Gardening : Perennials--for Year-Round Borders in the Southland

A perennial border in Southern California is a real challenge when one makes an effort to have something of interest 11 months of the year. The elegant and beautiful perennial borders of England are only planned to bloom from the end of May to the end of September. For two-thirds of the year--eight months--these borders are barren or plain mounds of green, which is hardly acceptable in Southern California.

English borders also depend on many plants that do poorly here--such as peonies, bleeding heart, Solomon’s seal, and meconopsis. So what do we do to achieve the same effect, but over a longer period of time?

Stunning Sight

Two of our most popular perennials are hardly thought of as such--evergreen day lilies in shades of orange and yellow, and agapanthus in blue and white. They could be the basis for a border, a stunning sight in June and July, and they require very little maintenance.

But a border needs contrast in height and contrast in shape. Low ground-hugging plants that might grow around these include ajuga, vinca minor, or iberis (perennial candytuft). Interest could be added by planting bulbs of freesias, tritonias or sparaxis underneath. If only one color of bulb is used, the impact will be greater.

For more height, but still less than the agapanthus, try bergenia in the shade and, in the sun, columbine, coral bells, Shasta daisies and geum, all of which produce flowers that rise considerably higher than their low foliage.

Needed also are spikes of flowers for vertical interest. Kniphofia-- the red hot poker plant--comes in several shades and sizes.

Don’t forget the old reliable foxglove and hollyhock, which aren’t perennials but come back from seed every year.

In laying out a perennial border, it is invaluable to gain from somebody else’s experience. All say prepare the soil well, because you won’t be working it again for a long time.

You’ll also hear that the best way to view the border is from the end, and most of the pictures of perennial borders take advantage of this fact.

And it has always been an unwritten law that a perennial border should have a solid background: a fence, a wall, or a hedge. When planting against the background of a hedge or fence, 2 feet should be left for easy access and to leave room for the roots of the hedge. Any bed over 3 feet wide should have a means of access.

I started by putting a few steppingstones here and there and this foothold was so useful that I gathered all the loose steppingstones in the yard and placed them about in the beds.

Started With Purple

Repetition is not necessary. I started with the dark purple of Clematis jackmanii , then shifted to lavender and blue and then a very short break of blue gray with the foliage of artichokes. Next came orange and yellow blending into white.

And, what about those few times of the year when there are no flowers, or very few? Variation in the shape and color of foliage can carry the day. The very dark green foliage of iberis is striking against the chartreuse of golden feather.