How to make beautiful beds (11 photo ideas)
Long gone are the days when only vegetables were grown on summer cottages and few people allocated enough space for them for flower beds. Now many, on the contrary, refuse to grow carrots and tomatoes, preferring a flower garden to the garden. At the same time, the fashion for beautiful gardens has now begun. In such gardens, flower beds are created that serve as decoration of the site and at the same time they add variety to our diet.
I propose to think now how to decorate the garden beautifully- draw a plan, decide which plants you will grow and make a list of plants to buy. Beautiful and healthy flower beds will decorate your site with a mixture of flowers and vegetables mixed with spicy and leafy herbs. And ordinary vegetable beds with traditional vegetables can be diversified with spices and phytoncide flowers, which will be your helpers in the fight against plant diseases and pests.
Different types of lettuce look especially beautiful side by side - leafy and cabbage with different leaves - multi-colored, with corrugated and wavy edges. For example, Berlin salad (yellow), Kadro (with purple leaves), Zabava (long reddish leaves), Robin (yellow-red), Lolla Rosso (corrugated burgundy green leaves), Tornado (fan-shaped leaf), Excitement (light green with wavy edges), Ballet (dark green leaves with scalloped edges), Odessa kucheryavets (corrugated emerald leaves). Plant curly parsley near the salads, and nearby - spicy-aromatic plants (catnip, anise lofant, oregano, hyssop, lemon balm).
Perennial chives with delicate thin leaves can be planted as a border in a garden bed, flower bed or on an alpine slide. Its decoration is lilac-pink inflorescences, and foliage grows quickly after cutting. Chard or leaf beets will look beautiful on a flower bed, especially green-leaved varieties with corrugated leaves and red-purple varieties. Decorate the center of the flower bed with fennel and bush dill. Physalis with its numerous small lantern fruits can also be planted here - in addition to being decorative, they are also tasty. Let decorative vegetables and beautifully blooming edible flowers with healing properties - tagetes, calendula, nasturtium, vegetable chrysanthemum grow nearby. And do not forget the pharmacy chamomile - tea from it will come in handy during colds, and fresh herbs will be a good seasoning for meat dishes and salads.
Good neighbors for flowers will be coriander, watercress, parsley, mustard, lovage (like an annual grown through seedlings). In one part of the flower bed, plant spicy and medicinal: monarda, lovage, perilla. Continuously flowering and fruiting beardless strawberries with red and white berries will look very beautiful along the border. And if you have the opportunity to periodically remove the mustache, you can plant a remontant variety Rose Glow with pink double flowers here. Beautiful and useful can be combined on an alpine slide. Here oregano, snakehead, thyme (savory), badan, common primrose, swimsuit, various bells, small-flowering violets, a salad plant popular in Europe - a variety of plantain called "Deer Horn" will be in place here.
The assortment of medicinal and spicy plants, especially annuals, you can change depending on your taste and preferences. Not far from the kitchen or resting place, you can arrange a fragrant corner in a flower bed or garden bed. Here can be found snakehead, mignonette and levkoy, various basilicas, two-horned mattiola, as well as perennial monarda, mint of various varieties and lemon balm. Pelargonium will look good on a dais in a flowerpot.
Most garden plants, especially thermophilic ones, yield only in the sun. This primarily applies to eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, dill, onions and most spices. However, some plants can tolerate partial darkening. These are beans, white cabbage, perennial onions, parsnips, pumpkin (in the shade, you can place whips with ovaries, and the root is better placed in the sun). If you plant radishes, turnips and beets in the shade, you get juicy greens that you can use to make salads. In partial shade, sorrel, horseradish, rhubarb and collard greens feel good, but early and late varieties are recommended to be planted in the sun. Salad mustard, Chinese cabbage, parsley, leaf celery, lovage, watercress, Swiss chard, mint, chives, can grow from spicy herbs in partial shade. It is advisable to grow spices and beets in partial shade through seedlings.
Do-it-yourself beautiful garden
The times when the garden was sown solely for the purpose of getting as much harvest as possible have sunk into oblivion. Now, according to the latest trends in gardening, you should not plant a vegetable garden at random - but so that it also pleases the eye. That is why many are interested in how to make beautiful beds in the garden - and I will help you with this, throw in, as usual, a lot of interesting know-how ideas.
Elements of a container garden - wooden boxes, flowerpots, clay pots - all this is appropriate to use in the garden.
Functionally important objects such as trellises for climbing plants (for example, beans) can become almost small architectural forms of your garden.
Cucumber supports can also be made attractive. These will not be just stakes, hammered in at random and tied up with old ropes, but graceful boards, ladders, arches and even pergolas!
One of the interesting tricks on how to decorate a garden is to alternate planting vegetables with rows of annuals. They require little care, and your garden will look more fun. you can also plant salads with different colors - not only will they decorate your garden, they are also very useful!
For example, marigolds and calendula will take root very well between your beds. In addition, they will repel pests and improve the soil in the garden.
When you think about the landing pattern. Do not forget to take into account the need of plants for different watering. Combine planting with this factor in mind. It is very important to change places of crops every year, with different demands on the nutritional value of the soil.
Cabbage takes a lot of nutrients from the ground. So don't plant it in the same spot every year. Plant beets in the same beds the next year, and peas and beans the next year.
If it so happens that your garden is very small, then this is not a reason to give up growing vegetables. There is a way to grow vegetables even in bags of soil, and you can always find a little space for them.
Take a 25 liter bag, pour the nutrient mixture into it, make small holes on one side for the plants, and on the other, holes for water to drain. In one such "bed" you can grow 6 bushes of strawberries, lettuce or 3 bushes of tomatoes.
A beautiful garden bed with greenery, planted in a checkerboard pattern, will look very decorative!
Some squares can be planted with beautifully flowering herbs such as sage.
Creation ornamental garden at the summer cottage - one of the bright and original techniques in landscape design. Unfortunately, gardeners do not always remember about such a wonderful element of the garden as a decorative vegetable garden. Many do not even imagine how to make a decorative garden and how to decorate the beds beautifully. But the landscape design of the garden is a very interesting and exciting process. The decoration of the garden, of course, brings some trouble, it is very important to think over the design of the garden, choose a suitable place for it, and carry out proper care. But all efforts will be justified. The original vegetable garden and beautiful beds will look no worse than any flower garden. You will learn how to arrange a vegetable garden from our article.
A decorative vegetable garden, as well as other elements of the garden, serves to beautifully decorate the space. Before you start decorating the beds in the country, you need to choose a suitable place for a decorative garden. A sunny place, protected from strong winds with drained fertile soil, is suitable for him. On ornamental garden care it will take a lot of time - it needs to be watered, fed. It is better to water the beds with a drip method, since the water that remains on the leaves of plants contributes to the development of diseases. You can also water a decorative vegetable garden from a watering can, but always with warm water from a barrel.
It will help to decorate the beds beautifully edging with curb material, for example, . Special designs - modules - can be of different shapes, which will allow you to create different compositions on the site. In addition, the arrangement of the border of the decorative bed will prevent the penetration of lawn grass into the garden. The most convenient will be beds from 70 to 120 cm wide. The distance between the beds should be large enough - 50-60 cm. To avoid the growth of weeds, the distance between the beds (bark, wood chips, for example).
First of all, the ornamental garden will be transformed by plants that look beautiful throughout the growing season. These are, first of all, green and spicy-flavoring crops. In the design of the beds, plants such as parsley, cilantro are often used. Indeed, it is impossible to imagine beautiful beds without them. Decorating a vegetable garden with crops with decorative greenery always looks elegant. Ornamental peppers, cabbage, zucchini, corn, sorrel, lettuce are highly decorative.
It grows faster than the head. She prefers fertile soil, loves watering; tolerates transplantation well. Low-growing varieties of ornamental cabbage will look spectacular in and. Ornamental cabbage is planted in the last decade of March in pots with a diameter of 3-4 cm. Ornamental cabbage seeds will sprout in 3-5 days. Seedlings are often susceptible to disease, so proper watering is important. The soil is shed before and immediately after sowing. Then the watering is stopped and the seedlings are sprayed only a little. Ornamental cauliflower is also suitable for garden decoration.
Decorative pepper- a fairly unpretentious plant. It is grown both indoors and in the garden. He prefers bright, sunny places. In summer, it needs abundant watering. Fruits of spherical, oblong or conical shape are formed on the bushes of ornamental pepper, which, depending on the variety, are painted in red, orange, yellow or cream color.
Decorative corn loves sunny, sheltered from the winds. They plant it in the ground, in late May - early June. Ornamental corn cobs are very beautiful - the grains in them come in different colors, which looks very original. These cobs will decorate your home.
Physalis decorative also called the "Chinese lantern". Its name is translated from Greek as "bubble". photophilous, winter-hardy. It is undemanding to soils, but still prefers calcareous. In dry summers, physalis is watered every other day. Physalis decorative looks great in cut, bouquets.
Decorative sorrel prefers fertile, drained, slightly acidic soils. It does not tolerate drought well, it needs watering, and in hot climates it is advisable to spray it. It is recommended to cut the flower stalks to maintain a compact and dense rosette of leaves. Decorative sorrel can be strongly affected by aphids. Will look great against the background of stones.
A decorative vegetable garden will decorate and curly salad... He is photophilous, prefers fertile ones. Young plants tolerate light frosts, so curly salad can be planted in open ground in spring and autumn.
Some ornamental vegetables can be used not only in the landscape design of the garden, but also for gazebos and hedges, as climbing plants. These include decorative pumpkin, decorative squash.
Decorative zucchini have lush foliage and fruits of different colors (yellow, orange, green, with stripes and spots). Zucchini is planted no earlier than in the second decade of May, since even with slight frosts, the zucchini can die. Zucchini prefers a bright place and fertile non-acidic soil. Quite drought tolerant.
Decorative pumpkin- the plant is unpretentious. The seeds should be planted in pots in April after germinating them. The pumpkin can be planted in open ground when the danger of frost has passed - the plant dies even at slight subzero temperatures. All varieties of ornamental pumpkins prefer sunny places, can tolerate light shading, but will bloom and bear less fruit. Remember that the pumpkin needs support, it grows quickly and can exceed 6m in height. The pumpkin will grow better if it is watered and fed regularly. The decorative bottle gourd has very strong fruits, from which you can make unusual dishes. It will be very durable, the water in the pumpkin jug stays cool for a long time.
The landscape design of the garden is rarely complete without such a beautiful flower as decorative sunflower... According to ancient belief, there should always be golden flowers on the site - they attract prosperity to the house. Ornamental sunflower is light-requiring, prefers fertile, loose and neutral soils. It is possible to grow decorative sunflowers in hedges, as some varieties of sunflower reach 3-5 m in height. Ornamental sunflower goes well with tall grasses. For the cultivation of ornamental sunflower, good soil cultivation is important (both pre-sowing and during the growing season - weeding, cultivation). The sunflower is afraid of frost.
Garden design will not do without decorative onion... Ornamental onion varieties are, for the most part, photophilous. Ornamental onions are planted in a sunny place in fertile, well-drained soil. All types of ornamental onions are very sensitive to the lack of potassium in the soil. Ornamental flowering bows are widely used for continuous flowering gardens. Decorative onions look great in bouquets, including dry ones.
Ornamental gardens: triangular ridges (pizza garden)
For some reason, many gardeners are trying to make triangular ridges, diverging from the center, the so-called "bed-rays", "sun", "flower" or pizza garden. Probably gardeners are inspired by the beautiful name and do not think about the convenience of care and the beauty of such ridges, not naked, but with plants. And planting on such beds turns out to be crooked, especially if the beds are small, and such crooked rows of plants greatly spoil the look of the garden.
Passages are often also made tapering towards the center, so it's difficult to get through, not to mention transporting a wheelbarrow. And everything would be fine if the ridges and passages were simply covered with pebbles and admired. But plants, especially vegetables, grow and grow, many of them have spreading leaves, they need space and sunlight. Therefore, all this "geometry of bare beds" is hidden under the foliage, the foliage closes the narrow passages between the beds and beauty is lost, care becomes more difficult, the foliage is trampled, the look of the garden is lost.
Therefore, if you nevertheless decide to make a pizza garden, draw how it will look with overgrown vegetable plants spreading their leaves outside the beds. And the examples given in the presented photos will help you choose the best option.
Photo 1 - Nice neat execution: paving with pink tiles (although white would be better), the beds are limited by curb tape. But, if this is not a corner of the garden, then why is there a corner of triangular ridges in the middle of the garden? Just to make the ends of the beds narrow and uncomfortable?
Beds with heterogeneous plantings look worse than those given over to one crop as a whole. On the narrow part of the ridges, there is too little space for zucchini or cucumbers, their leaves and whips will fall into narrow passages and it will be impossible to pass. Therefore, we have a photo only with young plants, because when the plants become with adults, everything will intertwine. The same applies to the tomato garden. Tall plants should not be planted on such narrow ridges with narrow passages.
Photo 2 - In this example, a more rational use of the triangular ridges in the corner of the garden. But all the same, instead of the corner bed itself, it would be necessary to make a platform, for example, with a decorative container for water, for the convenience of watering the garden. The arched bed is absolutely correct, it has the same width and is convenient for planting. But the triangular beds on one side are too wide, which is inconvenient. Planting different crops on the same bed is also inconvenient and usually ugly. Probably, it would be better to make all the beds arched (i.e. in a circle), dissected by radial paths.
Photo 3 - Not a bad implementation. The light colored tiles contrast well with the greenery. The disadvantages are the same as in the previous example: The beds with heterogeneous plantings look worse than those given to one crop as a whole. Weeds should be removed from the edges of the tiles and from the gaps between them.
Photo 4 - Well-executed beautiful sides of triangular beds. But it would be better to use white sides. The beds are inconvenient due to the variable width, too narrow at the end. Inhomogeneous planting within the same bed greatly impairs the decorative effect. The aisles are narrow, it was better to use light tiles. The center area is too small. The blue barrel is functional and convenient for watering, but it does not decorate the garden created precisely for its shape. In the center it is better to use a decorative water container (maybe a decorative reservoir). Light dumping or paving around the garden would better add to the decorativeness of the garden than green grass.
Photo x - One of the best options for a flower garden or a pizza garden. Small ridges, they are closer in shape to circles than to narrow triangles. Each crop in its garden looks very good, all crops are close in height, low and not too spreading - the paths are narrow for spreading crops. The light gravel cover contrasts very well with the greenery. A light path around the garden clearly highlights its shape. A white fence also looks much better than a dark one. The only thing is that the cast-iron lid of a septic tank or water supply could be covered or masked with something, and the grass could be cut.
Photo x - Similar to the previous one, a good option for a pizza garden or a flower garden. Small ridges with low wattle fence, but still narrow passages. Beautiful planting of each crop in its own separate bed. The light gravel cover contrasts well with the greenery. A fence-fence (top right) looks more natural than a solid one.
Photo x - Similar to the previous one, a good option for a pizza garden or a flower garden. The walkways have light paving. But the middle bed is too big. It is worth taking a closer look at the selection of crops that are close in height, but different in color, leaves or inflorescences.
Photo x - An old photo of one of the first decorative pizza gardens with ridge-rays. There are good ideas and disappointing hopes here. Not wide beds were made with rather wide aisles with light sprinkling of white gravel. At the end of the ridges there is a bush or decorative perennial in a wicker fence.
Nevertheless, it can be seen that over time, the white gravel subsided and overgrown with grass in places, and it is problematic to weed it out. Moreover, large gravel was used, in the absence of small. There is no circular path from gravel. Bumpers made of old boards look sloppy and spoil the look of a decorative garden. Different crops of different heights are planted on the same bed, which does not improve the experience. Planting bushes and perennials at the ends of the beds did not justify itself - it would be better (as an option) if they made a circular path, and then, around the perimeter, bushes and perennials were planted.
Photo x - Unsuccessful variant of sharp-angled narrow ridges and narrow passages.
Photo x - Immediately it should be noted the high quality of work: Light paving, neat painted wooden sides. Nevertheless, the flawed idea of oblique ridges and, accordingly, oblique rows of plants was used in these mustaches. Other remarks are similar: heterogeneous and different heights of crops on the same bed, narrow aisles.
Photo x - Careful execution and planting of one crop in the beds gave a very good view of the vegetable garden. The beds are slanting, but not much. Nevertheless, it is not very clear how comfortable the plastic columns of the inlaid border will behave, whether there will be grass there. In addition, it is possible for the passages to be contaminated with earth from the ridges. The passages are very narrow and if the plants are spreading, then the whole beauty of the garden will disappear at once.
Photo x - Neat execution, but too small (acute-angled) triangular beds, on which nothing really can be planted.
Photo x - All plants of approximately the same height form either a border or a continuous cover of greenery in the garden bed. Therefore, even a triangular bed with a border of healthy, strong plants looks good.
Photo x - Not a bad idea, good access (approach) to small comfortable beds. But again, pink, which takes away the attention from the plants. The white color of the paving looked much better. But the shape of the beds is unsuccessful: because of the crooked ridges, crooked rows of plants turned out - and the garden loses in decorativeness.
Photo x - It's not a bad idea to use lettuce as a border. However, the incomprehensible shape of the too small beds did not allow achieving a decorative effect. In addition, the use of a high support for climbing plants in the center of the garden is hardly justified. But, since there is no paving or bumpers, you can re-plan everything for next year - make beds of a different shape and larger size, so that planting on them creates a good view of the garden.
Photo x - Unsuccessful version of a decorative flower garden. Thoughtless pursuit of form - for triangular beds. The area is too small for a vegetable garden, the aisles to the center are narrowed to nothing, and even instead of a platform in the center, there is again a garden. How to get to the center? Diversified planting within the same bed. Ugly and inconvenient.
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