s much better to leave the correct distances between the key plants and fill in the gaps with perennials and annuals.

First decide on your key plants and mark them on your plan using circles that equal the eventual spread of the plant. In a large garden this may be a tree or large shrub, whereas if your garden is small, this could be a Yucca or Cordyline.

Next choose your skeleton planting - that is the evergreen backdrop, which provides screening and shelter, like climbers and shrubs/wall shrubs.

In front of the screening come the decorative plants - architectural specimens with bold foliage like Phormium and Rodgersia for sunny spots and Bergenia and Asarum (wild ginger) for the shade. Contrast all these with soft flowering perennials and at this stage you should consider colour as well as form.

Put all this down on paper and be ruthless and eliminate about half the number you have selected. A common mistake among inexperienced gardeners is to plant too much.

Some plants lend themselves to being planted singly like a specimen tree, grass or bamboo, but when it comes to the fillers, plant in groups or masses, rather than just one of each type, which will look ‘dotty’ and will lack impact. And by planting the groups in odd numbers - even in a small space - a more naturalistic effect will be achieved; the most striking and satisfying visual pleasure comes from the repetition or the massing of one simple element.

Know what you want, and try to express it simply - if you want an herbaceous border, go all out for it and make it as wide as possible. Think too about maintenance and keep to a simple planting scheme that won’t become a burden. Vary the height and overall shapes of your chosen plants and ensure you have a good mix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs in a variety of foliage colours - grey, green, red, variegated - but don’t include too many variegated plants and certainly don’t plant them by side, which will look busy and un-restful on the eye. Add herbaceous perennials and bulbs, and trees too, if room allows.

Lastly don't forget your backdrop as if for example you have a white wall ,then the combination of red and white flowers will not work as the white will blend in hidden and not create a visual impact from a distance. in this case red and blue against the white wall will provide the best visual display

It is also a safe bet to seek female advice as they naturally have a better brain and eye for pleasant colour combinations than men (its scientifically proven to be true in most cases) most male species are flamboyant, showy and focused on fight or flight with other males, think of the peacock or the natural facial adornments/symmetry/muscularity of human males etc.

Insightful & astute observations listed above by Mr. Ifzaal.

Referring to the request by Ka khan, there are countless varieties of annual/perennials which can be used to recreate the borders shown in the pictures. The following came to my mind as i started typing this reply. Endless more of annuals easily available in the local market can still be added in the list.

YELLOW/RED BORDER
A. Yellow Dutch Iris/ Canna Picasso or Yellow Canna Tropical Series
B. Yellow Verbena/ Yellow Snapdragon flower shower (Dwarf)
C. Yellow Snapdragon Sonnet or Yellow Snapdragon Madame Butterfly Series
D. Rananculous or Marigold
E. Purple Snapdragon Sonnet or from Purple Snapdragon from Madame Butterfly series.
F. Red Verbena/ Red Salvia
G. White petunia or White Snapdragon flower shower variety/ Nastartium
H. Marigold

BLUE BORDER
A. Petunia/ Dwarf Primula (Auricula type) / Blue Phlox Dolly series/Dianthus/
B. Salvia/ Snapdragon Sonnet series or Madame Butterfly series/ tall Asters.
C. Snapdragon flower shower series
D. Delpheniums for cold northern regions (Murree, Swat, Chitral etc), Snapdragon Madame Butterfly Series or Tall Asters
E. Verbena/Dwarf annual Asters
F. Pansies/Allysum/lobelia
G Torenia/ Primula tall variety known as Malacoides


ALL WHITE BORDER
A. White hanging petunia/Sweet Almond Verbena Shrub/ White Ixora Shrub/White Pentas Shrub
B. Violet/Pansy/Petunia/Vinca
C. White Verbena/White Canna Tropical Series F1/ White Amaryllis (Mont Blanc)/White Ruellia
D. White Allysium/White Phlox
E. White Marigold
F. Pepper white Nargis
G. White Chrysanthum/Tuberose/White Hedychium

RED BORDER
A. Red/white Petunia, Red Nastarium
B. Nicotina / Red local Amaryllis
C. Dahlia
D. Salvia
E. Rose / Red Dwarf Ixora Shrub having small flowers
F. Buxus/Pittosporum
G. Red Verbena
H. Red Ixora Shrub large flowers
I. Sweet Peas /Red Calliandra shrub/Red Pyracantha / Red Asiatic Lillium

it's getting late and this is the best i can muster for the time being.