Edging and Border Plants in Landscaping

Privacy is one of the most common landscaping concerns for modern homeowners. Wooden or stone fences and walls may be effective, but they can also be prohibitively expensive. High privacy structures may also interfere with the neighborhood aesthetic, attracting still more unwanted attention. Fortunately, edging and border plants provide an affordable, natural means of attaining privacy. Homeowners can grow a wide variety of hedge bushes that serve not only to keep out prying eyes, but provide excellent natural shelter from winter winds.

Since plants used as dividing markers will likely be covering a significant portion of the landscape, homeowners are advised to make design choices carefully. Be aware that straight lines are a powerful focal point for attention. Border plants, though they may not be planted as straight as property markers, also command attention as transition plants. When assessing a landscape, our eyes focus on what distinguishes each portion?thus the importance of border plants providing a smooth transition between landscaping elements. Vibrantly colored flowers make good choices here. Symmetrical planting also helps create the perception of order, such as when flowers are used to border both sides of a walkway. A constant color scheme adds to the formality of such a landscape. Rainbow planting arrangements can be a problem here, as the playfulness of multiple blossom colors clashes sharply with the straighter lines that typify borders.

When making the choice for border plants for soft transitions between different parts of the softscape (earth-based portion of the landscape), it is essential that the homeowner have a concrete idea of what constitutes border areas. Few things are more inconvenient than having to re-plant several dozen border plants when one decides to move a region of the garden. To guard against this occurrence, homeowners are encouraged to draw up dimensional plans that include the name of each plant variety to be planted in each region. If planning a walkway through a bordered area, be sure to allow room for border plants to spill over the boundary. If border plants are situated directly against walking paths, they will either require frequent maintenance or homeowners will potentially have to deal with constricted walkways.

For the property lines, existing wooden or stone fences can be supplemented with a wide variety of climbing and flowering vines. These plants can help artificial structures seem a more natural part of the landscape. If plants themselves are to be used for the main privacy structure, dense hedge bushes are among the best choices. Dense plants like arborvitae and juniper have the added benefit of deadening sound once they reach maturity. Narrower hedge bushes and border plants may require multiple rows to achieve the same effect.

Tags:  border, plant, privacy, landscape, homeowner, fence